Dream of the Red Chamber: My Daiyu Has Been Reborn

Zhou Hui watched helplessly as the person she had almost gotten was snatched away. She felt guilty and immediately sent a letter to the capital city through a messenger.

When the letter reached Huang Ying, she was inspecting a new batch of rouge in the backyard of Shifangzhai. She opened the letter and immediately frowned.

In the letter, Zhou Hui recounted the events in Jinling in detail, her words filled with self-reproach, stating that she was unworthy of Miss Lin's trust due to her lack of skill.

Huang Ying put the letter away, instructed the other sisters to watch the shop, and then went straight out the door.

In the Pear Fragrance Courtyard, Daiyu was playing with Snowball. Since arriving here, the kitten had been quite at ease, either chasing butterflies or curling up on Daiyu's lap to nap. Xueyan and Zijuan also adored it.

Upon hearing that Huang Ying had arrived, Daiyu handed the snowball to Xueyan and led Huang Ying into the inner room to talk.

Huang Ying presented the letter that Zhou Hui had sent and then explained the whole story in detail.

After listening to Huang Ying recount the events, Daiyu sighed softly.

"That girl is also a pitiful person. I was thinking of helping her if I happened to run into her, which would be a good deed, but now I don't know who she has fallen into. Oh well, everyone has their own fate. Since things have come to this, let Miss Zhou and the others not blame themselves. Yangzhou is the important place to go."

"The young lady is kind-hearted. I have already replied to Zhou Hui and the others, telling them to continue their journey to Yangzhou."

……

Inside a small courtyard in the south of the city.

Gu Jinhong looked at Liu San and the others kneeling on the ground in front of him, and then at Xiangling huddled in the corner, trembling. His temples throbbed, and he didn't know what to say.

He took a deep breath and looked at Bai Yutang beside him, barely managing to hold back his curses.

Bai Yutang turned his face away, looking constipated, and silently took half a step to the side. The meaning was clear: this has nothing to do with me.

Liu San said with a bitter face, "Second Master, Master Bai, it all happened so suddenly. That woman suddenly intervened and saved her. After we rescued her, we felt it wasn't safe for the girl to stay in Jinling, so we thought it would be safest to send her to the capital."

Gu Jinhong looked at Xiangling curled up in the corner and felt a headache coming on. He had painstakingly planned this, hoping to expose Feng Yuan's case, but now everything had been ruined.

"You guys have really made something of yourselves." Gu Jinhong rubbed his temples. "I told you to keep an eye on them, and you just brought them right to my doorstep."

Liu San forced a smile and said awkwardly, "Second Master, we were just afraid of losing people and having to explain ourselves."

"Alright. Get up, all of you." Gu Jinhong waved his hand, his gaze falling on the little girl.

When Xiangling saw the richly dressed young nobleman looking at her, she trembled uncontrollably. She didn't know who had kidnapped her or where they were going to sell her.

Gu Jinhong took two steps forward and squatted down in front of her.

Xiangling was so frightened that she shrank back, hitting the back of her head on the wall. Tears streamed down her face from the pain, but she dared not make a sound.

"Don't be afraid." Gu Jinhong knew he had frightened her, so he softened his voice. "Do you remember your name?"

Xiangling bit her lip and gently shook her head: "I...I don't remember."

She was taken around by the kidnappers, constantly beaten and verbally abused, and her original name had long been forgotten. The kidnappers only called her "girl," and she had no other name.

"Since you can't remember, how about I give you a name? The little red birthmark between your eyebrows is shaped like a water chestnut flower, so from now on you'll be called Xiangling."

Upon hearing this, Xiangling stared blankly at the handsome young man with the gentle voice before her. After so many years of wandering, this was the first time someone had given her a name.

"Xiangling... Thank you for bestowing this name upon me, young master."

Gu Jinhong stood up: "From today onwards, you will serve as my maid. Don't worry, no one will hit you here, and no one will sell you again."

Xiangling looked at Gu Jinhong timidly, unsure whether what he said was true or false, but her fear lessened somewhat.

When Gu Jinhong led Xiangling back to the Marquis of Duanping's residence, it was already dark.

Xiangling followed behind him nervously, not daring to lift her head the whole way. She had been brought from Jinling to the capital by Liu San and the others for more than half a month, living in fear. Now, following this young master into such a magnificent mansion, she felt even more at a loss, afraid of making a wrong move.

Gu Jinhong led Xiangling back to his own courtyard, and had the maids in the courtyard take Xiangling away to wash and change her clothes, while he went to the main courtyard to pay his respects to his mother.

When Li Shulan saw her son come in, she squinted and looked him over.

"I heard you brought a girl home today?"

"Yes. My son saw that the girl had a pitiful background, had been beaten and scolded by kidnappers for many years, and didn't even remember her original name, so he brought her back to keep her by his side as a maid."

Upon hearing this, Li Shulan frowned slightly.

She knew her son's character well. Although he was usually a bit carefree, he never brought anyone home, but now he had suddenly brought a girl back.

"Jinhong," Li Shulan's tone became more serious, "I like Daiyu very much. You mustn't do anything improper outside and hurt her feelings."

Gu Jinhong knew his mother must have misunderstood, and he was both amused and exasperated: "Mother, I only felt sorry for that girl, I had no other intentions."

"Whether you have ulterior motives or not, you know it in your heart." Li Shulan was clearly not convinced. "If you really like a girl, you can just say so openly and honestly, and make arrangements after Daiyu enters the family. But if you dare to cause any scandals before the marriage, I won't forgive you."

Gu Huaiyuan couldn't help but interject, "Madam, Jin Hong has always been a sensible child. She's just a maid, why bother..."

"Shut up." Li Shulan glanced at him indifferently.

Gu Huaiyuan immediately swallowed the rest of his words, picked up his teacup, lowered his head to drink the tea, and dared not look at his son again.

Gu Jinhong couldn't help but twitch his lips when he saw his father's appearance.

Li Shulan looked at the nanny beside her and said, "Go and bring over the young lady that the second master brought back. I want to see what kind of celestial beauty she is that could catch the eye of my son."

Before long, Xiangling was brought over by the nanny. She had changed into a simple dress, and her hair had been combed again, revealing a delicate face. She was no longer as dirty as before, and the rouge mole between her eyebrows was as red as blood.

Xiangling had already learned where she was from the nanny. Once inside the house, she didn't dare to look up and examine the place closely. She simply knelt down and bowed respectfully.

"This servant, Xiangling, greets Your Highness the Marquis and Your Highness the Princess."

"Raise your head."

Xiangling obediently raised her head, her eyes lowered, not daring to look directly at him.

Li Shulan looked her up and down. The girl was indeed quite beautiful, especially the mole between her eyebrows, which was the finishing touch.

"Get up. Your name is Xiangling? Who gave you that name?"

Xiangling stood up, stood respectfully with her hands at her sides, and whispered, "Your Highness, it was the young master who gave it to me."

Li Shulan glanced at her son.

Gu Jinhong explained, "I can't remember her original name. My son saw that the mole between her eyebrows was shaped like a rhombus, so he just gave her that name."

Li Shulan didn't pursue that matter further, but instead asked Xiangling, "Where are you from? Do you have any relatives?"

Xiangling's eyes reddened: "This servant can't remember clearly. I only remember being kidnapped when I was very young and moved around to many places. Most of the things from before are blurry to me." Her voice trembled as she said this.

Seeing her like this, Li Shulan's wariness lessened somewhat. As the eldest princess, she had a good eye for people. The girl before her had clear and honest eyes, and didn't seem like a scheming person; she was indeed a person with a tragic fate.

"In that case, you may stay in the manor from now on," Li Shulan said, her tone softening. "However, there are a few things I must say beforehand. Since you are serving by the young master's side, you must be dutiful. If I find out that you have any improper thoughts, you cannot stay in this manor."

Xiangling immediately knelt down: "This servant dares not. Young master saved this servant's life, this servant only asks to serve well to repay the young master's kindness, and absolutely dares not have the slightest improper thoughts."

"That's the best way to think. Now, go down."

Xiangling respectfully kowtowed before getting up and leaving.

Li Shulan looked at her son: "This girl does seem to have a tragic fate, and it's a good deed for you to take her in. But have you remembered what I just said?"

"I've got it, I've got it." Gu Jinhong said helplessly, "Mother, I'm really not that kind of person."