Bai Li’s Dream – Chapter 89

Chapter 89: Encounter on the Road

Zhuang Li watched the carriage curtain being lowered.

Thinking about the one who just passed by, Shangguan Yue.

She felt a sense of familiarity.

However, this was not surprising, after all, they had met in a dream at night.

Seeing him in daylight, he was even more dazzling than in Xiao Niang Hua’s dream.

“That Shangguan Yue….” Zhou Jingyun’s voice came, “Why is he hanging out with Xue Silang again? Is it intentional or unintentional?”

Hearing this, Zhuang Li raised her head: “Intentional? Does he want to lure Xue Silang into gambling away his entire family fortune?”

Not really, what he meant was whether Shangguan Yue was intentionally approaching him, Zhou Jingyun thought. But this time, Shangguan Yue did not deliberately strike up a conversation with him like before. Instead, he politely avoided them, not listening to him and Xue Silang talk about the illness of their elders at home.

He didn’t stop them from leaving either.

Aloof and polite.

Although he was once a young man himself, the minds of young people were truly hard to guess, Zhou Jingyun smiled.

“I used to worry a bit, but now that Aunt has woken up from her illness, she’s different from before.” He continued Zhuang Li’s words, saying, “I’m not so worried anymore.”

Zhuang Li nodded with a smile: “Aunt now regards the Xue family as her own home, she will handle her own affairs well, there’s no need to worry.”

What she meant was that Aunt didn’t consider the Xue family her own home before, Zhou Jingyun thought. He also understood her meaning, when a woman marries in as a daughter-in-law, they say she becomes part of the family. But in reality, she still carries a bit of fear, seeing herself as an outsider,一心 trying to integrate into her husband’s family, but instead losing herself.

The mindset and actions of a submissive daughter-in-law are completely different from those of a confident mistress.

Thinking about how Madam Xue was handling household matters while drinking medicine just now, she was indeed different, he was no longer worried.

“Mother left Mama Huang with Aunt to help, and she will also personally visit every three days.” Zhou Jingyun said, looking at Zhuang Li, “You will have to go through the trouble of accompanying her then.”

Zhuang Li smiled and said: “Aunt is good to me, this is what I should do, Young Master, you mustn’t be polite with me.”

Zhou Jingyun smiled and then sighed softly: “If I hadn’t brought you back, what would I do now?”

If he hadn’t brought her back, there wouldn’t be the danger of extermination.

But he would have lost his aunt first, and his mother would have lost her sister.

With his mother’s dependence on her sister, he didn’t know if she could bear it, maybe he would have to face separation from his mother immediately.

“This is what it means by ‘Misfortune may be a blessing in disguise, and blessing may harbor misfortune.'” Zhuang Li smiled and slightly raised her chin, “So I can be confident and not suffer any grievances in your house.”

Zhou Jingyun chuckled.

Looking at her arrogant appearance in the carriage, she became full of life.

Actually, she wasn’t that similar to Chun Yue, Zhou Jingyun thought, she was more elegant, refined, and radiant…..

The thought flashed through his mind as the carriage suddenly stopped, and the street suddenly became noisy.

Horses’ hooves clattered, the ground trembled.

What was going on?

“Young Master, the Censorate is handling a case.” Jiang Yun’s voice came.

Zhou Jingyun lifted the carriage curtain and saw a group of black-clad guards on the street, the people were scattering in fear, and in the blink of an eye, half the street was empty.

As the man in the lead, wearing an official robe and with a scar on his face, waved his hand, the guards surrounded a shop.

Cries and screams came from the shop.

Many people ran out, but were stopped.

“The Censorate is handling a case! All those present are suspects, no one is allowed to escape!”

“Officer, I just came in to buy something—” A hapless customer who was stopped tried to explain, wanting to open the paper package to show the guards, “I’m buying some food for my daughter, my daughter is waiting for me, I need to go back quickly—”

Before he could finish his words, the scarred official drew his sword and mercilessly slashed at him. The customer screamed and fell to the ground, the paper package fell, one hand still tightly clutching it.

This scene instantly froze the noise on the street, some timid customers fainted, and more people scrambled back in terror.

The scarred official wiped the blood from his sword on the corpse and said coldly: “Remnants of Empress Jiang’s faction attempted to escape, kill without mercy.”

Zhou Jingyun lowered the carriage curtain and looked at Zhuang Li’s somewhat stiff expression.

“The Censorate is just so rampant.” He said in a low voice, “Zhang Ze has raised eight vicious dogs, this is one of them, named Zhu Shan.”

Zhuang Li couldn’t help but say: “What a name…”

A good name but doing evil deeds.

Zhou Jingyun originally just happened to encounter the Censorate killing people on the street, but he didn’t expect to encounter them again the next day.

This time it was at the Ministry of Revenue.

He sensed something was wrong when he walked onto the Imperial Street early in the morning, and when he arrived outside the Ministry of Revenue, he saw a large group of elite guards surrounding it.

An official in his fifties was being pushed and pulled out.

“Don’t pull me, I can walk myself!” The official shouted.

Zhou Jingyun, standing outside the cordon of guards, recognized him as Wang Feng, Secretary of the Ministry of Revenue.

The Censorate official standing at the door was the one he had seen yesterday, the one who killed someone on the street, Zhu Shan.

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He sneered coldly, “Let Secretary Wang walk by himself, although he has done something disgraceful, let him keep some dignity at his age.”

The guards let go, and Wang Feng, who was being escorted, straightened up, adjusted his robe, then his official hat, and finally stroked his white beard.

“Dignity?” He looked at Zhu Shan, “Are you things worthy of talking about dignity?”

He spat with a mocking and disdainful expression.

“You things, in Empress Jiang’s eyes, are nothing!”

Empress Jiang!

The faces of everyone present changed instantly.

The scar on Zhu Shan’s face twitched a few times, “Wang Feng, you are smart, admitting that you are a remnant of Empress Jiang’s faction, you can suffer less torture and live a few more days!”

Wang Feng laughed heartily, “Why should I care about living a few more days? When Empress returns, the world will be peaceful, this old man has no regrets!”

Zhu Shan cursed, “You old thing—”

Before he could finish his words, he saw Wang Feng raise his hand and pull out a dagger from his sleeve.

“Not good!” Zhu Shan’s curse turned into a shout, “Stop him—”

Before he could utter the word, Wang Feng’s dagger had already pierced his heart.

Exclamations erupted.

Blood gushed from Wang Feng’s chest, but there was no pain on his face, only joy.

“Ha, ha, Empress, your subject has come to welcome your return—”

With these words, Wang Feng fell to the ground in a pool of blood.

Zhu Shan rushed over and turned over Wang Feng’s body, seeing that he was already dead.

Zhang Ze, surrounded by guards, walked over at this time, looked at Wang Feng in the pool of blood, and sneered.

“Hearing the news of Empress Jiang’s return, he really went mad.”

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In the quiet room, a wisp of incense smoke rose. Zhuang Li, who was writing, paused slightly.

She seemed to hear her heart thump.

The sound was so loud as if it wasn’t her heartbeat.

She reached out and pressed her hand to her heart.

Her heartbeat was normal.

Was it an auditory hallucination?

“Young Madam, what’s wrong?” Chun Yue, who was grinding ink beside her, hurriedly asked.

Zhuang Li smiled at her: “It’s nothing, I was just lost in thought.” She gestured to Chun Yue, “There’s enough ink, you can go down.”

Chun Yue knew Zhuang Li’s habits, she responded with a smile and retreated.

Zhuang Li took a deep breath, concentrated, dipped her brush in ink, and continued writing.

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There was no hint of coolness in the Hanliang Palace in late autumn.

The underfloor heating system was already burning, all four windows were wide open, and outside the palace were filled with flowers and trees of all seasons, making it hard to tell what season it was.

Bai Ying was reclining on a folding stool, surrounded by this luxurious and dreamlike scene, but her expression was awkward, with a hint of timidity that clashed with the extravagance.

The palace maids brought in steamed cakes, shaped into various flowers, lifelike, and arranged them in front of her.

She didn’t eat them immediately, but looked at the two female officials standing beside her.

“These are newly sent by His Majesty from the Imperial Kitchen.” She asked with a hint of nervousness, “Do you think I can eat them? Will they affect the little prince?”

A smile appeared on the face of one female official: “You can, they have been reported to the Empress before being sent here.”

Bai Ying breathed a sigh of relief: “That’s good.” She reached out and caressed her still flat abdomen, “As long as it doesn’t affect the little prince.”

She picked up a steamed cake and took a bite.

The other female official said with a hint of arrogance: “Consort Bai, you don’t need to be so careful and timid, don’t let the little prince also pick up this habit, he is the Empress’s legitimate son.”

Bai Ying hurriedly responded, and then straightened her posture, saying solemnly: “Bai Ying will remember the Empress’s teachings.”

Wang Degui, who was guarding outside the door, saw that the palace maids sent by the Empress had seen what they needed to see and said what they needed to say, so he shouted loudly, “Inspector Zhang requests an audience.”