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

"Of course I'll take her in. Why wouldn't I? Not only did I take her in, I also got her indenture and told her that once she entered my household, she was mine. Xueyan is too young to stop her. If she can't stop anyone who tries to come in without permission, then she doesn't need to stay in the manor."

Lin Daiyu spoke with a hint of pride on her face, and Deng Zechen, seeing Lin Daiyu's bright eyes, immediately began to praise her:

"Hmm! Well done. If you encounter something like this again, it's okay to be even more 'rude,' as long as you're not in the wrong. Write a letter to your father explaining what happened, and let the elders handle the rest."

"Um!"

Deng Zechen watched as Lin Daiyu nodded so forcefully that the coral beads at the ends of her hair swayed back and forth, revealing a touch of playfulness.

He subconsciously reached out and gently brushed Lin Daiyu's hair behind her shoulder.

Lin Daiyu was only slightly taken aback by this, but then showed no further reaction, as if nothing had happened.

Deng Zechen knew when to stop and didn't take any further action. It would be a loss if he upset Lin Daiyu and lost her favor.

"My cousin is easy to deal with; we're of the same generation, and if I really don't want to deal with him, I can just avoid him. But the old lady always puts us together, sigh..."

Seemingly recalling the old lady's many attempts to matchmake, Lin Daiyu showed a troubled expression:

"It is said that boys and girls should not sit together after the age of seven. I am 12 years old, and my cousin is already 17! But later, the old lady still wanted me to live with him in the warm room! I naturally did not agree. Fortunately, Sister Feng is a reasonable and capable person. She smoothed things over and coaxed the old lady to let me live in a quiet courtyard in the northeast direction behind Rongxi Hall."

Wang Xifeng, you did a great job!

Once the conversation started, Lin Daiyu also began to boldly talk about other things related to the Rongguo Mansion:

"Moreover, the rules of the Rongguo Mansion are quite strange. The eldest uncle, who inherited the title, lives in a side courtyard. The second uncle, on the other hand, lives in the main courtyard next to Rongxi Hall. The side courtyard is right in front of the stables, and I heard that people outside call the eldest uncle 'General of the Stables.' And everyone else in the mansion seems to take it all for granted..."

Deng Zechen's impression of Jia She was that he was a good-for-nothing spendthrift who was indulging in a lot of eating and drinking and had even made a fool of himself by taking a fancy to the maidservant next to his mother.

Jia Zheng seemed very busy, but it was unclear what he was busy with; the mansion remained in a mess.

As for why Rongxi Hall was given to the second son, Jia Zheng, Deng Zechen had never thought about it in detail before.

"Just listen to these things once you hear them, and don't tell anyone. If they won't affect you, don't take them to heart."

The two chatted for a while longer, during which Deng Zechen noticed that Lin Daiyu's favorability rating kept fluctuating.

It rose from 22 to 25 in a moment, but then dropped back to 20 in the blink of an eye.

The patterns of change within it remain elusive and difficult to discern.

The moon sets and the sun rises; a night has passed.

Having developed a biological clock, Deng Zechen wakes up as soon as it is 5 a.m.

Seeing that Lin Daiyu's favorability rating had finally settled at 24%, this was the result of one night's work.

With no one to teach, Deng Zechen went to the room where the books were kept, as Guo Wenshao had instructed, to retrieve the books he needed for self-study, and returned to his room to study. He couldn't afford to waste his time here.

That's all money!

Time always flies when you're busy. I was planning to go out and get some food later, but as soon as I stepped out of my room, I saw a tall, unfamiliar young man walk into the yard.

The young man showed no signs of fatigue from his long journey; his eyes were calm, and his nose was straight.

She has a pair of smiling lips that naturally convey a sense of joy even without making any expression.

The hem of his dark brown clothes was speckled with mud, which looked like traces left from traveling in the rain.

Both of them were startled when they suddenly saw each other appear in their line of sight, and spoke at the same time:

"Who are you?"

"Who are you?"

Deng Zechen was the first to realize that this young man must be the senior brother that Master Li and Guo Wenshao had mentioned who would be returning home in a few days, so he answered first:

"I just became a disciple of Master Li a few days ago, and I will have to trouble my senior brother to take care of me from now on."

The young man strode forward, his eyes shining as he looked at Deng Zechen. He gave a perfunctory reply and quickly massaged Deng Zechen's shoulders and spine.

The opponent didn't use much force, but was extremely fast. After finishing, he looked at Deng Zechen with satisfaction, "Hmm, not bad. Your physique is stronger than Sixth Junior Brother's. Would you like to learn martial arts from me?"

Deng Zechen couldn't be happier; who would complain about having too many cards up their sleeve?

"I yearn for it! Please teach me, Senior Brother!"

"Okay, I just got back and I'm covered in dust. Go wash up first. Come see me again this afternoon so I can check your foundation. Our daily study schedule is: morning reading and recitation at 5:00 AM, checking and learning from 7:00 AM to 1:00 PM, completing the day's assignments and having them checked from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM, and making up lessons after 5:00 PM as needed. Come see me at the times on the schedule from now on."

Although he was a little intimidated by this grueling class, Deng Zechen still decided to show off. "Yes! Senior brother, have you had breakfast? Junior brother, please bring some back for you."

The young man shook his head in refusal and walked towards the innermost room in the corridor. Halfway there, he seemed to remember something, turned around, and said, "I forgot to introduce myself. My surname is Du, and my given name is Feng. My courtesy name is Zhenyu. You can call me Senior Brother directly, or you can call me Brother Zhenyu in private."

The eldest brother has already told you his courtesy name, so to show closeness, of course you should call him Brother Zhenyu!

"Junior brother is slow-witted; he will need Brother Zhenyu to put in more effort to guide him in the future!"

Brother Zhenyu waved his hand, "Haha, nothing of the sort. I think you're very smart. Go and have some breakfast!"

Deng Zechen was in a good mood. He packed two breakfasts for himself and prepared an extra one for Guo Wenshao. He then headed towards the Li residence with his things.

As Deng Zechen was walking through an alley, a flustered girl ran towards him from the opposite direction, and the two bumped into each other before he could dodge.

With a "splash," the soup and other liquids Deng Zechen was carrying spilled all over the floor, and a few drops of oil splattered onto his clothes. Seeing that his breakfast, which he hadn't eaten a single bite of, had been completely ruined, Deng Zechen's good mood for the whole morning vanished instantly. He grabbed the girl who had bumped into him and demanded that she pay him back.

The girl in front of me was naturally not as beautiful as Daiyu or Xiangling; she could only be described as pretty, with only her round eyes being particularly bright and lively.

Staring unblinkingly at Deng Zechen, knowing he had caused trouble, a look of confusion and panic welled up inside him, yet he still stammered an apology:

"Young master, I'm so sorry, I can pay you back. Please let me go home first, don't let me fall into the hands of those villains."

Deng Zechen tightened his grip on the girl's hand. She struggled but couldn't break free, and a look of despair appeared on her face.

A series of noisy footsteps came from afar, and the sound was coming from the alley.