Dream of the Red Chamber: A Journey That Begins with Protecting Lin Daiyu

After transmigrating to become the commander of the Qin Prince's personal guards, Yue Ling only wanted to do his job and collect his salary. Then the Imperial Salt Commissioner Lin Ruhai entrusted his six-year-old daughter to him. Lin Daiyu was still in mourning, afflicted with a congenital illness, and even her maternal grandmother's household was no safe haven. Yue Ling took the little girl with him and headed north from Yangzhou.

A sudden chill struck aboard the boat, and Lin Daiyu burned with fever until she lost her senses. Yue Ling jumped into the river in the dead of night to find medicine, brewed it himself, and fed it to her one spoonful at a time before keeping watch all night. When Lin Daiyu awoke, she realized that a strange man had covered her with a quilt, wiped her face, and even let her use his outer robe as a pillow. Red with embarrassment, she burrowed under the covers.

River bandits crept aboard under cover of night. A scar-faced man advanced with a knife. Yue Ling plunged a dagger into the bandit leader's eye socket, kicked three men flying, and swept his broken blade across the deck, leaving bodies scattered everywhere. Lin Daiyu huddled behind him, never once letting go of his coat.

Along the way, Yue Ling had faced blades, brewed medicine, and shielded her from the wind. Now the capital was near, and the Rongguo Mansion was just ahead. Lin Daiyu tugged at his sleeve and spoke up on her own for the first time: "General Yue, could I... put off going to the Jia family for now?"

This novel and its characters are entirely fictional. Any resemblance to real people or events is purely coincidental. Please do not imitate.