Dream of the Red Chamber: My Daiyu Has Been Reborn

The next day, Gu Jinhong carried a delicate little bamboo cage and swayed leisurely all the way to the Rongguo Mansion.

The gatekeeper saw from afar that it was the second young master of the Marquis of Duanping's mansion. Having learned from his previous experience, he dared not be negligent. He sent someone to inform him while bowing and scraping as he led the man inside.

Gu Jinhong first went to Rongqing Hall to pay his respects to Grandmother Jia. When Grandmother Jia learned that it was him who had come, she was somewhat annoyed, but she did not show it on her face; in fact, her attitude could be described as warm.

Grandmother Jia had someone serve tea: "Young Master Gu, what brings you here today?"

Gu Jinhong waved the cage in his hand: "The Sixth Prince sent two cats to the manor yesterday, and Mother asked me to send one over to Lin Daiyu to keep her entertained."

Grandmother Jia looked at the snow-white creature in the bamboo cage, her brows furrowing almost imperceptibly, before she smiled and said, "Second Young Master is very thoughtful. However, Yu'er is frail, so it's probably not suitable to keep cats and dogs around."

"Grandma, you may not know this, but the Sixth Prince brought this cat from Consort Min. It is a kitten of a lion cat that was presented as tribute from a foreign land. It is gentle and will not disturb Lin Daiyu."

Seeing that he kept bringing up the eldest princess, the prince, and the empress, Grandmother Jia couldn't refuse any longer and could only smile and say, "In that case, I will thank you on behalf of Yu'er. Yuanyang, go and take this cat to Miss Lin."

"Wait," Gu Jinhong raised his hand to stop Yuanyang, then turned to Grandmother Jia, "Grandma, this cat is shy and will be difficult to raise if it gets frightened. How about this sister leads the way to Pear Fragrance Courtyard?"

Grandmother Jia's smile faltered slightly: "This..."

"I hope the old lady will grant my request." Gu Jinhong bowed respectfully.

Grandmother Jia pondered for a moment. Since the flower-viewing banquet, news of Gu Jinhong's marriage to Lin Daiyu had spread. While sending Gu Jinhong to Pear Fragrance Courtyard was against protocol, it was still different from sending any other man. Rather than displeasing Gu Jinhong over such a trivial matter, it was better to do him a favor.

"In that case, Yuanyang, you should take Young Master Gu with you. Make sure the young ladies keep a distance."

"Yes."

Yuanyang softly agreed and led the way for Gu Jinhong.

As Gu Jinhong exited Rongqing Hall and reached the corner of the covered walkway, he bumped into someone.

Jia Baoyu was on his way to Rongqing Hall to pay his respects to Grandmother Jia when he suddenly looked up and saw Gu Jinhong's ambiguous smile. He was so frightened that he stopped in his tracks and turned to run back.

"Oh, isn't this Master Bao?"

Seeing that he was trying to escape, Gu Jinhong was unwilling to let him go. He chased after him in three steps and grabbed Jia Baoyu's arm.

Jia Baoyu froze instantly, feeling Gu Jinhong's hand grip him like an iron clamp, and cold sweat poured down his back. He stiffly turned his head, forcing a smile that looked more like a grimace: "Second Master Gu..."

"Why is Master Bao running away?" Gu Jinhong smiled warmly, as if Jia Baoyu were an old friend he hadn't seen in years. He even reached out to straighten Jia Baoyu's collar. "Why do you always hide from me? Do I look that scary?"

Jia Baoyu felt extremely uncomfortable with Gu Jinhong's actions, even more so than if he had been beaten. Unfortunately, Gu Jinhong was secretly applying pressure, preventing him from running away. He could only stand there, his eyes darting around, but he dared not look at Gu Jinhong.

"No, no, I just suddenly remembered I have something to do..."

"What could be so important?" Gu Jinhong patted his shoulder and said earnestly, "We're all family now, we should visit each other more often. Don't you think so?"

How could Jia Baoyu dare to disagree? He could only nod stiffly, sweat already beading on his forehead.

Seeing his expression, Gu Jinhong lost interest in teasing him any further. He released his arm, picked up the cage, and walked away leisurely, leaving Jia Baoyu standing there alone.

……

Inside the Pear Blossom Courtyard, Daiyu reclined on a chaise lounge by the window. Zijuan was adding tea to her cup, while Xueyan sat on the threshold knitting a knot. The entire courtyard was quiet and peaceful.

Granny Zhou strode in from outside, a smile on her face: "Miss, Young Master Gu has arrived."

Upon hearing this, Daiyu was slightly taken aback, somewhat surprised that Grandmother Jia would agree to let Gu Jinhong come to Pear Fragrance Courtyard.

She looked up at the doorway, where Yuanyang had already led Gu Jinhong through the gate.

"What brings you here, Young Master Gu?" Daiyu got up and went out to greet him.

Gu Jinhong lifted the bamboo cage in his hand higher: "Yesterday, the Sixth Prince sent two lion cats. I thought you must be feeling bored living alone in this courtyard, so I sent you one to cheer you up."

Gu Jinhong placed the bamboo cage on the stone table in the courtyard, reached inside, and scooped out the snow-white kitten.

The cat's bright blue eyes looked like two sapphires, and it nestled timidly in Gu Jinhong's palm, its little nose twitching.

When Daiyu saw the adorable little creature, her eyes lit up instantly. She couldn't resist taking a step forward, reaching out to touch it, but then hesitated, her fingertips hovering in mid-air.

"Touch it." Gu Jinhong extended his palm forward. "This is a lion cat, a tribute from a foreign land. It's the most docile."

Daiyu carefully extended her index finger and gently touched the kitten's head. The little creature squinted its eyes, then rubbed against her fingertip and let out a soft, babyish meow.

Daiyu's lips involuntarily curved into a smile, and she asked softly, "How old is it?"

"It's been almost two months, and it's just been weaned." Seeing her smile, Gu Jinhong gently placed the kitten into her arms.

Daiyu hurriedly caught the kitten, which wasn't afraid of strangers. It nestled in her arms, looked up at her, and then stuck out its pink little tongue to lick its paws.

Zijuan and Xueyan also gathered around, marveling at the sight.

"What a beautiful cat!" Xueyan exclaimed, her eyes wide. "I've never seen a cat so clean and white before!"

"This is called a lion cat, which is indeed rare in the Central Plains." Gu Jinhong sat down on the stone bench next to him and couldn't help but smile as he watched Daiyu playfully teasing the cat.

Daiyu held the cat, gently stroking the soft fur on its back, and looked up at Gu Jinhong.

"Thank you. I like it very much."

After saying that, she lowered her head and continued to tease the cat, pretending to be nonchalant, but her ears were secretly tinged with a thin blush.

Gu Jinhong observed, "If you like it, that's good. This cat doesn't have a name yet, why don't you give it one?"

Daiyu thought about it carefully and said, "Since it is all white, let's call it 'Snowball'."

"Snowball?" Gu Jinhong laughed. "That's a fitting name."

"Then wouldn't that mean I'm from the same generation as Xue?" Xueyan looked at the kitten longingly. "Miss, can I hold you?"

Daiyu then handed the snowball to her, and Xueyan happily took it, muttering to herself, "So pretty."