Dream of the Red Chamber: Starting with winning over Daiyu's favorability

Jia Zheng's biggest regret was that he failed to pass the imperial examination and enter officialdom. If Jia Baoyu had heard this completely, how could he have gotten along with Jia Zheng?

Everyone present witnessed Jia Baoyu rush out the door like a mouse seeing a cat, and seeing Jia Zheng's angry face, none of them dared to speak first and risk incurring bad luck.

Grandmother Jia felt that her precious grandson had suffered a great injustice, and her son did not only fail to help him, but also made Jia Baoyu lose face in front of outsiders, and did not give him a good look. She then left first, claiming that she was tired.

Jia Zheng respectfully saw off Grandmother Jia, and then sternly instructed the servants to take good care of the old lady.

After arranging all these things, he finally had time to receive Lin Daiyu and her entourage. Seeing that Jia Zheng had reprimanded Jia Baoyu, Lin Daiyu felt that Jia Zheng was a reasonable person, and as a junior, she shouldn't hold a grudge. Therefore, she performed a junior's bow to Jia Zheng.

"Thank you, Second Uncle."

Jia Zheng kindly asked Lin Daiyu to get up and then instructed Lady Wang to arrange accommodations for her.

Because Lady Wang was unsure of Grandmother Jia's current plans for Lin Daiyu, she temporarily arranged for Lin Daiyu to stay in a small courtyard that was neither too close nor too far from Grandmother Jia.

The commotion caused by Jia Baoyu was thus swept under the rug in a muddle. After everything was arranged, Lin Daiyu followed Lady Wang to the newly prepared courtyard.

Before leaving, she glanced at Deng Zechen with some reluctance. Although they had only spent a few days together, in Lin Daiyu's heart, Deng Zechen was already a very reliable and trustworthy person.

Especially compared to Jia Baoyu, Lin Daiyu unconsciously developed a greater dependence on Deng Zechen.

After the women took their leave, Jia Zheng began to speak with the two men:

"My son is unruly and has made you laugh. Ru Hai has also told me about your situation. I will have a carriage from the manor take you to the prefectural school to register in a little while. Please do not refuse."

Jia Zheng was beyond reproach in this regard, and Deng Zechen thanked Jia Zheng:

"I wouldn't dare, thank you for your trouble, sir."

Looking at the 13-year-old county magistrate in front of him, Jia Zheng thought of Jia Baoyu, who was still spending his days among women, and could only sigh inwardly.

"To achieve this result in the county-level examination in Wuxian County, Yangzhou, Ru Hai has truly found a promising talent!"

A perfectly timed look of shame appeared on Deng Zechen's face:

"Just lucky. All he does is study books to death; he's no talent among the young people."

Jia Zheng subtly revealed a hint of longing and exclaimed in admiration:

"You are truly a promising young man! You are only 13 years old and you have already achieved the top score in the county examination. This is not something that can be accomplished by mere luck. If my son had even a tenth of your talent, I wouldn't have to worry about him so much."

Deng Zechen repeatedly said he didn't deserve Jia Zheng's praise, and the two exchanged pleasantries for a while.

Only then did Jia Zheng summon servants to see Deng Zechen off.

Unbeknownst to Deng Zechen, Jia Zheng remained seated in deep thought for a long time after the two left.

"This young man gives me a strange feeling that he's somewhat familiar, but looking at his face, I've clearly never seen him before... How strange..."

The teacup in Jia Zheng's hand had long since gone cold, but he was completely oblivious, still scraping the surface of the cup with the lid...

Deng Zechen was the only one in the carriage, so he was much more relaxed. The capital was indeed much more prosperous than Wu County and the places he passed through.

With the system's added points, Deng Zechen's path to the imperial examinations got off to a good start, and he felt more hopeful for his future life.

The academy was soon reached. After the Rongguo Mansion's coachman bid farewell to Deng Zechen, he drove away, kicking up a cloud of dust.

Deng Zechen found Lin Ruhai's letter of recommendation and handed it to the people at the academy. Soon, a middle-aged man with a beard came out.

His steps seemed to be measured by an invisible ruler, with each step being almost perfectly consistent in size.

Because he walked quite fast, the hem of his blue cloth robe billowed backward in the wind he created, but when he stood still in front of him, he was like a stone statue, showing no signs of movement.

Even though it was their first meeting, Deng Zechen sensed an inexplicable hostility from him the moment he saw him. Although he tried to hide it, his narrow eyes still revealed something when he looked at Deng Zechen.

"You must be Deng Zechen."

The tone was very certain, without any probing or doubt.

"You can leave now, we won't take you in."

The words carried an undeniable sense of rejection, leaving Deng Zechen utterly bewildered, as he didn't even know this person.

Why is this person so obviously targeting me on our first meeting?

"Why? I am a student introduced by Lord Lin. This is our first meeting. Why are you making things difficult for me, sir?"

He merely snorted coldly, appearing unwilling to speak further with Deng Zechen, but then, as if remembering something, he revealed a somewhat wicked smile and looked down at Deng Zechen as he replied:

"It's not for any particular reason, I just don't like the look of you. Even if Lin Ruhai came to my door in person right now, let alone introduced you by letter, there's no room for negotiation."

You can go and complain to him, just say that I, He Yue, am preventing you from enrolling, and see if he can stand up for you.

Seeing that Deng Zechen didn't react, he seemed to have thought of something and added maliciously:

"Oh, by the way, if you're still not satisfied, you can go and complain to Lin Ruhai. Maybe he'll stand up for you and make trouble for me?"

Despite failing to gain admission, Deng Zechen remained calm, for he still had a letter of apprenticeship from Magistrate Li.

Moreover, with the Land of Illusion as a safety net, he was already a "prospective scholar" for having topped the county examination, and his future was bright.

The world is so vast, why confine ourselves to one place?

Therefore, he simply nodded to indicate that he understood and calmly replied:

"No need, the world is so big, there's nowhere I can't go."

Deng Zechen had no intention of lingering and turned to leave.

He Yue, left behind, watched Deng Zechen's departing figure. Instead of the bewildered or resentful look he had expected, he gritted his teeth and hissed:

"Another despicable little bastard, just as repulsive as that scoundrel!"

Deng Zechen left the academy without stopping. After asking passersby for directions, he headed towards the address on Magistrate Li's envelope. This was his only way out, and he hoped everything would go smoothly!

However, after settling in, they still needed to write a letter back to inform Lin Ruhai of the situation here.

Fortunately, the address wasn't too far from the academy, and Deng Zechen found the address on the envelope in about 15 minutes.

It was a small courtyard house, and there was no one on duty at the gate, so Deng Zechen had to knock on the door knocker of the brown gate himself.

After repeating this action several times, the door creaked open. A young man emerged, his sleeves rolled up high and tied tightly.

Judging from his appearance, he had just been working. When the young man saw Deng Zechen, he realized he didn't recognize him and politely inquired:

"Who are you looking for?"