There are too many seemingly random strokes in "A Dream of Red Mansions", but they have profound plots. I will list one or two below.
Plot 1. Daiyu uses the flowers given by Baoqin to test whether Baoyu likes Baoqin
Baoqin first entered Jia's house. Because of her good personality and good appearance, she was very popular with Jia. Mother likes it. But on the day Baoqin entered Jia's house, Jia Mu forced Mrs. Wang to recognize Baoqin as her goddaughter. From this, it can be seen that Jia Mu had no intention of giving Baoqin to Baoyu from the beginning. But just because Jia Mu asked Aunt Xue Baoqin's horoscope, Aunt Xue thought that Jia Mu intended to marry Baoqin for Baoyu.
Mrs. Wang already recognized Baoqin as her goddaughter, and Xue Biao brought Baoqin to Beijing in the name of "sending her sister off to get married." How could Mother Jia give Baoqin to Baoyu? idea, so Aunt Xue didn't understand what Jia Mu meant, but just pretended not to understand. Therefore, shortly after Jia's mother asked Baoqin's horoscope, rumors spread in Jia's house that "the old lady wanted to give the girl Qin to Baoyu".
At this time, Daiyu and Baoyu were no longer eight or nine years old, so Daiyu could not quarrel with Baoyu whenever she had something on her mind. More importantly, Baochai's heart-to-heart conversations with Daiyu and his care for Daiyu made Daiyu feel that all her suspicions about Baochai in the past were entirely due to her villainy. So when rumors spread again in the Jia family, Daiyu could only test them cautiously. Daiyu tested three people respectively, one was Baoyu, one was Baoqin, and the other was Jia Mu.
In Chapter 52 of "A Dream of Red Mansions", Daiyu, in front of Baoqin, transfers the two pots of flowers given to her by Baoqin to Baoyu. This is actually a test of Baoyu. The original description is as follows:< /p>
(Baoyu praised the daffodils in Daiyu’s house for blooming well) Daiyu said: “These are two pots of wintersweet and two pots of narcissus given to Miss Xue by Aunt Lai, the chief steward of your family. He gave me a pot of narcissus, and he gave Jiao Yatou a pot of wintersweet. I didn't want it, but I was afraid of letting him down. If you want it, how about I give it to you?" Baoyu said, "I have two in the house. The basin is just not as good as this. How can I give it to someone else if I give it to you?" (Excerpted from Chapter 52 of "A Dream of Red Mansions")
Why is it said that Daiyu is testing Baoyu? Daiyu said she was afraid of letting Baoqin down by accepting the flowers, but she wanted to give them to Baoyu in front of Baoqin. Wasn't she afraid of letting Baoqin down? If Daiyu was really afraid of being frightened by the fragrance of flowers, or afraid that the flowers would be damaged by the fumes, she could have placed them somewhere else. Why would she still put them where she often sits and lies? We often say that we love a house and a bird, and Daiyu also knows this very well, so she thinks that if Baoyu likes Baoqin, she will be very happy to accept the flowers given by Baoqin.
At this time, Baoyu and Daiyu had already known each other, so he could clearly understand the meaning behind Daiyu's every move. Therefore, he flatly refused Daiyu's offer to increase his income, and lied that he also had two pots in his house. Wintersweet and narcissus were seasonal flowers at that time. If Baoyu had them in his room, they would definitely be in the rooms of Daiyu and Tanchun, so there would be no need for Baoqin to give them to them. Baoqin gave it as a gift, indicating that they didn't have it in their room.
Plot 2: Daiyu repeatedly asked Baoqin for poems, testing Baoqin
Although Baoqin came to Beijing in the name of getting married, Jia Mu The love for Baoqin and the rumors from Jia's family made many things confusing. Although Daiyu has tested Baoyu's heart clearly, Jia's mother's love for Baoqin is obvious, and the rumors about Jia's family do not seem to be groundless. Daiyu could not ask Jia's mother whether the rumors were true or false, so she had to verify them by testing different people. Baoqin was the second person she tested.
For Baoqin, Daiyu is not trying to test whether she likes Baoyu, because Baoyu is undoubtedly a good match for Baoqin. So she wanted to test whether Baoqin came to Beijing really to consummate the marriage. So when Baoqin said that his poems were collected in Nanjing, Daiyu asked repeatedly. The original text is as follows:
Daiyu smiled and pulled Baoqin and said: "Don't coax us. I know you are like this." At first, you might not have kept these things at home, so you had to bring them with you. Now you lied and said you didn't bring them. Although they believed it, I didn't believe it. "... Dai Yu said: "If you bring it. Come here, just give us some insights." (Excerpted from Chapter 52 of "A Dream of Red Mansions")
Bao Qin already said that the poem was not brought to Nanjing, so why did Dai Yu keep asking? Because Baoqin came to Beijing in the name of getting married. A person who is getting married will definitely bring all his little things from his parents' home to his husband's home. Because after girls in ancient times got married, they were really guests when they returned to their parents' home. There was no longer an inch of their parents' home that belonged to them, so they naturally packed up all their important things and took them away. This is what Daiyu said in the original article, "I know that when you come, you may not keep these things at home, so naturally you have to bring them with you."
Have you really brought Baoqin’s things with you to Beijing? The answer is no. But Daiyu didn't get her answer because Baochai lied on Baoqin's behalf, saying that the things hadn't been packed away yet. Baoqin went to Beijing in the autumn, and it was already winter. He had lived in Jia's house for several months, and obviously he wanted to stay there permanently. How could he not have sorted out the things he brought with him? Baochai lied for Baoqin, just to smooth things over for the Xue family, not to save Baoqin.
Baoqin himself said he didn't bring it, so why should Baochai worry about it? Could it be that Baoqin himself doesn’t know better than Baochai where Baoqin’s things are?
Since the Xue family lied and said that Baoqin came to Beijing to get married, the story must be more realistic. That's why Baochai lied and said that Baoqin's things had come to Beijing, but they had not been sorted out. . So here’s the problem? Since the Xue family said that Baoqin came to Beijing to get married, why did Aunt Xue lie about "the old lady wanted to give Baoqin to Baoyu"? This was just for Daiyu, to hint to Daiyu that Jia Mu had no intention of giving Daiyu to Baoyu.
Daiyu has been weak since she was a child, and her mental burden is too heavy, so her body is getting weaker day by day. Especially when she hears rumors about Baoyu, her illness often worsens due to excessive worry. If Daiyu heard that her marriage to Baoyu was hopeless, it would be like a bolt from the blue. If Daiyu's condition worsens or even dies, it will be of no harm to Baochai's "gold and jade marriage". Baoyu can marry Baochai, which will be of great benefit to Baochai and the Xue family.
Some readers may say that Aunt Xue loves Daiyu very much, how could she have such thoughts? Although Aunt Xue loves Daiyu, how can her love for Daiyu be compared with Baochai's happiness and the interests of the Xue family.
The above are two of the many meaningful plots in "A Dream of Red Mansions" that I personally think. There are too many similar plots in "A Dream of Red Mansions", so I won't go into details here.