Chapter 248: Waking Up

Cai Songnian, who was leaning against the bedside, suddenly woke up. He saw that the night was fading, and dawn was approaching.

He had been so worried about His Highness that he had come in to keep watch and ended up falling asleep. However, this showed that His Highness had also slept peacefully without incident.

He turned and gently lifted the bed curtains. In the dim light, a pair of black, obsidian-like eyes shone with a faint light.

Cai Songnian shivered in surprise: “Your Highness, you, you’re awake?”

Or, could it be that he hadn’t slept at all?

Li Yu hummed in response: “I’m awake.”

His voice was calm. Although his face was still pale, the anxiety from before was gone, and he seemed to have calmed down completely.

Cai Songnian breathed a sigh of relief: “Did Your Highness sleep well?” He quickly added, “It’s still early; you can sleep a little longer.”

Li Yu lowered his eyes, his long, black eyelashes concealing his gaze. A moment later, he looked up again: “I won’t sleep anymore. I’m hungry.”

As soon as he said that, Cai Songnian also felt hungry. Indeed, it had been a day and two nights since last night, and His Highness hadn’t eaten anything.

It was good that he felt hungry. It meant he had truly returned to normal.

“Alright, alright.” Cai Songnian nodded and got up, heading outside. “I’ll go and have someone bring food.”

Listening to Cai Songnian walk out and give instructions outside the door, the on-duty eunuchs and palace maids approached. The quiet of the night faded, replaced by a bustling atmosphere.

Li Yu lay quietly for a moment, then sat up.

That’s right; he needed to eat, to regain his strength, so that he could figure out what had happened.

Lying down and dreaming was useless.

Don’t dream, his mother had told him years ago.

Don’t dream of someone descending from the heavens to be with him.

It was all fake.

His Ah Li was not his Ah Li after all!

A few more lamps were lit in the study, but the night had already faded, and the light seemed dim. It felt as if everything was blurry.

Zhou Jingyun looked at the woman sitting opposite him. She was drinking tea, one hand holding the teacup, the other resting on the armrest.

The way she held the teacup, it was somewhat like how she used to hold a wine cup.

It was a completely different posture from Bai Li.

It was clearly the same face, but everything had changed.

Was he dreaming?

The person across from him set down the teacup.

“Why are you drinking such strong tea now?” she asked, her gaze meeting his. She smiled faintly. “Didn’t you used to say you only liked plain, tasteless water?”

Zhou Jingyun’s body stiffened slightly. He clenched his hand inside his sleeve, his nails digging into his palm, feeling the slight sting.

“I, I drink all kinds of tea,” he said slowly.

His words were an answer, but not really. He didn’t respond to her mention of the past, which meant he hadn’t acknowledged who she was.

Was it right to say that?

This was the first time he had spoken to Bai Li in this state.

That time before, she had only woken up, glanced at him, smiled, called his name, and then, disappeared.

This time, she walked from the courtyard to the study, took out that painting, and even after he shattered the night lamp in shock, she calmly walked out, sat down, and drank tea.

What should he do?

“Zhou Jingyun.” She glanced at him, then lowered her head and picked up a pastry from the table. “I thought you’d be happy to see me.”

She chuckled as she spoke.

“So even you were hoping for my death.”

Under the faint, bluish light, the smile on her face seemed somewhat wistful and lonely.

“No!” Zhou Jingyun couldn’t help but stand up and blurt out, his voice abruptly stopping.

She looked at him, her eyes smiling: “No what?”

Zhou Jingyun looked at her face, feeling dizzy. Was this face fake, or was the person fake, or was he, at this moment, also fake?

“Pull yourself together.” Her voice reached him. “What you’re seeing now is real. You’ve been through a lot with her, and it’s not the first time you’ve seen me. What are you panicking about!”

Zhou Jingyun took a deep breath. Yes, that’s right. What was real was real, and what was fake couldn’t become real.

“I wasn’t hoping for your death,” he said, looking at her. “And there are many people who want you to live.”

She met his gaze, a smile spreading in her eyes.

Zhou Jingyun looked at her: “Your Highness, but you are already dead.”

She stared at him intently, then suddenly asked: “Zhou Jingyun, how did you feel when you heard I was dead?”

Zhou Jingyun was silent for a moment, then said: “It was a pity.”

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She laughed: “I don’t believe it. You must have said I deserved it, that this day would come sooner or later.”

Zhou Jingyun looked at her and smiled: “Your Highness, you must have said the same thing about yourself back then, right?”

She laughed heartily, leaning back in her chair: “You’re right. You guessed it.”

Zhou Jingyun smiled faintly.

The bluish light in the room flowed like mist.

“So, it’s not good that I’m back now?”

She said, standing up and walking to the door, looking out at the summer courtyard. An early bird was hopping cheerfully on a branch.

Zhou Jingyun looked at her: “Your Highness, the dead cannot come back to life.”

She turned her head, her expression cold.

“Zhou Jingyun, I’m standing right in front of you. Don’t you want to acknowledge the truth?”

Zhou Jingyun looked at her. Perhaps the morning light had suddenly brightened, but his vision blurred, and the familiar face before him seemed to change…

It morphed into another familiar face.

“No.” He gritted his teeth and shook his head, looking at this face. “Your Highness, you are intelligent, you understand the world, and you are not afraid of death. You yourself know very well that the dead cannot come back to life.”

The person in front of him looked at him and chuckled.

“Zhou Jingyun, it’s been years. You’ve become quite the flatterer!” she said, turning to stand in front of him, scrutinizing his face. “You’ve been through a lot outside, haven’t you?”

Zhou Jingyun looked at her, his clenched hand suddenly feeling weak. He slowly loosened his grip.

“But you must have been happy too, right? What’s the point of just being an immortal?” she said with a smile. “It’s only interesting when you’ve tasted all the flavors of life, sweet, sour, bitter, and spicy.”

Zhou Jingyun nodded: “Yes, I’ve been very happy.” He looked at her. “Would you like to try our breakfast?”

She was stunned for a moment, seemingly surprised by his sudden question, but then she smiled.

“Alright,” she nodded.

✿✿✿

✿✿✿

The courtyard gate opened, and Huang Ru, standing under the eaves, saw Zhou Jingyun and Bai Li walking in.

“Ah Li.” She couldn’t help but feel overjoyed and hurried to meet them. “You’re awake!”

But the next moment, as she saw the woman approaching, her footsteps faltered, and the smile froze on her face.

Although it was Bai Li’s face, Bai Li’s clothes, clothes she had personally changed for her, she could still tell at a glance that this was not…

The woman glanced at her, her eyes indifferent. Without a word, she passed by her and went inside.

The wet nurse also came out, holding the baby. Although she didn’t feel anything strange about Young Lady Bai, she could sense that Zhou Jingyun and Madam Zhuang’s attitudes were off. She hurriedly tried to retreat with the baby, but the baby reached out towards the approaching Young Lady Bai, babbling “ah, ah, ah,” seemingly very happy.

The woman, stepping onto the platform, also looked at the baby, a smile appearing on her face. Then she raised her hand and made a gesture…

Zhou Jingyun recognized it as the shape of an eagle.

The baby giggled, waving his hands even more excitedly, almost slipping from the wet nurse’s arms.

“I won’t hold you. Children are too noisy,” she said, waving to the baby and stepping into the room.

Madam Zhuang pulled Zhou Jingyun aside, looking at him: “She…”

She didn’t say the name.

Zhou Jingyun lowered his eyes and nodded.

Madam Zhuang’s face instantly turned pale: “How is this possible?”

How could it be her who woke up?!

Where was Ah Li?!

Had Ah Li disappeared?

Zhou Jingyun raised his head and looked at Madam Zhuang, his eyes firm: “No, whoever it is, it is.”

He knew, and Ah Li knew too.

Ah Li would definitely wake up!

He looked towards the room, through the window, and saw the woman standing in front of the desk, examining it with interest.

“Please make yourself at home,” Zhou Jingyun called out. “I’ll go prepare the meal.”

She looked over from the window and nodded slightly: “Alright.”

The new plot is developing a bit slowly, so this chapter is a bit shorter. Happy holidays everyone!!