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

Deng Zechen always felt like a sword was hanging over his head until he earned money as soon as possible.

During this time, Guo Wenshao offered to teach Deng Zechen martial arts, but Deng Zechen declined after weighing the options.

Right now, we need to pay off the debt as soon as possible while it's still light, and rent a suitable house in the capital to move out. Otherwise, we'll always be in the wrong when facing Master Li's demands in the future.

Money is easy to repay, but favors are the hardest to repay.

Guo Wenshao did not force him, but quietly took over Deng Zechen's three meals a day and said that this would not be included in Li Shi's debt.

He can pay it back slowly when he has more money in the future, without any interest, so he's not in a hurry.

Deng Zechen knew that Guo Wenshao had seen through his lack of money; in fact, this was something Deng Zechen had never hidden.

Trying to appear rich when you're broke is just asking for trouble.

With the blessing of the Illusory Realm, Deng Zechen completed the first volume of the Scientific Expedition Manual in just three days. After handing the first volume to Guo Wenshao, Deng Zechen fell asleep on the bed while waiting for a reply.

I've been so tired these past few days that I don't even have the time or energy to go through the Land of Illusion to find Lin Daiyu.

When Deng Zechen woke up after a good night's sleep, he found that Guo Wenshao had returned from the bookstore, along with the 80 taels of silver notes that his elder brother had given him in advance.

"My elder brother said your book is good. Although people from wealthy families can't use it, not everyone who takes the imperial examinations comes from a prominent family. There are still many people who need this kind of book. As long as you maintain the current level of quality in the subsequent content, many people should buy it."

Guo Wenshao was also very happy for Deng Zechen, and Deng Zechen felt much more relaxed upon hearing this. He sincerely thanked his senior brother who had taken such good care of him once again:

"I must thank you for your help, Senior Brother. Otherwise, I would have had no chance to get around in this unfamiliar capital city!"

"Hey, don't be so polite with your senior brother. Oh, by the way, my older brother asked me to tell you that if you can achieve a good ranking in the imperial examinations in the future, the price of this book will be even higher when your identity is revealed."

Upon hearing this, Deng Zechen didn't think much of it. Others might not know, but he was very clear about how much of his claim to be the top county official was unfounded.

With Daiyu's predictions and the blessing of the Land of Illusion, it's practically equivalent to having the questions leaked and memorizing the answers before taking the exam. It would be really inexcusable not to achieve good results.

With money in hand, Deng Zechen could now look at houses in the capital.

Indeed, the things that give people the greatest sense of security in this world are power and wealth. Just having a little money in my pocket makes me feel much more at ease.

Let's rent a small courtyard as soon as possible tomorrow, and then pick up Xiangling.

This task is currently the most promising one to complete.

Having their own courtyard provided a convenient place for Feng Ziming and him to talk.

After thanking Guo Wenshao, the two brothers went their separate ways to attend to their own affairs. Deng Zechen had caught up on his sleep during the day and was now in good spirits.

After checking that it was almost time, he entered the Land of Illusion and returned to the familiar main hall. Deng Zechen discovered that the passage connecting to Lin Daiyu's dream had been opened.

Perhaps it was time for bed, because Lin Daiyu's hair had already been untied, with only two or three bright red coral beads adorning the ends still unremoved.

He was sitting on the edge of the bed, lost in thought.

After only a few days apart, Lin Daiyu's complexion showed signs of fatigue.

Looking at Lin Daiyu, Deng Zechen knew that something must have happened in the Rongguo Mansion later, but he didn't know if it was a plot from the book he knew.

Speak first:

"What's wrong? Did you not have a good time at your maternal grandparents' house?"

Lin Daiyu did not admit it, even though Deng Zechen was quite certain that Lin Daiyu's slightly assertive words when she first entered the Rongguo Mansion would change the attitude of Grandmother Jia and the others towards her, but he did not directly point it out.

"My maternal grandparents' home... is very different from what I imagined..."

Having read *Dream of the Red Chamber* and having a reader's perspective, Deng Zechen naturally knew how absurd the Ning and Rong mansions were, but he pretended not to know, asking, "What's wrong? Who bullied you?"

"No one bullied me. I thought about all the things my father had planned for me, and how my mother had carefully taught me how to deal with the outside world. But when I actually faced those people and things I had heard about, I still did something rude and talked back to my grandmother..."

Deng Zechen chuckled, "Lin Daiyu, you're still too polite!"

What you said is hardly rude; there's still a lot of room for improvement in attack power.

Whether it is mental or physical.

If conditions permit in the future, we should help Lin Daiyu improve her physical fitness. Even if we don't uproot a willow tree, we should at least be able to break off its branches and whip someone.

Did Lin Daiyu uproot a willow tree?

Lin Daiyu breaks a willow branch and whips Baoyu!

Deng Zechen suppressed the jumbled thoughts in his mind and asked curiously, "How could that be? You've always been the most polite. Even if you were impatient once or twice, it must have been because you were provoked by some ill-intentioned people."

"How could I be so good?"

"But you're really good! Truly rude people don't realize they've been rude, but you were aware that you might have been rude and still did it anyway. That must be because you encountered someone even more rude, or you suffered a great injustice and had no choice but to retaliate."

Lin Daiyu was both touched and shy upon hearing this, as she hadn't heard such straightforward praise in a long time.

Lin Daiyu immediately felt as if she had drunk a cup of warm tea. The warmth flowed from her heart to all parts of her body, dispelling the chill of the past few days.

Lin Daiyu felt much better and stopped arguing with Deng Zechen about whether she was good or bad. She finally began to talk about what happened at the Rongguo Mansion:

"That day, my cousin and I went to the Rongguo Mansion to pay our respects to our elders. My cousin's words were inappropriate, and I was just speaking up for my cousin. Who knew that my cousin would say that those who study and pass the imperial examinations are all parasites, which earned me a beating from my second uncle."

Haha, well done! It's a pity I couldn't see it in person.

"But my aunt and the old lady both protected him, and my second uncle had to stop after hitting him a few times. Later, he often came to my yard. I didn't want to talk to him much, but he kept coming up to me and even wanted to give me a nickname! He said it would be Pinpin."

At this point, Lin Daiyu seemed to be angered again, and a blush rose on her originally fair face.

"This is utterly absurd! How dare he choose a daughter's given name? Aside from her father, teachers, or other male elders in the family, the only man outside the family who can choose your name is your husband!"

Lin Daiyu wholeheartedly agreed, nodding vigorously. "Yes, that's exactly what I said back then, and I even had Xueyan kick him out. Later, the old lady said it was because my cousin was innocent and didn't understand these things, and told me not to neglect him because of it. She assigned a maid to my room as compensation, and I don't have to pay her a monthly fee."

"So what are your thoughts? Did you accept this girl or not?"