During the early years of the Western Jin Dynasty, Jia Chong, who had served as General's Advisor and Chief Justice under the Cao Wei regime, was appointed Minister of Works (equivalent to Prime Minister) by Emperor Wu of Jin for his pivotal role in the Sima family's usurpation of Wei, wielding immense power and influence.
One day, a scholar from Nanyang named Han Shou came to the chancellor's mansion seeking employment. Jia Chong, impressed by his elegant demeanor and exceptional learning, appointed him as the chief secretary. From then on, all official documents from the mansion were penned by Han Shou. Recognizing his extraordinary talent, Jia Chong trusted him deeply and always invited him to accompany guests at banquets.
Jia Chong had a young daughter named Jia Wu, who was already eighteen. Whenever Jia Chong hosted guests, she would always peek from behind the curtain, hoping to find an ideal husband among them. That day, she saw Han Shou and thought to herself, "There is such a handsome man in the world—how wonderful it would be to marry him!"
After the banquet, Jia Wu sent her trusted maid to investigate and learned that Han Shou was the chief clerk in her own household. She felt both joy and worry—joy that Han Shou, being a subordinate in the chancellor's mansion, was not difficult to see; worry that as the chancellor's precious daughter, bound by strict propriety between inner and outer quarters, how could she ever arrange a private meeting with him?
Jia Wu fell deeply in love with Han Shou but had no way to meet him. As days passed, she fell ill. Jia Chong and his wife, unaware of the cause, summoned many famous physicians, yet none could cure their daughter.
The maid Cuihong, knowing her mistress's ailment and with Jia Wu's silent consent, arranged for Han Shou to meet the young lady in her private chambers for a secret rendezvous. As they parted, Jia Wu gifted Han Shou the rare Western Region incense her father had given her.
Han Shou obtained the rare incense and stored it at home. Unexpectedly, once the scent touched a person, it lingered for months without fading. While serving at the prime minister's residence, his body exuded an extraordinary fragrance, sparking gossip among colleagues. Even Jia Chong secretly suspected, "This scent resembles the rare incense from the Western Regions in my own mansion..."
Suspecting that Jia Wu and Han Shou were having an affair, Jia Chong secretly summoned the maid Cuihong to question her. Cuihong told him the truth. Jia Chong and his wife then called for Jia Wu, who frankly admitted the relationship and declared she would marry none but Han Shou. Since they had always doted on Jia Wu and saw that the rice was already cooked, Jia Chong and his wife gave Jia Wu in marriage to Han Shou.
And so, the two lovers were finally united in marriage.
Later, the idiom "Han Shou's Stolen Fragrance" came to describe secret romantic encounters.
Source: *A New Account of the Tales of the World*, Chapter "Infatuations"
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "韩寿偷香" came to describe secret romantic encounters.