Ever since his wife passed away and his daughter went north to the Rongguo Mansion, Lin Ruhai's health had grown worse with each passing year.
The sicker he became, the more he worried about his daughter's future.
Though his mother-in-law's letter had hinted that she wished to betroth Daiyu to Baoyu, he still couldn't put his mind at ease.
One day, while on leave, Lin Ruhai went to a bookstore in town to clear his head. There, he happened to meet a plainly dressed young man with honest, refined features. The youth had an astonishing ability to remember anything he saw.
Unfortunately, the young man told him that both his parents were dead, and that his uncle and aunt were planning to sell him into servitude. He feared he would never get the chance to study again.
Hearing this, Lin Ruhai was moved.
He both wanted to nurture such talent and wished to make plans for his daughter's future, so he began considering taking the boy as a live-in son-in-law.
*
Song Wan transmigrated.
The original owner was also named Song Wan. He was ten years old, orphaned, and living with his uncle and aunt.
His uncle and aunt already had two sons, and they were hardly well-off. Now his aunt was pregnant again, and the couple disliked him more than ever.
They had privately agreed to sell him for money as soon as the baby was born.
The original owner had overheard their conversation and, in his panic, fallen into the river at the entrance to the village and drowned.
So Song Wan had to find a way out before his aunt gave birth.
Fortunately, he had a photographic memory.
When he accidentally learned that this was the world of Dream of the Red Chamber, he set his sights on Lin Ruhai, the local Imperial Salt Commissioner.
His original plan was to ask Lin Ruhai to take him as a student. Who could have guessed that Lin Ruhai was indeed interested in him, but wanted him as a live-in son-in-law instead?
Knowing that Lin Ruhai's daughter was the famous Lin Daiyu, Song Wan was more than happy to agree.
*
Note: Baoyu and Daiyu will not end up together. The Xue family and Lady Wang are portrayed negatively.
Theme: Live life to the fullest.
