Chapter 62 finds everybody in the Garden busy with birthday preparations for Pao-yu's birthday. By coincidence, Pao-yu shares his birthday with Pao-chin, Ping-erh, and Hsiu-yen. This coincidence makes everybody extremely happy, so, in addition to sending each other gifts, they decide to collect money for a really sumptuous feast, outside in the Garden so that they can all drink and have fun—to their hearts' content!
Accordingly, all of the girls and the maids, including Pao-yu too, take part in the celebration. They have a very good time together, playing games, drinking wine as a forfeit, and making fun of each other.
From this celebration, we can see that the young master and the young ladies seem to be on comparatively equal terms with the maids in the Garden during the absence of the Chia authorities, but their happiness is brief. The young ladies, especially, live a kind of precarious, parasitic life, since their destinies lie in the hands of the family authorities. (Later we will see that the fate of the maids and actresses is indeed bitter and miserable.) However, for today, they are all free to enjoy the happy, carefree gaiety of the Garden. Here, the notions of equality and happiness pervade the atmosphere. The young master and the young ladies are all equal today—because the Chia authorities are away. Never again will there be so much happiness in the Garden. In fact, this chapter will soon serve as a dramatic contrast to the cruel search of the houses in later chapters.
The first part of Chapter 63 focuses on the girls in the Garden, feasting and celebrating Pao-yu's birthday. They drink wine, play games, and sing songs—throwing all caution to the wind. Some of them even get drunk. The girls are all very excited about the celebration, and even Miao-yu (a nun) sends a celebration card to show her respect for Pao-yu.
Miao-yu is an unconventional person. She has practiced asceticism for ten years and is a bit eccentric; she looks down on common people. She became a nun because she offended certain powerful people and was forced to come to Iron Threshold Temple for protection. Pao-yu is overjoyed when he receives her card; immediately, he sends a message to her to show his gratitude.
The second part of the chapter deals with the death of the Old Master, Chia Cling, and Madame Yu's managing the funeral preparations single-handedly. She asks for the Emperor's permission to fetch Chia Chen, Chia Jung, and old Mrs. Yu and her two daughters (Second Sister Yu and Third Sister Yu) to come and help her. Giving up the noble title of Palace Graduate, Chia Ching long ago retired to live quietly in the Mysterious Truth Temple, outside the city. He took elixirs every day, hoping to enjoy longevity and become an immortal.
Here is evidence that certain aristocratic landlords want to maintain their rule forever so that they can remain rulers for generations to come. The author describes the death of Chia Cling with irony and humor, revealing his (the author's) contempt for the ruling class, which tries to achieve eternal life by practicing absurd Taoist breathing exercises and taking elixirs so as to maintain the feudal rule forever. We see here the spiritual emptiness and the extreme decadence of all the feudal families. The author does not use many words to depict the Old Master, yet the old one's case is typical of the feudal society in those days.
The first part of Chapter 64 finds Pao-yu going to visit Tai-yu; Pao-chai also arrives for a call, and they read Tai-yu's five poems about five beautiful women from ancient times. These poems reveal Tai-yu's feelings about talented, beautiful women in olden days, some of whom lived enviable lives and some of whose lives were tragic. Pao-chai makes use of this opportunity to preach hard-core feudal ideology—that is, a lack of talent in a woman is a virtue, and versifying accomplishments are secondary for a woman.
The second part of the chapter concerns a wholly different matter. When Chia Ching's coffin is taken to Iron Threshold Temple, all of the family members must escort the coffin, leaving Mrs. Yu and her two daughters in charge of the household.
Chia Lien (Hsi-feng 's husband) seizes on this opportunity to run an errand for Chia Chen in order to meet the beautiful Second Sister Yu. Chia Jung sees through Chia Lien's scheme to eventually marry Second Sister Yu, and he offers his help in getting permission first from Mrs. Yu and then from Chia Chen. Before choosing an auspicious day for the wedding, they succeed in canceling the engagement between Second Sister Yu and Chang Hua.
Here we can see how amorous, dissipated, and unashamed these feudal aristocrats are. To satisfy their lustful, dissolute purposes, Chia Lien, Chia Jung, and Chia Chen all work hand-in-glove with each other. Regardless of Chia Cling's funeral arrangements, they conspire to have an unlawful marriage arranged. The author is more convincing than ever with these self-evident facts about the feudal class's decline. There is no hope and no way out for the feudal society. The author is very clear about this inevitable historical trend.
After making all of the proper preparations, Chia Lien marries Second Sister Yu and puts the bride, Mrs. Yu, and Third Sister Yu in a new house located "outside," leaving his other wife, Hsi-feng , ignorant (for the moment) of his devious disloyalty.
Two months pass, and one day Chia Chen comes to visit the "new house," hoping especially to see Third Sister. She appears, and Mrs. Yu no sooner leaves them alone until they are nestling together outrageously. Chia Lien arrives, and warmly embraces Second Sister; then they go to the west courtyard. Chia Chen offers Third Sister some wine, and suddenly she flares up and leaps onto the kang, loudly abusing Chia Chen and Chia Lien for treating her and Second Sister like prostitutes. Chia Chen and Chia Lien are speechless. (In northern China, a kang serves both as a bed with firewood burned beneath to keep people warm and also as a place for meals.)
Third Sister is clearly superior to other women in looks, conversation, and behavior, but she is still considered somewhat wanton because of her behavior in years past. Now, however, she has reformed and made a vow of chastity until her beloved Liu Hsiang-lien returns.
Later, conversing with Chia Lien's servant Hsing-erh, Second Sister learns a good deal about the Chia family and about Hsi-feng , in particular. She hears that Hsi-feng is a two-faced hypocrite, but Second Sister has no idea just how dangerous Hsi-feng is until later—when she is driven to commit suicide because of Hsi-feng 's cunning manipulations.
In Chapter 66, Chia Lien is sent away on a long trip to attend to some confidential business, and he promises Third Sister to try his best to find out the whereabouts of Liu Hsiang-lien. On the way, by chance, Chia Lien, happens to meet Hsueh Pan and Liu Hsiang-lien (who saved Hsueh Pan's life when he was robbed by brigands); now, the two men (who were once enemies) are sworn blood brothers.
