At a great distance off, a band of men were, in very deed, engaged in
digging up the soil, while Chia Yuen was seated on a boulder on the hill,
superintending the works. The time came for Hsiao Hung to pass by, but
she could not muster the courage to do so. Nevertheless she had no other
course than to quietly proceed to the Hsiao Hsiang Kuan. Then getting
the watering-pot, she sped on her way back again. But being in low
spirits, she retired alone into her room and lay herself down. One and
all, however, simply maintained that she was out of sorts, so they did
not pay any heed to her.

A day went by. On the morrow fell, in fact, the anniversary of the birth
of Wang Tzu-t'eng's spouse, and some one was despatched from his
residence to come and invite dowager lady Chia and Madame Wang. Madame
Wang found out however that dowager lady Chia would not avail herself of
the invitation, and neither would she go. So Mrs. Hsueeh went along with
lady Feng, and the three sisters of the Chia family, and Pao-ch'ai and
Pao-yue, and only returned home late in the evening.

Madame Wang was sitting in Mrs. Hsueeh's apartments, whither she had just
crossed, when she perceived Chia Huan come back from school, and she
bade him transcribe incantations out of the Chin Kang Canon and intonate
them. Chia Huan accordingly came and seated himself on the stove-couch,
occupied by Madame Wang, and, directing a servant to light the candles,
he started copying in an ostentatious and dashing manner. Now he called
Ts'ai Hsia to pour a cup of tea for him. Now he asked Yu Ch'uan to take
the scissors and cut the snuff of the wick. "Chin Ch'uan!" he next
cried, "you're in the way of the rays of the lamp."

The servant-girls had all along entertained an antipathy for him, and
not one of them therefore worried her mind about what he said. Ts'ai