Red Mansion: Holding Space and Marrying Like the Sea

While saying this, he excitedly went towards Qiu Shuang Zhai with Cui Mo. When they entered the room, they saw Bao Chai, Yingchun and Xichun were already waiting there.

When everyone saw him stride in, they all smiled and jokingly said, "Hey, what brings you here again?"

Tanchun smiled and replied, "I'm not a vulgar person. I just had this sudden idea and wrote a few invitations. I never expected that you all would show up at the first sign of my invitation."

Baoyu also laughed and said, "Alas, what a pity! It's really too late. We should have started this poetry club a long time ago."

Before he had finished speaking, there was a creaking sound, and Li Wan walked in with brisk steps. As soon as she entered, she said with a smile on her face, "How elegant! Since you want to start a poetry club, I will volunteer to take the position of its leader. I originally had this idea a few days ago in the spring, but I thought about it over and over again. I can't write poetry myself, and if I meddle in something, it would be ridiculous. So I forgot about it and never mentioned it to you. But since Third Sister is so enthusiastic, I will help you to promote this poetry club."

Tanchun nodded slightly and said solemnly, "Since we have decided to establish this poetry club, then we are all considered poets. First of all, we must change the names of sisters, uncles, and sisters-in-law. This way, it will not seem vulgar."

Li Wan smiled, her eyes gleaming with anticipation, and said slowly: "Yes, this matter of a nickname is indeed quite elegant. Now that I have determined myself to be 'Old Farmer of Rice Fragrance', no one else can take this name." She nodded slightly, seeming to be very satisfied with her choice.

After hearing this, Tanchun raised a playful smile and whispered, "I'll call myself 'Banana Guest'. This name really suits my personality." As she spoke, she gently waved the fan in her hand, and a hint of intelligence appeared in her eyes.

Xue Baochai nodded slightly, looking dignified and elegant, and said, "I will name myself 'Hengwu Jun'. The scenery in Hengwu Garden complements me perfectly." Her words revealed her gentle and generous temperament.

Jia Baoyu smiled complacently and said, "Haha, I am the 'Lord of the Crimson Cave Flowers', so naturally I have to play freely with all the sisters in this Grand View Garden." After saying that, he winked at everyone mischievously.

Yingchun lowered her head shyly and whispered, "I am 'Lingzhou'. I hope I can be as tough as a water chestnut." Although her words were soft, they contained her inner determination.

Xichun raised her chin slightly, a hint of stubbornness flashing in her eyes, and said, "For 'Ouxie', I want to paint the most beautiful picture in this lotus-fragrant pavilion."

After the nicknames were decided, Li Wan stood up and confidently recommended herself as the president. She said in a loud voice, "I am Li Wan. I would like to serve as the president of this nickname-giving club and lead everyone to enjoy the fun of it." Yingchun and Xichun also stood up and expressed their willingness to serve as vice presidents.

Then, Li Wan began to arrange matters. She said, "One person will come up with the questions and set the rhyme limits, and one will be the transcriber. Who do you think is suitable for these tasks?" Tanchun rolled her eyes and said, "I'm good at coming up with interesting questions. Let me come up with the rhyme limits." Baochai nodded in agreement, "That's great. Tanchun is very thoughtful and will definitely come up with an excellent question."

Yingchun said with a smile, "Then I'll be responsible for transcribing and invigilating, and make sure everything goes smoothly." Xichun also quickly responded, "I will definitely supervise carefully and won't give anyone the opportunity to cheat."

Just like that, a unique nickname-giving activity began in great hustle and bustle. Everyone participated in it with great joy, and laughter echoed in every corner of the Grand View Garden...

Tanchun added, "This was my idea. I must be the host first, to justify my interest."

Yingchun said, "In my opinion, it would be much fairer to just draw lots instead of having one person come up with the questions and limit the rhymes."

Li Wan said, "When I came here just now, I saw them carrying in two pots of white crabapples. They are truly beautiful flowers. Why don't you paint a picture of them?"

Yingchun said, "In that case, I will limit the rhyme."

As she spoke, she walked to the bookshelf and pulled out a book of poetry. She flipped through it casually and found that it was a seven-character regulated verse. She handed it to everyone to read and asked them to write a seven-character regulated verse.

Yingchun covered the poem and said to a little girl, "Just say a word."

The girl was standing by the door and said the word "door".

Yingchun said with a beaming smile, "Let's use the rhyme of 'men,' and it has to be 'shisan yuan.' The first rhyme has to be 'men.'" Then, she gently brought the rhyme card box to her and carefully pulled out the "shisan yuan" square. Then, she instructed the little girl to pick up four rhyme cards at random. The little girl obediently took out the four rhyme cards from the box: "pen," "hun," "hen," and "hun."

Upon seeing this, Baoyu frowned and said, "These two characters 'pen' and 'men' are really not easy to compose a poem with!" The attendant, who had already prepared several pieces of paper and pens, quietly placed them before the group. Everyone then fell into silent contemplation, pondering how to create a masterpiece using these rhyming characters. Yingchun then specially had a maid light a stick of "Dream Sweet Incense." This "Dream Sweet Incense" was quite special. It was only about three inches long, as thick as a wick. Because it burned so quickly and easily, the time it took to burn out was set as a time limit. If the incense did not burn out, the person would be punished. After a while, everyone had formed their own ideas and took up their pens to write their own works, which were then submitted to Li Wan for selection.

In the end, Xue Baochai won the

Ode to the White Begonia

Take care of your beauty and close the door during the day, and water the moss pot with your own hand-held urn.

Rouge washes out the shadow of autumn, and ice and snow reveal the soul.

Only when you are indifferent can you realize how beautiful the flowers are; when you are too sad, how can the jade be without any marks?

If you want to repay Bai Di, you should be clean, but Tingting is silent and the sun is getting dark again.

He won first place, while Jia Baoyu, slightly distracted, came in last. Afterward, after some discussion, everyone unanimously decided to hold poetry club activities on the second and sixteenth days of each month and named the club "Begonia Club." After a lively discussion, during which they enjoyed some delicious wine and fruit, everyone left, feeling satisfied and eager for the next poetry club event.

A few days later, the sunlight filtered through the lush branches and leaves in the Grand View Garden, casting mottled shadows. Just as the sisters in the Grand View Garden were sitting together, leisurely chatting about trivial yet interesting things, suddenly, a burst of hurried footsteps was heard, and then someone hurriedly came to report that Shi Xiangyun had arrived.

Xiangyun trotted over, her face beaming with a brilliant smile, like the most beautiful spring flower. As soon as she entered, she couldn't contain her excitement and exclaimed, "I've heard about this at home a long time ago. You sisters have formed a poetry club! This is such a great event! Tell me more about it! When are you planning to organize another event? I'm extremely curious about this poetry club and I really want to see it for myself."

Li Wan and the other sisters were all amused by her lively and lovely appearance and joked, "Don't be so anxious. Don't show her the poems yet. Why not tell her the rhyme we decided on a few days ago? Since she came last, she should be punished first. Let them come first. If they do well, we will invite them to join the society. If they don't do well, we will punish them by preparing a sumptuous banquet."

After hearing this, Shi Xiangyun pursed her lips in mock anger and said, "How dare you forget to invite me? Humph, I'm going to punish you severely. Bring me the rhyme quickly. Although I'm not good at writing poetry, I'll have to make a fool of myself for once. As long as I can join this poetry club, I'll be happy even if I have to sweep the floor and burn incense."

Shi Xiangyun was so excited that she had no time to think carefully or revise. She picked up a piece of paper nearby and hurriedly wrote it down. Although her handwriting was a little sloppy, it contained her full enthusiasm for the poetry club. Daiyu watched from the side and was also moved. She smiled slightly, picked up her pen, and wrote it down in a moment, as if the poem had been brewing in her mind for a long time.

Everyone first read Xiangyun's words:

"A fairy descended upon the capital yesterday and planted a pot of Lantian jade.

Of course Shuang'e prefers coldness, but if it weren't for Guan Qiannu, she would also leave her soul.

The autumn clouds bring out the snow, and the rain stains add to the traces of the night.

Fortunately, the poet never tires of chanting, so he won’t be lonely from morning till night.”

Everyone read it line by line and was amazed. Then they praised it, saying, "This poem is a masterpiece of Haitang. It deserves to have a Haitang Society established."

Then I looked at Daiyu's:

"The curtains are half rolled up, the door is half closed, ice is ground into soil, jade is used as a basin.

Stealing the pear core is three-point white, and borrowing a ray of soul from the plum blossom.

The immortal in the Moon Cave sews his silk gown, and the resentful girl in autumn wipes away the traces of her cry.

To whom can I tell my shyness in silence? I lean wearily against the west wind as the night deepens.

After reading it, everyone's eyes revealed amazement. After reading it, everyone could not contain their admiration and said, "Oh, it's true that you have a different heart than others." Everyone praised in unison, saying that this poem was truly the best.

Shi Xiangyun was in high spirits at this time, and smiled coquettishly: "Tomorrow, we have to first have Lin Daiyu and I host a banquet in the East Pavilion, and then let us invite everyone to hold a poetry club together. Do you think this is feasible?" There was a glimmer of anticipation in her smart eyes.

After hearing this, everyone's eyes lit up and they nodded in praise, saying, "This is really a brilliant idea." Then, everyone began to savor what they had commented on yesterday. They commented on the poems again, sometimes arguing for a few sentences and sometimes nodding in approval. The atmosphere was very lively.

Just when everyone was talking and laughing happily, the clever maid came hurriedly with a message that the old lady had ordered the meal to be served. Everyone suddenly woke up, stood up quickly, tidied their clothes, and walked together towards where the old lady was. Along the way, they recalled the happy time from time to time, and their faces were filled with satisfied smiles.