Hung Lou Meng - book 2 | Page 3

yet go
and lie down quietly over there for a little!"
Chiding him the while, she directed a servant to fetch a pillow. Pao-yü
therefore lay himself down at the back of Madame Wang, and called
Ts'ai Hsia to come and stroke him.
Pao-yü then began to bandy words with Ts'ai Hsia. But perceiving that
Ts'ai Hsia was reserved, and, that instead of paying him any attention,
she kept her eyes fixed upon Chia Huan, Pao-yü eagerly took her hand.
"My dear girl!" he said; "do also heed me a little;" and as he gave
utterance to this appeal, he kept her hand clasped in his.
Ts'ai Hsia, however, drew her hand away and would not let him hold it.
"If you go on in this way," she vehemently exclaimed, "I'll shout out at
once."
These two were in the act of wrangling, when verily Chia Huan
overheard what was going on. He had, in fact, all along hated Pao-yü;
so when on this occasion, he espied him up to his larks with Ts'ai Hsia,
he could much less than ever stifle feelings of resentment in his heart.
After some reflection, therefore, an idea suggested itself to his mind,
and pretending that it was by a slip of the hand, he shoved the candle,
overflowing with tallow, into Pao-yü's face.
"Ai ya!" Pao-yü was heard to exclaim. Every one in the whole room
was plunged in consternation. With precipitate haste, the lanterns,
standing on the floor, were moved over; and, with the first ray of light,
they discovered that Pao-yü's face was one mass of tallow.
Madame Wang gave way to anger as well as anxiety. At one time, she

issued directions to the servants to rub and wash Pao-yü clean. At
another, she heaped abuse upon Chia Huan.
Lady Feng jumped on to the stone-couch by leaps and bounds. But
while intent upon removing the stuff from Pao-yü's face, she
simultaneously ejaculated: "Master Tertius, are you still such a trickster!
I'll tell you what, you'll never turn to any good account! Yet dame Chao
should ever correct and admonish him."
This single remark suggested the idea to Madame Wang, and she lost
no time in sending for Mrs. Chao to come round.
"You bring up," she berated her, "such a black-hearted offspring like
this, and don't you, after all, advise and reprove him? Time and again I
paid no notice whatever to what happened, and you and he have
become more audacious, and have gone from worse to worse!"
Mrs. Chao had no alternative but to suppress every sense of injury,
silence all grumblings, and go herself and lend a hand to the others in
tidying Pao-yü. She then perceived that a whole row of blisters had
risen on the left side of Pao-yü's face, but that fortunately no injury had
been done to his eyes.
When Madame Wang's attention was drawn to them she felt her heart
sore. It fell a prey to fears also lest when dowager lady Chia made any
inquiries about them she should find it difficult to give her any
satisfactory reply. And so distressed did she get that she gave Mrs.
Chao another scolding. But while she tried to comfort Pao-yü, she, at
the same time, fetched some powder for counteracting the effects of the
virus, and applied it on his face.
"It's rather sore," said Pao-yü, "but it's nothing to speak of. Tomorrow
when my old grandmother asks about it, I can simply explain that I
scalded it myself; that will be quite enough to tell her."
"If you say that you scalded it yourself," lady Feng observed, "why,
she'll also call people to task for not looking out; and a fit of rage will,
beyond doubt, be the outcome of it all."

Madame Wang then ordered the servants to take care and escort Pao-yü
back to his room. On their arrival, Hsi Jen and his other attendants saw
him, and they were all in a great state of flurry.
As for Lin Tai-yü, when she found that Pao-yü had gone out of doors,
she continued the whole day a prey to ennui. In the evening, she
deputed messengers two and three times to go and inquire about him.
But when she came to know that he had been scalded, she hurried in
person to come and see him. She then discovered Pao-yü all alone,
holding a glass and scanning his features in it; while the left side of his
face was plastered all over with some medicine.
Lin Tai-yü imagined that the burn was of an extremely serious nature,
and she hastened to approach him with a view to examine it. Pao-yü,
however, screened his face, and, waving his hand, bade her leave the
room; for knowing her usual knack for tidiness he