Chapter 29: The Handkerchief

"Miss, Miss!"

Zijuan hurried back to the Bamboo Lodge. Upon entering the room, she found Daiyu reclining on a daybed, listlessly holding a book. Her complexion was poor, and she appeared quite unwell.

Drawing closer, Zijuan observed Daiyu more carefully. There were tear stains on her delicate cheeks and her eyelashes were damp. She looked like a beauty drenched in rain—a true "sickly Xi Shi" in the flesh. Poor girl, how could there be anyone in this world who loved to cry as much as she did?

"Why do you keep silent? You were calling for me just a moment ago when you came in," Daiyu remarked, lifting her dewy, crystalline eyes toward her.

"Miss—" Zijuan hesitated, swallowing her words.

Daiyu asked, perplexed, "Is it that... that thief, King Qian, who has entered the city?" She corrected herself, avoiding the term "thief king" to prevent any trouble from her speech.

Zijuan shook her head and whispered, "Miss, please don't be angry when I tell you this. Your health has always been delicate, and lately, you have been growing increasingly weary, with even your medicine failing to help."

Daiyu smiled faintly. "Has this girl gone mad today, talking such nonsense? Tell me, what could I possibly hear that would make me so angry as to fall ill?"

Zijuan glanced at her, then lowered her head and whispered, "The Shi family has sent someone with gifts to act as a matchmaker, seeking a marriage proposal for the eldest Miss Shi to wed Baoyu."

For a long while, Zijuan heard nothing from her mistress. When she looked up, she saw that Daiyu had gone completely still, her small face deathly pale, as if her soul had been drained away.

"Miss!" Zijuan quickly grasped her hands, but Daiyu pushed her away, covering her face and sobbing. A moment later, she rose and stumbled toward the inner room.

"Where are you going, Miss?" Zijuan hurried to support her. Daiyu wept, "I am packing my things to return to Yangzhou to find my father!"

Zijuan could not help but weep as well. The grievances in her mistress's heart were heavy; she could only think of the parents she missed so dearly—her mother long deceased and her father whose whereabouts remained unknown.

After comforting her for a long time, Zijuan said, "Miss, do not worry yet. The Master and Mistress may not necessarily agree. Grandmother has always loved and cherished you, and she knows how close you and Baoyu are; she may not consent to this either!"

As they were speaking, an old maid called out from outside, "Master Baoyu is here!"

Lin Daiyu hurriedly wiped her tears and turned toward the door. She saw Jia Baoyu rush in, but upon seeing her, he did not say a word, only stood there watching her while tears flowed down his own face.

Daiyu forced a smile. "I haven't had the chance to offer my congratulations yet; why is the bridegroom weeping?"

Jia Baoyu replied, "For you to say such a thing, it shows that I have wasted my time regarding you as my soulmate. Fine, fine! Go ahead and enter the palace to be some sort of royal consort, and I shall go be a bridegroom!"

He brought up the matter of the imperial concubine position again. Daiyu felt a surge of distress and stifled breath; she turned away in a huff, refusing to speak to him.

Seeing this, Baoyu felt even more wretched. "Some time ago, I had Qingwen deliver a handkerchief to you. Give it back to me."

Hearing this, Daiyu turned, entered the room, and retrieved the old handkerchief from her chest. She walked back out, threw the cloth at him, and retreated, her frail body collapsing onto the bed as she shook with uncontrollable sobs.

Seeing her cry, Jia Baoyu wept as well. He entered her room and, finding his "Lin sister" sobbing on the bed, felt a deep, suffocating pain in his heart. "My dear sister, I should not have spoken to you that way. Take the handkerchief back. I will not marry Miss Yun; I only want to be with you—"

As he spoke, an old maid called out from outside: "The eldest Miss Shi is here!"

***

Zijuan was startled. "The matchmaker only came today, so why has Miss Yun arrived already?!"

Shi Xiangyun burst in like a gust of wind. Seeing Jia Baoyu there, she paused, then noticed Lin Daiyu sobbing on the bed. Feeling ashamed, she rushed forward to take Daiyu's hand. "Sister Lin, it was my fault. If you must blame someone, blame me, but please do not blame Brother Baoyu!"

She had a slight lisp, turning the word "two" (er) into "love" (ai). Hearing her voice, Lin Daiyu sat up and looked at her through tear-filled eyes. "What is going on? Didn't your family come to propose a marriage to Baoyu?"

Shi Xiangyun appeared deeply aggrieved but unable to vent her frustration. She stamped her foot and poured out the reason in a rush of words.

"So that is it... The Shi family is terrified of being purged and executed, so they want you, Sister Yun, to marry me..." Jia Baoyu, only just learning the truth, stood frozen in shock.

Daiyu stopped her tears and looked at Shi Xiangyun, then at Jia Baoyu, not knowing what to do. If she did not let Shi Xiangyun marry Baoyu, she might be implicated by her family and dragged to the marketplace by the Thief King, Chu Yan, to be beheaded. But if she did let her marry him...

"I am going home!" Shi Xiangyun suddenly stood up. "I came here to tell the matchmaker that I will not use this method to survive this disaster. If he wants to kill my family, let him kill me along with them!"

With that, she walked out. Daiyu and the others hurried to follow. They gathered at Grandmother Jia's quarters, where they found Shi Xiangyun's aunt there as well. Grandmother Jia was holding the girl's hand and weeping.

Seeing the Matriarch cry, Daiyu cast aside her awkwardness with Baoyu and stepped forward to comfort her grandmother. Grandmother Jia sobbed, "I had no idea the Shi family was facing such a catastrophe!"

The Shi family was her maiden home. Shi Xiangyun threw herself into Grandmother Jia's arms, weeping as well. No one dared to mention the marriage, but it would inevitably come up again.

"Baoyu, tell me, are you willing to marry your sister Yun?" the aunt asked him.

Everyone in the room turned to look at him. Lin Daiyu sat to one side, watching Baoyu, her heart torn between the fear of him agreeing and the worry for her sister Yun. Jia Baoyu was caught in a dilemma, unable to utter a single word.

"Second Aunt," a servant woman who had accompanied the Shi family suddenly said, "Why not wait until Master Lian returns before discussing this? This morning, when we brought the gifts, we happened to run into Master Lian as he was heading out. Once he knew of this matter, he said he would ask King Qian about it."

The aunt was shocked. "Lian is going to plead with King Qian for our family?! Why didn't you say so sooner!"

Everyone was stunned. The servant added with a forced smile, "I was so busy I forgot. I was confused as to why Master Lian would go to see King Qian, but later I learned he had gone to negotiate a truce."

The group was filled with both hope and dread—hope that a solution might be found, and dread over how King Qian would respond. A thought flickered in Lin Daiyu's mind: she prayed that King Qian would show mercy and spare the Shi family. Yet, she remembered that the Thief King, Chu Yan, was the murderer of her father, and she could not help but feel a fresh wave of sorrow.

***

The mood fluctuated wildly. The Jia family waited, and before long, news arrived: King Qian had occupied the West Gate last night! Jia Zheng sighed upon hearing this, "The situation is lost."

In the afternoon, Jia Lian returned home. Before he could speak of the negotiations, Grandmother Jia urged him, "Lian, did you ask King Qian how he intends to deal with the Shi family?"

The entire room waited for his words. Even Lady You and Qin Keqi from the West Mansion had come and were hiding behind a screen, waiting for his report.

Jia Lian pondered for a long while before saying, "King Qian would not see me again. He only told Prince Zhongshun: 'I will not spare you because you surrendered, nor will I kill you because you fought. As for rewards or punishments, wait until I enter the city tomorrow and stabilize the situation; then, I shall decide them one by one!'"

The people looked at one another in silence. This was truly life and death in the hands of a single man. As long as King Qian’s blade had not yet fallen, they would not be able to sleep peacefully.

The Shi family took their gifts and departed, while Shi Xiangyun remained at the Jia residence.

That night, Qingwen, a maid from the Red Fragrance Garden, brought a lantern to the Bamboo Lodge. She placed the old handkerchief before Lin Daiyu and grumbled, "I truly don't know what you are all fussing about. Passing an old handkerchief back and forth, and always making me the one to deliver it. Are you playing some kind of riddle?"

She looked at Lin Daiyu, who was staring blankly, lost in thought. Qingwen rolled her eyes, pinched the handkerchief with her elegant, scallion-like fingers, and thrust it at Daiyu. "Take it, Miss Lin. At least it's a token of Baoyu’s heart. Today, Baoyu didn't accept Miss Yun's gifts, but he specifically sent this handkerchief to... you."

Qingwen suddenly realized what she had said. Her eyes widened, and she looked at the dazed Miss Lin in shock. Could it be... could it really be?! Were the two of them exchanging tokens of love?

"Alright, you may go back now," Zijuan hurried over and nudged her, signaling with her eyes for her not to spread the word.

Qingwen stuck out her tongue, left the handkerchief, and slipped away quietly.

In the end, Daiyu placed the handkerchief into her chest. Yet, unlike the first time she had received it—when her spirit had been sent into a whirlwind of emotion—this time, her heart remained calm and still.

The first time he sent the handkerchief, it was a declaration of his feelings. But this second time, it was merely an act of sending. If they were truly soulmates, did the presence or absence of a handkerchief really matter?