The Jade Clasp's Farewell

On the Lantern Festival night of the twenty-third year of Hongwu, Liu Yanzhi's jade hairpin was smashed beside the Qinhuai River.

As he bent down, he met a pair of startled eyes. The crabapple blossom in Miss Fan's hair fell into his palm.

Seven days later, he presented her with a newly composed poem and confessed his feelings. She crushed the flower on the flagstone steps. "How could a merchant's daughter ever presume to marry above her station?"