As Dai-yu entered the room she saw a silver-haired old lady advancing to meet her, supported on either side by a servant. She knew that this must be her Grandmother Jia and would have fallen on her knees and made her kotow, but before she could do so her grandmother had caught her in her arms and pressing her to her bosom with cries of ‘My pet!’ and ‘My poor lamb!’ burst into loud sobs, while all those present wept in sympathy, and Dai-yu felt herself crying as though she could never stop. It was some time before those present succeeded in calming them both down and Dai-yu was at last able to make her kotow.
Grandmother Jia now introduced those present.
‘This is your elder uncle’s wife, Aunt Xing. This is your Uncle Zheng’s wife, Aunt Wang. This is Li Wan, the wife of your Cousin Zhu, who died.’
Dai-yu kowtowed to each of them in turn.
‘Call the girls!’ said Grandmother Jia. ‘Tell them that we have a very special visitor and that they need not do their lessons today.’
There was a cry of ‘Yes ma’am’ from the assembled maids, and two of them went off to do her bidding.
Presently three girls arrived, attended by three nurses and five or six maids.
The first girl was of medium height and slightly plumpish, with cheeks as white and firm as a fresh lychee and a nose as white and shiny as soap made from the white goose-fat. She had a gentle, sweet, reserved manner. To look at her was to love her.
The second girl was rather tall, with sloping shoulders and a slender waist. She had an oval face under whose well-formed brows large, expressive eyes shot out glances that sparkled with animation. To look at her was to forget all that was mean or vulgar.
The third girl was undersized and her looks were still somewhat babyish and unformed.
All three were dressed in identical skirts and dresses and wore identical sets of bracelets and hair ornaments.
Dai-yu rose to meet them and exchanged curtseys and introductions. When she was seated once more, a maid served tea, and a conversation began on the subject of her mother: how her illness had started, what doctors had been called in, what medicines prescribed, what arrangements had been made for the funeral, and how the mourning had been observed. This conversation had the foreseeable effect of upsetting the old lady all over again.
‘Of all my girls your mother was the one I loved the best,’ she said, ‘and now she’s been the first to go, and without my even being able to see her again before the end. I can’t help being upset!’ And holding fast to Dai-yu’s hand, she once more burst into tears. The rest of the company did their best to comfort her, until at last she had more or less recovered
Everyone’s attention now centred on Dai-yu. They observed that although she was still young, her speech and manner already showed unusual refinement. They also noticed the frail body which seemed scarcely strong enough to bear the weight of its clothes, but which yet had an inexpressible grace about it, and realizing that she must be suffering from some deficiency, asked her what medicine she took for it and why it was still not better.
‘I have always been like this,’ said Dai-yu. ‘I have been taking medicine ever since I could eat and been looked at by ever so many well-known doctors, but it has never done me any good. Once, when I was only three, I can remember a scabby-headed old monk came and said he wanted to take me away and have me brought up as a nun; but of course, Mother and Father wouldn’t hear of it. So he said, “Since you are not prepared to give her up, I am afraid her illness will never get better as long as she lives. The only way it might get better would be if she were never to hear the sound of weeping from this day onwards and never to see any relations other than her own mother and father. Only in those conditions could she get through her life without trouble.” Of course, he was quite crazy, and no one took any notice of the things he said. I’m still taking Ginseng Tonic Pills.’
‘Well, that’s handy,’ said Grandmother Jia. ‘I take the Pills myself. We can easily tell them to make up a few more each time.’
She had scarcely finished speaking when someone could be heard talking and laughing in a very loud voice in the inner courtyard behind them.
‘Oh dear! I’m late,’ said the voice. ‘I’ve missed the arrival of our guest.’
‘Everyone else around here seems to go about with bated breath,’ thought Dai-yu. ‘Who can this new arrival be who is so brash and unmannerly?’
Even as she wondered, a beautiful young woman entered from the room behind the one they were sitting in, surrounded by a bevy of serving women and maids. She was dressed quite differently from the others present, gleaming like some fairy princess with sparkling jewels and gay embroideries.
Her chignon was enclosed in a circlet of gold filigree and clustered pearls. It was fastened with a pin embellished with flying phoenixes, from whose beaks pearls were suspended on tiny chains.
Her necklet was of red gold in the form of a coiling dragon. Her dress had a fitted bodice and was made of dark red silk damask with a pattern of flowers and butterflies in raised gold thread.
Her jacket was lined with ermine. It was of a slate-blue stuff with woven insets in coloured silks.
Her under-skirt was of a turquoise-coloured imported silk crêpe embroidered with flowers.
She had, moreover,
eyes like a painted phoenix,
eyebrows like willow-eaves,
a slender form,
seductive grace;
the ever-smiling summer face
of hidden thunders showed no trace;
the ever-bubbling laughter started
almost before the lips were parted.
‘You don’t know her,’ said Grandmother Jia merrily. ‘She’s a holy terror this one. What we used to call in Nanking a “peppercorn”. You just call her “Peppercorn Feng”. She’ll know who you mean!’
Dai-yu was at a loss to know how she was to address this Peppercorn Feng until one of the cousins whispered that it was ‘Cousin Lian’s wife’, and she remembered having heard her mother say that her elder uncle, Uncle She, had a son called Jia Lian who was married to the niece of her Uncle Zheng’s wife, Lady Wang. She had been brought up from earliest childhood just like a boy, and had acquired in the schoolroom the somewhat boyish-sounding name of Wang Xi-feng. Dai-yu accordingly smiled and curtseyed, greeting her by her correct name as she did so.
Xi-feng took Dai-yu by the hand and for a few moments scrutinized her carefully from top to toe before conducting her back to her seat beside Grandmother Jia.
‘She’s a beauty, Grannie dear! If I hadn’t set eyes on her today, I shouldn’t have believed that such a beautiful creature could exist! And everything about her so distingué! She doesn’t take after your side of the family, Grannie. She’s more like a Jia. I don’t blame you for having gone on so about her during the past few days—but poor little thing! What a cruel fate to have lost Auntie like that!’ and she dabbed at her eyes with a handkerchief.
‘I’ve only just recovered,’ laughed Grandmother Jia. ‘Don’t you go trying to start me off again! Besides, your little cousin is not very strong, and we’ve only just managed to get her cheered up. So let’s have no more of this!’
In obedience to the command Xi-feng at once exchanged her grief for merriment.
‘Yes，of course. It was just that seeing my little cousin here put everything else out of my mind. It made me want to laugh and cry all at the same time. I’m afraid I quite forgot about you, Grannie dear. I deserve to be spanked, don’t I?’
She grabbed Dai-yu by the hand.
‘How old are you dear? Have you begun school yet? You mustn’t feel home sick here. If there’s anything you want to eat or anything you want to play with, just come and tell me. And you must tell me if any of the maids or the old nannies are nasty to you.’
Dai-yu made appropriate responses to all of these questions and injunctions.
Xi-feng turned to the servants.
‘Have Miss Lin’s things been brought in yet? How many people did she bring with her? You’d better hurry up and get a couple of rooms swept out for them to rest in.’
While Xi-feng was speaking, the servants brought in tea and various plates of food, the distribution of which she proceeded to supervise in person.
Dai-yu noticed her Aunt Wang questioning Xi-feng on the side:
‘Have this month’s allowances been paid out yet?’
‘Yes. By the way, just now I went with some of the women to the upstairs storeroom at the back to look for that satin. We looked and looked, but we couldn’t find any like the one you described yesterday. Perhaps you misremembered.’
‘Oh well, if you can’t find it, it doesn’t really matter,’ said Lady Wang. Then, after a moment’s reflection, ‘You’d better pick out a couple of lengths presently to have made up into clothes for your little cousin here. If you think of it, send someone round in the evening to fetch them!’
‘It’s already been seen to. I knew she was going to arrive within a day or two, so I had some brought out in readiness. They are waiting back at your place for your approval. If you think they are all right, they can be sent over straight away.’
Lady Wang merely smiled and nodded her head without saying anything.
The tea things and dishes were now cleared away, and Grandmother Jia ordered two old nurses to take Dai-yu round to see her uncles; but Uncle She’s wife, Lady Xing, hurriedly rose to her feet and suggested that it would be more convenient if she were to take her niece round herself.
‘Very well,’ said Grandmother Jia. ‘You go now, then. There is no need for you to come back afterwards.’
So having, together with Lady Wang, who was also returning to her quarters, taken leave of the old lady, Lady Xing went off with Dai-yu, attended across the courtyard as far as the covered way by the rest of the company.
黛玉方进房，只见两个人扶着一位鬓发如银的老母迎上来。黛玉知是外祖母
了，正欲下拜，早被外祖母抱住，搂入怀中，“心肝儿肉”叫着大哭起来。当下侍
立之人无不下泪，黛玉也哭个不休。众人慢慢解劝，那黛玉方拜见了外祖母。贾母
方一一指与黛玉道：“这是你大舅母。这是二舅母。这是你先前珠大哥的媳妇珠大
嫂子。”黛玉一一拜见。贾母又叫：“请姑娘们。今日远客来了，可以不必上学去。”
众人答应了一声，便去了两个。不一时，只见三个奶妈并五六个丫鬟，拥着三位姑
娘来了。第一个肌肤微丰，身材合中，腮凝新荔，鼻腻鹅脂，温柔沉默，观之可亲。
第二个削肩细腰，长挑身材，鸭蛋脸儿，俊眼修眉，顾盼神飞，文彩精华，见之忘
俗。第三个身量未足，形容尚小。其钗环裙袄，三人皆是一样的妆束。黛玉忙起身
迎上来见礼，互相厮认，归了坐位。丫鬟送上茶来。不过叙些黛玉之母如何得病，
如何请医服药，如何送死发丧。不免贾母又伤感起来，因说：“我这些女孩儿，所
疼的独有你母亲。今一旦先我而亡，不得见面，怎不伤心！”说着携了黛玉的手又
哭起来。众人都忙相劝慰，方略略止住。
众人见黛玉年纪虽小，其举止言谈不俗，身体面貌虽弱不胜衣，却有一段风流
态度，便知他有不足之症。因问：“常服何药?为何不治好了？”黛玉道：“我自
来如此，从会吃饭时便吃药，到如今了，经过多少名医，总未见效。那一年我才三
岁，记得来了一个癞头和尚，说要化我去出家。我父母自是不从，他又说：‘既舍
不得他，但只怕他的病一生也不能好的!若要好时，除非从此以后总不许见哭声，
除父母之外，凡有外亲一概不见，方可平安了此一生。’这和尚疯疯癫癫说了这些
不经之谈，也没人理他。如今还是吃人参养荣丸。”贾母道：“这正好，我这里正
配丸药呢，叫他们多配一料就是了。”
一语未完，只听后院中有笑语声，说：“我来迟了，没得迎接远客！”黛玉思
忖道：“这些人个个皆敛声屏气如此，这来者是谁，这样放诞无礼？”心下想时，
只见一群媳妇丫鬟拥着一个丽人从后房进来。这个人打扮与姑娘们不同，彩绣辉
煌，恍若神妃仙子。头上戴着金丝八宝攒珠髻，绾着朝阳五凤挂珠钗，项上戴着赤
金盘螭缨络圈，身上穿着缕金百蝶穿花大红云缎窄?袄，外罩五彩刻丝石青银鼠
褂，下着翡翠撒花洋绉裙。一双丹凤三角眼，两弯柳叶掉梢眉，身量苗条，体格风
骚，粉面含春威不露，丹唇未启笑先闻。黛玉连忙起身接见。贾母笑道：“你不认
得他：他是我们这里有名的一个泼辣货，南京所谓‘辣子’，你只叫他‘凤辣子’
就是了。”黛玉正不知以何称呼，众姊妹都忙告诉黛玉道：“这是琏二嫂子。”黛
玉虽不曾识面，听见他母亲说过：大舅贾赦之子贾琏，娶的就是二舅母王氏的内侄
女；自幼假充男儿教养，学名叫做王熙凤。黛玉忙陪笑见礼，以“嫂”呼之。
这熙凤携着黛玉的手，上下细细打量一回，便仍送至贾母身边坐下，因笑道：
“天下真有这样标致人儿!我今日才算看见了!况且这通身的气派竟不像老祖宗的
外孙女儿，竟是嫡亲的孙女儿似的，怨不得老祖宗天天嘴里心里放不下。只可怜我
这妹妹这么命苦，怎么姑妈偏就去世了呢！”说着便用帕拭泪。贾母笑道：“我才
好了，你又来招我。你妹妹远路才来，身子又弱，也才劝住了，快别再提了。”熙
凤听了，忙转悲为喜道：“正是呢!我一见了妹妹，一心都在他身上，又是喜欢，
又是伤心，竟忘了老祖宗了，该打，该打！”又忙拉着黛玉的手问道：“妹妹几岁
了?可也上过学?现吃什么药?在这里别想家，要什么吃的、什么玩的，只管告诉我。
丫头老婆们不好，也只管告诉我。”黛玉一一答应。一面熙凤又问人：“林姑娘的
东西可搬进来了?带了几个人来?你们赶早打扫两间屋子，叫他们歇歇儿去。”说话
时已摆了果茶上来，熙凤亲自布让。又见二舅母问他：“月钱放完了没有？”熙凤
道：“放完了。刚才带了人到后楼上找缎子，找了半日也没见昨儿太太说的那个。
想必太太记错了。”王夫人道：“有没有，什么要紧。”因又说道：“该随手拿出
两个来给你这妹妹裁衣裳啊。等晚上想着再叫人去拿罢。”熙凤道：“我倒先料着
了。知道妹妹这两日必到，我已经预备下了，等太太回去过了目，好送来。”王夫
人一笑，点头不语。
当下茶果已撤，贾母命两个老嬷嬷带黛玉去见两个舅舅去。维时贾赦之妻邢氏
忙起身笑回道：“我带了外甥女儿过去，到底便宜些。”贾母笑道：“正是呢。你
也去罢，不必过来了。”那邢夫人答应了，遂带着黛玉和王夫人作辞，大家送至穿
堂。
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