Jia Huan suddenly remembered.
It was not the emblem he remembered, but a person!
His name was Jiang Yuhan, also known as Qiguan, a performer of young female roles in the opera troupe maintained by Prince Zhongshun's Mansion.
He had visited Rongguo Mansion several times and was very close to Big Face. What made him so memorable was that, although he was a man, he looked delicate and alluring, and even spoke with a timid air.
The design on the folding fan's pendant that day had looked just like intertwined threads!
Under Jia Huan's unblinking stare, Jia Baoyu recalled the agony of his beating and the disappointed looks in his sisters' eyes. Nursing his resentment, he lowered his head and left.
Jia Huan pondered.
His position was sensitive; he could not approach Jiang Yuhan directly.
Otherwise, a member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard turning up at Prince Zhongshun's Mansion could easily blow the matter out of proportion.
Xue Pan!
Right, get that Foolish Tyrant to ask around. He knows Jiang Yuhan too.
With that thought, Jia Huan immediately headed for Pear Blossom Courtyard in the northeastern corner of the estate.
Pear Blossom Courtyard was small and secluded, with uniformly water-polished brick walls, gray roof tiles, and decorative brickwork. It was already late autumn, and the few pear trees in the courtyard stood bare.
"Miss, Third Master Huan is here." Ying'er entered the warm chamber with quick, dainty steps.
Xue Baochai wore no makeup and was dressed in a simple, elegant ivory skirt and top. She was bent over the desk, working an abacus. At these words, her fingertips trembled slightly, and the tips of her ears suddenly reddened.
Could that girl Qingwen have let the secret slip?
I should never have been so rash. My questions that day made it seem as though I cared deeply about Brother Huan, and Qingwen even caught that faint smile on my face. Could she have seen through my feelings and spilled everything to him like beans poured from a bamboo tube?
Does Brother Huan want to come and get straight to the point?
"Miss, he is looking for Young Master Pan," Ying'er added.
"Ah..." Xue Baochai paused, then gently set down her abacus. Unsure whether she felt relief or disappointment, she instructed:
"Make Brother Huan some tea. I will be there shortly."
"All right."
Xue Baochai hurried into her bedroom and sat at her dressing table, drawing her brows and applying rouge before the bronze mirror. She already possessed a beauty worthy of toppling kingdoms, with soft, rounded features; a little adornment made her all the more exquisite.
"Is it too bright?" she murmured to herself. She wiped off her lip rouge and repeatedly studied her reflection before putting on her hairpin, hanging a scented sachet at her waist, and rising to leave.
Jia Huan sat drinking tea in the reception room. As Xue Baochai approached with graceful steps, he asked directly:
"Miss Baochai, where is your brother?"
Ying'er glanced at her mistress and pursed her lips, her thoughts unreadable.
"He is at Xue Mansion with Mother," Xue Baochai said softly. "Ying'er, hurry over and fetch him."
"Right away." Ying'er swiftly departed.
"Then I will wait for him in my own courtyard." Jia Huan prepared to leave.
Xue Baochai suddenly asked:
"Brother Huan, do you dislike me so much?"
Jia Huan looked puzzled. "What makes you say that?"
Xue Baochai feigned indignation:
"Why else would you leave the moment you saw me?"
Jia Huan chuckled and explained:
"The servants here love wagging their tongues. With the two of us alone, I was afraid it might cause you trouble, Miss Baochai."
Xue Baochai found this excuse decidedly perfunctory. Fixing her bright eyes on him, she asked outright:
"When you were promoted to Great Banner last time, I went to your courtyard to congratulate you. Why were you not afraid of gossip then? I heard you took a walk with Sister Lin at night and even escorted her back to Xiaoxiang Hall yourself. Plenty of people saw you. Why did you not care about avoiding suspicion then?"
Jia Huan was speechless. He looked at the stunning, poised young woman before him. They stood so close that her faint fragrance lingered around his nose.
He answered honestly:
"Xue Pan spoke without restraint at the family banquet that night, and everyone in the household heard about it. You are, after all, an unmarried young lady with no betrothal, Miss Baochai. I had to keep my distance to avoid damaging your reputation, and to spare us both embarrassment. It certainly was not because I disliked you."
The slender, pale fingers resting on Xue Baochai's knees twitched from time to time. Barely suppressing her nervousness, she persisted:
"My brother was talking drunken nonsense. Not a single person in the household took him seriously, yet you insisted on announcing in front of everyone, 'I have absolutely no such intention.' As though having your name linked to Xue Baochai's caused you terrible distress. If that is not dislike, what is it?"
"You have known both of us for a long time. You personally escort Sister Lin home, yet keep me at arm's length in every possible way. You cannot even bear to stay one moment longer."
"Besides..."
Xue Baochai's gentle voice abruptly stopped. She lowered her lovely head slightly, realizing she had lost her composure. Her words had even taken on a plaintive note.
She hastily said:
"We are all friends. It feels unpleasant to be treated differently."
Jia Huan studied her flawless, delicate cheeks and nodded.
"Then I shall spend more time with you from now on, Miss Baochai."
Xue Baochai merely murmured an assent. Joy flashed deep in her eyes before she regained her poised, gentle manner, lifted the teapot, and slowly filled Jia Huan's cup.
Noticing that his gaze kept roaming over her face, Xue Baochai maintained her usual expression, but for some inexplicable reason her heart bounded like a startled fawn, and a rosy blush crept to her brows.
"It's full." As the hot water overflowed, Jia Huan laid a hand on her snow-white wrist.
"Oh." Xue Baochai came to herself and hurriedly explained, "I was distracted, thinking about the shop accounts."
"Brother Huan, your..." She looked at his hand resting on her wrist.
Jia Huan let go.
Xue Baochai withdrew her soft hand and smoothed the dark hair at her forehead to conceal the unease in her eyes.
"Brother Huan!"
"Brother Huan!!"
A breathless voice rang out beyond the courtyard.
Xue Pan came rushing in. Seeing that his sister was also in Pear Blossom Courtyard, he regretted his haste so bitterly that his guts practically turned green. Why had he come charging over? He should have waited outside the estate for a few hours!
"Come here." Jia Huan beckoned.
Xue Baochai watched the two men leave, then lowered her head and curved her lips into a smile, her eyes filled with either shyness or joy.
Outside the Ceremonial Gate.
Jia Huan looked at the eager Foolish Tyrant and said gravely:
"Go to Prince Zhongshun's Mansion and find an opera performer named Jiang Yuhan. He used to come here often to spend time with Jia Baoyu. Ask him what this design is."
"Remember, do not mention me."
"If you cannot even manage a task like this, you will never amount to much!"
The moment Xue Pan heard that Brother Huan had an assignment for him, he knew this was more than a sign of trust—it was a chance to grow closer to him. How could he dare slack off?
"I guarantee I will get it done!!" Xue Pan declared forcefully, his face flushed red.
"Go on." Jia Huan nodded.
Xue Pan took to his heels and vanished in a flash.
That evening, Xue Pan returned to report.
"Brother Huan, Jiang Yuhan said it came from the Water Mirror Theater in the Capital. He even showed me a fan. Once, when he went there to perform, he spotted some beautifully made fans in the troupe. He liked them so much that he secretly took one and tucked it into his waistband. The pendant on that fan happened to bear this very design."
"Exactly the same. There is no way I was mistaken!"
Xue Pan spoke with absolute certainty.
"The Water Mirror Theater?" Jia Huan's gaze turned chilling.
I've found the place harboring all that filth!
I must claim the credit for this!
"Brother Huan, that is one of the top three theaters in the Divine Capital. Plenty of powerful nobles love going there to watch opera and linger so long they forget to leave. Some even throw away fortunes there."
True to his wastrel nature, Xue Pan knew brothels and theaters like the palm of his hand.
Satisfaction showed in Jia Huan's eyes as he patted Xue Pan's shoulder.
"Well done!"
Xue Pan beamed. Receiving praise from Brother Huan left him beside himself with excitement.
Before you continue