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

Unfortunately, it was not yet bedtime, and Deng Zechen had no way of knowing Lin Daiyu's condition.

I had no choice but to put this matter aside for now and go boil some water, preparing to take a comfortable hot bath.

After all, they had been fighting and running around all day and had worked up a good sweat.

Inside the room, Deng Zechen immersed himself completely in the wooden tub, the rising steam wetting his long, black hair.

With his eyes closed, Deng Zechen placed his hands on the edge of the wooden tub, leaned back against it, and quietly enjoyed the tranquility of the moment.

His accumulated training has given him a thin layer of muscle covering his chest and abdomen, which, while not exaggerated, contains tremendous power.

However, he was ultimately no match for a grown man who had practiced martial arts for decades, which is why he suffered a minor loss when facing the man named Song He.

Feeling the water temperature gradually decreasing, Deng Zechen stood up, water droplets sliding down his muscles.

She grabbed a towel that was placed to the side, dried herself off quickly, put on her undergarments, and returned to her room with her long hair down.

As night deepens, I hope everyone has sweet dreams tonight.

Deng Zechen entered the Land of Illusion and indeed saw that Lin Daiyu's dream passage had been opened.

As soon as Deng Zechen entered, Lin Daiyu noticed his presence, but she was not interested and sat blankly at the round table in the garden.

His eyes were vacant, and it was unclear what he was thinking, but he certainly wasn't admiring the flowers.

Seeing Lin Daiyu's appearance, Deng Zechen knew something was wrong:

"This is bad; this is late-night depression."

When Lin Daiyu saw him walk up to her, she did not, as usual, take the initiative to talk about what had happened to her.

After all, he can't just conjure up a person out of thin air, can he?

"What's wrong? Who upset you? Tell me, and I'll summon some little devils to scare them to death and avenge you."

Lin Daiyu tilted her head slightly, her slightly moist eyes turning to Deng Zechen, looking at the unseen figure:

"Everyone says ghosts are scary, but I think some people in this world do things that are even scarier than ghosts."

It's good that you're willing to speak up; there's still hope for treatment!

"Tell me your thoughts, and I'll analyze it for you."

Lin Daiyu told Deng Zechen everything about the probing and plans of Grandmother Jia and the others during the day, but subconsciously concealed her own thoughts.

Deng Zechen's mind raced upon hearing this:

Wait a minute, Xue Baochai hasn't even appeared yet, so why is Grandmother Jia in such a hurry to arrange a marriage between Jia Baoyu and Lin Daiyu?

Although the original text also vaguely reveals that Grandmother Jia had this plan, it was not as urgent as it is now. Could it be that some unforeseen event has occurred that I am unaware of?

It seems that Lin Daiyu cannot stay in the Rongguo Mansion any longer. Originally, we thought there was enough time, but we didn't expect the plot to have collapsed to this point.

"I have already written a letter to my father and sent it to him. I really don't know what to do now."

Of course I didn't want to marry my cousin, but my father was far away, and I was living under someone else's roof.

Public opinion is a fearsome thing; the mere phrase "lost my trust" has bound me firmly in place, rendering me unable to move.

Lin Ruhai genuinely loved Lin Daiyu, and even from snippets of the original work, it's clear that the deceased Jia Min didn't have a good impression of Jia Baoyu, this troublesome little devil.

Influenced by his deceased wife, Lin Ruhai would probably not agree to this marriage. The only problem now is the rumors caused by the lack of someone to raise his mother after her death.

There's still some time; we need to take action as soon as possible.

"Don't panic. Things will work themselves out. If you lose your composure, no one can help you."

Lin Daiyu nodded. "I know. I won't panic until I receive Father's reply."

In a flash, an idea popped into Deng Zechen's mind.

If it were merely because of the loss of a mother, then as long as the person who marries Lin Daiyu doesn't care, all of this would fall apart on its own.

Propose marriage to Lin Daiyu?

This would not only allow them to take Lin Daiyu away, but also solve another problem.

Most importantly, it can completely reverse the original ending of Lin Daiyu in the novel.

As soon as the thought crossed Deng Zechen's mind, he felt his heart race, the scene before his eyes magnify rapidly, and he could faintly hear tinnitus.

For a moment, it seemed as if the only sound in the world was the pounding of my own heart.

But after calming down, Deng Zechen realized it was inappropriate and rejected the idea.

Deng Zechen always felt that Lin Daiyu's fate should not be decided so hastily.

Moreover, the difference in social standing between his family and the Lin family was too great; at present, they only had a little money at most.

Compared to the Lin family's generations of marquises, his money was nothing more than a drop in the ocean.

Lin Ruhai probably wouldn't agree either...

Unless someone of higher status can break the deadlock, or one ranks highly in the imperial examination, one has little chance of being eligible to propose marriage.

I just don't know if we have that much time left.

Faced with the current situation, Deng Zechen didn't have any good ideas for the time being.

Lin Daiyu was also clearly very restless:

"I never thought this day would come, because my mother said that my family was already prominent enough."

"When I get married, all I need to consider is whether the other person is a good man and whether I like him or not. With their support, I'll never suffer any injustice..."

Perhaps because Lin Daiyu's mind was in turmoil and her dream was unstable, the illusion around her shattered suddenly after a while.

The dreamlike scene in the garden dissipated, and Deng Zechen returned to the Land of Illusion.

Thinking of Lin Daiyu's last words, Deng Zechen felt a tightness in his chest and a general unease.

Coupled with the formidable opponent he had faced during the day, his slightly relaxed state caused him to tense up once again.

"I am just too weak, which is why I feel so powerless in the face of crisis."

There was no use in just sighing, so Deng Zechen immediately suppressed his chaotic thoughts and began to study at the speed of the Illusionary Realm.

Lin Daiyu, on the other end, suddenly awoke in the darkness, a tear silently sliding down her cheek and soaking her pillow.

But there was not a sound in the entire room.

……

As night deepened, Lady Wang couldn't fall asleep, recalling Lin Daiyu's repeated rejections of Grandmother Jia's betrothal proposals during the day.

A sudden surge of anger welled up within him, and he was filled with such hatred that his teeth itched to clench.

Lady Wang was suppressed by Jia Min as soon as she married into the Rongguo Mansion. She finally got through the hardship of Jia Min marrying out and was able to turn her life around for a few years.

Jia Min's daughter has once again captivated Bao Yu and the old lady's hearts.

Even Jia Zheng, because of Lin Ruhai's indulgence of Lin Daiyu, pretended not to know that Lin Daiyu often went out.

A few days ago, Lin Daiyu took over all the shops that Rongguo Mansion had been managing. Jia Zheng didn't say a word and said that it was just returning the items to their rightful owners and that he shouldn't worry about it too much!

It's one thing for Jia Min; she's the old lady's only daughter, so it's normal for her to be favored.

But Lin Daiyu was just a granddaughter after all. How could she make all the important people around her revolve around her and be led by the nose by her?

"Jia Min really is my nemesis! Her daughter is my nemesis too!"

Fortunately, Jia Min was already dead...

Thinking of the deceased Jia Min, a wicked idea came to mind.

Since Lin Daiyu lost her mother at a young age and was sent to our mansion to be raised, and she and Baoyu had a bond of eating and living together.

The old lady wanted them to get married, so why didn't she let everyone know that Lin Daiyu and Baoyu grew up together, and then spread the news of her mother's death?

When people outside hear this, they wonder which decent family would still want to marry her.

I want to see how arrogant she can still be!

Wouldn't it be a natural thing to take him into Baoyu's room then?

This way, it won't delay Baoyu from marrying a virtuous wife in the future, and it will also fulfill the old lady's wishes.

A win-win situation.

Seemingly pleased with her own brilliant idea, Madam Wang finally let out a satisfied sigh and gradually fell asleep.