Chapters 21 & 22 Summary

Aroma becomes upset with Bao-yu for spending so much time with the girls. That evening as Bao-yu reads, he comes up with his own altered version of the writer's words in which he calls for an end to feminine nagging and jealousy. After a night's sleep, Bao-yu wakes to find Aroma sleeping next to him. He acts as himself, but Aroma will not forgive him until he promises to be more careful and pay closer attention to her. Dai-yu later finds Bao-yu's addition to the novel he was reading. She adds her own line in which she points out that Bao-yu pays no attention to his own faults, instead concentrating on those of others.

Xi-feng's infant daughter becomes ill with smallpox. The family follows a ritualistic cleansing of the house and worship of the smallpox god to help clear her illness. During this...