晴雯补裘

As Xi Ren, the leading service girl who had taken care of Baoyu was away to visit her home, the duties, and the charge of Yihongyuan Court, fell on Qing Wen. A girl anxious to excel¹ in（胜过，擅长） everything, Qing Wen did everything personally. For the special occasion of his uncle's birthday party, Baoyu put on a very unique Russian-made cloak² woven with threads from peacock³ feather, a gift from his grandmother. That evening, he returned with a sad look: the cloak had a hold burnt in it. Fortunately it was evening and the grandmother and the ladies in the house failed to notice. One servant hurriedly brought the cloak out to professionals to be mended over night, for Baoyu had to wear the cloak the next morning. But the servant returned to report that no craftsman⁴ dared to take the job, as none of them was able to identify what material the cloak was made of. While everyone was upset, Qing Wen managed to sit up from her sick bed, and after a look she claimed the material was peacock gold threads," she said, "the cloak will look as good as new." Even with the proper thread, no one dared to take the job. Therefore, Qing Wen, with a coat draped over her shoulders, began to mend. Due to sickness, she felt dizzy and saw stars. She bit her lips and continued. She had to stop for a bread every few stitches⁵. It was in the small hours of the morning when she finally finished the job. People marveled at the mending she had done-the damage was almost invisible.