Bai Li’s Dream – Chapter 172

The Marquis of Dongyang's Heir, who had mourned his deceased wife for nine years, suddenly remarried. Looking at the new wife who had been brought home, the Madam of Dongyang nearly fainted from anger. And with the arrival of this little wife, many people's peaceful dreams were also disturbed. *** Zhuang Li, an orphan with a mysterious past and a reputation for bringing misfortune, marries Zhou Jingyun, the widowed Marquis’s Heir, as a strategic move to escape the relentless investigations of the ruthless Censor, Zhang Ze. Jingyun seeks to protect Zhuang Li, whose true identity as Bai Li, the hidden daughter of a condemned official, could lead to her execution. While navigating the treacherous social landscape of the Great Zhou Dynasty's capital, Zhuang Li's unusual talents in medicine, incense-making, and dream-walking become both a source of intrigue and danger. As she grapples with her own troubled past and the complex dynamics of the Marquis household, Zhuang Li finds herself caught in a web of court intrigue, family secrets, and ghostly encounters, all while trying to maintain the facade of a dutiful wife and protect the precarious safety she has found with Jingyun. Meanwhile, Jingyun must balance his loyalty to his new wife with the political realities of a volatile court, where even the slightest misstep can have devastating consequences. As Zhang Ze closes in and rumors of Zhuang Li's "jinx" spread, the couple must rely on their wits and a growing bond to survive the dangers that lurk both in the waking world and the realm of dreams.