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Lin Ruhai recalled a time when a monk came to visit when his daughter was two years old. Although he had sent the man away, it left a lingering discomfort in his heart.
"Brother, there was once a monk who said that my Lin family’s Lin Daiyu has a thin fate and little fortune. If she is to live long, she must not see her relatives and brothers in this lifetime. You are more knowledgeable than I am; do you think this is credible?"
Bai Tang snatched the whip from Lin San's hand, raised it, and struck the two horses a few times. The horses took off running wildly, causing Lin San to panic and hurriedly pull on the reins to control their speed. Bai Tang smiled apologetically and returned the whip to Lin San.
"One of those two is called Vast Sage, and the other is Miao Miao Zhen Ren; they are immortals who travel through the world."
"Are they really immortals?" Lin Ruhai was astonished. "Then what they said about Lin Daiyu..."
Bai Tang nodded. "It's true. Lin Daiyu owes Jia Baoyu a debt from her past life, and in this life, she must repay it with tears."
"No wonder Lin Daiyu cried when she first met Jia Baoyu," Lin Ruhai thought of the scene where Jia Baoyu dropped his jade pendant, his expression darkening. Now that he heard from Bai Tang that Jia Baoyu was his daughter's fateful connection, he wished he could strangle the boy.
"How many times has Lin Daiyu met Jia Baoyu?" Bai Tang asked curiously, wondering how the current Jia Baoyu, no longer a phoenix egg, interacted with Lin Daiyu, whose parents were still alive. With newfound confidence, Lin Mei Mei could not possibly be as cautious and silently endure as in the original story.
"Only once. After their first meeting ended unhappily, my wife and I did not want them to associate anymore." Before meeting Jia Baoyu, Jia Min had even considered furthering their families' ties, but after their daughter cried at their first encounter, she lost all interest in matchmaking her daughter with her maternal family’s nephew.
"That child is too innocent!" So innocent that she does not understand worldly affairs; how could she bear the responsibilities of a head of household or care for a wife?
"What does your niece think of Jia Baoyu?" Bai Tang asked.
"What thoughts could there be? Brother, we must not speak of men and women being close."
Bai Tang quickly apologized. "Yes, I was wrong! However, Lin brother, your niece should still meet with Jia Baoyu more often and cry a few more times."
Lin Ruhai was puzzled: "Why is that?"
Bai Tang: "Lin Daiyu's niece owes Jia Baoyu a debt of gratitude from her past life, and in this life, she must repay it with tears. Let them meet a few more times, cry a few more times, and repay the debt of gratitude. Once they are done, the two will have no further ties, and the niece can start a new life without being entangled with Jia Baoyu."
Upon hearing this, Lin Ruhai was delighted: "Thank you for your guidance, my dear brother!"
Bai Tang waved his hand: "There is no need for thanks, Brother Lin. Just keep my identity a secret."
Lin Ruhai replied earnestly: "Rest assured, my dear brother. No one else will learn of your identity from me."
A month after the birthday banquet, Kang Yuan Emperor issued an edict of abdication, passing the throne to Fourth Prince. The coronation ceremony required three months of preparation, during which Fourth Prince, as a prince, managed all court affairs and was extremely busy, leaving no time to contact Bai Tang. Bai Tang also prepared to leave the world of Dream of the Red Chamber and return to the modern era. He left ten thousand taels of silver for An Ping, and as he stepped out of Qiqiao Pavilion, he saw a carriage bearing the Jia family emblem passing by.
Seeing Bai Tang, Jia Zhu jumped down from the carriage: "Master!"
"Are you going to see Lord Lin?"
Jia Zhu shook her head: "I’m here to pick up Elder Sister!"
It was truly unfortunate for Jia Yuan Chun, born on the first day of the Lunar New Year, as both Madam Wang and the Jia family matriarch wanted to send her into the palace to become a favored concubine. However, Madam Wang's sins were exposed, and her reputation as a daughter was tarnished by her mother’s actions. Not only did her path to success become blocked, but marrying also became problematic. Unable to endure her current predicament, Jia Yuan Chun, who had been educated to have high aspirations, gritted her teeth and chose to enter the palace as a maidservant, hoping to find an opportunity to connect with some noble master. Unfortunately, things in the palace were not as she wished. There were too many women with similar ambitions; lacking money and backing, she could only watch as other maids from her batch climbed the ranks while she remained just a second-class maid after several years in the palace. Finally, when her brother achieved success and became her support, several princes took an interest in her. She managed to enter the Crown Prince's residence but before she could become the Crown Prince's woman, he failed in his rebellion and his entire household was placed under house arrest by the emperor. If it weren't for Jia Zhu seeking help from Fourth Prince, Jia Yuan Chun would have been imprisoned in the Crown Prince's residence for life.
"Fourth Prince seems quite fond of you!"
Jia Zhu expressed her gratitude: "His Highness is benevolent. Fortunately, Elder Sister is just a maid and has not yet been favored by the Crown Prince, otherwise there would be no way for Fourth Prince to release her."
"What will happen from now on? It won't be easy for Jia Yuan Chun to find someone now." First affected by Madam Wang's influence and then having gone through experiences in the Crown Prince's residence, it would be even harder for Jia Yuan Chun to marry.
Jia Zhu said, "I have a group of subordinates in the military camp, one of whom has lost his first wife and only has a five-year-old daughter. Marrying my Elder Sister would be a good match for him."
How could Jia Yuan Chun, who has lofty ambitions, endure being a concubine to a rough man? However, it is no longer a time for her to be picky; the fact that he does not disdain her is already due to her brother's influence. If she were truly wise, she should seize this opportunity with this man, live well, and bear a few sons, thus securing her future.
"Then you should hurry! Your Elder Sister must be waiting anxiously," Bai Tang waved Jia Zhu off.
"Yes!" Jia Zhu bowed and turned back to the carriage. After walking a few steps, she turned back and said, "Master, the Fourth Prince has summoned Cousin Pan to the capital. Aren't you going to wait for him before leaving?"
Bai Tang smiled, "He's not a child; what’s there to wait for? When your cousin arrives, as his older cousin and mentor, take good care of him."
The Fourth Prince had long wanted to recruit Xue Pan as his subordinate. However, Xue Pan's father was one of Kang Yuan Emperor's spies, and the Fourth Prince feared that recruiting Xue Pan would raise suspicions. Now that he was about to become the new emperor, he naturally needed to bring such a talented individual as Xue Pan close to him.
After a spin, Bai Tang appeared in her bedroom. The room was dark; using the moonlight, she glanced at the clock on the windowsill—it was two in the morning. Bai Dad and Bai Ma were fast asleep; it was best not to wake them. Bai Tang tiptoed into the kitchen and placed the food she had brought back from ancient times into the refrigerator. She had only taken out one-tenth of it, which had already filled the entire fridge. The Bai family's refrigerator was new, bought when they moved into their new home—four doors with an enormous capacity. Returning to her bedroom, Bai Tang took out some embroidery pieces and placed them on the balcony; fortunately, her balcony was quite large and could accommodate all the goods from Sheng Qingxi's order.
Looking up, a dark golden light band caught her eye; it was the distant river stretching across City D. The orange streetlights along the banks illuminated the river surface, and as the night breeze blew by, it seemed as if countless silver snakes were swimming.
City D is famous for its river and mountain. The river is the distant river, a tributary of the Yangtze River that irrigates nearly 100,000 acres of fertile land along its banks and plays a crucial role in flood control for over fifty square kilometers in City D. It is known as City D's "Mother River." The city government has undertaken significant comprehensive renovations of the distant river, making it "blue, clear water, green banks, and beautiful scenery," attracting white egrets and wild ducks among other water birds, becoming a beautiful sight in City D.
The mountain is East Mountain; there is a lake on it—six parts mountain and four parts water—where mountains embrace water amidst vast misty waves. The water is uniform in color with stunning scenery; on the mountain are dense forests of bamboo and lush trees filled with birdsong and fragrant flowers—a magnificent atmosphere. The city government has developed a park here with pavilions styled in an ancient manner; at the mountain's peak stands a Taoist temple with thriving incense offerings.
Bai Tang's new home is by the distant river; standing by her window allows her to see the scenery on both sides of the river. In the distance, East Mountain can also be vaguely seen—there are mountains and water; the environment couldn't be better.
After enjoying the night breeze for a while, Bai Tang returned to her room. Feeling wide awake, she decided to turn on her computer and play some games. Her previous game account had disappeared due to system issues affecting Bai Tang; she registered a new account but now had very little time to play games. The character she controlled had just barely escaped being a novice at level twenty. She maneuvered her character to defeat bosses in dungeons and mined across maps; at this time of night, very few players were online—she couldn't even find anyone for PvP.
After playing games out of boredom for a while with her penguin bouncing around energetically, Bai Tang clicked on it and saw a dialogue box from Field of Hope pop up.
Field of Hope: Are you still awake?
Candy Store: Aren't you also awake?
Field of Hope: My head hurts, I can't sleep!
Candy Store: What's wrong? Is it the troubles of Young Werther?
Field of Hope: My mom invested some money for me to become a director and make a movie.
Candy Store: That's great! Congratulations! With such good news, what do you have to worry about?
Field of Hope: Being a director comes with many worries. I have to worry about casting actors, assembling the crew, choosing locations...
Candy Store: Can't you leave the location choices to the assistant director? Do you really need to be involved in everything?
Field of Hope: This isn't my first time directing; I want everything to be perfect, right? I don't trust others to handle it.
Candy Store: ...Just take care of yourself!
Field of Hope: I'm making a period film this time, and I need your help with some props.
Candy Store: The things in my store aren't cheap; aren't you worried about going over budget?
Field of Hope: Not at all. When the time comes, I'll take the items and get reimbursed by my mom and dad. They'll definitely fight over buying them back.
Candy Store: ... Is this a scam?
Field of Hope: Not really! The stuff in your store is so good, everyone likes it. I can only be considered a middleman at most.
Candy Store: →_→
Candy Store: Your ordered goods are ready. Where should I send them?
Field of Hope: Don't send them yet, I'm not home.
Candy Store: On a business trip?
Field of Hope: Yes, I'm traveling everywhere and don't have a fixed address. It's a pity that I've been to so many places but haven't found an outdoor location that matches my vision.
Candy Store: High standards? What kind of outdoor location are you looking for? Don't Hengdian, Xiangshan, Tongli, and Zhenbei Fort meet your requirements?
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