But to resume our story. When Pao-yü saw that Ch’ing Wen had in her attempt to finish mending the peacock-down cloak exhausted her strength and fatigued herself, he hastily bade a young maid help him massage her; and setting to work they tapped her for a while, after which, they retired to rest. But not much time elapsed before broad daylight set in. He did not however go out of doors, but simply called out that they should go at once and ask the doctor round.

Presently, Dr. Wang arrived. After feeling her pulse, his suspicions were aroused. “Yesterday,” he said, “she was much better, so how is it that to-day she is instead weaker, and has fallen off so much? She must surely have had too much in the way of drinking or eating! Or she must have fatigued herself. A complaint arising from outside sources is, indeed, a light thing. But it’s no small matter if one doesn’t take proper care of one’s self, as she has done after perspiring.”

As he passed these remarks, he walked out of the apartment, and, writing a prescription, he entered again.

When Pao-yü came to examine it, he perceived that he had eliminated the laxatives, and all the drugs, whose properties were to expel noxious influences, but added pachyma cocos, rhubarb, arolia edulis, and other such medicines, which could stimulate the system and strengthen her physique.

Pao-yü, on one hand, hastened to direct a servant to go and decoct them, and, on the other, he heaved a sigh. “What’s to be done?” he exclaimed. “Should anything happen to her, it will all be through the evil consequences of my shortcomings!”

“Hai!” cried Ch’ing Wen, from where she was reclining on her pillow. “Dear Mr. Secundus, go and mind your own business! Have I got such a dreadful disease?”

Pao-yü had no alternative but to get out of the way. But in the afternoon, he gave out that he was not feeling up to the mark, and hurried back to her side again.

The symptoms of Ch’ing Wen’s illness were, it is true, grave; yet fortunately for her she had ever had to strain her physical strength, and not to tax the energies of her mind. Furthermore, she had always been frugal in her diet, so that she had never sustained any harm from under or over-eating. The custom in the Chia mansion was that as soon as any one, irrespective of masters or servants, contracted the slightest chill or cough, quiet and starving should invariably be the main things observed, the treatment by medicines occupying only a secondary place. Hence it was that when the other day she unawares felt unwell, she at once abstained from food during two or three days, while she carefully also nursed herself by taking proper medicines. And although she recently taxed her strength a little too much, she gradually succeeded, by attending with extra care to her health for another few days, in bringing about her complete recovery.

Of late, his female cousins, who lived in the garden, had been having their meals in their rooms, so with the extreme convenience of having a fire to prepare drinks and eatables, Pao-yü himself was able, needless for us to go into details, to ask for soups and order broths for (Ch’ing Wen), with which to recoup her health.

Hsi Jen returned soon after she had followed the funeral of her mother. She Yüeh then minutely told Hsi Jen all about Chui Erh’s affair, about Ch’ing Wen having sent her off, and about Pao-yü having been already informed of the fact, and so forth, yet to all this Hsi Jen made no further comment than: “what a very hasty disposition (that girl Ch’ing Wen has!).”

But consequent upon Li Wan being likewise laid up with a cold, she got through the inclemency of the weather; Madame Hsing suffering so much from sore eyes that Ying Ch’un and Chou-yen had to go morning and evening and wait on her, while she used such medicines as she had; Li Wan’s brother, having also taken her sister-in-law Li, together with Li Wen and Li Ch’i, to spend a few days at his home, and Pao-yü seeing, on one hand, Hsi Jen brood without intermission over the memory of her mother, and give way to secret grief, and Ch’ing Wen, on the other, continue not quite convalescent, there was no one to turn any attention to such things as poetical meetings, with the result that several occasions, on which they were to have assembled, were passed over without anything being done. By this time, the twelfth moon arrived. The end of the year was nigh at hand, so Madame Wang and lady Feng were engaged in making the necessary annual preparations. But, without alluding to Wang Tzu-t’eng, who was promoted to be Lord High Commissioner of the Nine Provinces; Chia Yü-ts’un, who filled up the post of Chief Inspector of Cavalry, Assistant Grand Councillor, and Commissioner of Affairs of State, we will resume our narrative with Chia Chen, in the other part of the establishment. After having the Ancestral Hall thrown open, he gave orders to the domestics to sweep the place, to get ready the various articles, and bring over the ancestral tablets. Then he had the upper rooms cleaned, so as to be ready to receive the various images that were to be hung about. In the two mansions of Ning and Jung, inside as well as outside, above as well as below, everything was, therefore, bustle and confusion. As soon as Mrs. Yu, of the Ning mansion, put her foot out of bed on this day, she set to work, with the assistance of Chia Jung’s wife, to prepare such needlework and presents as had to be sent over to dowager lady Chia’s portion of the establishment, when it so happened that a servant-girl broke in upon them with a tea-tray in hand, containing ingots of silver of the kind given the evening before new year.

“Hsing Erh,” she said, “informs your ladyship that the pieces of gold in that bundle of the other day amount in all to one hundred and fifty-three taels, one mace and seven candareens; and that the ingots of pure metal and those not, contained in here, number all together two hundred and twenty.”

With these words, she presented the tray. Mrs. Yu passed the ingots under survey. She found some resembling plum-blossom; others peonies. Among them were some with pens and ‘as you like,’ (importing “your wishes are bound to be fulfilled);” and others representing the eight precious things linked together, for use in spring-time.

Mrs. Yu directed that the silver ingots should be made up into a parcel, and then she bade Hsing Erh take them and deliver them immediately inside.

The servant-girl signified her obedience, and went away. But shortly Chia Chen arrived for his meal, and Chia Jung’s wife withdrew.

“Have we received,” thereupon inquired Chia Chen, “the bounty conferred (by His Majesty) for our spring sacrifices or not?”

“I’ve sent Jung Erh to-day to go and receive it,” Mrs. Yu rejoined.

“Albeit,” continued Chia Chen, “our family can well do without those paltry taels, yet they are, whatever their amount may be, an imperial gift to us so take them over as soon as you can, and send them to our old lady, on the other side, to get ready the sacrifices to our ancestors. Above, we shall then receive the Emperor’s bounty; below, we shall enjoy the goodwill of our progenitors. For no matter if we went so far as to spend ten thousand ounces of silver to present offerings to our forefathers with, they could not, in the long run, come up this gift in high repute. Added to this, we shall be the participators of grace and the recipients of blessings. Putting one or two households such as our own aside, what resources would those poverty-stricken families of hereditary officials have at their command wherewith to offer their sacrifices and celebrate the new year, if they could not rely upon this money? In very truth, therefore, the imperial favour is vast, and allproviding!”

“Your arguments are quite correct!” Mrs. Yu ventured.

But while these two were indulging in this colloquy, they caught sight of a messenger, who came and announced: “Our young master has arrived.”

Chia Chen accordingly enjoined that he should be told to enter; whereupon they saw Chia Jung step into the room and present with both hands a small bag made of yellow cloth.

“How is it you’ve been away the whole day?” Chia Chen asked.

Chia Jung strained a smile. “I didn’t receive the money to-day from the Board of Rites,” he replied. “The issue was again made at the treasury of the Kuang Lu temple; so I had once more to trudge away to the Kuang Lu temple before I could get it. The various officials in the Kuang Lu temple bade me present their compliments to you, father. (They asked me to tell you) that they had not seen you for many days, and that they are really longing for your company.”

“What an idea! Do they care to see me?” Chia Chen laughed. “Why, here’s the end of the year drawing nigh again; so if they don’t hanker after my presents, they must long and crave for my entertainments.”