won't it be a pity to use it for sticking on windows?'
'But it doesn't, after all, look well, when made into clothes,' old lady Chia explained.
Lady Feng hastily pulled out the lapel of the deep-red brocaded gauze jacket she had on, and, facing dowager lady Chia and Mrs. Hsueeh, 'Look at this jacket of mine,' she remarked.
'This is also of first-rate quality!' old lady Chia and Mrs. Hsueeh rejoined. 'This is nowadays made in the palace for imperial use, but it can't possibly come up to this!'
'It's such thin stuff,' lady Feng observed, 'and do you still say that it was made in the palace for imperial use? Why, it doesn't, in fact, compare favourably with even this, which is worn by officials!'
'You'd better search again!' old lady Chia urged; 'I believe there must be more of it! If there be, bring it all out, and give this old relative Liu a couple of rolls! Should there be any red-blue, I'll make a curtain to hang up. What remains can be matched with some lining, and cut into a few double waistcoats for the waiting-maids to wear. It would be sheer waste to keep these things, as they will be spoilt by the damp.'
Lady Feng vehemently acquiesced; after which, she told a servant to take the gauze away.
'These rooms are so small!' dowager lady Chia then observed, smiling. 'We had better go elsewhere for a stroll.'
'Every one says,' old goody Liu put in, 'that big people live in big houses! When I saw yesterday your main apartments, dowager lady, with all those large boxes, immense presses, big tables, and spacious beds to match, they did, indeed, present an imposing sight! Those presses are larger than our whole house; yea loftier too! But strange to say there were ladders in the back court. 'They don't also,' I thought, 'go up to the house tops to sun things, so what can they keep those ladders in readiness for?' Well, after that, I remembered that they must be required for opening the presses to take out or put in things. And that without those ladders, how could one ever reach that height? But now that I've also seen these small rooms, more luxuriously got up than the large ones, and full of various articles, all so fascinating and hardly even known to me by name, I feel, the more I feast my eyes on them, the more unable to tear myself away from them.'
'There are other things still better than this,' lady Feng added. 'I'll take you to see them all!'
Saying this, they straightway left the Hsiao Hsiang lodge. From a distance, they spied a whole crowd of people punting the boats in the lake.
'As they've got the boats ready,' old lady Chia proposed, 'we may as well go and have a row in them!'
As she uttered this suggestion, they wended their steps along the persicary-covered bank of the Purple Lily Isle. But before reaching the lake, they perceived several matrons advancing that way with large multi-coloured boxes in their hands, made all alike of twisted wire and inlaid with gold. Lady Feng hastened to inquire of Madame Wang where breakfast was to be served.
'Ask our venerable senior,' Madame Wang replied, 'and let them lay it wherever she pleases.'
Old lady Chia overheard her answer, and turning her head round: 'Miss Tertia,' she said, 'take the servants, and make them lay breakfast wherever you think best! We'll get into the boats from here.'
Upon catching her senior's wishes, lady Feng retraced her footsteps, and accompanied by Li Wan, T'an Ch'un, Yuean Yang and Hu Po, she led off the servants, carrying the eatables, and other domestics, and came by the nearest way, to the Ch'iu Shuang library, where they arranged the tables in the Hsiao Ts'ui hall.
'We daily say that whenever the gentlemen outside have anything to drink or eat, they invariably have some one who can raise a laugh and whom they can chaff for fun's sake,' Yuan Yang smiled, 'so let's also to-day get a female family-companion.'
Li Wan, being a person full of kindly feelings, did not fathom the insinuation, though it did not escape her ear. Lady Feng, however, thoroughly understood that she alluded to old goody Liu. 'Let us too to-day,' she smilingly remarked, 'chaff her for a bit of fun!'
These two then began to mature their plans.
Li Wan chided them with a smile. 'You people,' she said, 'don't know even how to perform the least good act! But you're not small children any more, and are you still up to these pranks? Mind, our venerable ancestor might call you to task!'
'That has nothing whatever to do with you, senior lady,' Yuean Yang laughed, 'it's my own look out!'
These words were still on her lips, when she saw dowager lady Chia and the rest of the company arrive. They each sat where and how they pleased. First and foremost, a waiting-maid brought two trays of tea. After tea, lady Feng laid hold of a napkin, made of foreign cloth, in which were wrapped a handful of blackwood chopsticks, encircled with three rings, of inlaid silver, and distributed them on the tables, in the order in which they were placed.
'Bring that small hard-wood table over,' old lady Chia then exclaimed; 'and let our relative Liu sit next to me here!'
No sooner did the servants hear her order than they hurried to move the table to where she wanted it. Lady Feng, during this interval, made a sign with her eye to Yuean Yang. Yuean Yang there and then dragged goody Liu out of the hall and began to impress in a low tone of voice various things on her mind. 'This is the custom which prevails in our household,' she proceeded, 'and if you disregard it we'll have a laugh at your expense!'
Having arranged everything she had in view, they at length returned to their places. Mrs. Hsueeh had come over, after her meal, so she simply seated herself on one side and sipped her tea. Dowager lady Chia with Pao-yue, Hsiang-yuen, Tai-yue and Pao-ch'ai sat at one table. Madame Wang took the girls, Ying Ch'un, and her sisters, and occupied one table. Old goody Liu took a seat at a table next to dowager lady Chia. Heretofore, while their old mistress had her repast, a young servant-maid usually stood by her to hold the finger bowl, yak-brush, napkin and other such necessaries, but Yuean Yang did not of late fulfil any of these duties, so when, on this occasion, she deliberately seized the yak-brush and came over and flapped it about, the servant-girls concluded that she was bent upon playing some tricks upon goody Liu, and they readily withdrew and let her have her way.
While Yuean Yang attended to her self-imposed duties, she winked at the old dame.
'Miss,' goody Liu exclaimed, 'set your mind at ease!' Goody Liu sat down at the table and took up the chopsticks, but so heavy and clumsy did she find them that she could not handle them conveniently. The fact is that lady Feng and Yuean Yang had put their heads together and decided to only assign to goody Liu a pair of antiquated four-cornered ivory chopsticks, inlaid with gold.
'These forks,' shouted goody Liu, after scrutinising them, 'are heavier than the very iron-lever over at my place. How ever can I move them about?'
This remark had the effect of making every one explode into a fit of laughter. But a married woman standing in the centre of the room, with a box in her hands, attracted their gaze. A waiting-maid went up to her and removed the cover of the box. Its contents were two bowls of eatables. Li Wan took one of these and placed it on dowager lady Chia's table, while lady Feng chose the bowl with pigeon's eggs and put it on goody Liu's table.
'Please (commence),' Dowager lady Chia uttered from the near side, where she sat.
Goody Liu at this speedily sprung to her feet. 'Old Liu, old Liu,' she roared with a loud voice, 'your eating capacity is as big as that of a buffalo! You've gorged like an old sow and can't raise your head up!' Then puffing out her cheeks, she added not a word.
The whole party was at first taken quite aback. But, as soon as they heard the drift of her remarks, every one, both high as well as low, began to laugh boisterously. Hsiang-yuen found it so difficult to restrain herself that she spurted out the tea she had in her mouth. Lin Tai-yue indulged in such laughter that she was quite out of breath, and propping herself up on the table, she kept on ejaculating 'Ai-yo.' Pao-yue rolled into his grandmother's lap. The old lady herself was so amused that she clasped Pao-yue in her embrace, and gave way to endearing epithets. Madame Wang laughed, and pointed at lady Feng with her finger; but as for saying a word, she could not. Mrs. Hsueeh had much difficulty in curbing her mirth, and she sputtered the tea, with which her mouth was full, all over T'an Ch'un's petticoat. T'an Ch'un threw the contents of the teacup, she held in her hand, over Ying Ch'un; while Hsi Ch'un quitted her seat, and, pulling her nurse away, bade her rub her stomach for her.
Below, among the lower seats, there was not one who was not with bent waist and doubled-up back. Some retired to a corner and, squatting down, laughed away. Others suppressed their laughter and came up and changed the clothes of their young mistresses. Lady Feng and Yuan Yang were the only ones, who kept their countenance. Still they continued helping old goody Liu to food.
Old goody Liu took up the chopsticks. 'Even the chickens in this place are fine,' she went on to add, pretending, she did not hear what was going on; 'the eggs they lay are small, but so dainty! How very pretty they are! Let me help myself to one!'
