Chapter 20 reveals some "trivial" matters about the Chia family: (1) Nanny Li (Pao-yu's old nurse) is nagging and threatening Hsi-jen because she thinks that Hsi-jen is not really ill; she thinks that Hsi-jen is staying in bed only to avoid her; (2) Chia Huan (the son of Chia Cheng's concubine, Lady Chao) cheats during a dice game in order not to lose his money to the maid Yingerh, and Hsi-feng (Phoenix) criticizes him for his lack of self-respect and for making such a fuss over a couple of hundred cash; (3) Pao-yu is combing his maid Sheh-yueh's hair, and Ching-wen, another maid of Pao-yu's, becomes jealous; (4) Pao-yu's staying with Pao-chai for some time makes Tai-yu envious, and Shih Hsiang-yun's high praise of Pao-chai and her belittling of Tai-yu causes Tai-yu to mock her.
With his descriptions of these small matters, the author carefully and skillfully presents the various relationships between masters and servants, between brothers, and between males and females, and, in addition, his own attitude toward them all can be read between the lines. According to feudal ethics, masters were superior to servants, lineal descendants were more respected than those born of concubines; elder brothers were expected to be friendly to younger brothers, while younger brothers were expected to be respectful and submissive to older brothers; and females were inherently inferior to males. Thus, from these seemingly "small matters," we can see that Pao-yu is setting a "bad example" by rejecting a number of feudal principles of ethics. Rather than rigidly and doggedly observing them, he rebels against them. This particular chapter contains a superb and convincing portrait of young Chia Pao-yu's sparkling ideology of democracy.
In Chapter 21, the maid Hsi-jen enjoys a good chat with Pao-chai during Pao-yu's brief absence, and Pao-chai gains a very favorable impression of Hsi-jen—especially when she hears Hsi-jen express her opinion concerning Pao-yu's playing with his female cousins too often. Hsi-jen says, "It's all right to be fond of cousins, but still there's a limit!"
Afterward, in order to change Pao-yu's behavior, Hsi-jen uses various tactics: sometimes she ignores him, and at other times, she tries to comfort him with a soft voice. Clearly, she wants him to put an end to his silly, adolescent habit of playing with girls.
Finally alone, Pao-yu begins reading "The House-Breaker" in the Chuuang-tzu (one of the most important works of Taoism). He is especially moved by the Taoist concept of human conduct, whereby a person lets things take their own course. In other words, people can do nothing that goes against their nature. Pao-yu is confused and unhappy about the contradictions he sees all around him, particularly within his own family, and these particularly negative Taoist concepts help him ease his mental suffering a bit.
Meanwhile, Chia Lien has a problem. Hsi-feng 's daughter, Ta-chieh, is suffering from smallpox, so he has to move his study to the outer compound for twelve days. This is unfortunate because Chia Lien cannot be away from Hsi-feng for more than two days without turning to someone else for lovemaking. Not surprisingly, he has a fling with To Kuan, the cook's wanton wife. They swear eternal love, of course, but must eventually part when Chia Lien moves his things back home. Ping-erh, the maid, is straightening his bedding and discovers a long strand of a woman's hair. She teases Chia Lien just before Hsi-feng enters the room, and it is almost a miracle that Hsi-feng never finds out about the strand of hair. Chin Lien is so grateful for Ping-erh 's discretion that he attempts to make love to her, but Ping-erh escapes. The feudal lord's "rights" were thwarted, but the author makes it clear that the feudal lord did indeed have the right to lay claim to any of his servants.
In celebration of Pao-chai's fifteenth birthday, a feast and some opera performances are arranged by the capable Hsi-feng (Phoenix). Since Lady Dowager likes lively shows, when Pao-chai is asked what kind of show she would enjoy, she says that she prefers "lively shows" in order to please Lady Dowager. Later, after everyone has chosen a favorite play, Pao-chai says that she would like to hear the opera The Drunken Monk. She is immediately criticized by Pao-yu, but Pao-chai defends her choices and says that the opera has some excellent melodies. Then she cites some of her favorite lines:
Naked I go without impediment.
My sole wish now is to roam alone
In coir cape and bamboo hat,
And in straw sandals with a broken alms bowl
To wander where I will.
This Buddhist message of nothingness touches Pao-yu; he takes in these "esoteric truths" and later writes similar lines when he cannot please and console Tai-yu after Shih Hsiang-yun comments on the resemblance of Tai-yu to an eleven-year-old actress. His verse states that
If there is no "I," then neither is there "you."
If she misunderstands you, then why rue?
Freely I come and freely I go too.
Giving myself to neither joy nor woe.
Close kin or distant—it's the same to me.
Pao-yu's early identification with Buddhist ideology prepares us for his becoming a monk at the end of the novel.
The Imperial Consort sends over a lantern-riddle for everybody to guess, and she also asks each of them to make up a riddle. Almost all of the riddles composed by the girls turn out to be inauspicious, and Chia Cheng is dismayed at the ill-omened subject matter. If one believes in omens, apparently none of the girls will have good fortune or a long life.
