Most of the misses of the ancient large families had very good upbringing, they strictly adhered to certain moral standards, and they did not dare to cross the thunder pool easily. Their every move is also considered to be related to the reputation of their parents and family, which to a large extent also makes them have to be careful in their words and deeds.
Therefore, after Lin Daiyu entered Jia Mansion, even if she had the favor of Jia Mu, she "did not dare to take one more step, say one more word, and was afraid that she would be ridiculed by others"; therefore, even if Wang Xifeng was jealous by nature, did not like Jia Lian's concubines, and also took away Jia Lian's two concubines, for the sake of superficial virtuousness, she also had to put her dowry Maid Ping'er in the room for Jia Lian; therefore, even if Tan Chun was strong and shrewd, she also showed the hidden tolerance of everyone in front of the slaves in Jia Province; so, Even if Li Feng was young and widowed, he could not show any discomfort, but instead made himself a "dead ash of wood" in Jia Province.
However, there is also a Miss Qianjin in "Dream of the Red Chamber", who on the surface is the most dignified and gentle appearance, and even to a certain extent has become a model of an ancient lady, but in fact, what she has done cannot withstand scrutiny, and if you analyze it carefully, you will find that she is the most uncultured Miss Qianjin in the history of literature.
This Miss Qianjin is Xue Baochao, one of the "Twelve Nobles of Jinling".
When Xue Baochao first arrived in Jia Province, Cao Xueqin gave her a high evaluation, saying that she was "of good character and beautiful appearance", "open-minded in behavior, when she followed up", "smooth muscles and bones, and elegant manners". I have to say that these evaluations are all models of ancient ladies. It is no wonder that many readers will regard Xue Baochao as a real lady.
However, reading "Dream of the Red Chamber" is different from other works, sometimes, it is necessary to find the author's original intention in the details of the text, because Cao Xueqin has long said that "Dream of the Red Chamber" is a book of "real things hidden", is a "false language village dialect", "do not look at the front, only on his back". What kind of person a person is, can not look at the author's superficial evaluation, but should taste the author's real intentions through the author's description of her behavior.
Whether Xue Baochao is a real lady or not, we should also judge through her words and deeds, not through superficial evaluation.
In ancient times, the most basic requirements for a lady were to be sincere, to observe etiquette, and to understand the rules. Obviously, Xue Baochao had not done a good job in all of these aspects.
There is a passage in "Dream of the Red Chamber" that is "Jinlanqi Mutual Dissecting Jinlan Language", and the participants are Lin Daiyu and Xue Baochao. At this time, Lin Daiyu had already regarded Xue Baochao as the most trustworthy sister, and told Xue Baochao all his heartfelt words, saying that he was "not a serious master here", saying that "those old wives and servants at the bottom, it is inevitable that I am not too much, you see these people here, because they see that the old lady hurt Baoyu and Feng yatou, they are still looking at the tiger, let alone me", saying that they are lonely and helpless in Jia Province.
For Lin Daiyu's heart-pounding words, Xue Baochao only had an untimely joke, "In the future, I will not spend too much on a dowry, and now I will not be worried about it."
The so-called "Jinlanqi Mutual Dissecting Jinlan Language" is actually just Lin Daiyu's one-man show, only she opened her heart, while Xue Baochao did not have any true feelings to tell the truth.
It is precisely because Xue Baochao is not honest enough, even if she does everything in front of the sisters, she seems to always hold a certain distance from others, and she may break the line at any time.
The most uncultured thing Xue Baochao did was, of course, to count the embroidered Mandarin duck belly pocket at the head of Jia Baoyu's bed. At this time, Xue Baochao and Jia Baoyu are no longer children, especially Xue Baochao, who has long passed the age of The Age of Zhijing, as Miss Qianjin of a large household, she should understand better than anyone the truth of "men and women are not intimate", and should not drill into the room where Jia Baoyu is napping.
Even Jia Baoyu, who had no heart and no lungs, was bored that day, passing through Wang Xifeng's courtyard, and still knew that Wang Xifeng had to take a nap every day for an hour, and it was inconvenient for him to go in at this time. Xue Baochao didn't even understand this truth!
It's an unimaginable thing. However, such a thing actually happened in Jia Province, in Xue Baochao, who was known as a "model lady". I have to say that this is the most spicy irony in Cao Xueqin's pen! Xue Baochao is not worthy of the evaluation of "good character" and "elegant demeanor".
She is only mild-mannered on the surface, deviant in her bones, and the decision to do whatever it takes to "have a good relationship with gold and jade" has long excluded her from the ranks of ladies.
Xue Baochao, a model lady in the history of literature, is actually a miss Qianjin who lacks education, and the reason why she shows the appearance of virtuous and virtuous in front of everyone is only to make the people of Jia Fu recognize her and then accept the "golden and jade good fate".