Red Mansion: Holding Space and Marrying Like the Sea

Lin Daiyu was engrossed in reading "The Peony Pavilion" at Jia Min's house, captivated by the plot, feeling as if she were part of the story. Meanwhile, Jia Baoyu had just apologized to Lin Daiyu and escorted Old Lady Jia back to the main room. He then joined his maids, Xiren and Qingwen, at the stone table in the hallway and began crushing fresh flowers to create rouge of various colors. They were bustling with energy and laughter, enjoying this joyful moment.

After the head maid finished tidying up the room for Baoyu, she came to the stone table with a food box.

She walked over to Baoyu, carefully observing his movements, and asked, "What are you doing?"

Baoyu explained with a smile, "I'm making rouge. Bihen, do you want to try it? This is a skill I just learned."

Bihen was moved when she heard this and nodded slightly. Baoyu then carefully applied rouge on her, and Bihen's face instantly became more charming and beautiful.

Bihen looked at herself in the mirror, her face showing shyness, and she said softly, "It really looks good. Thank you Baoyu."

The two smiled at each other, and the atmosphere became very harmonious. At this moment, Bihen opened the food box and said with a smile: "Baoyu, these are the snacks that the kitchen just sent. There are steamed cheese with sugar, jujube and yam cake, cream and puff pastry rolls, lotus root powder and cinnamon sugar cakes, and puff pastry goose oil rolls. Each one is carefully made and unique, just looking at it makes people salivate!" After hearing this, Jia Baoyu's eyes lit up and he said happily: "Sister Lin likes jujube and yam cake the most." Then he turned to the maids and ordered: "Hurry and put these snacks into the food box. We will go to find Sister Lin to taste the delicious snacks together, and we can also drink tea and chat."

When they arrived at Lin Daiyu's gauze cabinet, they saw the parrot sitting on the porch, eating melon seeds. Seeing Jia Baoyu and his companions approach, the parrot quickly stood up and said with a smile, "Master Bao, are you here to see our Miss Lin?" Jia Baoyu looked at the parrot with a gentle smile on his face, and whispered, "Parrot, where is your Miss? The kitchen made her favorite snack, and I brought it to her specially."

The parrot naturally knew that Jia Baoyu hated going to Jia Min's house the most, because he had once said, "How could my aunt, who is so ugly, give birth to a beauty like Miss Lin?" The parrot hesitated for a moment, but decided to tell Jia Baoyu the truth. He said, "Master Bao, since you and the old lady left, Miss Lin has gone to live with Aunt Min." When Jia Baoyu heard the parrot's words, his mind immediately flashed back to Lin Daiyu's red eyes that morning and the way she said she missed home. Suddenly, his heart softened, and he said without hesitation, "Let's go. It's been a long time since I paid my respects to my aunt."

Jia Baoyu led a group of people towards Jia Min's residence.

Along the way, he thought to himself that although he didn't like Jia Min's ugliness, he still had to go and pay a visit to Lin Daiyu in order to see her.

Soon, they arrived at Jia Min's residence.

The servant at the door saw Baoyu and hurried in to report.

After a while, Jia Min came out in person, smiled and invited Baoyu into the house, and then enthusiastically led them inside.

At this moment, sunlight streamed into the room through the window. Daiyu was reclining on a soft couch, concentrating on reading a book. Suddenly, a series of light footsteps were heard. She looked up and saw Baoyu, Xiren, Qingwen and others walking in. However, her face did not show any joy, she just looked at them quietly.

Baoyu walked to the table and carefully placed the snacks he had brought on it. Then he quickly walked towards Daiyu, took her hand and said, "Sister Lin, look at this! I specially brought you some jujube and yam cakes. I know you like sweets, so I brought some extra." As he spoke, he took the book from Daiyu's other hand and said gently, "Sister, don't read yet. Come and try these snacks."

Jia Min stood aside, watching everything with a smile, a sense of relief welling up in her heart. She knew that Jia Baoyu had some dislike for her, but for the sake of her daughters' happiness, she chose to be patient and tolerant. She smiled and said to Baoyu and Daiyu, "You two little ones, have fun here. I miss the old lady a little and want to go see her." After that, she left with a group of servants.

Lin Daiyu naturally understood her mother's intentions and was willing to comply with Jia Baoyu's wishes. She smiled and responded, "Thank you, Brother Bao, for caring so much about me and bringing me so many delicious treats." She washed her hands, picked up a piece of pastry, and savored it, unable to resist exclaiming, "Brother Bao's pastries are truly delicious!" The two chatted and laughed as they ate, revealing no resentment towards Jia Baoyu. They were immersed in a joyful atmosphere, enjoying each other's company.

Jia Baoyu just watched Lin Daiyu reading intently and asked curiously, "Sister Lin, what book are you reading? You are so focused." As he spoke, he reached out and picked up the book "The Peony Pavilion" placed aside.

Opening the book, Jia Baoyu murmured, "The Peony Pavilion—what an elegant title! Compared to those daunting titles like The Analects, Mencius, The Great Learning, The Doctrine of the Mean, The Book of Songs, The Book of History, The Book of Rites, The Book of Changes, and The Spring and Autumn Annals, this book truly brightens my eyes."

He continued to flip through the pages, the words in the book seemed to jump before his eyes, and the plot gradually unfolded. Jia Baoyu could not help but be attracted, and felt more and more that this was a rare and good book.

Lin Daiyu sat quietly by the side, smiling as she watched Jia Baoyu's comments on The Peony Pavilion. She knew that for someone like Jia Baoyu, traditional classics might seem dull, but The Peony Pavilion could arouse his interest and resonate with him.

Jia Baoyu was immersed in the world of The Peony Pavilion, oblivious to everything around him. His face was filled with joy, as if he were experiencing the joys and sorrows of the story with the characters in the book.