Bai Li’s Dream – Chapter 153

Chapter 153: Greetings

“Is the Marquis’s Heir alright?”

“Why are you wandering around like this— Oh, it’s Young Master Shangguan—”

“Is Master Shangguan drunk? Let me help you up—”

Because the door was flung open, the noise inside alerted the shop assistants outside to come and check, lest they offend Marquis Zhou’s Heir. Seeing the person who had fallen to the ground, they were both surprised and helpless.

This troublemaker was someone they couldn’t afford to offend.

It’s best to avoid a scene.

They stepped forward to help Shangguan Yue up, intending to escort him out.

“Young Master, Young Master—” Jixiang came rushing in from outside, pushing the shop assistants aside, “What are you doing? Don’t touch my Young Master— Princess Jinyu just accepted our Young Master’s filial piety tonight—”

His sharp voice echoed through the room, and many guests outside also flocked to watch the commotion.

The shop assistants were instantly overwhelmed. To openly mention Princess Jinyu like that, it was truly an arrogant act.

Shangguan Yue laughed heartily, leaning on Jixiang’s arm as he stood up unsteadily, waving his hand, “It was my fault, I accidentally bumped in—”

He said, bowing to Zhou Jingyun.

Perhaps due to his drunkenness, his movements were exaggerated, and as he bowed, he stumbled forward again.

Jixiang hurriedly supported him, and two shop assistants also stood between him and Zhou Jingyun.

“… I apologize for disturbing the Marquis’s Heir and the Young Madam.” Shangguan Yue seemed unconcerned, resting his shoulder on Jixiang, chuckling as he looked behind Zhou Jingyun, “Is the Young Madam alright?”

Young Madam?

The people watching the commotion outside saw a graceful figure in a crimson dress, with her hair adorned with pearls and jade, emerge from behind Zhou Jingyun.

However, her face was blocked by Zhou Jingyun, and they couldn’t see her features.

This was the newly married young wife. The people outside couldn’t help but crane their necks and stand on tiptoe to get a better look.

Zhou Jingyun stepped forward again, completely shielding Zhuang Li behind him. Only the hem of her skirt, spread out on the ground, was visible.

“Is the Young Master truly drunk?” he asked calmly.

Was he refusing the apology? It seemed he was truly offended by Shangguan Yue! How did he offend him?

The onlookers outside were instantly excited.

During the Lantern Festival, crowds were large, especially women who rarely had the chance to go out and enjoy themselves until late at night. But this also allowed many dissolute young men to take advantage of the situation, mingling in the crowd and harassing women.

Did this Young Master Shangguan harass the Marchioness of Dongyang?

Was the Marchioness of Dongyang truly exceptionally beautiful?

It must be, for Zhou Jingyun, who had mourned his deceased wife for nine years, to have been moved to marry her, she must be extraordinary.

For a moment, more gazes turned towards Zhou Jingyun’s back.

A hand reached out and gently tugged at Zhou Jingyun’s sleeve, “I’m fine.”

Her voice was soft.

Zhou Jingyun stood straight, not moving, until his sleeve was tugged again.

“It’s a festive occasion.”

It’s a festive occasion, and she didn’t want to cause more trouble. She was a timid young lady.

Zhou Jingyun looked at the growing crowd outside, frowning. It seemed he didn’t want to frighten his timid wife either. He looked at Shangguan Yue, “It’s a joyous festival, Young Master should drink in moderation.”

This meant he wouldn’t pursue the matter further.

The shop assistants also came to their senses.

“It’s all our fault for not supporting Master Shangguan properly.”

“Master Shangguan, come quickly, we’ll compensate you with a pot of wine.”

They escorted Shangguan Yue outside, and the shop assistant smoothly closed the door halfway, blocking others from peering inside. However, Shangguan Yue clung to the other half of the door, refusing to leave.

“Marquis’s Heir, you are truly magnanimous— Marquis’s Heir, I’ll settle today’s bill— Marquis’s Heir, a chance encounter is better than a planned meeting, I want to toast you with a cup of wine— Young Madam, are you alright? I bumped into you earlier, are you hurt?”

He shouted loudly, gripping the door, trying to force his way back in.

Jixiang and the two shop assistants were startled and desperately tried to hold him back.

But despite being pulled by the three of them, Shangguan Yue remained motionless, staring fixedly inside.

“Are you alright—”

He asked repeatedly, seemingly determined to get a response from the beauty.

Zhou Jingyun’s face darkened, about to say something.

Zhuang Li leaned out and nodded to Shangguan Yue, “I’m fine.”

Shangguan Yue’s gaze fell upon a face, somewhat familiar, somewhat strange, his vision blurred. In the next moment, that face lifted, looking towards Zhou Jingyun.

“Let’s go back early too, I made an appointment with Young Lady Li, to see if she can sleep well tonight. If she can, I’ll come and get the incense tomorrow morning,” she said softly.

Zhou Jingyun hummed in response, not paying much attention to what Zhuang Li was saying, only looking towards the doorway with a wary expression.

However, Shangguan Yue didn’t stare fixedly behind him as he had before, instead turning around and leaning on his servant’s shoulder, “Let’s go, let’s go, no need to pay—”

It seemed his previous frenzy was all for the sake of avoiding compensation.

The shop assistants looked displeased, but this wasn’t surprising. These prodigal sons acted without reason—

“Marquis’s Heir, today’s tea is on the house at Wan Hua Lou,” the shopkeeper also arrived at this time, apologizing.

Zhou Jingyun didn’t speak, calmly waving his hand with a somber expression.

The shopkeeper didn’t say anything more. As Shangguan Yue left, the other people outside took the opportunity to peek inside, so he hurriedly closed the door.

✿✿✿

Separated from the outside, silence instantly descended.

Of course, it wasn’t truly silent. The bustling noise inside and outside the building continued.

Zhuang Li looked at the door, letting out a soft sigh. She hadn’t expected to encounter Shangguan Yue here. It was a coincidence, or rather, she was lucky.

Shangguan Yue must have seen something, which was why he insisted on seeing her face.

Only when he heard her say something that only the two of them knew did he leave with peace of mind.

He probably saw Empress Jiang’s face too.

In the dream, four-year-old Li Yu would always cry when he saw that face. Although the grown-up Shangguan Yue wouldn’t cry, he must have been startled.

“Ah Li, are you alright?” Zhou Jingyun’s voice came as he looked out the window at the street, frowning slightly, “The Li family’s flower carriage has passed.”

Zhuang Li followed his gaze. The Li family’s flower carriage merged into the dazzling lights on the street in the distance. A flower carriage shaped like a crane approached, flapping its wings and crying out, drawing even louder laughter from the crowd on the street.

Zhou Jingyun’s voice reached her ears.

“Was that glance enough?”

“Do you want to—”

He didn’t finish his sentence. Zhuang Li raised her head to look at him.

Her gaze was somewhat strange. Zhou Jingyun paused, stopping his words.

“How long do you think a glance lasts?” Zhuang Li asked.

How long does a glance last? It’s so short it’s hard to describe, like a breath, Zhou Jingyun thought.

“Actually, time in an illusion is different from reality. In the time it takes for a breath in reality, a day and a night might have passed in an illusion,” Zhuang Li said, “Just like when someone takes a nap or closes their eyes for a moment, they can dream a dream that spans seasons or even a lifetime in that instant.”

A nap, a blink of an eye, and a lifetime in a dream. Zhou Jingyun understood what she meant. Sometimes he felt like he had slept for a long time, but when he opened his eyes, it was just a nap…

But why was Zhuang Li suddenly explaining this now?

He was startled, “Did something happen just now?”

Zhuang Li lifted her wrist. The loose red string slipped down, revealing a faint red mark on her delicate wrist under the light of the room…”Just now, the moment I looked at Shen Qing, I was pulled into an illusion,” she said. “In that short glance, the Marquis’s Heir and I already walked the entire street. We even bought masks, wore them on our faces, and chatted and laughed happily—”

There was once a time when Shen Qing was clearly playing the guqin, but he was also standing beside him talking, and the people in the room were completely unaware. At that moment, he couldn’t tell which was real and which was fake. This was the so-called illusion. Although he had personally experienced it once, hearing Zhuang Li talk about it now still felt unbelievable. If it were someone else, someone he didn’t know, saying such things, they would be considered mad—

Zhuang Li smiled, “Actually, a madman might seem strange in the eyes of the world, but he might be immersed in his own illusion, and to him, that is real and reasonable—”

As she spoke, she saw the uncontainable pain on Zhou Jingyun’s face.

Normal people would be confused listening to this, and thinking too much would drive them mad…

Things were already chaotic enough, and it was rare for Zhou Jingyun to remain clear-headed and calm. She couldn’t say any more.

She quickly changed the subject, raising her wrist again.

“So I use this as a mark to remind myself. The red string connecting you and me is real. I know we have the red string, but the person creating the illusion doesn’t. Illusions are created based on reality, but they can’t be completely real. This way, I can spot the problem, know that what I’m seeing is fake, and wake up.”

Moreover, this time, Shangguan Yue’s appearance gave her an extra reminder, making it easier to wake up.

It was clear that the entire street was pulled into the dream, and Shangguan Yue, who happened to be passing by, was no exception.

But Shen Qing didn’t know she knew Shangguan Yue, and he didn’t know that Shangguan Yue was difficult to trap in a dream.

Shangguan Yue’s appearance caused her stagnant thoughts to stir, and she began to think. Once you start thinking in a dream, you wake up.

And Shangguan Yue also saw Empress Jiang’s face that appeared on her face at that moment.

Shangguan Yue probably didn’t know what was happening, but he might remember her saying that as long as he appeared beside the Marchioness of Dongyang, Bai Li would appear, so he rushed over and bumped into her.

That bump also instantly woke her up.

Zhuang Li thought silently, stroking the faint mark on her wrist.

Zhou Jingyun looked at her, wanting to say something, but not knowing what to say. He seemed to understand, yet not. After all, for him, it was just a glance out the window, but Zhuang Li, who was clearly sitting beside him, said she had already walked the entire street—

Then, was the one who was here with him just now…her?

He opened his mouth to ask, then closed it again.

Things were already chaotic enough, and Zhuang Li’s experience just now was terrifying enough. He shouldn’t make her recall it again.

“So it’s even more dangerous than you expected?” he asked.

Zhuang Li smiled and nodded.

When people are asleep, they don’t know when they fell asleep.

But after all, she was different from ordinary people. She just hadn’t expected that she, who could freely wander through dreams, would fall asleep so unconsciously in front of Shen Qing.

This wasn’t the first time either.

But that time, she was pulled into Shen Qing’s dream while she was already dreaming. This time, it happened while she was still awake…

“It’s my fault,” Zhou Jingyun said, looking out at the street, “I had people watching Shen Qing, and Shen Qing has been watching you and me for even longer. Us coming out to see him, isn’t that also an opportunity for him to see you?”

In the face of Shen Qing’s strange techniques, he truly felt powerless.

Zhuang Li held his hand, “Marquis’s Heir, don’t overthink it. Me seeing him and him seeing me, the result is the same. It can be considered as achieving my goal.”

Achieving?

Zhou Jingyun looked down at her. That wasn’t just to comfort him?

Zhuang Li smiled, “No, it’s true.” She squeezed Zhou Jingyun’s hand, “Let’s go home and sleep.”