On Lantern Festival, Ximen Qing hosted a lively banquet at home, hanging lanterns, and it was very festive. On the sixteenth day of the Lunar New Year, the whole family gathered together to drink. Ximen Qing and Wu Yueniang sat in the main seats, while Li Jiaor, Meng Yulou, Pan Jinlian, Li Ping'er, Sun Xue'e, and Ximen's eldest sister, all dressed in beautiful clothes, sat nearby. Chunmei, Yuxiao, Yingchun, and Lanxiang, the four maids, played the zither and sang nearby. Son-in-law Chen Jingji sat alone at a table to the east. The table was filled with fine wine and dishes, while the maids Xiaoyu, Yuanxiao, Xiaoluan, and Xiuchun busily poured wine. Laiwang's wife, Song Huilian, sat on a chair in the corridor snacking on melon seeds. When someone asked for wine, she shouted, "Lai'an, Huatong, someone wants hot wine upstairs, go pour the wine! Where are these lazy people? None of them are here! Where have they all gone?!" Huatong quickly went to heat the wine. Ximen Qing scolded, "These useless folks, none of them are here, where have they all gone? Each and every one of them needs to tidy up!" One of the servants rushed over and said, "Sister-in-law, where did they go? Just tell the master directly, don't let me get scolded." Huilian said, "Someone wants wine upstairs, and you're not serving, what's that got to do with me? If I don’t scold you, who else am I supposed to scold?" Huatong said, "The floor is clean, sister-in-law, you've scattered melon seed shells all over the floor; the master will see it and scold someone again." Huilian said, "Lazy thing! It's June weather, we need to get things done quickly. Just leave it be; let the other maids clean it up. I'll explain when he asks me." Huatong said, "Hey, sister-in-law, just bear with me, don’t be mad!" Then he picked up a broom and helped her sweep the melon seed shells.
Poem:
The silver candle burns high, the wine is intoxicating,
Laughter fills the banquet hall.
The slender waist dances, the willow branches sway,
With a gentle song, spring fills the royal garden.
The fragrance brushes against the clothes with intention, the emerald flowers silently fall to the ground. Without a hint of romance, how could Han Sheng ever wake up after getting drunk?
Ximen Qing saw that his son-in-law Chen Jingji had no wine, so he asked Pan Jinlian to pour the wine. Pan Jinlian quickly filled a glass of wine, smiled and handed it to Chen Jingji, saying, "Dear brother-in-law, your father asked me to toast you." Chen Jingji took the wine while secretly glancing at Pan Jinlian, saying, "Sister-in-law, please go ahead, I will drink slowly." Pan Jinlian stepped into the shadows, holding the wine glass in her left hand, and just as Chen Jingji was about to take the wine, Pan Jinlian lightly pinched the back of his hand. Chen Jingji looked at the others and took the opportunity to kick Pan Jinlian. Pan Jinlian smiled and whispered, "You smooth talker, what if your father-in-law catches us?" The two flirted in secret, and no one else noticed. Unexpectedly, Song Huilian saw it from the window of the partition, thinking to herself, "Usually pretending to be serious in front of us, but secretly flirting with this guy. Now that I’ve seen it, I’ll settle the score with you later!"
The poem says:
In whose courtyard do white roses quietly climb a few branches?
The silk sleeves conceal the person from view,
Only the butterflies know the fragrant scent.
After drinking for a while, Ying Bojue sent someone to invite Ximen Qing to enjoy the lanterns. Ximen Qing told Wu Yueniang, "You all enjoy yourselves; I'm off to Ying Erge's for a drink." Dai An and Ping An followed.
Wu Yueniang and the other ladies drank for a while, only to see the Milky Way was clear and the stars shining brightly, as a bright moon rose from the east, making the courtyard as bright as day. Some of the ladies went back to their rooms to change clothes, some were putting on makeup and getting dressed under the moonlight, and some were wearing flowers under the lamp. That left Meng Yulou, Pan Jinlian, Li Ping'er, and Song Huilian to watch Chen Jingji set off fireworks in the hall. Li Jiao'er, Sun Xue'e, and Sister Ximen followed Wu Yueniang. Pan Jinlian said to Meng Yulou and Song Huilian, "His father is not home today, let's ask Sister if she wants to go out for a walk." Song Huilian said, "I also want to go, I’ll ask my aunt and sister if they want to join us, then let’s wait here." Song Huilian hurried to ask. Meng Yulou said, "She's not reliable, I'll go ask her." Li Ping'er said, "I'll go back to change clothes, I’m worried it might get cold tonight." Pan Jinlian said, "Sister Li, you have a shawl, lend me one to wear, so I won't have to go back to the room." Li Ping'er agreed and went. Only Pan Jinlian was left watching Chen Jingji set off fireworks. Noticing no one was around, she walked up to Chen Jingji and playfully pinched him, laughing, "Brother-in-law, are you not cold wearing so little?" Little Tiegun smiled and tugged at Chen Jingji to set off more fireworks. Chen Jingji was afraid of delaying Pan Jinlian, so he quickly gave him two fireworks to play with. Then he joked with Pan Jinlian, "If you see I'm dressed so lightly, will you lend me a piece of clothing?" Pan Jinlian said, "You little rascal, you’re getting bolder by the day! Last time you pinched my foot, I didn't say anything, now you're asking me for clothes! I'm not your mother, why should I give you clothes to wear!" Chen Jingji said, "If you don't want to, forget it, why scare me?" Pan Jinlian said, "You rascal, you are like a sparrow on the city wall, I can't scare you!" Just then, Meng Yulou and Song Huilian came out and said to Pan Jinlian, "Mother isn’t feeling well, Sister isn’t feeling well either, so they are not going. Let’s go out for a walk and come back soon. Sister Li Jiao has leg pain, so she's not going either. Sun Xue'e sees Sister not going, afraid of being yelled at by her father when he comes back, so she's not going out either." Pan Jinlian said, "If they're not going, let's just go with the three of us. When his father comes back, let him yell at us! No, let’s bring Chunmei, Yuxiao, Lanxiang, and Yingchun too." Xiaoyu came over and said, "Since Grandma isn’t going, I’ll go out with you." Meng Yulou said, "Tell Grandma, I’ll wait for you in front." After a bit, Xiaoyu asked Wu Yueniang and came out smiling.
Three women brought a group of people out to have some fun, and two young attendants followed along with lanterns. The son-in-law, Chen Jingji, set off firecrackers and watched along with the women. Song Huilian called out, “Uncle, wait for me! I’ll just go inside to get ready and be right back.” Jingji replied, “Let’s go now.” Huilian said, “If you don’t wait for me, I’ll hold a grudge against you forever!” Then she went inside to change into a red satin jacket that shimmered green and a white embroidered skirt, donned a red embroidered gold scarf, placed a gold foil flower on her forehead, and wore gold lantern-shaped earrings before coming out to join everyone. In the moonlight, she looked like a fairy, while everyone else was dressed in white silk jackets with golden armor on top, with their heads adorned in pearls and jewels, rosy cheeks, and red lips, looking absolutely stunning. Jingji and Lai Xing walked beside her, one on her left and one on her right, slowing down to light fireworks that resembled lotus flowers, golden chrysanthemums, one-foot-long orchids, and bright moonlight.
Walking onto the main street, incense smoke filled the air, with throngs of people, the sound of firecrackers was deafening, colorful lights, the raucous sounds of flutes and drums, and a lively atmosphere. Tourists saw a pair of lanterns guiding the way, and a group of people wearing red and green clothes walking over. They all thought they were from a noble family and dared not look up, stepping aside one after another. Song Huilian called out, "Uncle, show me some fireworks!" then called out again, "Uncle, let me hear a firecracker!" She dropped flowers, then her shoes, and kept asking others to help her pick them up, playfully teasing Jingji the whole time. Yulou couldn't help but intervene and said, "Why do you keep losing your shoes?" Yuxiao said, "She's afraid of the dirty ground, so she's wearing Wu Niang's shoes!" Yulou said, "Call her over so I can see, is she actually wearing Wu Niang's shoes?" Jinlian said, "She borrowed a pair of shoes from me yesterday, but this sly girl actually wore them!" Huilian lifted her skirt to reveal to Yulou, showing off the two pairs of red shoes she was wearing, secured with green ribbons around her pant legs, without saying a word.
After a while, they crossed the street and arrived at the lantern festival. Jin Lian said to Yu Lou, "Let's go to Aunt Li's house on Lion Street for a visit." She then instructed the young painter and Lai An to light the lanterns and go ahead, while the group slowly made their way to Lion Street. The young servant was the first to knock on the door; Old Feng was already in bed, and there were two young girls sleeping on the kang who were up for sale. Old Feng hurriedly opened the door to let the women in, quickly lit a fire to boil water for tea, and took a pot to the street to buy wine. Meng Yu Lou said, "Old Feng, wait a moment, don't buy wine; we've already had enough to eat and drink at home; just make some tea for us." Jin Lian said, "Since we're having guests, we should order some dishes first." Li Ping'er said, "Mom, one or two bottles of wine won’t be enough! We need to buy a couple of jars." Yu Lou said, "She's just teasing you; no need to buy, tea is fine." The old woman didn't budge. Li Ping'er asked, "Mom, why not go for a walk over there? What are we doing at home?" The old woman replied, "Madam, look at these two girls left in the room, who’s watching them?" Yu Lou then asked, "Whose girls are these?" The old woman said, "One is a maid from a northern family, thirteen years old, only five taels of silver; the other is a family woman from the Wang family, whose husband has died. The master shaved her head and sold her, priced at ten taels of silver." Yu Lou said, "Mom, let me tell you, if someone wants to buy, you could make more money." The old woman asked, "Third Miss, is someone really interested in buying? Tell me who it is." Yu Lou said, "Now at your second sister's house, there's only one yuanxiao, which isn’t enough, and they need to find a bigger girl. You can sell her the bigger one." She then asked, "How old is this girl?" The old woman replied, "She is seventeen this year." While she spoke, she brought out the tea, and everyone drank. Chun Mei, Yu Xiao, and Hui Lian all went to check it out, then went up to the street-facing room to look out the window. Chen Jing Ji urged, "It’s getting late; we should head home." Jin Lian said, "What a nag, always rushing us—what's the hurry!" She then called Chun Mei and the others over, and that’s when they finally got up. Mama Feng saw them out, and Li Ping'er asked, "Where’s Ping An?" The old woman replied, "He hasn't come today; he had me waiting up for him at midnight." Lai An said, "Today Ping An went with his father to respond to Second Uncle." Li Ping'er instructed her mother, "Close the door and go to bed early! He probably won’t show up, so don’t stay up for him. Come to the courtyard tomorrow and send the girl to my second sister. You’re the elder at Shifo Temple, so you’re in charge of this." After saying this, she watched her shut the door, and then they all headed home.
As soon as I reached the doorstep, I heard Sister Han shouting from next door. It turned out that Han Huizi had agreed to go with some folks from the stable for treatment, and when he came back drunk, he claimed someone had pried open his door, stolen his dog, and thrown out some stuff, while making a scene on the street and cursing at everyone. The women quickly halted. Jin Lian asked Lai An to call Sister Han over and asked her, "What brings you here?" Sister Han put her hands together in a greeting and bowed twice, saying, "Ladies, please listen to me." She then told the whole story from start to finish. After hearing her out, Yu Lou and the others pulled out some cash and fruit for her, and told Lai An, "Get your brother-in-law Chen to take her home." Chen Jingji was still joking around with Hui Lian and wouldn't take her. Jin Lian told Lai An to help her get home, and ordered her to come by tomorrow morning to do some laundry: "I'll help your dad get even." Sister Han thanked her profusely and headed home.
As they reached the door, Yu Lou and the others saw Ben Si Niangzi approaching with a smile to greet them, saying, "Where have the three of you been playing? Please come to my home for a cup of tea." Yu Lou replied, "We just stopped to ask Sister Han a few questions because she was crying. Thank you for your kindness, but since it's getting late, we won't go." Ben Si Niangzi said, "Oh dear, the three of you come to my home and can't even have a cup of tea? That would be a joke for our family!" She insisted on pulling them inside. It turned out that the room was dedicated to Guanyin and Guan Sheng Dijun, with a snowflake lantern hanging at the entrance. Lifting the curtain, there was a low table set up for them to sit down. She quickly called her fourteen-year-old daughter to come over and bow while serving tea to the three ladies. Yu Lou and Jin Lian each gave her two flowers. Li Ping'er took out a handkerchief and a piece of silver from her sleeve to buy her some melon seeds. Ben Si Niangzi happily thanked them repeatedly. They didn't stay long before leaving. When they reached the door, the young man Lai Xing came out to greet them. Jin Lian asked, "Has your father returned home?" Lai Xing replied, "Father hasn't come back yet." The three women watched as Chen Jingji set down two one-foot chrysanthemums, a tube of large tobacco, and a golden lantern on the doorstep before entering. Ximen Qing didn't return home until the fourth watch of the night.
Drunk and oblivious to the darkening sky, he let the bright moon shine on the western building.
Chen Jingji participated in the "Walking for a Hundred Illnesses" event, joking and teasing with Jin Lian and a few other women along the way, and he exchanged glances with Hui Lian, which was a bit interesting. The next morning, after washing up, he didn’t go to the shop but went directly to Wu Yueniang's room. Li Jiao'er and Jin Lian were accompanying Wu Yueniang at the kang (heated bed) table, serving tea. Yueniang had gone to the Buddhist hall to burn incense. Chen Jingji entered, greeted her, and sat down. Jin Lian said, "Chen brother-in-law, hello! Yesterday, when you were supposed to see off Sister Han, you didn’t move at all and let the servant take her. You were too busy joking around with us wives, not paying attention to anything else! When the old lady comes back from burning incense, just wait and see how I tell her!" Jingji replied, "You still say that! I was nearly dead on my feet yesterday! Walking with you all the way back to the house on Lion Street, how far is that? I was already tired from walking, and you wanted me to see off Sister Han! It’s fine to let the servant take her. I slept for half the day, and it was already dawn. I could barely get up this morning." Just as he was speaking, Wu Yueniang returned from burning incense, and Jingji greeted her again. Yueniang asked, "Why did Sister Han get drunk and start cursing yesterday?" Jingji recounted the events: because of participating in "Walking for a Hundred Illnesses," someone had pried open the door, the dog was lost, and Sister Han was crying and cursing in the street, "This morning her husband came home and gave her a good beating; we still haven't come to our senses!" Jin Lian said, "If we hadn’t persuaded her to go back, and your father had come back and caught her, that would have been a disaster!" At that moment, Yu Lou, Li Ping'er, and the eldest sister all arrived to drink tea together, and Jingji also joined them for tea. Later, when the eldest sister got back to her room, she lashed out at Jingji, "You absolute idiot! You’re just flirting with the Wang family’s daughter-in-law for nothing. If your father finds out, that shameless woman will get off scot-free, but you won’t find a place to hide!"
That day, Ximen Qing was sleeping in Li Ping'er's room and woke up late. Jing Qianhu, the newly appointed commander of the military, came to visit. Ximen Qing had just gotten up, combed his hair, put on his hat, and straightened his clothes, and then he came out to talk to Jing Qianhu in the hall. He also asked Ping An to go to the backyard to fetch some tea. Song Huilian was playing dice and betting on melon seeds with Yuxiao and Xiaoyu in the backyard. Xiaoyu pressed Yuxiao underneath and laughed, scolding her, "You naughty girl, if you lose the melon seeds, you still won't let me have my turn!" Then she shouted to Huilian, "Sister-in-law, come over here and hold this naughty girl's leg so I can give her a good lesson!" Just then, as they were playing, Ping An arrived and said, "Yuxiao, Old Master Jing is here; he asked me to get tea." Yuxiao totally ignored him and continued to play with Xiaoyu. Ping An urged, "They’ve been waiting for quite a while." Song Huilian said, "You pest, if Dad wants tea, just ask the cook in the kitchen—why bother us? The tea in our backyard is prepared for Dad and Mom's room; we are not responsible for your affairs outside." Ping An had no choice but to go to the kitchen. It was Hui Xiang's turn that day, and Hui Xiang said, "You pest, I'm busy cooking; can't you just go to the backyard and get two cups of tea? Why do you have to come and ask me?" Ping An said, "I went to the backyard, but there was no tea. Sister Huilian said the cook should handle that." Hui Xiang cursed, "You naughty girl, she thinks she's in charge of Dad and Mom's room; are we born to cook? I have to cook for everyone and stir-fry some veggies for the old lady; how many hands do I have? Even pouring a cup of tea is fine, but you have to specifically come and order the cook; did you call for them? Even if the tea is delayed, I won't give it to you!" Ping An said, "Old Master Jing has been waiting a while; Sis, can you please make the tea quickly? I'll take it up. If it’s late, Dad’s gonna scold me again!"
They pushed from this side and that side, wasting a lot of time. Once Yuxiao brought out the tea set, Ping'an finally delivered the tea. Jing Qianhu sat for a long time and tried to get up several times, but Ximen Qing kept him there. He complained that the tea was cold and scolded Ping'an to replace it. When Ximen Qing returned, he asked, "Who made the tea today?" Ping'an said, "It was brewed by someone at the stove." Ximen Qing went back to the main room and told Yuemeng, "The tea that was served today was like this. Go to the kitchen and find out which maid was on duty. Bring her here to ask, and give her a few whacks." Xiaoyu said, "Today it was Huixiang who was at the stove." Yuemeng hurriedly said, "That useless maid! She actually served such cold tea." As Xiaoyu called for Huixiang to kneel in the courtyard, she asked her how many whacks she deserved. Huixiang replied, "I was busy cooking and stir-frying the Madam's vegetarian dish, so the tea got a bit cold." After Yuemeng scolded her, she was allowed to get up. Yuemeng instructed, "From now on, whenever your father has guests, let Yuxiao and Huilian make tea in the backyard, while the kitchen focuses on cooking for everyone."
Hui Xiang felt aggrieved in the kitchen. After Ximen Qing left, she angrily went to the backyard, found Hui Lian, and pointed her finger at her, scolding, "You shameless hussy, you got your way, didn’t you? You were born to be in your parents' bed, and we’re just the kitchen maids? Do you really need the little servant telling the kitchen maids to serve tea? Did you call for the kitchen staff? We’re all cut from the same cloth; you’re not even my father’s concubine. Even if you were, I wouldn’t be afraid of you!" Hui Lian replied, "You’re just looking for trouble. The tea was bad because you made it. Dad doesn’t like you; what’s that got to do with me? Why are you taking it out on me?" Hui Xiang became even angrier and shouted, "You shameless woman! Just now, you were encouraging them to beat me; why don’t you let me get beaten? You’ve got a whole parade of lovers at the Cai family, and you still pretend to be innocent here!" Hui Lian said, "I raise men? Did you see it? Stop talking nonsense! Sister-in-law, you are not innocent either!" Hui Xiang retorted, "How am I not innocent? I’m much better than you! Your man is only capable of so little! Who hasn’t laughed at you outside? You think nobody knows about your little escapades? You can’t even handle women, let alone the help!" Hui Lian replied, "What affairs? What makes you think I’m not managing just fine? You can pressure me all you want; I’m not afraid of you!" Hui Xiang said, "With someone having your back, of course, you’re not s
That day, Mother Feng sent over a young girl, around thirteen years old. She was first brought to Li Ping'er's room for a look, and then sent over to Li Jiao'er. Li Jiao'er bought her for five taels of silver, and she served in the room, but there's no need to elaborate on that.
It is just as:
Outside, wild birds roam; inside, colors abound. A little frivolity never hurt anyone. In the morning, I ride with my saddle; at dusk, I return, scented with rouge. Once the girl entered Li Jiao'er's room, she naturally became Li Jiao'er’s close maid, tasked with managing various affairs in the room. Li Jiao'er treated her quite well, after all, she was purchased with silver. As days went by, the girl’s life became relatively stable. Li Jiao'er led a carefree and indulgent life, and this poem likely reflects her lifestyle.
