The Warning Voice (51 page)

Aroma was on the point of opening it herself when Skybright, who, to judge from the state her hair was in, had only just got out of bed, came rushing into the room, flung the lid open with a bang, picked the trunk up by its bottom, and
emptied its contents on the floor. Wang Shan-bao's wife blushed scarlet with embarrassment.

‘There's no cause to be angry with
me
, miss,' she said. ‘I'm not carrying this search out to please myself, I'm here on Her Ladyship's orders. If you don't want your things to be searched, you have only to say so and I shall tell Her Ladyship. There's no need to carry on like this about it.'

At this Skybright's wrath blazed up in fury. She pointed at the old woman's face.

‘You say you are here on Her Ladyship's orders. Well I'm here on Her
Old
Ladyship's orders. Anyway, I thought I knew all the women who worked at Her Ladyship's place and I'm sure I never saw a self-important, meddlesome old busybody like
you
there before!'

Xi-feng, who had now rejoined them, was secretly delighted to see Wang Shan-bao's wife getting the rough side of Skybright's tongue, but because the woman was her mother-in-law's favourite, she had to pretend that she was shocked, and shouted at Skybright to be silent. Wang Shan-bao's wife looked angry and flustered and seemed on the point of retorting; but Xi-feng restrained her.

‘All right, Mrs Wang, that will do. You don't have to put yourself on the same level by arguing with the girl. You get on with your searching. We've got all the other places to go to yet, and if we delay too long, word will get round that we are coming and they will be prepared for us. If that happens and you don't succeed in finding anything,
I
shan't consider myself responsible.'

Though inwardly fuming, Wang Shan-bao's wife was obliged to contain herself and spent the next minute or two rummaging tight-lipped among Skybright's possessions. Having found nothing of importance, she then asked Xi-feng if they might go elsewhere.

‘Now have you looked really thoroughly?' said Xi-feng. ‘You're going to look pretty silly if you have to report back to Lady Wang tomorrow that you couldn't find anything.'

‘We've been through everything,' said one of the women. ‘There's nothing here that there shouldn't be. We did
find one or two boy's things, but they were the sort of things a quite small boy would use. Probably they belonged to Bao-yu when he was little. Anyway, they're of no consequence.'

‘In that case we can be on our way,' said Xi-feng, pleasantly. ‘On to the next place, then!'

Off they went without more ado. Xi-feng turned to Wang Shan-bao's wife as they walked along for a word in her ear.

‘I've got a suggestion to make, but I don't know whether you'll agree to it or not. Can we confine this search to members of our own household? I don't think we ought to search the maids in Miss Xue's room.'

‘Oh, I quite agree,' said Wang Shan-bao's wife. ‘It would never do to go searching the rooms of our guests.'

Xi-feng nodded.

‘That's what
I
thought.'

They had by now reached the Naiad's House. Dai-yu had already gone to bed when the arrival of all these people was announced. Unable to guess what they could have come for, she was on the point of getting up to ask when Xi-feng came into her room and begged her to stay in bed.

‘Go to sleep. We shall be gone again in a moment.'

She slipped out again after a few inconsequences and rejoined the others, who had already begun their searching. In the course of rummaging through the various trunks and boxes in Nightingale's room they came across some old amulets whose period of effectiveness had long since expired and a set of two pouches and a fan-case designed for wearing on a belt. The fan-case had a fan in it, which they took out to examine. These were obviously masculine articles and had in fact been worn at one time by Bao-yu. Wang Shan-bao's wife, congratulating herself on what she took to be a significant discovery, called Xi-feng over to witness it.

‘Look at these things, Mrs Lian! Now where would these have come from?'

Xi-feng smiled.

‘These would be old things of Bao-yu's,' she said. ‘He and the girls here have been seeing each other for years – since they were little children. Their Ladyships would probably
remember having seen these things on him. You could always ask them, if you don't believe me.'

Wang Shan-bao's wife was at once all smiles.

‘If
you
recognize them, Mrs Lian, that's good enough for me.'

‘There's nothing here worth bothering about,' said Xi-feng. ‘I think we should leave these folk in peace and hurry on elsewhere.'

‘We've had so many other things where these came from and given so many in return that I can't keep track of them,' said Nightingale laughing. ‘I couldn't for the life of me tell you
when
he gave us these.'

Xi-feng and Wang Shan-bao's wife now conducted their little party to Tan-chun's place. This time their arrival was anticipated. Someone had brought word of their coming, and Tan-chun, guessing that something serious must have happened to have provoked so ugly a reaction, was standing in the open doorway, surrounded by maids with lighted candles, waiting for the search party when it arrived.

‘Well?' she asked, somewhat challengingly. ‘What do you want?'

Xi-feng smiled an emollient smile.

‘Something has been missing and they have been questioning everyone for several days now without being able to find out who took it. It's thought that whoever is responsible for the theft might try to incriminate one of the maids. We are making this search more for the sake of clearing them than because we really suspect any of them of taking it.'

‘Naturally all my maids are thieves,' said Tan-chun affably. ‘As a matter of fact,
I
am their principal fence. If you want to search, you'd better look at my cupboards and boxes first, because anything they steal is automatically handed over to me.'

She ordered the maids to open all her boxes. She also made them bring in her dressing-cases, jewel-boxes, bedding-rolls and miscellaneous wrapped-up bundles of clothing and open them all up for Xi-feng to inspect.

Xi-feng laughed uncomfortably.

‘I'm only carrying out your mother's orders, coz. There's
no point in getting offended with me.' She turned to the servants. ‘Quickly, do these things up again for Miss Tan.'

Scribe and Ebony, assisted by Patience and Felicity, began refastening the boxes and tying the bundles up again.

‘I've said that you may search
my
things,' said Tan-chun, ‘but if you want to search my maids', I'm afraid that won't be possible. You see, I am a very hard mistress. I always insist on knowing what my maids have got; consequently everything they have – every needle and thread even – is taken care of by me; I don't allow them to keep anything themselves. So if you want to do any searching, you will have to search me. If that doesn't satisfy you, you have only to report to Lady Wang that I was obstructive and I will gladly face whatever the consequences are tomorrow. I must say, I cannot understand this eagerness to meet trouble half-way. The searching will begin soon enough in this household when the day of confiscation arrives. Didn't you hear the news this morning about the Zhens?
They
tempted fate, just as we are now doing, by carrying out a quite unnecessary search of their own servants, and now there is a confiscation order against them and they are being searched themselves. No doubt our time too is coming, slowly but surely. A great household like ours is not destroyed in a day. “The beast with a thousand legs is a long time dying.” In order for the destruction to be complete, it has to begin from within.'

She began to cry. Xi-feng darted a look at the women, which Zhou Rui's wife interpreted as a signal that they should go.

‘Since Miss Tan has said that the girls' things are all here, Mrs Lian, can't we go on to another place now and leave her in peace?'

Xi-feng responded by rising to her feet and wishing Tan-chun good night.

‘Are you sure you've looked properly?' said Tan-chun. ‘It's no good coming back tomorrow and asking to look again, because I shan't let you.'

‘If all the maids' things are in here, there is no need to look,' said Xi-feng, smiling.

‘No need to look, when I've gone to the trouble of having everything opened for you?' said Tan-chun coldly. ‘I call
that rather perverse. Tomorrow I suppose you will say that I covered up for my maids and wouldn't
let
you look. I want to be told in plain language that you have searched as much as you want to. If you haven't, you'd better do so now, while you have the chance.'

Xi-feng smiled. She knew from past experience that she had to be more careful with Tan-chun than with any of the other girls.

‘I have already searched your maids' things and your things sufficiently.'

‘And what about the rest of you?' Tan-chun asked the women.

‘We've searched enough,' said Zhou Rui's wife and the other women, smiling.

It was now that Wang Shan-bao's wife showed her total lack of judgement – for she was in truth a very stupid woman. She had heard something of Tan-chun's reputation in the past, but refused to believe that an unmarried girl of her years – particularly one who was a concubine's daughter – could be as formidable as Tan-chun was said to be. No doubt, she told herself, it was the inexperience or pusillanimity of her informants that made them think her so. Was not she, Wang Shan-bao's wife, one of Lady Xing's oldest and most trusted servants? Did not even Lady Wang have to show her a certain measure of deference? A mere chit of a girl like Tan-chun was not going to intimidate her. She had, in any case, the distinct impression that it was Xi-feng and not herself that Tan-chun was angry with. At all events, she resolved to show how little she held Tan-chun in esteem by indulging in a little horse-play at her expense. Going up to Tan-chun, she took hold of a corner of her jacket and turned it back, grinning all over her face.

‘There!' she said. ‘Now I've even searched Miss Tan, and there's nothing on her either!'

Xi-feng was shocked.

‘Good gracious, woman! Are you – ?'

But before she could finish there was a resounding
smack
! and a large red mark appeared on the old woman's face where Tan-chun had hit her.

Tan-chun was in a towering rage.

‘Who do you think you are? How
dare
you touch me? It seems that the respect that I and the others show you, even though it is only for Her Ladyship's sake and out of consideration for your age, merely encourages you to make mischief for us and abuse your borrowed powers. That, in all conscience, is hard enough to bear. But now, to lay hands on me – that is really too much! If you have reckoned on my being a poor, timid creature like your Miss Ying whom you can bully and impose upon at your pleasure, you have made a very big mistake. You may search my things if you wish and I shall not complain; but I will
not
be made a laughing-stock. Here!' – with one hand she began feverishly undoing her buttons, while with the other she pulled Xi-feng's hand towards her and placed it beneath her jacket – ‘Search me! I would rather be searched by you than submit to being pawed over by a slave!'

Xi-feng and Patience quickly buttoned her up again and straightened out her dress, shouting angrily at Wang Shan-bao's wife as they did so.

‘You have been drinking again, Nannie. Why do you do it, if it makes you behave so badly? You'd better get out of here, before worse happens!'

Patience did her best to comfort Tan-chun.

‘Dear miss! Please don't distress yourself. She isn't worth your getting upset about!'

Tan-chun gave a humourless laugh.

‘I'm not upset. If I'd been upset I should have beaten my brains out before I'd have let her touch me. I shall see Grandmother and Lady Wang about this first thing tomorrow, and after that I shall call on Lady Xing and make whatever amends she likes to ask for.'

Wang Shan-bao's wife had retreated hastily from the room after her discomfiture and was now lurking outside the window complaining bitterly of the outrage to her dignity.

‘This is the first time anyone has ever struck me. I shall see Lady Xing tomorrow and ask her to let me go back to my old home. If this is the way I am to be treated, I had rather not go on living!'

‘Do you hear what that woman is saying?' Tan-chun asked her maids. ‘Are you waiting for me to go out there and argue with her myself?'

Scribe, needing no second prompting, hurried outside to take up the cudgels for her mistress.

‘If I were in your shoes, Mrs Wang, I should have the sense to keep my mouth shut. We should all be only too pleased if you really did go back to your own home; but I'm afraid that when it comes to it, you won't be able to tear yourself away. After all, if
you
go, who will there be left to worm her way into Her Ladyship's confidence and make all our lives a misery by having searches made?'

Xi-feng was greatly amused.

‘Good for Scribe! “Like mistress, like maid”!'

‘Oh,' said Tan-chun coldly, ‘we thieves have ready wits. We are all capable of turning a phrase or two. It's only when it comes to going behind other people's backs and stirring those in authority up against them that we are not quite so clever.'

Patience made some soothing remark to Tan-chun, simultaneously making a grab at Scribe and pulling her back into the room, while Zhou Rui's wife and the other women did their best to be conciliatory. Xi-feng remained until she had seen Tan-chun safely put to bed before leading her party off in the direction of Xi-chun's Spring in Winter room in the Lotus Pavilion, briefly taking in Li Wan's place on the way.