"All right," replied Chou Jui's wife, "of course I will; you are young yet, and without experience, and that's why you are in this flurry."
As she spoke, she betook herself into Tai-yü's apartments. Contrary to her expectation Tai-yü was not at this time in her own room, but in Pao-yü's; where they were amusing themselves in trying to solve the "nine strung rings" puzzle. On entering Mrs. Chou put on a smile. "'Aunt' Hsüeh," she explained, "has told me to bring these flowers and present them to you to wear in your hair."
"What flowers?" exclaimed Pao-yü. "Bring them here and let me see them."
As he uttered these words, he readily stretched out his hands and took them over, and upon opening the box and looking in, he discovered, in fact, two twigs of a novel and artistic kind of artificial flowers, of piled gauze, made in the palace.
Tai-yü merely cast a glance at them, as Pao-yü held them. "Have these flowers," she inquired eagerly, "been sent to me alone, or have all the other girls got some too?"
"Each one of the young ladies has the same," replied Mrs. Chou; "and these two twigs are intended for you, miss."
Tai-yü forced a smile. "Oh! I see," she observed. "If all the others hadn't chosen, even these which remain over wouldn't have been given to me."
Chou Jui's wife did not utter a word in reply.
"Sister Chou, what took you over on the other side?" asked Pao-yü.
"I was told that our madame Wang was over there," explained Mrs. Chou, "and as I went to give her a message, 'aunt' Hsüeh seized the opportunity to ask me to bring over these flowers."