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).
