Dreaming of the Red Chamber

The protagonist is Daiyu’s younger brother, who died before her. He excels in both civil and military arts, and a powerful figure secretly protects him. The characters’ ages and the timeline are rather chaotic, and the plot diverges greatly from the original. If that bothers you, please move along.

First wife: Zhenzhen; concubine: You Niang. Both die, leaving no children.

Second wife: Miaoyu; concubine: Qingwen. Each has a son. Miaoyu later becomes a nun while still at home.

Third wife: Baochai; concubines: Ying’er and Qingwen. Qingwen has another son and a daughter. Baochai is forced to take her own life.

Fourth wife: Tanchun; concubine: Qingwen. He later takes Xue Pan’s concubine Xiangling into his household. Tanchun has a son and a daughter, Qingwen has yet another daughter, and Xiangling has a son.

Before his death, Lin Ruhai rises to Grand Tutor to the Crown Prince and chief grand secretary of the cabinet, and serves successively as Minister of War, Minister of Personnel, Minister of Revenue, and in other posts. Later, while leading troops beyond the passes, an old arrow wound flares up and kills him.

Daiyu marries the Crown Prince and becomes Crown Princess, then Empress. She bears two sons and a daughter and rules from behind the curtain.

Baoyu becomes a monk.

The fates of the other characters are too numerous to recount here.