On her way to the Garden to see Tan-chun, Wang Hsi-feng , to her great horror, sees the ghost of Chin Ko-ching. As a result, Hsi-feng goes to the temple to pray to the Flower-Scattering Saint to ward off evil. She draws a divination lot predicting her future, and the Abbess interprets the oracle as a good omen: Wang Hsi-feng will "return home in splendor." Pao-chai, however explains to Pao-yu that the oracle could mean something else.
Although Wang Tzum-teng died while traveling, the deficit he left during his term of office must be paid by his brother Wang Tzu-sheng and by his nephew Wang Jen. In spite of the debt, however, Wang Jen is planning operas and feasts for an early celebration of his uncle's birthday in order to receive the money which is customarily given as a gift. Hateful as Wang Jen is, Chin Lien has to help him financially; otherwise, disgrace would reflect on them all.
In Chapter 102, Madame Yu bids farewell to Tan-chum on the day of her journey and goes back through the Garden at night. She is filled with apprehension because of its utter desolation, and when she arrives home, she falls ill. The prognosis is that a hostile ghost is the cause of the illness. It is the prediction of the diviner that Chin Chen will soon fall ill also. (The prediction will prove to be true.) The family members discuss the strange phenomena which have been occurring recently: Hsi-feng 's illness after going through the Garden, Ching-wen's becoming the Spirit of Hibiscus in the Garden, music sounding from above after Tai-yu's death, the latter indicating that Tni-yu must also be in charge of some flowers in the Garden. All of them are terrified by what seems to be "monsters" haunting the Garden. Chia Sheh calls in some Tanists to exorcise the spirits haunting the Garden, and all the people turn out to watch the priests catch the monsters. The healthy recovery of Chin Chen and the other invalids is attributed to the Taoists' magic.
In the last forty chapters, there are many descriptions of ghosts and angels, and the author depicts them realistically and imaginatively. But since so many of the misfortunes and deaths seem to be caused by the appearances of these ghosts, this handling reduces the significance and value of the novel's indictment of feudal society. However, to be fair, we should state that Tsao Hsueh-chin also included brief descriptions of ghosts, but they were illusionary ones and clearly served the purpose of indicating the unfortunate fate of the four aristocratic families and the destined end of the feudal system.
