"I was just leaving cousin Quarta's," Pao-yü laughed, "when I noticed you coming along, just in front of me; and knowing well enough that you were bent upon finding me, I concealed myself to have a lark with you. I saw you then go by, with uplifted head, enter the court, walk out again, and ask every one you met on your way; but there I stood convulsed with laughter. I was only waiting to rush up to you and frighten you, when I afterwards realised that you too were prowling stealthily about, so I readily inferred that you also were playing a trick upon some one. Then when I put out my head and looked before me, I saw that it was these two girls, so I came behind you, by a circuitous way; and as soon as you left, I forthwith sneaked into your hiding place."
"Let's go and look behind there," P'ing Erh suggested laughingly; "we may possibly discover another couple; there's no saying."
"There's no one else!" Pao-yü laughed.
Yüan Yang had long ago concluded that every word of their conversation had been overheard by Pao-yü; but leaning against the rock, she pretended to be fast asleep.
Pao-yü gave her a push. "This stone is cold!" he smiled. "Let's go and sleep in our rooms. Won't it be better there?"
Saying this, he made an attempt to pull Yüan Yang to her feet. Then hastily pressing P'ing Erh to repair to his quarters and have some tea, he united his efforts with those of Hsi Jen, and tried to induce Yüan Yang to come away. Yüan Yang, at length, got up, and the quartet betook themselves, after all, into the I Hung court.
Pao-yü had caught every word that had fallen from their lips a few minutes back, and felt, indeed, at heart so much distressed on Yüan Yang's behalf, that throwing himself silently on his bed, he left the three girls in the outer rooms to prosecute their chat and laugh.
On the other side of the compound, Madame Hsing about this time inquired of lady Feng who Yüan Yang's father was.
"Her father," lady Feng replied, "is called Chin Ts'ai. He and his wife are in Nanking; they have to look after our houses there, so they can't pay frequent visits to the capital. Her brother is the Wen-hsiang, who acts at present as our senior's accountant; but her sister-in-law too is employed in our worthy ancestor's yonder as head washerwoman."
Madame Hsing thereupon despatched a servant to go and call Yüan Yang's sister-in-law. On Mrs. Chin Wen-hsiang's arrival, she told her all. Mrs. Chin was naturally pleased and left in capital spirits to find Yüan Yang, in the hope that the moment she communicated the offer to her, the whole thing would be satisfactorily arranged. But contrary to all her anticipations, she had to bear a good blowing up from Yüan Yang, and to be told several unpleasant things by Hsi Jen and P'ing Erh, so that she was filled with as much shame as indignation. She then came and reported the result to Madame Hsing. "It's no use," she said, "she gave me a scolding." But as lady Feng was standing by, she could not summon up courage enough to allude to P'ing Erh, so she added: "Hsi Jen too helped her to rate me, and they told me a whole lot of improper words, which could not be breathed in a mistress' ears. It would thus be better to arrange with our master to purchase a girl and have done; for from all I see, neither can that mean vixen enjoy such great good fortune, nor we such vast propitious luck!"