The Red Mansion in its bustling glory

And so Daiyu settled down in the Jia family mansion.

In fact, for a large family like the Jia family, Daiyu's arrival was nothing more than adding another mouth to feed, another body to dress, and another girl.

At least for now, the Jia family still doesn't care about such small sums of money.

The study that Jia Zheng had promised Jia Jue was quickly prepared.

When Jia Jue went inside, he found it bright and airy, with all the necessary writing implements, which was more than enough for him.

Time passed day by day, and Jia Jue's life remained the same—daily exercise and daily reading.

Oh, and also—chatting with my sisters every day.

Baoyu was an odd child by nature. He preferred to play with girls. At a young age, he made extremely rebellious remarks such as "Girls are made of water and boys are made of mud" and "I am happy when I see girls, but I feel disgusted by the stench of boys."

Therefore, Baoyu loved to be surrounded by women, and even if the girls didn't talk to him, he felt it was the greatest happiness.

Jia Zheng disliked this aspect of Baoyu the most, thinking that he had given birth to a lecherous devil. He wanted to send Baoyu to live outside the palace, like Jia Lian, Jia Rong, and other young masters.

However, due to the grandmother's doting, the matter was left unresolved.

Since Jia Jue and Bao Yu were siblings, it wasn't good for one to live in the inner courtyard and the other in the outer courtyard. Therefore, Jia Jue followed Bao Yu and spent every day with the sisters in the family.

For Daiyu, an outsider, the Jia family was somewhat different.

When Daiyu's mother, Jia Min, was still alive, she often told Daiyu about the Rongguo Mansion. From her mother's words, Daiyu clearly heard that it was a family of strict etiquette, a family of high status and wealth, a family of scholars and officials, a first-class family.

But now, looking at it coldly, she sees that it was originally a tattered mess, merely covered with gold and jade on the outside.

Speaking of the men in the household, although Daiyu did not have much contact with them, her few visits revealed that these "gentlemen" were uneducated, lacked integrity and ambition, and were just pleasure-seeking good-for-nothings.

Of those with some talent, there are only two in the entire Jia family now—one is Jia Jue, and the other is Bao Yu.

Baoyu was somewhat willful. He threw his jade and made a scene when they first met, and he almost gave Daiyu a courtesy name. If Tanchun hadn't stopped him and used the excuse that "Second Brother will definitely think it's inappropriate and will criticize you," he would have been able to get away with it.

Therefore, Daiyu disliked him somewhat.

Jia Jue was a calm and composed person. Although he didn't talk much, he was very tactful. There was a sense of familiarity between him and Jia Jue, so people became quite close to him.

As soon as Jia Jue got up that day, he saw that the window was brightly lit. When he got dressed and opened the door, he saw that it had snowed heavily all night and it was still snowing, with goose feathers flying everywhere.

After Jia Jue finished his meal with Grandmother Jia and the others, he found a reason to leave. Dressed in a fur coat, he stood on the veranda gazing at the snow, and unconsciously recalled a line from the original novel of *Dream of the Red Chamber*—

"The land is now a vast expanse of white, so clean."

"What do you mean by truly clean?"

A clear, melodious voice suddenly came from the side.

Jia Jue turned his head and saw a pretty face smiling in front of him.

It turned out to be Daiyu coming over wearing a bright red felt cloak.

"It's nothing, just something I said offhand," Jia Jue said with a smile.

"You're up to your old tricks again," Daiyu laughed. "I always hear you spouting strange nonsense. Every time I ask you, you say it's all nonsense. Once is nonsense, twice is nonsense, three times is nonsense. So many times, is it all nonsense?"

Jia Jue just looked at Daiyu and smiled.

Daiyu felt a little embarrassed by his gaze, so she turned her head away and looked at the swirling snowflakes. "I heard you say something like 'The vast white earth is so clean.' The words are simple, but when you think about them carefully, they have a lingering charm."

Jia Jue laughed and said, "With such heavy snow and such cold weather, I'm cold even if you're not. Let's go inside."

Daiyu glanced at him, knowing that he was worried that her health was weak and that the cold wind would make her feel unwell, so she didn't take his attempt to change the subject to heart. She just snorted and left.

Jia Jue shook his head and had no choice but to hurry up and follow.

Meanwhile, their personal maids, Musk Moon and Purple Beauty, exchanged a glance, covered their mouths, and followed them with smiles.

The place where Jia Jue was appreciating the snow was not far from his study, so the two of them went to the study to rest.

Originally, there weren't many books in the study, only the Four Books and Five Classics and their annotations.

Since Jia Jue started reading here, he has accumulated more and more books, including many collections of poems and essays, and even a few "bad books" such as novels and storybooks. When he gets tired of reading, he will read a couple of chapters to refresh his mind.

Daiyu entered and skillfully retrieved a copy of "The Story of the Moon-Worshipping Pavilion" from a hidden corner of the room, then opened it to read.

Musk Moon and Purple Beauty had already prepared the stove and brewed tea, setting it out for their two masters.

Daiyu read ten lines at a glance, and finished the storybook in no time. After finishing, she nodded and then picked up a collection of Wang Wei's poems to read.

"Don't put it in such a conspicuous place after you've finished reading it," Jia Jue said. "If anyone finds it, I'll be in big trouble."

Upon hearing this, Daiyu smiled at him and said, "I thought Second Brother was fearless, but I didn't expect that he was actually afraid of Uncle."

Jia Jue said, "How can a son be afraid of his father? It's out of respect, and because he doesn't want his master to be angry."

"Pah, so stubborn." Daiyu rolled her eyes at him, then suddenly sidled up to him. "Brother Jue, this study of yours was finished a month ago, but you haven't given it a name yet. Why don't you give it one?"

Jia Jue laughed and said, "I've never been good at naming things, but you, my sister, are exceptionally talented. Why don't you come up with one for me?"

Daiyu laughed and said, "What kind of logic is it to have someone else name your study when it doesn't belong to you?"

"Don't you know that there was a Li Tan Garden in the previous dynasty, whose study was not something you acquired yourself?"

"Li Tanyuan..." Daiyu thought for a moment, then suddenly her pretty face turned red. She spat and her eyes reddened. "You bullied me! I'm going to tell Uncle!"

Jia Jue was stunned for a moment before realizing he had spoken out of turn.

It turns out that Li Tanyuan was actually Li Liufang, a famous painter from the previous dynasty, whose wife, Wu, named his study.

Now that he's using this allusion, isn't it becoming a metaphor? In modern times, it might be fine, since social customs are more free, but in today's society governed by rules and etiquette, it's naturally inappropriate.

Jia Jue hurriedly went over to apologize, calling her "sister" this and "sister" that, and it took a lot of effort to coax Daiyu back to her senses.

"My dear sister, I misspoke. I apologize to you here. If you're still angry, then... then you... then..."

Seeing that Jia Jue had been stammering for a long time without coming up with anything, Daiyu burst out laughing and said, "Pah, so you're just a pretty face with no substance."

Jia Jue asked, "Have you read *The Story of the Western Wing*?"

Daiyu tilted her head back haughtily and said, "Hmph, you're allowed to look, but I can't?"

"Your mouth is truly my nemesis."

"Hmph." Daiyu snorted, then thought for a moment and said, "Since my brother has entrusted this to me, I, as his younger sister, naturally cannot refuse... How about we name this study 'Bingxinzhai'?"

"Bing Xin? Which Bing Xin?"

"A pure heart in a jade pot."