Chapter 10 Yuan Hongqu's Number One Fan

What Grandmother Jia is worried about now is that Jia Min wrote to her years ago saying that Daiyu was in poor health and was taking medicine as her food every day.

Now that she's grown up, she feels that Daiyu is much healthier. You can tell at a glance that she's a healthy child, not that sickly-looking girl.

However, to determine the exact extent of Daiyu's health, it would be necessary to have the imperial physician examine her.

The last time Grandmother Jia received a letter from Jia Min was not long before Jia Min passed away. At that time, Jia Min must have already sensed that her days were numbered.

In her letter, she said that what she cared about most was her mother's health, and what she worried about most was that Daiyu might be as frail as her younger brother...

He hoped that after his death, his mother would take Daiyu into the mansion to raise her, and that a good doctor in the capital would be found to help Daiyu recover her health...

Thinking about this, Grandmother Jia wondered: Before Min'er passed away, Daiyu's health must have been extremely poor, so poor that Min'er was afraid that she would die young like her younger brother.

However, not long after that, Daiyu, apart from being a little small, did not look like a child who was born sick at all.

Could it be that after Min'er passed away, the Lin family found a skilled doctor who cured Daiyu?

Or perhaps it was the original steward, Yuan Hongqu? In this letter, Lin Ruhai repeatedly emphasized that Daiyu's daily life was entirely taken care of by the original steward, who was highly capable. If the Old Madam was unable to manage, she could simply rest assured that the original steward would take care of Daiyu.

Grandmother Jia didn't quite believe that a girl about the same age as Wang Xifeng, who had never given birth herself, could take good care of Daiyu.

However, after reading Lin Ruhai's letter, which detailed his background investigation of Yuan Hongqu,

Grandmother Jia couldn't help but wonder: perhaps this Yuan Hongqu does have some skills.

Lin Ruhai's investigation results were clearly written in the letter, the gist of which was:

Yuan Hongqu lost her mother at a young age. Her father was an honest and upright minor county magistrate who died in office. She started managing the household when she was a few years old, and after her father's death, she, a young girl, took care of his funeral arrangements on her own.

Although she was later taken to Yangzhou to study by relatives, the investigation suggests that relying on relatives may have just been an excuse used by Yuan Hongqu.

Because she only went through the motions at a relative's house, she was able to study at the most famous girls' academy in Yangzhou.

Five years later, she stayed on to teach at the girls' college.

However, a few years later, due to her relatives' involvement, she suffered an undeserved disaster and was imprisoned, but this did not diminish the girl's integrity in the slightest.

If Lin Ruhai hadn't rescued Yuan Hongqu first, there would have been several young ladies from prominent families in Yangzhou, all of whom were Yuan Hongqu's students, who were also plotting to rescue their teacher.

As Grandmother Jia pondered, she realized that Yuan Hongqu had managed to win over Wang Xifeng after only one meeting, proving herself to be truly capable.

Yuan Hongqu knew Feng Lazi's temperament very well. For the shrewd Feng Lazi to take the initiative to ask for Rongyue Courtyard for her, it seemed that Yuan Hongqu was indeed a remarkable person.

While Grandmother Jia was still pondering what position to give Yuan Hongqu, Yuan Hongqu had already been chatting with Wang Xifeng for a long time in the small pavilion of Rongyue Courtyard.

However, Yuan Hongqu felt increasingly strange. Why did Wang Xifeng's words seem so familiar?

She thought about it for a while before realizing that this was exactly the way Wang Xifeng spoke in the TV series she had watched!

So that actress actually portrayed Wang Xifeng!

"Sister Yuan, do you remember me?"

Wang Xifeng, standing beside him, looked excited, not at all like a calm and composed housekeeper, but more like a little fangirl.

Yuan Hongqu was startled: Was the original owner of this body an old acquaintance of Wang Xifeng?

That's not possible?

Wang Xifeng should never have been to the Huaiyang area, so how could she know the original owner of this body?

How should she react now? Would it be okay to pretend to have amnesia?

"Ouch..." Yuan Hongqu had just covered her head and hadn't even composed herself when she heard Wang Xifeng laughing.

"I knew you'd recognize me, I'm your number one fan!"

"Huh?" Yuan Hongqu put her hand down. Did the term "number one die-hard fan" already exist in ancient times?

Or is it that Teacher Yuan has a large fan base, with students from Yangzhou to Beijing?

Wang Xifeng must have had a long-standing spiritual connection with her teacher, but they had never met in person.

Yuan Hongqu racked her brains but still couldn't figure out when Teacher Yuan had met Wang Xifeng.

Wang Xifeng looked around and, seeing that no one was paying attention, whispered:

"Sister Yuan, I'm always the first to comment on your videos. You used to reply to me, but then you stopped replying to any comments... I never imagined you'd end up in the Dream of the Red Chamber too!"

"You?" Yuan Hongqu was shocked. She hesitated and said:

"The big star stepping on a watermelon rind, is that you?"

"Sister, it's me! I didn't expect you to still remember my online name..." Wang Xifeng was very excited, and there was no trace of her deep scheming. Her excited expression made her look more like a lost person who had escaped death and finally found her organization.

"I've finally met a fellow villager! You have no idea how I've been these past few days, walking on thin ice, trembling with fear. I'm terrified that if I make any mistake, people will think I'm some kind of monster and burn me alive..." Wang Xifeng said, feeling wronged, as if she had found someone to lean on, and tugged at Yuan Hongqu's arm.

Yuan Hongqu never expected that Wang Xifeng would recognize her not as Teacher Yuan, but as herself.

How did you get here? Has anyone suspected you?

"I, Wang Ying, am an actress after all. I dare not say I can portray other characters convincingly, but as Wang Xifeng, I can handle it with ease!" Wang Ying, who is now Wang Xifeng, said with a smug look.

"Are you really an actress?" Yuan Hongqu still couldn't believe it.

She has a die-hard fan called "Superstar Stepping on a Watermelon Peel," who has followed Yuan Hongqu ever since she opened her account. Superstar comments on all of Yuan Hongqu's posts and works, showing great support.

Yuan Hongqu and she had a good relationship. Later, Yuan Hongqu suffered a relapse of depression. Although she would still post updates, she had no interest in replying to any comments and gradually forgot about this die-hard fan.

Unexpectedly, their fate was sealed within the Rongguo Mansion.

At this moment, Wang Xifeng is proudly recounting her modern "glorious history".

"Sister Yuan, don't underestimate me just because I'm a nobody. I did graduate from a certain drama school. Back in school, I had the nickname 'Little Wang Xifeng' because all my acting assignments were imitating the classic Wang Xifeng... I was pretty good at imitating her, but I never got high marks on my assignments. My teacher said I didn't have my own unique characteristics."

"Before I came here, I was auditioning. It's not up to people like us with no background to play the roles of famous masters. I auditioned for a maid in 'Dream of the Red Chamber'."

At this point, she pointed to a maidservant in the distance who was helping to carry things.

"Look, it's Lin Xiaohong, that's the actress I auditioned for. But the assistant director said I was too domineering, not like a maid, and rejected me..."

Yuan Hongqu glanced at Wang Xifeng, then at Lin Xiaohong carrying the load, and nodded.

"You can't play a maid; your presence isn't right."

"Sister Yuan, that's the line, and that's what the assistant director said too. I was furious. I can't play a mistress, but can't I play a maid? Why can't I play a maid! I haven't even graduated yet and I've been working on film sets, and I play five or six maids of all sizes every year. Everyone knows I'm a professional maid. Why am I acting out of character?"

Wang Xifeng was still furious when she thought about what had happened, her eyebrows furrowed in anger.

Yuan Hongqu smiled.

"What kind of maid would dare to act like that? It's like she's about to eat someone alive."

"Sister Yuan, you're making fun of me too." Wang Xifeng protested, but didn't change the subject; instead, she continued...

"I was so angry that I went home and watched videos of 'Dream of the Red Chamber.' Later, I came across a video about the death of Wang Xifeng. In the video, Wang Xifeng was so miserable. She was wrapped in a tattered mat, with her head and calves exposed. After she died, she was dragged in the snow and thrown into a mass grave. There wasn't even a grave. You can imagine how glamorous she was when she was alive. How could she be so miserable after she died?"

As she spoke, she suddenly thought of her current reality. She was Wang Xifeng, so would that be her fate?

Thinking of this, she couldn't help but feel a surge of sorrow.