Dream of the Red Chamber: Daiyu and I swapped clothes

Chapter 32 Arrives as expected
"How should I leave a message for Li Chen? Should I tell him not to bewitch Baochai? Or should I be blunt and tell him not to have any improper thoughts about Baochai?"

"No, no, absolutely not! Writing it like this makes it sound like I'm particularly concerned about his marriage. If we didn't switch bodies every ten days, why would I care about any of this?"

It was the last day before the body was to be replaced, the nineteenth day of the twelfth lunar month.

Lin Daiyu sat alone at her desk, feeling extremely agitated. The paper in front of her was completely blank, and she couldn't bring herself to write anything.

He would either prop his head up and stare blankly out the window, his gaze wandering, or suddenly raise his hand to rub his forehead, as if pierced by some sharp thought, his whole body exuding an indescribable sense of anxiety.

Zijuan and Xueyan, who were inside the room, saw this.

They couldn't help but put down their needlework and keep a close eye on her every move.

"How exactly should I write it?!"

Lin Daiyu gripped the pen angrily, the pen almost poking her forehead.

While idly flipping through the correspondence booklet, he noticed Li Chen's red circle on the side of his previous handwriting.

Next to the last of the three rules, "No bathing allowed," he actually left two more words.

"mean?"

"Pah, pah, pah! This lecherous man!" Lin Daiyu was both ashamed and angry, and couldn't help but mutter to herself, "Not only does he provoke Sister Bao outside, but he also tries to flirt with me with his words!"

What's even more infuriating is that Lin Daiyu couldn't think of any way to control him.

These are all verbal gentleman's agreements; we can only hope that he will actually abide by them.

But this playboy was not a gentleman.

Whenever Lin Daiyu thought about Li Chen using her body to do those shameful and reckless things, she felt a chill run down her spine, and small goosebumps appeared on her arms.

However, while this person may be described as a spoiled and pampered young master, he is not entirely so. He also possesses strategic and tactical skills that I lack.

As she pondered this, Lin Daiyu's expression became somewhat distorted.

Zijuan finally couldn't help but come over, and while pouring tea, she asked with concern, "Miss, ever since you went to Pear Fragrance Courtyard that day, you've seemed sullen these past two days. Did you have a fight with Miss Bao?"

Zijuan had no idea what the two had talked about from beginning to end, but she could only see that their relationship was getting closer and closer. If it was to say that it affected the girl's mood, that was the only guess.

Lin Daiyu snapped out of her reverie, took the teacup, and shook her head, saying, "No, it's nothing. I'm just having some trouble reading."

"Struggling? Then take a break. You've been working even harder than Master Bao these days."

Lin Daiyu hadn't heard the name Baoyu for several days.

Lin Daiyu couldn't even remember the last time the two of them spoke.

"Is Brother Bao really studying?"

Zijuan nodded. "I heard from Musk Moon and Bihen in Master Bao's room that Master Bao has not been going to the sisters' rooms to hang out these days, except for going out to the clan school for classes. He is really studying hard."

"Master Bao has a good foundation. He can compose poems and is also knowledgeable in classical texts. He should have a good chance of passing the exam."

Lin Daiyu did not respond, but instead pondered silently.

"Both the Zhenyuan Marquis's Mansion and the Rongguo Mansion are located in the western part of the city, under the jurisdiction of Wanping County. If it is the county examination, then Li Chen and Bao Erge will be competing for the same spot. It is probably not as easy as people think for the sons of noble families to obtain official titles.

"However, if it were me, as long as the examiners are fair, I don't think there's any possibility of failing."

"By the way... now that the Xue family values ​​the Zhenyuan Marquis's mansion so much, does my ranking in the imperial examination still matter?"

"If I had ranked higher, wouldn't that have made things even better for the Zhenyuan Marquis's family and the Xue family? But I don't want to disappoint Madam Zou. What should I do?"

Lin Daiyu's guilty conscience, which had just eased somewhat, couldn't help but become irritable again.

For some reason, she always found herself in this awkward situation, caught between a rock and a hard place, seemingly unable to gain any advantage no matter what she did. Where did that advantage go?

Lin Daiyu rotated her slightly sore wrist, carefully put away the commentaries on the classics she had compiled for Li Chen, and took out the booklet to leave a message for Li Chen.

"Since you don't follow the rules in Rongguo Mansion, I won't care about your reputation when I'm at Zhenyuan Marquis's residence. I'll treat everyone the same, without regard for your feelings!"

Lin Daiyu wanted to use her ranking in the county examination to threaten him, but she felt that she couldn't make such a practical exchange of benefits, as it would go against her true intentions.

Helplessly putting away the booklet, Lin Daiyu planned to return to her bed to rest and wait until the next morning to go to the Zhenyuan Marquis's residence to find out what was going on.

If the Marquis of Zhenyuan has indeed been promoted, Lady Zou must be beaming with joy by now.

As Lin Daiyu was about to stand up, she suddenly felt a drop in her lower abdomen and a warm current surged out.

Immediately afterwards, that familiar yet still unbearable piercing pain suddenly swept through my entire body.

"hiss……"

Lin Daiyu gasped sharply, immediately clutching her lower abdomen with both hands. Her delicate brows furrowed in pain, and her lips paled slightly.

"Young lady, have you... arrived?"

Upon seeing this, Zijuan and Xueyan understood immediately. They put down their needlework and rushed forward to help Lin Daiyu to bed to rest.

"Wait a minute..."

Lin Daiyu bit her lip slightly, her forehead already beaded with cold sweat, and her voice trembled, "Let me... calm down a bit."

Fortunately, it was the last day. In two hours, she would change her clothes and go to the Zhenyuan Marquis's residence.

This agonizing pain is finally coming to that纨绔 (playboy) for him to experience firsthand. Let's see how he continues to run rampant in the mansion!

"Miss, is the pain severe? Should we warm your stomach with a hand warmer first?" Zijuan asked anxiously. "If we're in a hurry, I'll go and tell the old lady to ask Physician Wang to prescribe a formula to warm the meridians and relieve the pain."

Lin Daiyu moved slowly toward the bed, barely faster than she could crawl.

Lying prone in the brocade quilt, curled up, Lin Daiyu endured the cramps in her abdomen and forced herself to say, "No need for medicine, just bear with it and it will pass."

Xueyan took a copper hand warmer and placed it on Lin Daiyu's lower abdomen to warm it.

This hand warmer works, but it loses its heat after a few hours.

Lin Daiyu thought it was just right.

Zijuan still said worriedly, "Miss, please don't push yourself. When you had your period before, you were in so much pain that your pulse was all messed up."

"It's alright, don't worry. Go back and rest first, I'll call you if anything comes up."

Zijuan and Xueyan exchanged a glance. Seeing Lin Daiyu's stubbornness, they had no choice but to agree, "Yes."

The bed curtains slowly fell, and Lin Daiyu lay alone. Although she felt pain in her abdomen, she felt very happy, which even lessened the pain.

"Finally, he'll suffer a bit."

"No, it's because I don't want to trouble outsiders, not because I want to harm him."

……

Meanwhile, the Zhenyuan Marquis's residence,
Li Chen also lay down on the bed, longing for life back in the Rongguo Mansion.

"Delicious food, a cute little maid to keep me company, and I'll have it all when I open my eyes again. It's so comfortable... I can even watch a grand opera at the Rongguo Mansion."

A slight smile curved Li Chen's lips, a smile that didn't fade even as he fell asleep.

(End of this chapter)