The Red Mansion in its bustling glory

"Huan Di" is what Jia Jue usually calls Jia Huan. When Lady Wang calls him that now, it may be implying that she wants him to discipline Jia Huan.

Jia Jue remained silent, waiting for Madam Wang to continue.

It turned out that during the days when Jia Jue was taking the exam, Jia Huan had another conflict with Bao Yu.

Now, Jia Jue and Bao Yu have an older sister named Yuan Chun, who has been selected to serve as a lady-in-waiting in the palace.

In a few days it will be the birthday of the Emperor Emeritus. His Majesty has granted permission for all the female officials in the palace to visit their relatives.

Yuan Chun did not return; she only sent a box of palace pastries and a letter home with her maid carrying a zither.

This box of pastries was a gift from His Majesty, a token of His Majesty's gracious appreciation for Yuan Chun's diligence in fulfilling her duties since she had not returned home to visit. It contains all the royal family's usual delicacies, especially those His Majesty particularly enjoys.

Yuan Chun didn't eat any of it; instead, she had her maid, Baoqin, send it back, saying it was for the old lady.

The old lady smiled and said, "It's kind of her to think of an old woman like me." She tasted each kind a little, then distributed the pastries to her grandchildren, and took the letter from home.

Think about it, how much could a mere maid like Baoqin possibly receive? The old lady had so many grandchildren; she certainly couldn't possibly take care of them all. In the end, only those who were present at the time received a share:

Daiyu received a plate of red silk pastries; Yingchun received a dish of translucent glutinous rice cakes; Tanchun received a bowl of milk sugar lion-shaped pastries; Xichun received a plate of frizzy mooncakes; Wang Xifeng received a plate of jade dew frost; and the plate of lotus flower pastries was naturally given to Baoyu.

Actually, His Majesty had bestowed another dish of Imperial Concubine Red, but Yuan Chun kept it.

Jia Huan didn't get anything. Hearing that all the sisters had received something, he felt a little jealous as he had nothing.

Feeling depressed, he went out for a walk.

They walked and walked and soon arrived at Baoyu's courtyard.

He thought to himself, "If I go there now, Brother Bao is eating that plate of lotus flower pastries, wouldn't I be able to get a piece of it?" So he went inside.

However, there was no Baoyu inside; there was only a maid named Qiuwen, and the plate of lotus-shaped pastries had not yet been used.

This emboldened Jia Huan, who reached out to grab it.

The maids in Baoyu's courtyard, relying on Baoyu's gentle and easy-going nature, and also on Baoyu's favor with the old lady and madam, had long since developed an arrogant attitude. Apart from the old lady, madam, master, and a few young ladies, they had never given anyone a second glance.

Qiuwen was especially formidable; if anything displeased her, she would curse at you without caring who you were.

Seeing that Jia Huan was about to take the plate of lotus-shaped pastries, which Bao Yu had said he would eat together when he returned, how could he let this young master take them? So he quickly spoke up to stop him.

Jia Huan was already indignant about the matter, and now that a mere maid could stop him, he was even more furious. He said, "I'm going to eat it, can you stop me?"

Qiuwen sneered, "You're the master, so naturally we servants can't interfere. But you need to think this through. This is what Master Bao said he wanted to eat when he came back. If Master Bao doesn't get to eat and gets upset, you won't feel good either!"

Upon hearing this, Jia Huan nodded.

Bao Sanye, Bao Sanye, Bao Sanye! Everyone calls him Bao Sanye every day! He was born with a stone, yet he's so noble!

In a fit of anger, it's inevitable to make a mistake.

The plate of lotus-shaped pastries was accidentally knocked to the ground by Jia Huan.

The plate that held the lotus-shaped pastries was made of glass; although it was crystal clear and shimmering, it was still fragile. Now, after Jia Huan bumped into it, it shattered into pieces.

The plate shattered loudly upon hitting the ground, startling Qiuwen. She thought Jia Huan was about to beat someone up inside the house.

Lost in thought, he stumbled backward, but lost his balance and fell to the ground. His right hand was cut by the shattered glass plate, and bright red blood immediately flowed out.

As luck would have it, Baoyu returned at that very moment. Upon seeing this scene, he no longer cared about anything else.

He usually adored girls, especially pretty ones. He couldn't bear to see them suffer even the slightest injustice, and now that Qiuwen had not only fallen but also bled, how could he not be furious?

And so a commotion broke out.

By the time the matter reached the wife, things had already deviated from the description above.

Not only was the conversation between Qiuwen and Jia Huan omitted, but the entire story is about Jia Huan being jealous of his brother and causing trouble.

Baoyu didn't know the specifics of the matter, so he naturally listened to whatever Qiuwen said.

The lady was unaware of the background of the matter, so naturally she listened to whatever Baoyu said.

When this matter reached Jia Jue's ears from his wife's mouth, Jia Huan was clearly seen as a terrible villain who was unfilial and disrespectful to his brothers.

The above situation was only known to Jia Jue after he had paid his respects to his wife and father and then went back to ask Musk Moon and Qing Wen.

"It's just a plate of snacks, why bother?"

To this, Jia Jue could only shake his head and laugh.

Before he could say more, a young maid suddenly ran in and said, "Miss Lin is here?"

"Lin Daiyu is here?" Jia Jue was somewhat surprised. "It's so late, please come in quickly!"

As she was speaking, Daiyu walked in.

She didn't come alone; her personal maid, Zijuan, was with her behind.

Zijuan was also carrying a large box in her hand.

"This was sent from the palace by my eldest sister today. The old lady gave me a plate of red silk cakes inside. I was thinking that you had been away for five days straight taking the imperial examinations, and I imagine you must not have been eating or sleeping well, so I brought this to you."

Jia Jue smiled and said, "Sister, you're so kind. Since you've brought it, I'd be very polite to accept it. But this plate of pastries was given to you by the Old Madam, why don't you share it with me?"

Daiyu said, "As you know, I've always had a weak stomach and spleen. It's too late now, so I can't eat anything else. Otherwise, I won't be able to digest it and I might get food stagnation."

Jia Jue could only nod in agreement; that was indeed the case.

"Now that I've delivered it to you, I'll head back now and won't disturb your rest any longer."

Jia Jue laughed and said, "What do you mean by 'disturbing'?"

Daiyu said, "Going to take the exam must be tiring for you, so you should get a good night's sleep. You don't need to see me off; I can go by myself."

"Oh, right." As she was about to leave, Daiyu seemed to suddenly remember something. "When Baoqin mentioned today that this plate of pastries is called Red Silk Cakes, I thought it sounded familiar, but after thinking for a while, I realized that my father had told me before that it was a pastry invented in the palace during the reign of Emperor Zhaozong of the Tang Dynasty. It was specially made for the Qujiang Banquet for the newly appointed Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations)."

Having said these words so casually, Daiyu then left.

Jia Jue was left standing there in a daze.

After a while, Jia Jue finally understood the meaning behind Daiyu's words, and couldn't help but smile.