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.
