Free The Red Chamber by Pauline A. Chen Page B

trouble.”
    “What else can we do?”
    “Why don’t we have one of Father’s old clerks take him south this autumn to buy supplies? Old Feng would know how to keep him in line.”
    Mrs. Xue looks dubious. “Would he go?”
    “He might try to refuse, but surely you can make him go, after all the trouble he has caused.”
    “You’re right. Besides, after all this, it might be better for him to be out of the Capital for a while.”
    Someone calls from outside the door curtain. “Auntie! Cousin!” Daiyu pokes her head in. “Can I come in and sit with you?” she says, her face wistful.
    Baochai laughs at the way that Daiyu is poised there, as if unsure of her welcome. “Come in. What are you afraid of?”
    “I didn’t know if you were busy.”
    Baochai and her mother climb off the kang to greet her. “Of course not,” Mrs. Xue says. “And even if we were, we should be glad to have you visit. Sunset!” she calls.
    Sunset appears from one of the back rooms.
    “Make Miss Lin some tea. And put out those little cakes the Countess of Zhenguo sent us.”
    They draw Daiyu onto the kang . Baochai is glad Daiyu has come. She has liked Daiyu from the first. Even though she seems quiet and self-conscious at mealtimes, Baochai senses some quickness, some spark, in her that the other girls lack.
    “I am sure you must find the weather here terribly dry and dusty, after being in the south,” Mrs. Xue says.
    Daiyu looks curiously at her. “Have you lived in the south before?”
    “We’re from Nanjing. We moved to the Capital a few years ago.”
    “Nanjing! My parents took me there when I was a little girl. I remember playing near the stone animals at Mingxiao Ling.”
    “Mingxiao Ling,” says Baochai. “I remember wanting to play there, too, when I was little.” She turns to her mother, laughing. “But you wouldn’t let me. You said it wasn’t proper to play near an Imperial Mausoleum.”
    Daiyu laughs too. “My mother probably told me to stop, too, only I didn’t listen to her. Why did you leave Nanjing to come here?”
    Not wanting to explain that they had left because of Pan’s scandals, Baochai casts about for an excuse. Fortunately, her mother says, “After my husband died, we always spent a lot of time here so that I could be with my sister, Lady Wang. She was Baoyu’s mother.”
    “I see.” Daiyu smiles at Baochai. “So you are Baoyu’s cousin as well. That means we are cousins, too.” She looks back at Mrs. Xue. “But Baoyu’s mother died years ago, didn’t she?”
    “Yes.” Mrs. Xue sighs. “Things were very different here when my sister was alive. When she died, the whole atmosphere of the house changed. Both of Lian’s parents are dead as well. Usually, it’s the mothers who hold a family together.”
    At Mrs. Xue’s remark, Daiyu’s eyes fill with tears. Mrs. Xue sees them and puts her arm around Daiyu’s shoulders. “You must miss your mother terribly.”
    “I dream of her all the time. I dream that she is still alive, and that we are at home in Suzhou together, washing the dishes or feeding the chickens—and then I wake up and realize she is gone.” Daiyu looks up into Mrs. Xue’s face. “Did you know my mother when she was younger? What was she like?”
    “I saw her for the first time when my sister married Zheng. She was wearing a green gown, and was as graceful as a rush swaying in the wind. My sister grew very fond of her before she went south with your father. She always said that Min was so warm and lighthearted …”
    Sunset comes in carrying tea and food boxes on a tray. Daiyu stops crying and wipes her face on her sleeve.
    “These are marzipan cakes made of ground lotus root and sugared cassia flowers,” Mrs. Xue says, opening the food boxes. “Why don’t you have some? I’m afraid you’ve lost weight since you’ve come here.”
    “I doubt that very much. The food here is so rich that I won’t be able to fit into my clothes by the time I go