Chapter 3: Awakening from a Dream

For many years, apart from the spring tide period and the cultivation period, he had never seen his grandfather in such a half-revealed state.

Chu Yu straightened his robe, covering up the exposed white, then turned back and looked towards the wall. His eyes were calm, and his cheeks were slightly flushed.

Jinghua then noticed, "Where is your medicine?"

"I've taken it," Chu Yu casually replied, then turned around, "Let's go back to the mansion."

Taken it? He specifically ran several miles to the Wenguo Mansion just to take it? Jinghua pondered.

But as they were about to leave the Wenguo Mansion, Chu Yu suddenly staggered, swayed, and then slowly collapsed, blood gushing from his mouth, staining the silk on his chest.

Jinghua's eyes turned red in an instant, "Young Master!"

For the first time in many years, Jinghua saw him fall. That venomous medicine, the only Fire Lingzhi in the world, must have entered the man's body in the house, along with the injuries on his body, injuries that seemed to have an intricate connection with the person in the Wenguo Mansion.

Jinghua remembered the day when the young master suddenly fell ill and was unconscious for a long time, only to wake up and say three sentences.

"What year is it now?"

Jinghua answered, "The 29th year of Daliang, summer."

The young master asked again, "Is the seventh miss of the Wenguo Mansion safe?"

He replied that he didn't know.

The young master struggled to get up but fell to the ground. He was unable to get up and said with great effort, "Go, go and watch over her."

The seventh miss of the Wenguo Mansion...

Jinghua felt as if, overnight, the young master's temperament had changed drastically, and his actions had become inexplicable.

It seemed that at some point, everything had gone awry.

In the quiet courtyard, the wind blew through the half-open paper windows, making a faint sound. The maid on night duty was dozing off against a corner screen, and the intricately carved incense burner on the side emitted a thin wisp of smoke.

"Chu Yu..."

In the silent night, someone was murmuring in a daze, disturbing the moonlight that spilled onto the bed.

"Chu Yu..."

The woman on the bed, sweating lightly on her forehead, shivered slightly, as if her nightmare had startled her soul, not knowing when or where.

In the dream, there were a pair of faintly glowing blue eyes.

She was covered in blood and tears, while he knelt on both knees, "A Ruo, don't be afraid. If he wrongs you, I will overthrow his kingdom."

Behind him, there were thousands of troops from Xiling, and in front of him, there were the towering walls of Daliang.

"My A Ruo would never want to set foot in this capital again. Burn it, burn it to the ground," the blue eyes turned into a heavy color, he said, "All the people of Daliang will be executed."

"Your Majesty, you can't!"

He roared, "Kill them all!" His trembling hands held the woman covered in blood, "A Ruo, do you want him dead?" After a moment, "Or is it better to be alive than dead?"

As soon as she opened her mouth, blood stained her collar.

The warhorses of Xiling were clamorous, and all that could be heard were the chilling words of their emperor, "Chop him into pieces and bury him in the apricot blossom forest in the backyard. I will use his blood and bones to worship my A Ruo."

"You're not human!"

"Chu Yu, you monster, you deserve to die!"

The man lying on the ground was hysterical, struggling in a pool of blood. Daliang had fallen, and the emperor was imprisoned.

He laughed, "Yes, I am a monster."

Suddenly, a flash of blue light broke through, and the smoke and fire of the approaching army disappeared. The apricot blossoms bloomed, and under the trees, there was a crimson coffin, with a few scattered petals.

The man squatted in front of the sandalwood coffin, and behind him, a white tail swayed.

"Don't be afraid, I will save you."

"A Ruo, wait for me."

He leaned down and kissed her forehead, and a blue light gradually rose.

"My lord!"

"I will use the souls of ten thousand demons from the north to sacrifice to the stars, to move the moon..."

The ancient incantation from afar came intermittently. She couldn't open her eyes, feeling something scorching her throat.

"A Ruo, be good, swallow it, and you won't feel pain anymore."

She suddenly opened her eyes and shouted, "Chu Yu!"

"Miss, miss."

The maid called her, but she seemed not to hear, lost in thought.

"Go and call the doctor quickly. The miss is awake!"

The woman on the bed raised her eyes, looked around gently for a long time, and seemed to smile faintly.

The heavy wooden bed, the apricot branches outside the window, were planted by her that year, in the 29th year of Daliang, when the Xiao family's seventh miss, over fifteen years old, was in her prime.

She had been in a dreamlike state for several years, and now she had returned, awakened.

That night, she had been burning up, and no matter how the maidservants called her, she couldn't wake up.

The next day, the seventh miss of the Xiao family woke up, but then fell into a daze again, with recurring nightmares, and it took several days for her to fully regain consciousness.

Three days later, the Crown Prince of Qinnan was still running a high fever, which had affected his heart and lungs, and he was diagnosed with a heart disease. The King of Qinnan used the excuse of the Crown Prince's illness to request permission to return to his fiefdom in the southern part of the country.

At this time, it was almost dusk, and it felt oppressive, as if a heavy rain was about to fall. Yunli took a clean silk cloth, dampened it, and wiped the woman's hands on the bed.

She moved slightly and slowly opened her eyes.

Yunli was overjoyed and threw down the silk cloth, leaning forward and calling out twice, "Miss, miss." When she didn't respond, Yunli became anxious and reached out to feel her temperature, "Miss, are you awake?" The fever seemed to have subsided.

She propped herself up and asked, "How long have I been asleep?" Her voice was hoarse, as if she hadn't spoken in a long time.

Yunli found a pillow and placed it behind Xiao Jingxi, saying, "Miss, you've been in and out of consciousness for several days. The Duke and Duchess of Wenguo came yesterday evening, but you only woke up for a moment before falling back asleep. How do you feel now? Are you feeling better?" After some thought, she still wasn't at ease, "I'll go and call the doctor."

Xiao Jingxi stopped her, "Yunli."

Yunli turned back.

Xiao Jingxi asked, "What time is it today?"

Yunli hesitated for a moment and said, "Today is the summer solstice."

"Summer solstice..." she murmured, her gaze deep and thoughtful.

In the twenty-ninth year of Daliang, on the eve of the summer solstice, the Rongping Army rebelled, and the Crown Prince Ye led the imperial army to defeat fifty thousand rebels at the outskirts of the capital.

In the previous life, it was the Rongping Army of the Marquis of Weiping who allowed the Crown Prince Feng to gain power, and it was also from then on that she entered the camp of the Eastern Palace.

"Hehe."

Xiao Jingxi lightly chuckled, her eyes turning cold in an instant.

Yunli was a little flustered, "Seventh Miss, what's wrong with you?"

She looked up, gazing at the half-opened apricot blossoms outside the window, muttering to herself, "I slept too long, the weather is about to change."

The sky was already dark, and heavy rain was about to fall. The bustling city of Liang was shrouded in vast dark clouds, with an indescribable sense of oppression.

Outside the Eastern Palace, a hurried figure pushed open the door and called out, "Your Highness."

Inside the room, a man draped in a dark long robe slightly raised his eyes, "What's the situation?"

"The Rongping Army is stationed outside the city, only waiting for the east wind."

The man chuckled lightly, a glint of light flashing in his eyes, as he raised his slender fingers, "Bring my armor, it's time to close the net."

Gentle and refined, this was the Crown Prince of Daliang, Feng Fuli.

At three quarters past the hour of Shen, outside the capital, the fire illuminated the night, and the Rongping Army was stationed there. Outside the camp, footsteps approached.

The night guard brandished his sword and shouted, "Who goes there?!"

From a distance, a woman's voice, cool and calm, drifted over, "Xiao Seven, from the Marquis of Wenguo's residence."