Chapter 41 continues Granny Liu's adventures in Grand View Garden. When her turn comes to add a poetic line to the collective poem, she says, "A huge pumpkin forms when the flowers fall," and the whole party bursts into gales of laughter. The Chia family is having such a good time making fun of Granny Liu that they encourage her to drink more wine, and they plead with her to taste some eggplant cooked "in a special way." Clearly, they are showing off their superiority, riches, and wealth.
Later, when the author describes Granny Liu drunkenly collapsing onto Pao-yu's bed, he again points out this aristocratic family's extravagance and sumptuousness, an ostentation that is the result of years of exploiting the laboring people. Note, though, that the author is careful in these scenes to color his social criticism with humor. For example, Granny Liu sometimes makes a spectacle of herself because of her ignorance of certain "modern furnishings"—for example, the mirror which has Western-style hinges, enabling it to open and shut. The author describes these scenes in a thoroughly humorous way without idealizing Granny Liu's country ways, even though he means for her to be representative of the laboring people. Granny may be dirty, simple, and ignorant—but she is certainly charming.
Note also how the author deals with the prejudices of the aristocracy. In the conversation between Pao-yu and Miao-yu in Green Lattice Nunnery, Pao-yu says, "That bowl [used by Granny Liu] may have been contaminated . . . you'd do better to give it to that poor woman." Miao-yu replies, "It's a good thing that I never drank out of it, or I'd have smashed it." After the visit, Pao-yu offers to send some young servants with buckets of water from the stream to wash Miao-yu's floor (from Granny Liu's "contamination"). All of these details show that, at times, Pao-yu (as well as the author) has a tendency to be extremely critical of the unsanitary and unhealthy qualities of poor people.
Chapter 42 finds Granny Liu leaving to go back home, loaded down with many gifts and presents from Hsi-feng and Lady Dowager. Even Lady Dowager's maid Yuan-yang presents Granny with two sets of clothes. Granny Liu, of course, repeatedly expresses her gratitude to all of them before she takes her leave.
Having heard Tai-yu quote some lines from The Western Chamber the other day, Pao-chai lectures her, telling her to stick to her needlework and to read "proper" books. Her advice fully reflects the beliefs of a faithful disciple of feudal ethics (with its inherent prejudice against women). Pao-chai is so persuasive that Tai-yu seemingly yields to her social pressures and prejudices.
However, in her heart, Tai-yu still retains her own romantic ideals and her keen sense of humor, as can be seen in her ironic reply to Pao-chai, when making fun of Hsi-chun: "I am too young to know the right way to talk; but as an elder sister [Pao-chai] to me, who else can I turn to?" Her witticism is understood only by Pao-chai and herself.
At Lady Dowager's suggestion, the family members and servants in both the Jung and Ning Mansions collectively make contributions to celebrate His-feng's birthday. More than one hundred and fifty taels are raised—enough for a fine feast and an opera performance given by hired, non-resident actresses. Madame Yu is responsible for the preparations.
On the appointed day, everybody is ready to begin the grand celebration, but Pao-yu is missing. Secretly, he slipped out early in the morning to go to the River Goddess Convent in order to burn incense as a token of his undying love for Chin-chuan. Everyone is concerned about his absence, but just as the feast begins, Pao-yu rushes in and is severely scolded by Lady Dowager for leaving without permission. His "excuse for going," he says, was to pay condolences for the death of one of the Prince of Peiching's favorite concubines. This sounds reasonable, so he is let off easily.
The contrast between the singing, the music, and the merrymaking in the Chia family and the melancholy mood of Yu-chuan (Chin-chuan's sister), who is sitting alone in tears on the porch by the entrance hall, is a graphic illustration of the author's genius for capturing the divided spirit of the feudal era. The rich people's luxurious life is built with the blood and tears of the laboring people. Of all the Chia family, only Pao-yu is sympathetic to the anniversary of Chin-chuan's death; he expresses his condolences to Yuchuan by wearing mourning clothes, and only after he has paid his respects to the dead does he go to join the others in the birthday celebration. This behavior is another illustration of Pao-yu's sincere sympathies for the oppressed poor.
After numerous toasts at the feast, Hsi-feng gets thoroughly drunk, so Ping-erh accompanies her back to her quarters. On the way, however, Hsi-feng catches sight of one of her young maids trying to run away surreptitiously. When the girl is brought before her, Hsi-feng beats her savagely until the maid confesses that Hsi-feng 's husband, Chia Lien, is having an affair with Pao Erh's wife (Pao Erh is one of Chia Lien's servants).
Creeping around the house, Hsi-feng explodes with rage and jealousy when she overhears a conversation between Chia Lien and Pao Erh's wife. Chia Lien says that he will promote Ping-erh to be his wife after Hsi-feng 's death.
Hsi-feng bursts into the room and storms at Chia Lien, Pao-Erh's wife, and Ping-erh. Retaliating, Chia Lien threatens to kill Hsi-feng with his sword. This threat so terrifies Hsi-feng that she hurries back to let Lady Dowager know what has happened. Lady Dowager makes Chia Lien apologize to Hsi-feng and Ping-erh. Afterward, Pao Erh's wife hangs herself because of the disgrace. Chia Lien secretly pays for her funeral because Hsi-feng is strongly against paying anything to Pao Erh's family.
