The Red Mansion in its bustling glory

"Since ancient times, autumn has been associated with sorrow and desolation, but I say that autumn days surpass even spring mornings. A crane soars into the clear sky, inspiring poetic thoughts that reach the heavens."

This is a poem by Liu Yuxi, a poet from the previous dynasty. The poem is elegant and unrestrained, and although it describes autumn, it does not feel old-fashioned. It is a first-rate masterpiece.

It was a crisp autumn day, and Jia Jue sat at his desk, pausing his writing to stretch his aching neck. Gazing at the autumn scenery before him, he unconsciously recited this passage.

In his previous life, he was an ordinary person, living a life of poverty and achieving nothing. In the end, he lost his life while trying to save someone from drowning. When he opened his eyes again, he found himself in this world.

He was still called Jia Jue, the son of the Duke of Rongguo, the second legitimate son of Jia Zheng, and the twin brother of Jia Baoyu.

On the day of his birth, his younger brother was born with a piece of jade in his mouth, which people thought was a divine manifestation and attracted a lot of attention. His ordinary older brother, on the other hand, naturally did not attract much attention. Moreover, as Baoyu grew up, he looked more and more like the late Duke, and was more favored by the elders in the family. As he grew older, he looked less and less like Baoyu, and thus became more marginalized.

Speaking of elders, in the Jia family, it's actually quite simple to determine a person's status—just look at how much they hold in the heart of the matriarch of the Jia family.

This old lady is now over seventy years old and is the most senior matriarch in the Jia family. She is Jia Zheng's birth mother, and outsiders usually address her as "Grandmother Jia" out of respect. This "Grandmother Jia" is very sentimental. She was the first wife of the old Duke and they were deeply in love throughout their lives. She is also superstitious and believes in ghosts and gods. Therefore, Baoyu is a unique person in her heart.

Even to ensure Baoyu's long life and good fortune, they specially had him given the nickname "Baoyu," hoping it would be easy to raise and bring him much happiness. There was no precedent for this before Baoyu! Later, as things calmed down, they realized Jia Jue didn't have a nickname yet—after all, they were twin brothers, and it wouldn't sound good if the younger brother didn't have one, making the old lady seem biased. So, they gave him the nickname "Mingyu."

However, since everyone in his household always called him "Jue-ge'er," he gradually forgot his nickname.

Jia Jue had also read through Dream of the Red Chamber roughly and knew that this family was doomed and would eventually collapse. As the saying goes, "No egg can rest when the nest is overturned," Jia Jue had to save himself.

Therefore, unlike his brother Jia Baoyu, he studied and practiced calligraphy diligently from a young age, showing some resemblance to his deceased elder brother Jia Zhu.

Let's get back to the present.

A few days ago, the tutor who taught Jia Jue and Baoyu resigned and left. Before leaving, he left Jia Jue a fine inkstone and several volumes of annotated books. The books contained the contents of the Four Books and Five Classics, but the sides were densely covered with the tutor's insights and experiences in answering questions and comprehension during the imperial examinations. Therefore, Jia Jue often studied them.

That day, he had just put down his book and stretched his limbs when a maid came over and called to him, "Brother Jue, she says a girl has come from Suzhou, and the old lady wants you to come over."

The girl who came was young, but she already showed signs of beauty. She was usually gentle and kind, but Jia Jue knew that she was very quick-witted.

Jia Jue stood up. "From Suzhou? Are you surnamed Lin?"

The girl asked in confusion, "How does Brother Jue know his surname is Lin?"

Jia Jue smiled upon hearing this, "I never expected that someone as clever and quick-witted as Musk Moon wouldn't even understand this simple point."

Musk Moon thought for a moment and then smiled, "That's right, I remember that Aunt Min married a scholar from Suzhou who was ranked third in the imperial examinations. His surname was Lin. I even saw him during the New Year in previous years."

After saying this, she became somewhat sorrowful: "I heard from people in the manor that the old lady used to dote on Miss Min the most. Now that she's gone, how could she not take her daughter to live with her?"

Jia Jue laughed and said, "It seems that Musk Moon is quite clever after all."

After saying that, he left without paying any attention to Musk Moon's embarrassed giggles behind him.

Grandmother Jia lived in Rongqing Hall. The old lady loved lively gatherings and doted on Baoyu, so her residence was not far from the study where the two brothers usually studied. Before long, Jia Jue arrived.

Upon entering, he saw all the sisters already seated—Yingchun, Tanchun, and Xichun were seated in order, his own mother, Wang, and Jia She's wife, Xing, were seated next to Grandmother Jia, followed by Li Wan, the late Zhu's wife. The maids and servants standing nearby were all dressed much more elegantly than usual. Jia Jue nodded to himself, thinking that just as described in the book, Lin Daiyu held a special place in Grandmother Jia's heart.

Suppressing his thoughts, Jia Jue first greeted the old lady, then bowed to several elders in turn, and finally took his seat.

When Jia Jue paid his respects to the old lady, he could clearly see that she was restless and seemed to be grieving, obviously because of Jia Min's death and also because of Daiyu's future.

Therefore, Jia Jue kept his eyes down and remained silent, just like everyone else.

Before long, a few commotions were heard.

The old lady couldn't contain herself and got up from the couch. Several young maids rushed to help her. The ladies and young women who were sitting, including Jia Jue, also got up quickly.

Sure enough, the curtain fluttered, and a pitiful-looking girl emerged from behind it.

Jia Jue remembered that the book described Lin Daiyu like this:

"Her eyebrows, like wisps of smoke, seemed to furrow yet not, and her eyes, seemingly joyful yet not joyful, held a deep affection. A sorrowful air lingered on her cheeks, and a delicate frailty clung to her body. Tears glistened in her eyes, and her breath was soft and gentle. In stillness, she was like a beautiful flower reflected in water; in motion, she was like a willow swaying in the breeze. Her heart was more discerning than that of Bi Gan, and her illness surpassed even that of Xi Shi."

When Jia Jue first read this passage, he couldn't imagine what kind of young lady she was, possessing such elegance and beauty. Now, seeing her in person, he suddenly understood, even feeling a sense of "inexpressibility."

Upon closer inspection of her appearance, Jia Jue suddenly felt a sense of déjà vu, as if he had seen her before.

However, he lacked the nerve to say, "I've seen this younger sister before."

Before Jia Jue could think any further, the old lady burst into tears, calling out "my darling" and "my flesh" repeatedly, her face streaked with tears.

Looking at Lin Daiyu before him, she too was in tears, sobbing in Grandmother Jia's arms.

The people around, whether genuinely or not, wiped their faces to show how moved they were by the affection between the mother and daughter.

Jia Jue watched with a cold eye and found it amusing. He clearly saw several old women secretly exchanging sneers and laughing. After laughing, they would lick their faces with their fingers, rub their eyes, and pretend they had just been crying.

Even his aunt was only wiping her eyes with a handkerchief, without shedding a single tear.

But at this critical juncture, who can say anything?

Jia Jue silently took two steps back, slowly forced himself to yawn without opening his mouth, and made his eyes redden—this wouldn't make Grandmother Jia look at him differently, but at least in this atmosphere, he wouldn't upset the old lady.

After the two finished crying and sat down, the old women and wives who had been wiping away tears rushed over to serve them.

Before Jia Jue could even sit down, he heard the old lady say:

"Come, meet him, this is your second brother, Jia Jue."