Bai Li’s Dream – Chapter 68

Chapter 68: Waking Up

The little boy kept sleeping.

Zhuang Li stared at him with her sword for a while, but nothing changed.

She slowly sat down, her sword dissipating. She let out a soft breath, looking down at her messy and torn clothes, and the burns and scratches from the fire and beasts. She couldn’t feel pain in the dream, but she could feel exhaustion.

There was actually a forbidden object placed in the imperial palace.

But it wasn’t surprising. Madam Zhuang had said, “The world is vast, how could you be the only monster?”

Of course, this was to untie the knot in her heart.

The Tao gives birth to all things. If you exist, then it exists. She told her not to feel inferior, guilty, or self-abandoned, and also not to be arrogant.

She wasn’t arrogant. She sent a silk flower in first to test it out.

The silk flower didn’t trigger the forbidden object.

She also tried to enter the dream and take a look at Bai Ying, and there was nothing unusual.

Why was it suddenly triggered this time?

Was it because she asked too much? Or stayed too long?

Zhuang Li sighed again and turned to look at the little boy beside her.

The little boy was still sleeping peacefully. A person’s dreams should be ever-changing…

This was too strange.

Zhuang Li suddenly pounced on him, and the next moment, she disappeared from her spot. The little boy was still sleeping peacefully. A moment later, Zhuang Li reappeared, sitting beside the little boy again, looking at him with even more surprise.

Within a dream, within a dream, he was still sleeping. Even within a dream, within a dream, within a dream, he was still sleeping peacefully. Layers of dreams, layers of sleep, sleeping out a realm of no dreams.

Interesting.

Zhuang Li scrutinized the little boy.

She didn’t know if he was really a child or an adult. Why was he sleeping in a dream?

However, no matter how interesting it was, she couldn’t stay here anymore. Zhuang Li looked at her own hand, which was starting to fade.

If she didn’t wake up before the incense burned out, she wouldn’t be able to wake up at all, and that would be disastrous.

The last time she was trapped in a dream and couldn’t return, Master Zhuang had already given up his life to wake her up. Now, Master Zhuang was gone…

Zhuang Li leaned closer to the little boy and pinched his little face.

“Hey!” she shouted loudly.

In the silence, this sound was like a clap of thunder. Coupled with the pinch on his cheek, the soundly sleeping little boy suddenly opened his eyes.

A woman smiled at him, then vanished like smoke.

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In the dimly lit woodshed, Shangguan Yue abruptly sat up, gasping for air. He immediately rolled out of bed.

Ruibo, who was sleeping in the corner among the firewood, instantly got up and pounced in front of him.

“Young Master?” he asked in a low voice. “What’s wrong?”

In the darkness, Shangguan Yue looked at him, his eyes filled with solemnity and a hint of bewilderment.

“Ruibo?” he asked.

Ruibo became even more nervous. Why didn’t he seem to recognize him? The next moment, he felt Shangguan Yue pinch his arm…

“Ouch…” Shangguan Yue murmured. “So this isn’t a dream.”

Ruibo reacted and asked, “Did you have a nightmare, Young Master?”

Shangguan Yue didn’t speak, lost in thought.

It seemed like he was truly frightened by the nightmare. Ruibo breathed a sigh of relief, then chuckled, “How could you be scared by a nightmare, Young Master?”

He wasn’t a child anymore.

Shangguan Yue’s body was still tense, and he remained silent. He was indeed frightened.

If the last time on the pleasure boat, his half-asleep state was a suspected dream, then this time, it was a definite dream.

A very real dream.

He reached out and touched his cheek, still faintly feeling the soreness.

That woman in the dream had pinched his face.

And, that face was so clear, clear enough that he felt like he had seen it somewhere before.

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The hanging bed curtains were suddenly pulled open. Zhuang Li leaned out, her hand trembling as she reached for the tea on the bedside table. But the world spun, and she couldn’t help but vomit a mouthful of blood. The teacup was also swept to the floor and shattered.

The sound was particularly loud in the dim light.

Chun Yue was already worried about the Young Madam and had deliberately slept in the side room next to the eastern secondary room. She had been tossing and turning all night, finally falling asleep into a chaotic dream of climbing mountains, crossing seas of fire, and enduring endless turmoil. Her sleep was restless. When she heard the teacup shatter, she woke up with a start and immediately rushed over. At a glance, she saw Zhuang Li lying by the bed, the shattered teacup on the floor, and the bright red blood.

“Young Madam—”

……

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The Marchioness of Dongyang hurriedly got up, supported by Mama Xu. “Slowly, slowly.”

Hongxing brought clothes for the Marchioness to put on, and the maids and servants in the room all rushed in.

Figures bustled about in the dim light.

The Marchioness put on her outer garment and had a servant comb her hair.

“What’s going on? What’s wrong again? She even vomited blood?” she asked repeatedly, then said angrily, “Isn’t she a doctor herself? If she’s not feeling well, why doesn’t she go drink some Chaihu Guizhi Decoction?”

Mama Xu lowered her voice and said, “Last night, the Marquis’s Heir stayed at Concubine Mei’s place.”

The Marchioness abruptly turned her head. The servant combing her hair was caught off guard and pulled her hair. The Marchioness gasped in pain.

“Madam, I’m clumsy.” The servant trembled and was about to kneel.

“Alright.” The Marchioness waved her hand impatiently and looked at herself in the mirror, simply putting her hair up in a bun. She stood up, her previous anxiety fading, replaced by annoyance. “What a big deal, truly lacking grace and composure!”

Mama Xu said with a smile, “She’s still young…”

She only wanted to be lovey-dovey with her husband. Seeing her husband go to another woman’s room, she naturally couldn’t stand it.

Back then…

She glanced at the Marchioness. Because she hadn’t put on any makeup, the traces of time on her face were hard to conceal. Back when her skin was smooth and she was youthful and beautiful, didn’t she also cry in bed at night when she saw the Marquis surrounded by other women?

Women…

Mama Xu sighed inwardly.

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Zhou Jingyun was simply wrapped in an outer robe, without even a sash, and wearing soft shoes on his feet. It was obvious that he had rushed over.

He sat by the bed, looking at the floor. The blood had already been wiped clean, leaving only water stains that hadn’t dried yet. He then looked at the woman on the bed, her face pale.

Her body was originally thin and frail, and now it was even weaker and more listless, as if her spirit and energy had been drained.

The maids were all dismissed outside the door.

“What’s wrong with you?” Zhou Jingyun asked in a low voice. Without waiting for Zhuang Li to speak, he hesitated for a moment and said, “I went to Concubine Mei’s place just for show. I didn’t…”

He felt awkward speaking these words.

It was too intimate to talk about this between two strangers.

Moreover, his explanation implied that Zhuang Li really cared about this matter.

Could she really be so upset about his intimacy with another woman that she became sick with anxiety?

Zhou Jingyun glanced at the floor again.

“Marquis’s Heir, I’m fine. I just… didn’t sleep well.” Zhuang Li said softly.

But after she finished speaking, she felt that this explanation wasn’t quite right either.

When Zhou Jingyun slept with her, she always slept well. How could she not sleep well after he was gone for just one night?

The atmosphere in the room became slightly stagnant.

“I’ve always had an old illness. When it acts up, I can’t sleep well.” Zhuang Li hurriedly explained again.

An old illness. Zhou Jingyun thought of what she had said about it being very dangerous, and that Master Zhuang had exhausted all his efforts to save her.

“I’ll go get a doctor right away.” He said hastily.

As soon as he finished speaking, he heard the sound of footsteps outside, mixed with the maids and servants’ greetings of “Madam.” “Madam is here.”

He hurriedly stood up. The Marchioness of Dongyang had already entered. Zhuang Li also propped herself up, trying to sit up.

“Alright, lie down.” The Marchioness glanced at her and said impatiently. She then swept her eyes over the doorway. Concubine Mei, who was squeezed among the maids with her hair uncombed, hurriedly hid herself further back.

What a graceless and unruly thing! The newlywed couple hadn’t even been married for a month, and she was already eager to pull him into her room!

The Marchioness sighed.

“I’ve sent someone to invite Imperial Physician Sun.” She said, looking at Zhuang Li. “I know you understand medicine, but there’s also a saying that a doctor cannot treat themselves. For your own sake, and for Jingyun’s peace of mind, let the imperial physician take a look.”

Zhuang Li bowed in bed. “Thank you, Mother. I’ve caused you to worry.”

Seeing that she had accepted, Zhou Jingyun also bowed. “I’ve caused Mother to worry.”

The Marchioness snorted inwardly. He waited for his wife to finish speaking before he spoke. What, was he afraid to make his own decisions?

Then why did he dare to sleep with a concubine after only a few days of returning?

Was he afraid of his wife or not?

As the morning light faintly appeared, Mama Huang, who had been sent to invite the imperial physician, returned. But once again, she didn’t bring Imperial Physician Sun. Instead, she brought Zhang Shilin.

“Imperial Physician Sun has been summoned again.” Mama Huang said.

The Marchioness felt a little embarrassed. Time and time again, she couldn’t even invite an imperial physician. It was too embarrassing in front of her daughter-in-law.

“What? Which family’s grandson is having problems again?” she said peevishly.

“It’s not outside, it’s the palace.” Mama Huang whispered the news she had heard at the Imperial Medical Academy. “He was called away before dawn, not just Medical Director Sun, but the entire Imperial Medical Academy.”

The palace? The Marchioness was a little surprised. Such a grand occasion, was it the Emperor or the Empress who was ill?