Ying Erh felt her whole heart much aggrieved, but as she heard Pao-chai make these remarks, she did not presume to utter a sound, and as she was under the necessity of laying down the cash, she muttered to herself: This one calls himself a gentleman, and yet cheats us of these few cash, for which I myself even have no eye! The other day when I played with Mr. Pao-yue, he lost ever so many, and yet he did not distress himself! and what remained of the cash were besides snatched away by a few servant-girls, but all he did was to smile, thats all!
Pao-chai did not allow her time to complete what she had to say, but there and then called her to account and made her desist; whereupon Chia Huan exclaimed: How can I compare with Pao-yue; you all fear him, and keep on good terms with him, while you all look down upon me for not being the child of my lady. And as he uttered these words, he at once gave way to tears.
My dear cousin, Pao-chai hastened to advise him, leave off at once language of this kind, for people will laugh at you; and then went on to scold Ying Erh, when Pao-yue just happened to come in. Perceiving him in this plight, What is the matter? he asked; but Chia Huan had not the courage to say anything.
Pao-chai was well aware of the custom, which prevailed in their family, that younger brothers lived in respect of the elder brothers, but she was not however cognisant of the fact that Pao-yue would not that any one should entertain any fear of him. His idea being that elder as well as younger brothers had, all alike, father and mother to admonish them, and that there was no need for any of that officiousness, which, instead of doing good gave, on the contrary, rise to estrangement. Besides, (he reasoned,) m the offspring of the primary wife, while hes the son of the secondary wife, and, if by treating him as leniently as I have done, there are still those to talk about me, behind my back, how could I exercise any control over him? But besides these, there were other still more foolish notions, which he fostered in his mind; but what foolish notions they were can you, reader, guess? As a result of his growing up, from his early youth, among a crowd of girls, of whom, in the way of sister, there was Yuean Chun, of cousins, from his paternal uncles side, there were Ying Chun, and Hsi Chun, and of relatives also there were Shih Hsiang-yuen, Lin Tai-yue, Hsueeh Pao-chai and the rest, he, in due course, resolved in his mind that the divine and unsullied virtue of Heaven and earth was only implanted in womankind, and that men were no more than feculent dregs and foul dirt. And for this reason it was that men were without discrimination, considered by him as so many filthy objects, which might or might not exist; while the relationships of father, paternal uncles, and brothers, he did not however presume to disregard, as these were among the injunctions bequeathed by the holy man, and he felt bound to listen to a few of their precepts. But to the above causes must be assigned the fact that, among his brothers, he did no more than accomplish the general purport of the principle of human affections; bearing in mind no thought whatever that he himself was a human being of the male sex, and that it was his duty to be an example to his younger brothers. And this is why Chia Huan and the others entertained no respect for him, though in their veneration for dowager lady Chia, they yielded to him to a certain deGREe.
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