Blurb One:
Duan Jin first met Xue Baochai at a Xue family shop in Jinling. At the time, Sister Bao was only eleven or twelve. Her father had just died, leaving a frail mother above her and a wayward older brother below. At such a young age, she had to shoulder the burden of her family, which made Duan Jin feel sorry for her, even though his own body was only ten years old.
They met again six years later, when Duan Jin had passed the imperial examinations as the third-ranked candidate and was riding through the streets in high spirits. A young woman's sweet laughter reached his ears. He looked up, and the refined, demure lady by the window happened to lower her eyes with a faint smile.
In that instant, flowers bloomed everywhere. All things in the world vanished from his sight, and only one thought lingered in Duan Jin's mind.
I will marry her, and grow old by her side!
Blurb Two:
After getting married, Duan Jin found himself a little troubled.
He gave Baochai a rose every day, and Sister Bao would smile gently and say, "Thank you, my lord."
He often asked after her and made sure she was warm and well. Sister Bao returned his concern in kind: "Please take care of yourself too, my lord."
He insisted on taking her out to have fun whenever he had time off. Sister Bao's willow-leaf brows would knit slightly as she gently advised him, "Baochai is of no importance. Please don't let me distract you from your proper duties, my lord."
Whatever he did, Baochai remained just as she was in the book: "gentle and dignified, obedient and considerate, calm in all affairs." But she was nothing like the intimate, inseparable relationship he had imagined. Duan Jin grew despondent.
At last, one day, a drunken Duan Jin grabbed Baochai and held her close.
Then he cried.
"Waaah, Sister Bao, you're so cold to me. Do you not like me?"
"Do you like Baoyu? Waaah, don't like him, okay? He already has Sister Lin."
"Baobao, Baobao, I love you. I really love you so much. Could you love me too?"
He didn't see Baochai's face go from startled surprise to a deep blush, her beauty becoming so radiant she seemed ready to drip with sweetness. At last, her eyes rippling with affection, she leaned down and gave him a gentle kiss.
"Silly, I love you too!"
Ever since that rash young man had blushed and stammered as he confessed to her, "S-Sister Bao, I... I love you. Would you be my bride?"
Ever since that young man had secretly driven away the rich young ladies who mocked her family's decline. She still remembered him saying, "All these people have to rely on is their ancestors' glory. In character and conduct, not one of them can compare to you, Sister Bao."
Ever since that young man had stood firmly by her after something happened to her brother, raising a great umbrella to shield her from wind and rain. He had said, "Don't be afraid. I'm here!"
From then on, her calm and self-possessed heart was lost to him, with no chance of breaking free.
Theme: If you love someone, give them your whole heart
