Dream of the Red Chamber: A Refined and Elegant Young Man in a Turbid World

After Daiyu left, Baoyu followed her, leaving only Li Wan, Baochai, and the others behind. Jia Cong found it difficult to deal with this group of beautiful women, so he had to drink tea with them for a while before making an excuse that he still needed to practice his boxing skills. Only after exchanging greetings with Li Wan did he leave.

Just before leaving, he glanced at the table and couldn't find his manuscript. He had originally intended to take it back to Qingyan Hall, but seeing Baochai casually resting her chin on her hand and deliberately not looking in his direction, he immediately understood what was going on.

Given Hengwu-jun's sharp eyes and temperament, she should have realized what she was looking for long ago, but she remained silent. Who else could it be but her?

Jia Cong immediately understood why Daiyu had run away in anger, but he still smiled and said goodbye to everyone. He returned to Qingyan Hall and, after having dinner, carefully copied a poem on a green jade table with the help of his maid.

She glides across the pond, her fragrant dust carried away. With whom will I spend these beautiful years? Moonlit bridges and flower-filled courtyards, latticed windows and vermilion doors—only spring knows.

As dusk falls on the fragrant meadows, drifting clouds drift by; with a brush, I inscribe a new, heartbreaking verse. How much idle sorrow is there? A river of tobacco, a city full of drifting catkins, and the rain of early plum season.

He carefully copied it once, put the Xuan paper away, and then, with his servant in tow, headed towards the Xiaoxiang Pavilion.

As soon as he arrived at the entrance of Xiaoxiang Pavilion, he was stopped by two maids. Then, Zijuan quickly came to Jia Cong and curtsied.

"Third Master, what brings you here? Our young lady is tired today and has already gone to bed..."

Before Jia Cong could answer, Daiyu's voice came from inside the room.

"Zijuan, who's here?"

"Miss, it's Third Master Cong who's visiting. I told him you've already gone to bed."

Daiyu was reclining on the couch at that moment. Upon hearing that Jia Cong had arrived, she forced herself to sit up, wiped her reddened eyes, and called out,

"Since you're here, let them in. It's not some precious place, why are you stopping them?"

Upon hearing this, Zijuan had no choice but to step aside and lead Jia Cong inside, then quietly retreated to the outer room to wait.

The Xiaoxiang Pavilion was quiet, with only a faint incense burning on the table. When Daiyu saw Jia Cong enter, she didn't get up but just glanced at him sideways, her expression still somewhat stifled.

"Third Brother has time to sneak into my bamboo shadows now; he must have experienced all the excitement and fun outside."

Jia Cong knew she was still angry about what happened during the day, but he wasn't annoyed. He simply cupped his hands and smiled in response.

"Miss Lin is too kind. I feel bad for disturbing your enjoyment today, so I came to apologize."

Daiyu chuckled, but twisted the embroidered handkerchief in her hand.

"Third Brother is good at saying nice things. Anyway, I'm blind and narrow-minded. I should be the one apologizing."

Jia Cong listened as her words struck at Baochai's thoughts, and without arguing, he simply smiled.

"Since you don't like it, I won't mention it again. I came here today because I thought you've always loved these kinds of words and phrases, so you might like them."

Having said that, he took out the rolled-up copy of "Qing Yu An" from his sleeve and handed it to Daiyu.

Daiyu was still angry. When he handed her the Xuan paper, she glanced at it first, but the first line was "Lingbo does not cross Hengtang Road". Just this one line made her pause. She reached out and took the paper and slowly unfolded it.

She grew up in Suzhou, and Hengtang and Henggao were familiar sights from her hometown. Reading each word, she felt as if the misty rain of Suzhou, the rippling waves by the pond, and the catkins filling the city were all vividly depicted on the page. In particular, the line "How much idle sorrow is there? A river of tobacco, a city full of catkins, and the plum rains when the plums are yellow" perfectly captured the lingering sorrow, which made her nose tingle and the grievances she had just suppressed surged up again.

She looked up at Jia Cong, her voice trembling slightly, "These lines...you actually wrote them?"

Jia Cong raised an eyebrow imperceptibly.

"Seeing the willow catkins during the day stirred up some thoughts in my mind, so I simply copied them down since I had nothing else to do. I thought that since my younger sister is from Suzhou, she might feel a sense of familiarity upon seeing these scenes from her hometown."

Daiyu looked down at the words again and felt that every word and phrase had touched her heart.

Since entering the Rongguo Mansion, although she was loved by Grandmother Jia, she was ultimately living under someone else's roof, and had no one to confide in about her sorrows. Today, seeing these verses that perfectly captured the scenery of Suzhou, recalling Baochai's behavior during the day, and thinking that Jia Cong remembered that she was from Suzhou and specially wrote these verses to comfort her, all these emotions intertwined, her eyes reddened, and tears streamed down her face. She truly lived up to the description of her quiet elegance, like a flower reflected in water, and her movements like a willow swaying in the wind.

"Why are you crying all of a sudden?" Jia Cong panicked when he saw her tears and quickly took out a handkerchief and handed it to her. "Could it be that the words in this poem are not well written and have upset you, sister? If so, I will tear it up."

Daiyu didn't take the handkerchief, but only wiped away her tears, then glared at him.

"Who's crying? It's just that the wind got into their eyes."

As she spoke, she recalled how everyone had praised his poem about willow catkins during the day, and how Baochai had so coveted his manuscript. A pang of bitterness welled up in her heart.

"You're so talented, you'll probably have even more people fawning over you in the future. You don't need another narrow-minded sister like me."

Jia Cong knew she was overthinking things again, so he could only patiently coax her.

"Sister, what are you saying? Although there are many sisters in the household, only you can understand the meaning behind these words. Besides, my talent is nothing more than a amateur showing off in front of you; how could I dare to claim it as good? If you like it, I will write more in the future, just for you alone, how about that?"

When Daiyu heard him say that it was "only for my younger sister to see," the bitterness in her heart eased somewhat, but she still remained stubborn.

"Who asked you to give it only to me? If you want to give it to someone else, you can. I don't care." Despite saying this, she tightly gripped the roll of Xuan paper in her hand, as if afraid that he would take it back.

Seeing her like this, Jia Cong knew that she had calmed down.

"Alright, alright, as you wish, little sister. I won't give it to anyone else; I'll just keep it to keep you company. I've made you suffer today; it's my fault. From now on, I'll take better care of my things and never let anyone take them without permission, lest I upset you."

Jia Cong chatted with her for a while longer, mostly about the sights and sounds of Suzhou, which made Daiyu more talkative, and most of the displeasure in her eyes disappeared. Just as he got up to leave, he was called back: "Third Brother, wait a moment."

As she spoke, Daiyu took out an exquisite sachet from the brocade box beside her pillow. It was light blue all over, embroidered with several green bamboos, and the stitches were fine and dense. It was embroidered by her own hands.

She handed it to Jia Cong, her face slightly flushed, but she forced herself to remain calm and said...

"You gave me these words today, but I have nothing to return. This sachet is something I embroidered in my spare time; please take it if you don't mind."

Seeing the exquisite embroidery on the sachet, Jia Cong knew it was made with her heart and soul, and quickly reached out to take it. "Sister, you embroidered it yourself, how could I dislike it? Thank you, sister, I will keep it safe."

When Daiyu saw him take it, she was happy but stubbornly said, "It's just some needlework I did when I had nothing else to do. It's nothing. Don't talk about it outside."

Jia Cong responded repeatedly, said goodbye to her, and then turned and left Xiaoxiang Pavilion.