Bai Li’s Dream – Chapter 130

Chapter 130: Borrowing Dreams

Possession?

Zhuang Li was stunned. Did he think she was a ghost?

Shangguan Yue’s voice continued.

“Ever since you saved me that night, I’ve been wanting to see you.”

“Was Wang Tong on my pleasure boat because of this? He was carrying a Taoist ritual object from the Temple of the Holy Ancestor.”

“I know there’s a saying that people can only see ghosts when they’re about to die and their luck is low, so I haven’t been able to see you much since that day.”

“Did you come to the capital to clear your name because you were unwilling to accept your family’s fate?”

“I’ve seen the Censorate’s wanted posters.”

“I recognized you the first time you entered my dream.”

“You…”

“Wait a minute.”

Hearing this, Zhuang Li raised her hand to interrupt him. Although she was confused, she understood the general idea.

Shangguan Yue had seen the wanted poster with Bai Ying’s face on it.

The first time she entered the Realm of No Dreams, Shangguan Yue saw her and recognized her.

Because she had revealed her true face in the Realm of No Dreams.

The second time he saw her was when he was near death.

Therefore, Shangguan Yue always thought she was a ghost.

All of the Bai family were dead, so naturally, this weak woman couldn’t have survived.

It was good that he thought this way, saving her from having to explain.

But now was not the time to talk about this.

When she told him to stop, Shangguan Yue did indeed stop talking. He looked down at the woman in front of him and extended a finger.

“Let me say one more thing,” he said with a smile. “So you’ve been trying to see me too.”

Humans and ghosts are different paths; it’s not easy to meet.

It turned out that it wasn’t just him who had tried everything; she had too.

Although he hadn’t believed in ghosts before, he had read many supernatural tales, heard idle chatter on the pleasure boat, and knew some ghost stories.

Ghosts were all afraid of sunlight and couldn’t walk around during the day.

Now, in order to see him, she was taking such a risk…

Zhuang Li didn’t know what he was thinking. She could control people to speak their thoughts, but she couldn’t directly see them.

But it didn’t matter what he was thinking.

“Yes, I’ve been trying to see you,” Zhuang Li nodded. “And I’ve always been able to see you.”

In dreams, in reality, she had seen him.

It was just that the little boy in the dream couldn’t remember her, and in reality, he wouldn’t look at her that time.

Shangguan Yue’s smile deepened. She meant that she had always been by his side, but humans and ghosts were different paths, she couldn’t show herself, let alone speak to him.

“I know,” he nodded. He knew she must be there.

Did he know? Zhuang Li thought, glancing at him. The four-year-old Li Yu in the depths of her heart, no matter what, was also him, perhaps he could feel it.

These were not important either; now was not the time to discuss this.

“I need your help with something,” she said.

Shangguan Yue nodded. “Just tell me.”

She had taken the risk of appearing during the day, possessing someone, just to see him, it must be something extremely urgent and important.

No matter what it was, he would do anything.

He owed her his life.

After she finished speaking, he saw her turn and walk to the desk, picking up a piece of incense.

“Take this, find a quiet place, and sleep,” Zhuang Li said.

Shangguan Yue reached out and took it, looking at the woman in front of him. “And then?”

The woman in front of him blinked at him with bright eyes. Compared to the portrait, compared to that night in the dim darkness, her eyes were even more beautiful, cold, yet lively.

“That’s it,” she said, smiling again. “You sleep, and you can help me.”

So sleeping could help her? Shangguan Yue said, “That’s too easy, isn’t it?”

Zhuang Li coughed.

Shangguan Yue felt as if the scene before him was rippling like water. The woman’s face, originally clear, became somewhat blurry.

“Alright, time’s up, you should go.”

As he spoke, the two attendants sitting behind the door stood up.

Was her possession time up? Shangguan Yue took one more look at her, clenched the incense in his hand, turned, and left.

Stepping out of the room, he climbed onto the roof and looked back. In the backyard of the Zhang Family Medical Clinic, shop assistants were running around, seemingly wanting to approach the apothecary workshop, but the next moment, as if remembering something, they turned and walked away. The sound of chopping medicine in the workshop never stopped, bustling, yet seemingly separated by a barrier.

Shangguan Yue looked at the two attendants beside him and saw their gazes gradually focus, as if they were slightly stunned. Then they looked at Shangguan Yue.

“Young Master, should we go in?” one of the guards asked in a low voice.

Had they already forgotten that they had gone in?

How did she do it?

Could ghosts control minds and erase memories?

Such powerful techniques could only be achieved by vengeful ghosts, right?

She had already become a vengeful ghost.

He didn’t know when she died, but it couldn’t have been long ago. It must have been difficult to become a vengeful ghost in such a short time.

Shangguan Yue withdrew his gaze. “Let’s go.” He turned and jumped off the roof. The two attendants looked at each other, seemingly feeling that something was amiss, but they didn’t ask any more questions and followed him down.

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“Young Master, what happened?”

Inside Yuqing Hall, Shopkeeper Cai asked nervously when he saw Shangguan Yue enter.

The Young Master had suddenly gathered people on his way here, without saying what he was going to do. He returned quickly, and it didn’t seem like he had fought with anyone.

“It’s nothing, it’s nothing,” Shangguan Yue simply said. He didn’t go to the storeroom and asked, “Is there a quiet, safe, and hidden place?”

Shopkeeper Cai hurriedly nodded and led Shangguan Yue into a secret room, waiting for Shangguan Yue to speak about private matters, but Shangguan Yue waved his hand, signaling him to leave.

“I need to sleep for a while.”

Shopkeeper Cai, who had retreated, was a bit confused. Why did he suddenly want to sleep? Could it be that he was injured? Or poisoned again?

He immediately asked the two attendants nervously what the Young Master had gone to do.

“He didn’t do anything. He just went to the Zhang Family Medical Clinic, the Young Master said he wanted to go in…” The two attendants were actually a bit confused too. When they said this, their eyes were still a bit dazed. “…then he suddenly said he didn’t want to go in and took us away.”

The Zhang Family Medical Clinic? Shopkeeper Cai immediately sent someone to inquire about anything special or anyone strange at the Zhang Family Medical Clinic today.

News from the streets, Yuqing Hall had connections everywhere, and it soon came back.

Nothing special happened.

If there was anything to be said, it was that the Marchioness of Dongyang was at the clinic, working with Doctor Zhang to develop medicinal incense.

The Marchioness of Dongyang!

Hearing this name, Shopkeeper Cai instantly thought of the past. Before, the Young Master had sent people to keep an eye on the Marchioness of Dongyang.

It was also very inexplicable.

Ruibo was very worried that the Young Master had taken a fancy to this married woman…

Later, the Young Master stopped mentioning it, and he thought it was just a passing whim.

He didn’t expect that, in fact, the Young Master hadn’t let it go.

This was not easy to handle. Shopkeeper Cai couldn’t help but rub his forehead.

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This was too easy, all he needed to do was sleep.

Was it because possession couldn’t last too long, it wasn’t convenient to talk, and she wanted to meet him in a dream?

Shangguan Yue lay in the secret room, holding the piece of incense in front of his eyes to examine it. The incense had no aesthetic appeal, nor was it specially made for him. It was hastily broken off from a larger piece of incense.

He sniffed it. The smell wasn’t very pleasant either.

None of this mattered.

He didn’t expect to see her like this!

Shangguan Yue couldn’t help but smile again.

He knew she had always been by his side.

But he seemed to have forgotten to ask her how she knew his name was Li Yu?

Also, did she know who Li Yu was?

But she had even saved his life, these were all minor matters, insignificant.

He couldn’t think about it anymore, he had to fall asleep quickly. Shangguan Yue took a deep breath, clenched the incense in his hand, and placed it in front of him. He closed his eyes, then opened them again. What if the incense fell off like this while he was asleep?

He pulled a red string from his neck, to which a small sachet was attached, containing the jade pendant his father had left him, bestowed by the late Emperor.

✿✿✿

Shangguan Yue stuffed the incense inside, put it back into his lapel, and then pressed his hand against his chest, closing his eyes again.

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As the sun began to set, accompanied by wisps of smoke, Zhang Shilin bowed to Zhuang Li. “It’s done. We just need to make it into incense sticks and dry them. It’ll be ready in three to five days. Thank you, Marchioness, for your hard work.”

Zhuang Li smiled and returned the courtesy. “I’m not tired, it’s for making money.”

Zhang Shilin laughed heartily. Chun Yue, who was standing beside them, chided, “Marchioness, you should say it’s for saving lives and healing the wounded.”

It wasn’t like she really needed this little bit of money.

Zhang Shilin smiled and stroked his beard. “We judge by actions, not intentions. The Marchioness has already saved lives and healed the wounded several times.”

Zhuang Li smiled and, without lingering any longer, followed Chun Yue to the carriage.

The disciples who had been avoiding them also ran over to see them off, laughing behind them. “Master, did you really make the incense?”

Zhang Shilin said, “Of course, it’s real. It was so tiring.” He said, stretching his neck.

He was particularly tired today, so tired that his neck was a bit sore.

Sitting in the carriage, Chun Yue rubbed her neck and looked at Zhuang Li, who was leaning against a pillow.

“Are you tired, Marchioness?” she asked softly. “There are many people on the street, the carriage is moving slowly, you can take a nap.”

Zhuang Li hummed in agreement.

Chun Yue wrapped her cloak around her and tucked the foot warmer under her feet, watching as Zhuang Li closed her eyes.

The carriage swayed gently, and the sounds of the bustling street could be heard outside the window.

Zhuang Li opened her eyes again. The noise of the carriage and the crowd disappeared, and her vision was filled with emptiness. Then she saw the little boy sleeping on the ground.

Zhuang Li couldn’t help but clench her hand and smile. It was indeed much more convenient with a marker. No need to search high and low, jumping continuously through dreams. She had personally made the incense to guide the way, and she could come and go as she pleased.

Of course, it also required Shangguan Yue’s cooperation in falling asleep.

Zhuang Li walked over and squatted down, scrutinizing the sleeping child. So it really was Shangguan Yue.

She forgot to ask him if he was the Grandson of the Emperor.

But it didn’t matter. For example, Bai Li could become Zhuang Li, the Marchioness of Dongyang, and Li Yu could also become Shangguan Yue, the illegitimate son of the Imperial Consort’s Husband.

They were all people who couldn’t live with their original identities and could only live with a different one.

Zhuang Li stretched out her finger and brought it closer to the child’s nose. However, there was one more thing she forgot to tell Shangguan Yue.

The one who could see her when he was asleep was the four-year-old Li Yu, not the current Shangguan Yue.

She was afraid that Shangguan Yue would wake up thinking he had slept for nothing.

Her finger got closer and closer to the child’s nose. Just as it finally touched, Zhuang Li leaned forward and plunged in.

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…….

“Li Yu, Li Yu, time to wake up.”

Accompanied by the woman’s call, the sleeping child slowly opened his eyes, his gaze blankly fixed on the woman in front of him.

“Who are you?” he murmured, then his mouth flattened. “Mother—”

The little crybaby was at it again. Zhuang Li hurriedly soothed him in a gentle voice. “Don’t cry, don’t cry, Mother is here.”

As soon as she said that, she saw that Li Yu’s tears were about to well up, as if he thought she was pretending to be his mother. She quickly added, “Your mother went to… um, make you something delicious.”

All children should like that, right?

When she was little, whenever she saw the children in the neighborhood being fed by their mothers, she couldn’t help but want to eat the food her mother made.

Bai Ying disliked the food made by the cook at home and always wanted to cook herself, but the food she made was even worse.

Li Yu’s tears didn’t fall. He seemed to be thinking about whether his mother would make him something delicious.

Zhuang Li didn’t dare to make anything up anymore. The journey was short, the dream shallow, it was better to get down to business quickly.

“Li Yu, your mother’s mirror is very beautiful, have you seen it?”

The child’s eyes moved, and a smile appeared on his face. “I’ve seen it, Mother’s mirror, it’s beautiful.”

As he spoke, the dressing table and mirror reappeared on the empty ground.

Zhuang Li reached out and supported the child’s head, turning it to the side. “Li Yu, look over there, so you won’t miss your mother when she comes.”

She couldn’t let the child look at the mirror, or he would be frightened and wake up, and the dream would dissipate.

The temptation of his mother was greater than anything else. Li Yu obediently looked to the other side.

Zhuang Li took a deep breath and looked into the mirror.

In the mirror, half a familiar face, half a strange face.

To be fair, even though it was only half, it could be seen to be very beautiful.

But no matter how beautiful, no one wanted such a face on their own.

Even though this face was empty at this moment, without a soul.

But Zhuang Li knew this was because of the Realm of No Dreams.

There must be a soul under this face.

Someone else’s soul.

Hidden, completely unnoticed.

If it weren’t for this Realm of No Dreams, if she hadn’t happened to see Li Yu’s mirror, she might have had her entire face replaced by someone else’s without even realizing it.

Zhuang Li pressed her hand against her chest, thinking of the heartbeat she had heard several times, two heartbeats.

She took another deep breath and looked at herself in the mirror. Their gazes met, and the mirror became clouded with mist.

There was a thud in her ears, and she was standing on the street, everything bathed in a dim yellow light.

At her feet, Shangguan Yue lay outside the Zhang Family Medical Clinic.

She was back in the dream from that night.

She heard footsteps inside the clinic, saw the candlelight flickering, and Doctor Zhang, awakened, walked out with his disciples.

She turned and walked quickly. As she moved, the dream world swayed, its boundaries collapsing.

Step by step, her footsteps became more and more unsteady. In her vision, she finally saw the Marquis of Dongyang’s Residence. The night was fading, dawn had not yet broken. The night patrol in the mansion was yawning, waiting for their shift change. The maids responsible for cleaning were already coming out, lights were lit in the kitchen, and smoke curled from the chimneys.

She saw the courtyard of the Marquis’s Heir. The maids on night duty were getting up, the dying candle was extinguished.

She saw the young woman lying on her side in the bedchamber, Zhou Jingyun beside her opened his eyes and reached out to caress her cheek.

Zhuang Li couldn’t help but purse her lips and smile. Good, taking advantage of her sleep to secretly touch her face.

The next moment, she saw Zhou Jingyun call out to her, shake her.

Even though she was looking at a dream within a dream, and the vision was even dimmer, she could still see Zhou Jingyun’s panic.

Zhou Jingyun cupped her face in his hands.

She opened her eyes.

She smiled.

Her face—

Zhuang Li suddenly opened her eyes. The mist in the mirror dispersed, leaving behind the smiling face of the woman, merging with the half of her own face reflected in the mirror.

“Zhou Jingyun—”

Along with a strange female voice in her ears, Zhuang Li saw Zhou Jingyun fall out of bed. She saw the shock and disbelief in his eyes, saw his lips move, as if he was calling out a name.

Zhuang Li loosened her hand, and the little boy’s head, which had been turned to the side, turned back to look into the mirror.

“Bad person—” he cried out loudly.

The mirror shattered, the world collapsed.

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With a jolt, the carriage crossed the threshold of the second gate, rolling over the wooden planks.

“Be careful,” Chun Yue said, lifting the carriage curtain. “The Marchioness is asleep.”

As she spoke, she turned around and saw Zhuang Li, who was lying in the carriage, open her eyes.

“Marchioness, you’re awake,” Chun Yue said. “We’re home.”

Home.

Home.

Zhuang Li looked outside. The afterglow of the setting sun had faded, and twilight had fallen. Lanterns were lit above the gate, swaying in the wind, casting a dim yellow light, both real and illusory.