Chapter 2: Awakening from Dreams

The drizzling spring rain fell all night, and in the early morning, the rain stopped, and Gu Shiba Niang also opened her eyes.

In her sight was the grayish-blue canopy. This kind of fabric canopy had never been used by the servants even during the most difficult times in their Shen Mansion.

No, not their...

Gu Shiba Niang's hands, lying by her side, involuntarily clenched.

Shen Mansion...

She had no connection with it anymore. If there was any connection, it was an enmity, irreconcilable...

"Shiba Niang... Shiba Niang..." Someone nudged her arm, their voice soft and full of concern.

This caring voice made her nose tingle, and tears welled up instantly.

The woman by the bed was startled by her, "Shiba Niang, Shiba Niang, what's wrong? Is your head hurting again?"

The woman reached out, lifted her up, and rubbed her forehead, lifting the hair to reveal a bruise.

Gu Shiba Niang nestled in the woman's arms, greedily enjoying the unique scent of her mother.

"Shiba Niang?" The woman called her with a hint of concern.

Since the day she woke up from a coma after falling from the mountain, this child had become even more silent and withdrawn, and occasionally lost in thought.

"I'm fine..." Gu Shiba Niang snuggled in her mother's arms, her voice thick with a nasal tone.

Feeling the dampness of her clothes, a hint of a smile appeared on the woman's face, tinged with a hint of helplessness.

"Why are you crying again? Huh?" She scolded gently, as she stroked her daughter's long hair.

"Mother..." Gu Shiba Niang hugged her tightly once again, feeling the real presence of her mother, murmuring, "I miss you so much..."

The woman chuckled, lifted her up, and gently brushed her nose, "You eat and sleep with me. Do you miss me so much just because you can't see me when you close your eyes to sleep? Then from now on, you might as well not sleep at all."

The woman's face bore a smile, and fine lines appeared at the corners of her eyes.

At this moment, the mother was only twenty-eight years old, but she looked like she was thirty-eight, as the hardships of life had prematurely marked her once beautiful face with the traces of time. When she had money, her mother would not be able to enjoy it...

Gu Shiba Niang's tears welled up again, she nodded, her voice hoarse, "If I could always see you, Shiba Niang would be willing not to sleep."

The woman laughed and tapped her nose, "Don't talk nonsense!"

Gu Shiba Niang looked at her, but said nothing.

"Alright, Shiba Niang, are you hungry? Mother will bring you some food..." The woman smiled as she stood up.

"Mother." Gu Shiba Niang called out to her, moving to the edge of the bed, "I'll get up to eat."

A hint of worry appeared on the woman's face, hesitating, "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine." Gu Shiba Niang nodded and looked at her mother.

She had to be fine. There was no time left.

It was now the twenty-eighth of March in the fifth year of Jianyuan, which meant she had returned to ten years ago, when she was thirteen years old.

Her father, who had studied hard until his middle age to become a county magistrate, had just died of illness on his way to take up his post.

In the summer, her mother took her and her fifteen-year-old brother back to their ancestral home in Jiankang to seek refuge with their relatives.

In early winter, her mother was insulted by a libertine from the clan and committed suicide, and her brother, seeking revenge, was falsely accused and imprisoned.

On the twenty-third of the twelfth lunar month, her brother was released from prison, but he died in her arms after contracting a severe illness.

It was in this year that she would lose these two relatives, and from then on, she would be left alone, at the mercy of others.

Her fate began in that year, and now, she was determined to change it from that year.

Seeing the flames ignite in her daughter's eyes, the woman couldn't help but be stunned. This child...

"Alright, lying down for too long makes your bones soft. Get up and move around." She smiled and said, squatting down.

Gu Shiba Niang lowered her head and looked at the white hair mixed in her mother's hair as she helped her put on her short garment made of coarse cloth, and couldn't help but feel a surge of emotion.

"...Take a walk in the courtyard, then have a rest after eating..." The woman dressed her, speaking softly and gently, "You didn't sleep well last night... had a nightmare?"

Yes, a nightmare. Gu Shiba Niang bit her lip and nodded, thankfully she had finally woken up.

"Shiba Niang..." The woman bent over and smiled softly at her reflection in the dim bronze mirror, "Don't be afraid, mother is here."

Yes, mother was still here, and would always be here.

Gu Shiba Niang pursed her lips and smiled slightly at her small, somewhat childish face in the bronze mirror, revealing two small dimples on her slightly pale cheeks.

"Alright..." The mother leaned over from behind and also smiled at the mirror, "Our Shiba Niang looks so beautiful when she smiles..."

The wooden door was pushed open with a bang, startling not only the two people inside the room, but also the person who burst in.

With a few tiger-like features, Gu Hai, the young man, frantically propped up the wooden door to prevent it from making a creaking sound.

"Gu Hai!" The mother scolded him with a hint of annoyance.

Gu Hai stuck out his tongue and saw the little girl sitting in front of the mirror, staring at him in a daze.

"...I scared my sister..." He smiled with a hint of self-reproach, but before he could finish his sentence, he saw tears streaming down the pale face of his sister. He hurriedly raised his hand and pounded his shoulder, "It's all my fault, it's all my fault, don't be angry, sister..."

Gu Shiba Niang ran a few steps from the mirror and reached out to hug his arm, bursting into tears.

He was her brother, two years older than her, who had always protected her, but she had watched him die in her arms...

After crying for a while, Gu Shiba Niang sat under the eaves and ate coarse cakes quietly. She ate them in small bites, and the rough cakes seemed to be a delicacy from heaven.

After taking a big gulp of thin porridge and swallowing the chewed-up cake, her throat burned fiercely. This kind of pain made Gu Shiba Niang very happy. It meant that this was not a dream, she was truly alive, and she was not alone.

Cao Shi and Gu Hai, who were wringing out their clothes in the yard, never took their eyes off Gu Shiba Niang.

"Mother..." Gu Hai whispered, "Sister cries more and more... Her eyes are so swollen..."

Cao Shi nodded, her face full of hidden worries. Not only did she cry a lot, but since that day she woke up, she would be absent-minded during the day and have nightmares at night, crying and screaming every night...

"Brother Hai, don't go gather firewood. Stay at home with your sister. I'll go to the Ma Pozi's house in the east alley," Cao Shi made a decision.

Ma Pozi was a famous shaman here. Gu Hai frowned. He was a scholar and always had some aversion to these women's revered shamans and witches. He hesitated and said, "Why not find a doctor again..."

"After noon, I'll go find a doctor," Cao Shi replied.

"Mother, I'm done eating," Gu Shiba Niang said under the eaves, standing up to clean up the bowls and chopsticks.

Cao Shi stepped forward, "Leave it, I'll do it."

When Cao Shi was pregnant with Gu Shiba Niang, Gu's father was taking the imperial examination. In order to raise money for the travel expenses, the family sold many things, and naturally, the food was also reduced, which led to Gu Shiba Niang being not only premature but also weak. She was almost on the brink of death. Gu's father and Cao Shi sought medical treatment countless times and even followed the advice of the shaman to recognize a beggar as her godmother.

The name Shiba Niang came from the mouth of the godmother. At that time, the beggar godmother was dividing a half piece of black cake into eighteen pieces to comfort the internal organs, and she casually gave her the name Shiba Niang.

Feeling guilty about Shiba Niang's weak body, her parents doted on her. Although the family was poor, they still provided her with everything she needed.

It was because of this that as a poor child, Shiba Niang not only lacked the ability to take care of the household early, but also had a weak and inexperienced temperament.

"Mother, I'll do it," Gu Shiba Niang held Cao Shi's hand and said firmly.