Returning to Rose Courtyard, Chen Afu took off the golden hairpin of the spread-winged phoenix with hanging pearls that Mrs. Chu had given her. The golden hairpin was really beautiful, about the size of a small sparrow, with delicate thin wings that quivered with the slightest movement. A few pearls were rosy white and round, about the size of a fingertip.
Yu Zhuo looked at it and said, "Ah, this hairpin is so pretty, it's made by the Imperial Household Department."
"What makes you say that?" Chen Afu asked.
Yu Zhuo pointed to an almost invisible character on the hairpin and said, "Miss Chen, please look here, this is the character 'nei'."
Chen Afu saw it, indeed it was true. She then said, "So Mrs. Chu is a princess. She seems affable in disposition and forthright, quite an easygoing person."