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

The men chasing after her gleamed with malice, seemingly surprised that this woman had accomplices.

The woman ran very fast, and even though blood was gushing from her wound, it did not hinder her movements at all.

Moreover, she was determined to cling to Deng Zechen, so she went straight to him.

Upon hearing the woman's shout, Deng Zechen prepared to turn his horse around and retreat the way he came. How could you possibly catch up with us on horseback with just a few legs?

But when the woman got closer, Deng Zechen saw her face clearly, his pupils contracted, and he finally stopped, letting her hide behind his group.

At this moment, Feng Ziming also saw the woman's face and exclaimed in shock:

"Miss Qin?! What are you doing here?"

This woman was like Qin Keqing's twin, but their temperaments were completely different.

The woman who resembled Qin Keqing was clearly taken aback for a moment upon hearing Feng Ziming's voice, but then she recognized him:

"Don't ask so many questions yet, let's deal with them together first!"

This conversation undoubtedly confirmed their relationship in the eyes of the masked men, and the one who was closest to them drew his knife and slashed hard at Deng Zechen's horse leg!

Deng Zechen pulled the reins sharply, and the horse beneath him reared up, avoiding the knife.

This man, Mal, was quite intelligent; as he landed, he followed Deng Zechen's intention and kicked the masked man who had attacked first hard in the chest.

The man was kicked to the ground by the heavy blow, unable to get up, and the long knife in his hand fell to the side.

Although the Fang brothers didn't know where this group of people came from or why they were acting this way, since Deng Zechen had taken action to protect the woman, they followed suit.

Fang Xiao raised his hand and threw out several beams of cold light, which pierced straight towards the faces of the three people.

Those three were also quite skilled, using their weapons to deflect the attack.

The death of their companion did not sway them in the slightest. They were determined to kill the woman and did not retaliate against the Fang brothers and Deng Zechen. They went straight for the woman.

Although Deng Zechen and the Fang brothers could both ride horses, they didn't have much skill in fighting on horseback, so they simply dismounted to fight the enemy.

The Fang brothers each stopped one of the masked men, while Deng Zechen fought with the remaining one.

Fang Wan's moves were powerful and heavy. With just a few punches and kicks, she forced her opponent into a retreat. Victory was only a matter of time.

Fang Xiao's kung fu was much more agile. He used a short dagger to fight the man, but the shorter dagger was more dangerous. Fang Xiao was almost injured several times. As a result, the man fighting with Fang Xiao gradually became careless. Fang Xiao seized the opportunity to throw out a handful of poison powder, which immediately ended his life.

In comparison, Deng Zechen's situation was much smoother. Du Feng often gave him pointers, and Deng Zechen felt that the person in front of him was much slower.

After dodging another attack aimed at his side, Deng Zechen seized the opportunity to deliver a punch to the opponent's face, causing blood to spurt from his nose and mouth.

What followed was Deng Zechen's furious barrage of punches, which left the man a bloody mess.

After the three of them dealt with the masked men one by one, they discovered that the woman had long since disappeared.

Feng Ziming was startled by this sudden turn of events, but he also knew that he was powerless and would only cause trouble. Therefore, when the conflict broke out, he tried to keep a low profile and stayed to the side.

"Zechen, that woman didn't stop for a moment, she went that way!"

But precisely because of this, the woman was able to escape while the three were fighting, and all he could do was point out the way to Deng Zechen.

"Should we go after them?" Fang Xiao asked, though her tone was questioning, but she clearly didn't really want to.

Deng Zechen was also filled with doubt and suspicion. On one hand, he was curious about why the woman looked so much like Qin Keqing and wanted to find out, but on the other hand, he was worried about encountering danger if he rashly chased after her.

"Forget it, we don't know anything about her background. If we rashly chase after her, we might run into some other people with ill intentions."

Fang Wan sensed the resentment behind Deng Zechen's words and spoke:

"Let her be then. We'll contact the others at Wan Jin Tang here later and find out about that woman's background before making any further plans."

"Okay, thank you for your hard work."

The three of them quickly settled on a solution, remounted their horses, and left the woods.

Because of what happened on the way, the four of them fell silent and tried their best to speed up their journey towards Wu County.

Upon arriving in Wu County, Feng Ziming led his horse alongside Deng Zechen, hesitated for a moment, and then spoke:

"Zechen, who exactly is Miss Qin? What is her relationship with that woman, and how can they look so alike?"

Deng Zechen was also very puzzled by this. "I'm not trying to hide it from you, but I really don't know Miss Qin's identity. I was only asked to pick her up and take her home. As for that woman, I've never seen her before."

"That's really strange. How can people in this world look so alike? Even sisters couldn't be more similar."

Deng Zechen had also considered this possibility, but there was very little information about Qin Keqing in "Dream of the Red Chamber".

My impression of Qin Keqing is limited to her early death, her favor with Grandmother Jia, the licentious relationships within the Ningguo Mansion, and her suicide.

Does Qin Keqing in this world really have a sister outside?

Deng Zechen was determined to get to the bottom of things when he got back. He couldn't find that woman right now, but couldn't he at least ask Qin Keqing when he got back?

"Forget about it. Now that we're in Wu County, you should go back and check on things. I'll wait for you at the school."

"Okay, see you later!"

Feng Ziming broke away from the group and walked in the other direction, while Deng Zechen led the Fang brothers toward the school.

Wu County was not as prosperous as Jiangdu County, and there were even fewer people on the streets now than before Deng Zechen left.

After all, the imperial court was constantly losing battles, and the Tartars outside were continuously encroaching on the borders of Dayuan, so the people dared not wander around outside at all.

Emperor Chenglie wanted to inherit the bravery of his predecessor, but he never succeeded. Since taking the throne, he has wasted resources and manpower and has never won a single battle.

Lost in thought, Deng Zechen soon arrived outside the school.

After leaving the horses outside, Deng Zechen re-entered this place, which was now somewhat unfamiliar to him.

The school was filled with strangers. Deng Zechen subconsciously walked toward the small house where he used to live. Halfway there, he finally met a familiar person.

Mr. Zhang looked much older. When he saw Deng Zechen, he paused slightly, his beard trembled, and his mouth opened and closed as if he wanted to say something.

Deng Zechen quickened his pace, walked up to Mr. Zhang, and respectfully gave a student's salute:

"Mr. Zhang, I'm back."

Mr. Zhang looked at the student who was already much taller than him, feeling both excited and moved:

"Okay...you're back...you're all grown up now."

Deng Zechen helped Mr. Zhang up, and the two continued walking inside, arriving at an empty room as Mr. Zhang had instructed.

After helping Mr. Zhang to sit down, Deng Zechen solemnly took out a small bag he had prepared, which contained some loose silver and a few gold ingots.

"I was fortunate to have the support of my elders when I went to study in the capital. I left in a hurry and didn't have time to properly thank Mr. Zhang."

The students remember all the kindness Mr. Zhang has shown them. This is a small token of their appreciation; please accept it.