Lin Daiyu is an orphan living under another family’s roof. Within the Rongguo Mansion’s labyrinthine halls, she must guard against schemes in the shadows, protect the meager inheritance her father left behind, and fight the illness and sorrow that cling to her. For her, the Grand View Garden’s riotous blooms are nothing more than an ornate cage. Then one day, by the Qin Fang Sluice, a “divine stone falls from the sky,” and out leaps a monkey who calls himself the Great Sage Equal to Heaven.
Sun Wukong has been sent down by Buddha to inspect the mortal world, but unexpectedly finds himself amid the red dust of this world of women. He cannot stand the Rong family’s hypocrisy and scheming, nor can he bear to see the young lady in the Xiaoxiang Pavilion with sorrow forever knotted between her brows. His golden cudgel can turn the Celestial Palace upside down, and it can also keep petty bullies at bay for her. Immortal peaches can prolong life, and warm her icy heart as well.
One is a Crimson Pearl Immortal Grass from the banks of the Spirit River, whose tears conceal both pride and tenderness. The other is the stone-born king of Flower-Fruit Mountain, wild and untamed, yet sincere to the core. Though they come from worlds as far apart as heaven and earth, they meet and come to understand one another amid the tangled mysteries of the Red Chamber. He takes on the household stewards and protects her inheritance, teaching her not to let others bully her. She helps him rein in his sharp edges and understand tenderness, letting him glimpse the warmth of the human world beyond his iron will.
As the Rong family’s infighting closes in and the divide between immortals and mortals looms before them, should Daiyu keep struggling inside the prison of the Red Chamber, or follow the mighty monkey back to a life of freedom on Flower-Fruit Mountain? Daiyu’s tears will no longer be shed to repay a debt from a past life. They will be shed only for the words he says in this one: “I, Old Sun, will take you away.”
This is a love that crosses the divide between immortals and mortals, a tale of protection in the depths of the Red Chamber, and the mutual salvation of two lonely souls.
