Chapter 265: Embroidered Plum Branches Filled with Fragrance

After the Cold Clothes Festival ancestral rites at the Jia Clan Ancestral Hall ended, Jia Cong went to Lin Daiyu's chamber.

Although Jia Mu regarded Lin Daiyu as her most cherished treasure, her affection for Lin Daiyu even surpassed that for her own granddaughters like Seeing Yingchun, Seeing Tan Chun, and Little Xichun.

Yet no matter how much she doted on Lin Daiyu, Lin Daiyu was still an outside relative by marriage, and every time the Jia family performed ancestral rites, she was always excluded.

Unless she one day married into the Jia household…

And each time the Jia family held ancestral rites, everyone in the garden would leave entirely, leaving only her alone in her chamber, utterly lonely and desolate.

She once joked with Jia Cong that during her first two years in the Jia household, when she was still young, homesick, and emotionally sensitive, she would always cry whenever this happened.

The fact that she could speak so openly with Jia Cong about these matters was already rare.

These past years, with Jia Cong's understanding and kindness, Lin Daiyu had gradually opened her heart and no longer wept as often as before.

Yet when Lin Daiyu spoke of this, though she framed it as a childhood anecdote, Jia Cong could still hear the loneliness and regret in her voice.

In truth, it was only natural to think so.

Each time the Jia family performed ancestral rites, it inevitably made Lin Daiyu feel even more like an outsider.

…

Seeing Jia Cong enter, her slightly furrowed brows softened, and she smiled: "Third brother, you've finished with the ancestral rites."

During the spring and autumn rites, under normal circumstances, the Three Springs sisters would enter the Jia Clan Ancestral Hall to pay respects, while she should have gone to the Lin family ancestral hall to honor her ancestors and express her longing.

"This was made by our young lady after days of labor—look at the embroidery, so fine. Our young lady is from Su Zhou; we never knew she had such skill."

Whether out of understanding or sympathy, Jia Cong felt someone should go to see her now, to keep her company and speak a few words.

She took something from her jewelry box and smiled as she handed it to him: "I know Second Sister made you clothes and Third Sister made you shoes—I couldn't make you those."

Qingzhi Studio.

Precisely because of this, during the Jia family's ancestral rites, it was perhaps the most complex and delicate time for the sensitive and thoughtful Lin Daiyu.

If he were in her position, he too would hope someone would treat him with such kindness.

So I give you this as my Cold Clothes Festival gift."

This is what blood ties and familial bonds truly mean—yet she has been drifting alone for years, far from home.

Zi Juan said beside her: "Third Master, our young lady is frail; the Old Lady forbids her to do needlework, fearing it drains her spirit. She hasn't done any needlework in a long time."

"Isn't that right? It's always the same routine—finish the rites, then drop by to see you."

Thinking back on all this, it felt somewhat unreasonable—but he would never be foolish enough to ask Lin Daiyu this question, lest he stir up her sorrow.

Why would he send her thousands of miles to her grandmother's side, then not see her for years, only bringing her back to Yangzhou when he was on his deathbed?

Hearing Zi Juan hurriedly speak well of her, Lin Daiyu's cheeks flushed slightly as she interrupted: "Go quickly and brew Third Master some tea…"

Lin Daiyu smiled faintly—clearly, the new ancestral hall was in the courtyard to the east; Third Brother coming here was no detour, yet her heart was ultimately glad.

…

Sometimes even Jia Cong wondered: after losing his wife, Lin Lin Ruhai should have cherished his only daughter even more.

Entering Lin Daiyu's chamber, he found her idly flipping through a book, distracted, her elegant brows slightly furrowed, as if burdened with countless thoughts.

When Jia Cong returned, he found Seeing Yingchun, Seeing Tan Chun, and Xue Baochai all there.

He chuckled: "Why are you all here today, so neatly gathered, as if you'd been formally invited?"

Seeing Tan Chun said: "These past days, Third Brother has been so busy—we hear you're running back and forth every day, leaving early and returning late, never to be seen."

But today is the Cold Clothes Festival, so naturally we came to Qingzhi Studio to stroll and chat together."

Beside her, Xue Baochai smiled: "I heard Third Brother is going to the Nine Borders to handle imperial duties at year's end—those places are remote and bitterly cold, far colder than the Imperial Capital."

"Warmth and care are most essential daily—I have a bear-fur coat here, obtained last year by my brother from outside. He said it was a tribute from the Rus country."

"This coat is made of top-grade bear fur, the warmest possible—it makes you sweat the moment you put it on; we here could never wear it."

"It's perfect for Third Brother to take to those harsh, frigid borders."

Jia Cong saw the coat was pitch-black as ink, its fur soft as silk, warm to the touch—a rare and superbly insulating item.

He quickly thanked her: "Then I am deeply grateful, Bao Sister."

Xue Baochai smiled: "It's just a coat—Third Brother, don't be so formal."

Seeing Yingchun and Seeing Tan Chun were Jia Cong's blood sisters of the same surname; they could make him clothes and shoes without any restraint.

But Xue Baochai and Lin Daiyu were only relatives by marriage, and could not casually make clothing or needlework for an unrelated young man.

Jia Cong knew that such noble young ladies, raised with strict upbringing from childhood, all held clear boundaries between men and women.

Though between cousins, laughter and banter flowed freely, as they grew older, they became ever more careful with propriety and etiquette.

There were too many gossipy servants in the garden; if idle talk spread, it would be deeply embarrassing for an unmarried girl.

…

Xue Baochai's gift was merely a ready-made garment, not handmade needlework—so it was perfectly acceptable.

She even specifically said it was obtained by her brother from outside, offered to Jia Cong as a Cold Clothes Festival gift, and tied it to his upcoming journey to the cold borders.

Thoughtful and flawless—not a single flaw could be found.

Jia Cong understood somewhat why Xue Baochai, though young, possessed such meticulous and worldly wisdom.

Likely because she had grown up with a widowed mother, and her brother Xue Pan was utterly reckless, incapable of handling anything.

She was naturally gifted, and inwardly refused to let her family weaken—thus, as a young lady confined to the inner chambers, she was forced to adopt the demeanor of a household head.

Lin Daiyu's lineage was lonely and isolated, yet her innate grace and sincerity refused to be eroded; outwardly, this manifested as aloof pride and disdain for the mundane, making her life naturally harder.

Xue Baochai, equally brilliant, faced a mediocre and unjust household, striving to support it and adapt to circumstances; though she earned a fine reputation among young ladies, she concealed her true self—this too was no easy feat.

At this moment, Xue Baochai noticed the exquisite sachet on Jia Cong's belt.

Shaped like a silver ingot, of pale moon-white silk with faint bamboo patterns, embroidered with a scene of a stone bridge beneath a bright moon, and nearby, a single red plum branch with sparse, slanting shadows.

The design was elegant, the embroidery refined and quiet, strikingly beautiful.

Xue Baochai smiled: "What an exquisite sachet! They say Qingwen's needlework is the finest in Third Brother's chamber—this must be her handiwork."

Young ladies were always keenly observant of delicate objects; Seeing Tan Chun, too, noticed the sachet on Jia Cong's person.

She glanced once and knew instantly it could not be Qingwen's work—how could Bao Sister be so mistaken? Qingwen was Third Brother's maid; how could she give a sachet to her own master?

If this reached the ears of Madam or the Old Lady, there would be trouble—and this sachet wasn't just finely embroidered; its design carried poetic grace—something Qingwen could never conceive.

Seeing Tan Chun suddenly realized: two years ago, Jia Baoyu had wanted to take Third Brother's maid Wu'er as his concubine, and at the time, Lin Sister had been displeased, protecting Wu'er.

Most likely, it was Lin Sister's work…

Among the sisters in the household, she alone was a close blood relative by marriage, and had grown up with them in the garden…

Seeing Tan Chun stared, lost in thought, at the sachet on Jia Cong's belt.

Xue Baochai saw Jia Cong's gentle smile, yet he said nothing—as if unwilling to dwell on the subject.

That was because Jia Cong knew Lin Daiyu could not make him clothing or needlework as Seeing Yingchun and Seeing Tan Chun did; there were always some taboos.

So she made him this sachet as her Cold Clothes Festival gift.

He still remembered Lin Daiyu's delightfully proud expression then—she had clearly been pleased with her needlework.

She had even playfully tied it onto his jade belt—wasn't that precisely how jade pendants and sachets were meant to be worn?

But he would never mention this aloud; a lady's handmade gift deserved more discretion and caution.

Xue Baochai, being perceptive, now understood as well—her heart gave a slight pang. Qingwen was his maid; she could make him clothes and socks, but how could she make him a sachet?

She recalled that day when she had gone to Lin Daiyu's chamber and overheard Jia Cong teasing her about marriage, his words brimming with tender protection—how could she not hear it?

Naturally, she realized who had made the plum-scented sachet.

(End of Chapter)