The splendor of the Red Chamber, the power that reigns supreme.

Chapter 81 The Enemy of Qinghe County
There she saw a graceful woman leaning against a chair by the window, looking at her. It was Lin Daiyu, whom she had just met.

She wore a light blue vest with lace trim, over which was a pale white silk jacket, and a soft, light green skirt with floral patterns. Her figure was quite different from mine! Although her chest wasn't like mine, it was still full and shapely, like a newly blooming magnolia bud.

Her waist was slender, yet not so delicate as to break at a touch; rather, it possessed a supple, supple quality. Beneath her arched, misty eyebrows, a pair of eyes, seemingly weeping yet not quite, held a captivating gaze. Her cheeks, like freshly picked lychees, were fair and smooth with a rosy blush, adorned with a thin layer of peach blossom petals.

Despite her sickly languor, she possessed an innate, captivating charm that permeated her very being; her sickly beauty was a blend of natural elegance and allure.

The willows sway gently in the breeze, their delicate bones exuding a captivating charm.

Their eyes met, and a strange feeling arose between them.

Baochai's lips curved slightly, then she lowered her head. Her slender fingers unconsciously groped inside her sleeve, twisting the worn edges of the old purse. Inside were the colorful pebbles she had picked up as a child, the warm jade pendant left by her deceased father, and now, a neatly folded letter.

It was sent by that heartless bastard from Qinghe County.

What is that nemesis doing right now? Where is he drinking? Or is he leaning against the counter of the herbal medicine shop? Has he ever been like her, in the midst of a noisy place, yet feeling as if his heart has been hollowed out, with only a lost and adrift shadow hanging in the air?

After the elders and Sister Feng chatted about everyday matters, Baochai moved slightly to the side. Baoyu, who was already impatient, rushed over, his eyes glued to Baochai, and asked with a lewd grin, "Sister Bao... what are the two characters in your name?"

Baochai lazily lifted her eyelids, her mind still lingering on that distant figure, and casually glanced at Baoyu. She saw that his face was more delicate than a freshly steamed rice cake, his lips were as red as if they had been dotted with rouge, and his eyes were filled with a touch of infatuation. Compared to that nemesis from Qinghe County, he had less of a mischievous air and less of a ruggedness.

Baochai's gaze was calm and unwavering as she looked at Baoyu as if he were an ordinary ornament. She simply uttered two words: "Baochai".

Baoyu, oblivious to her coldness, shamelessly moved closer and asked, "Why is there a crisp sound of gold and jade clinking around Sister Bao's waist? What treasure is tied to that sash? It makes such a captivating sound."

Baochai instinctively dodged away, reaching into her bosom to touch the heavy, cold gold lock engraved with the eight auspicious characters: "Never to be separated, may your youth last forever."

Back then, that leper monk even said that one must encounter someone with jade to find a good match.

Baochai sneered inwardly: "If that bald monk's words were truly so effective, why would Heaven send that nemesis to my doorstep, to save my body, to violate my purity, and to stir my heart..."

His expression remained unchanged, and he simply said, "It's nothing, just a heavy thing to weigh down my clothes."

Seeing her indifferent attitude towards him, Baoyu's burning passion instantly cooled. Remembering the jade pendant around his neck that everyone admired, he shamelessly leaned forward, almost touching Baochai's shoulder: "Good sister, do you... have any jade on you?"

He stared longingly at Baochai, his fingers fiddling with the gold and kingfisher feather necklace around her neck.

Baochai was looking down, smoothing the wrinkles in her cuffs with her slender white fingers. Upon hearing this, she paused, raised her almond-shaped eyes, and stared at him with a mixture of doubt and aloofness.

In a flash, he guessed eight or nine parts of it. Far from feeling any shame, he felt a nauseating unease, as if he'd swallowed a fly. A perfect match?

My mother had mentioned it a few times in private. But this reckless brat, so shameless and brazen, is truly arrogant!
Seeing that she remained silent, Baoyu assumed that she was just being shy, so he grinned even more and took another half step forward, a warm, powdery scent wafting towards Baochai's face: "Sister, don't be shy! I have a piece of jade on me, with words engraved on it! Sister, would you like to take a look?" As he spoke, he eagerly reached for the gold necklace around her neck, trying to pull out the jade.

Baochai raised an eyebrow, her annoyance evident. She didn't show it on her face, but gracefully took a large step back to avoid Baoyu's approach, her voice still gentle: "I've heard that Brother Bao has a precious jade he was born with, a rare treasure. Unfortunately, I don't have such a precious jade; I only have a cumbersome gold lock, nothing special, and I don't want to see yours."

The reply was crisp and decisive, even abrupt, like a cold, hard stone that froze the smile on Baoyu's face.

Baoyu was met with a firm rebuff. Holding his warm jade in his hand, he didn't know whether to hand it over or take it back. He stood there awkwardly, his face turning red and white in turns, feeling extremely embarrassed.

His gaze darted around aimlessly, like a headless fly, until it finally settled on Lin Daiyu, who was intently fiddling with the tassels of her sachet. He saw Daiyu sitting sideways, her delicate waist wrapped in a pale white silk jacket. Baoyu's heart warmed, and he scooted closer, grinning lecherously, "Good sister, look at the words on this jade..." He then tried to present the jade, still warm from his touch, to Daiyu.

Daiyu had already witnessed the scene. Seeing that he had been humiliated by Baochai first, and then turned to her with a fawning expression, an inexplicable anger surged up in her heart, burning her cheeks, which were as red as fresh lychees, with a thin layer of angry blush.

How can there be such a shameless person? Could it be that I, Lin Daiyu, am inferior to Xue Baochai, a substitute that can be summoned at will?
The slight goodwill she had initially felt towards Baoyu after entering the manor had now mostly cooled. She raised her eyes, and those usually tender, almost tearful eyes were now cold, devoid of their natural allure. A chilling, mocking smile curled at the corner of her lips, and her voice, though not loud, was as clear as shattered ice falling onto a jade plate, instantly freezing the smile on Baoyu's face:
"What are you doing, Second Master? Baochai has gold and jade, which are rare treasures. How could someone like me, a mere plant, be worthy to look at them? You're coming over here so eagerly, are you judging me as inferior because Baochai ignores you, and thinking I'm some kind of junk collector? You should put away your magical jade as soon as possible. I don't have the fortune to see your treasure."

Baoyu was so choked by her words that his face turned bright red, like a boiled shrimp. The jade in his hand instantly became a hot charcoal, and he didn't know whether to hold it or put it down. He stammered, "Sister... I... I didn't mean that..."

Daiyu stopped looking at him and coldly said to Zijuan, who was standing beside her, "Zijuan, the tea is cold. Bring some hot tea." She didn't even bother to glance at Baoyu anymore, leaving him only with her back wrapped in a light green vest.

For a moment, the huge main room became eerily quiet.

Apart from Madam Xue and Madam Wang, who were still whispering about the past and not looking this way, Wang Xifeng and Qin Keqing did hear it.

The warm, sweet fragrance from just moments ago seemed to have frozen, carrying an inexplicable awkwardness and tension. Baoyu glanced at Baochai from the left; she had resumed her dignified posture, eyes downcast, maintaining a cool and aloof distance from him.
Looking to his right at Daiyu, his profile exuded a chilling sarcasm that kept everyone at arm's length. A surge of immense resentment, shame, and the frenzy of being rejected simultaneously gripped him!

"What a rare thing! You don't want it! She doesn't want it either! Nobody even looks at it! And it's supposed to be spiritual! I don't want this worthless thing either!" Baoyu suddenly went into a fit of madness, his face turning purple, and he ripped the incomparably precious spiritual jade from his neck, and without a second thought, he threw it violently to the ground with all his might! The jade hit the smooth gold brick floor with a crisp "clang" and rolled a long way.

"Oh my little darling!" "Quick! Pick it up!" "Is it broken?"

The room erupted in chaos! The maids and servants gasped and swarmed forward to snatch the precious organ. Lady Wang, who was closest, was terrified. She rushed over and held Baoyu tightly in her arms, crying out "My darling!" her voice trembling: "You wretched child! You wretched child! It's easy to be angry and scold someone, but why did you have to throw that precious organ! It's taking my life!"

Baoyu, who had been nestled in Lady Wang's arms, suddenly broke free with great force, his face streaked with tears, and cried out, "None of my sisters in the family have any, only I do! I said it was no fun, but you all insisted it was a treasure. Now that the fairy-like Lin Daiyu has come, does she have any? And this fairy-like Baochai doesn't have any either! You know this isn't a good thing! Nobody wants it! Nobody cares about it!"

(End of this chapter)