White Fence Dream

Chapter 136 Don’t ask
This person was determined to treat her as a ghost.

Zhuang Li smiled.

That's good, she doesn't have to reveal too much information about herself, which is safer.

"We'll talk about whether to die or not later," she said. "It's better to be alive."

Yes, it is better to live than to die. Who wants to die? Isn't he the same? At the moment of death, he was unwilling and didn't want to die.

Fortunately, he met Bai Li, caught her, and was saved by her.

Was Bai Li unwilling and afraid before she died? But she didn't meet anyone who could save her...
Shangguan Yue turned her head and looked aside: "Yes, if we can live, we must live well."

Are you feeling wronged and sad because you almost died before? Zhuang Li smiled and comforted him: "Those who survive a great disaster will surely have good fortune in the future."

Is she envious of him? The dead have nothing... Shangguan Yue felt a blockage in her heart, and suddenly she missed Wang Tong. Although this guy is a waste, he has the support of Shengzu Temple. Let him find out if there is any way to make a ghost reborn as a human.

Zhuang Li had no idea what he was thinking about, so he continued, "I came here to ask you for a favor."

Shangguan Yue hurriedly turned back: "You say." Then she took the initiative to say, "I can sleep anytime."

Zhuang Li smiled and wanted to reach out and touch Shangguan Yue’s head. She was much more obedient than the little crybaby in his dream.

"This time I'm not going to sleep," she said, "I'm asking you to send a very reliable person to help me go to Dengzhou to see someone."

.......
.......
There weren't many people on the street on the third day of the Lunar New Year. Shopkeeper Cai was leaning against the door of a shop, looking out, his brows furrowed.

"Boss, don't worry. Although the young master didn't let us follow him, we have guarded this street." The follower beside him whispered.

Another attendant followed and explained: "The young master said he was going to pay New Year's greetings to Doctor Zhang, pick up some medicine, and take care of Doctor Zhang's business."

The young master escaped death last time thanks to Zhang Shilin. The young master is indeed a grateful person, Manager Cai nodded.

but…..
He still felt something was not right.

"Is there anyone else in the clinic today?" he asked.

The attendant shook his head and said he didn't know: "The master didn't allow us to go in, saying that we don't want to cause trouble for Doctor Zhang."

Shopkeeper Cai said, "Oh!" Doctor Zhang saved the young master, and he was afraid that he would be retaliated. However, the princess already knew the young master's identity, so she would naturally not do anything to hurt him. There was no need to do this...
As his thought flashed through his mind, he suddenly saw a carriage driving out of the alley behind the Zhang family clinic.

This carriage!
Dongyang Marquis Mansion!

Shopkeeper Cai's eyelids twitched.

The carriage swayed by, and a cold wind blew across the street, blowing up the curtains and revealing the profile of the young woman.

Although it is only a side profile, you can see that her skin is as white as snow and her eyebrows and eyes are pretty.

The curtains were lowered immediately, and the carriage swayed past.

"The young master is coming out." The follower's voice sounded in his ears.

Shopkeeper Cai looked in a daze and saw Shangguan Yue wrapped in a cloak slowly walking out of the alley with a smile on her face.

This, this, this, this!
"Where is the son of the Marquis of Dongyang?" asked Shopkeeper Cai.

The followers were a little confused. Why did he suddenly ask about the Prince of Dongyang?
……

……

The winter courtyard, with its snow, small bridges and flowing water, looks like a painting.

The doors and windows of the house next door were open, and a dozen people were sitting or standing inside.

The clear and cool sound of the guqin echoed in the air.

"Prince, this is the mansion that His Majesty bestowed on Duke Zheng. Isn't it nice?" the man next to him said to Zhou Jingyun who was standing by the window.

Zhou Jingyun said: "Duke Zheng once taught your majesty. Your majesty is mellow and kind, which is a blessing for the Great Zhou. This is what Duke Zheng deserves."

The man laughed and said, "Your Highness, you are right." He then called everyone and repeated Zhou Jingyun's words.

Lord Zheng, who was sitting in the middle, looked at Zhou Jingyun with a smile on his face.

Zhou Jingyun raised the wine glass in his hand: "Mr. Zheng has suffered for so many years."

Suffered.

Isn't it suffering?
Duke Zheng still remembers how aloof and arrogant the handsome young man who stood beside the late emperor was. He was like an immortal who was not affected by the mundane world.

The young man had behaved inappropriately in front of the emperor, but the late emperor never got angry. What about me? I just followed the trend and said that Your Majesty was extravagant... They were from the Zheng family, and it was reasonable for them to teach the prince and give the emperor some advice.

As a result, the late emperor hit him in the face with a wine glass and told him to get out.

Every time he woke up in the middle of the night, he was startled by a nightmare and felt that his nose was still hurting from being hit.

There was also the laughter of the enchanting concubine who was sitting next to the late emperor at that time.

"This man is ugly in appearance and heart. He can't see the wisdom and skill of your majesty at all. What's the point of keeping him in the court?"

Duke Zheng's eyes turned red, and he could not help but stand up in grief and indignation: "Everyone, everyone, don't be sad anymore, the evil queen has been eliminated, the loyal and good will no longer be expelled, and the court will no longer be controlled by arrogant and lowly people. Our Great Zhou will return to its heyday."

This statement attracted the approval of everyone in the hall, and they raised their glasses to "for the Great Zhou, for Your Majesty, and for the prosperous times."

There was a noise in the room, drowning out the sound of the piano. Zhou Jingyun raised his wine glass and drank it all with everyone else. Someone hummed softly in his ear.

"What's wrong with being an arrogant and lowly person? Just because I'm born in a lowly family, I can't compare to these famous nobles?"

The people in the room were still talking and laughing, and the musicians were still playing melodiously.

Duke Zheng is hosting a banquet today, and the Music Bureau has sent court musicians to entertain the banquet out of courtesy.

Zhou Jingyun slowly turned his head to look at his side. Musician Shen Qing was standing next to him, holding a wine glass in his hand and a sarcastic smile on his face.

People in the room were chatting and laughing, and the sound of piano was echoing in their ears.

Zhou Jingyun felt as if his heart had stopped beating.

He understood a lot of things in an instant.

Zhang Ze investigated Jiang's followers and said that they were using sorcery, magic, and evil spirits.

It turns out that Shen Qing has such means!
No wonder no one has found any evidence against Shen Qing in the past decade.

"Is this the truth about the haunting of the palace and the altar?" he heard his own voice say slowly.

No, not only that, there is also the monk in Lingquan Temple who is asleep, and the death of Zhu Shan from the Supervisory Council!

Shen Qing raised his glass and said, "The prince is smart and understands things immediately."

Zhou Jingyun said slowly: "What can you gain by using these means? Disturbing people's hearts?"

He shook his head.

"You can't even see the light. Illusion, illusion, and psychedelic art. Even if it can confuse one person, it can't confuse everyone in the world."

Shen Qing smiled and said, "I don't have such great ambitions to deceive the world. I do all this just for one person."

For one person?
Zhou Jingyun clenched his hands that were hanging at his sides.

The next question he should have asked was, for whom, but he didn't want to ask.

Although he felt that his consciousness was hazy, he kept his mouth tightly shut and did not speak.

He didn't ask, but couldn't stop Shen Qing from talking.

"Prince Zhou, don't you want to ask that person?" Shen Qing said, looking at him, "It was that person who protected you when you were young and wanted you to go out and see the wider world. Don't really act like an immortal prince, don't be so high and mighty that you become a corrupt waste like these people."

He pointed at the officials who were still chatting and laughing at the banquet. He didn't know whether it was because they drank too much or because of the magic, but these people became more and more unrestrained.

Zhou Jingyun still kept his mouth tightly shut.

Shen Qing nodded again: "Yes, you don't need to ask anything. She never shows mercy to those she wants to eliminate, and she never asks for anything in return from those she supports. You can just travel around the world peacefully, see all kinds of things in the world, be a good official, a good son, and a good husband..."

Zhou Jingyun suddenly said, "Who wants me to be a good husband? And who am I being a good husband to?"

When did Shen Qing start using these methods?

He still remembered Shen Qing's words that it was he who should have taken Zhuang Li away. Then, among all the things he had experienced, which one was real and which one was an illusion?
That night, when he was reading the official bulletin, he suddenly became angry and grief-stricken. Was it true, or was it just his hallucination?
That day he stood in front of Mr. Zhuang and suddenly offered to help. Was it real or an illusion?

Shen Qing looked at him, smiling and saying, "Well, you should ask yourself, who do you want to be a good husband to, and who is the wife you see?"

Zhou Jingyun looked at him: "Whoever she is is who she is. It has nothing to do with what I think or what I see."

Shen Qing raised his head and laughed: "It doesn't matter? She is whoever she is? Then ask her why she gets sick every time there are ghosts in the palace? And ask Madam Zhuang why Mr. Zhuang would sacrifice his life for an orphan girl!"

Having said that, he reached out and patted Zhou Jingyun on the shoulder and looked at him.

"Zhou Jingyun, I really envy you."

"When she was unconscious, the person she wanted to follow was you."

"When she woke up, the first person she saw was also you."

Along with this slap, Zhou Jingyun only felt a loud noise beside his ear as if something was shattered. His vision suddenly became clear, and the sound of laughter in the room came to his face.

The two men opened a scroll and Zheng Gongzheng picked up his brush and started writing.

He stood by the window, and a colleague beside him raised his wine glass and said to him, "Mr. Zheng's painting skills are even better than before."

Zhou Jingyun nodded with a smile: "Yes."

His gaze passed over Lord Zheng and looked towards the screen, where the zither player Shen Qing was sitting with his head down, concentrating on playing the zither, the sound of which flowed smoothly.

It's like a dream.

But this is not a dream.

Just like the glimpse that morning, it turned out not to be a dream.

.......
.......
"The prince is back."

The maids lifted the curtains, and the warm light shone upon them.

Zhou Jingyun walked in and saw that the maids were all there, including Aunt Mei. When she saw him come in, she stood up and bowed in a panic.

"The young lady gave me a box of honey pills," she explained, "I came to thank you."

Zhuang Li, wearing a casual jacket, said, "It's unlucky to send medicine during the New Year, but this is a tonic."

Zhou Jingyun remembered that she went to the clinic today, nodded, and took off her cloak.

Aunt Mei subconsciously reached out to take it. This was what a concubine should do.

Zhuang Li glanced at her and thought of something: "It just so happens that Auntie is here, let's go back with the prince."

Zhou Jingyun was stunned.

Aunt Mei's face turned pale and she almost dropped the cloak in her hand.

"According to the rules, we should go to my aunt's place." Zhuang Li continued.

She had even forgotten that Zhou Jingyun had been by her side because of her previous "illnesses".

Zhou Jingyun frowned: "What kind of rules are these? It's New Year's Day."

That's right, it's New Year's Day, don't seek bad luck, Aunt Mei nodded quickly, not wanting to stay here for a moment. Who would have thought that she would run into the Prince coming back? He said he went to a banquet, why did he come back so early?

"I'll take my leave first." She said hurriedly.

After saying this, he turned around and walked out without caring whether Zhuang Li responded or not.

Her little maid was still sharing fruit with a group of other little maids in the corridor. She only noticed it when Aunt Mei disappeared and hurriedly followed her.

"Why did you run away, Auntie?" the little girl complained, "I didn't even get a share of the fruit."

Aunt Mei said unhappily, "The young lady is not harsh to others. Whatever is available here, we also have. You have nothing less to eat."

The little girl laughed and said, "That's true, but every little bit counts."

The master and servant walked away muttering to each other.

The maids in Zhuangli's room looked at each other and made eye contact, then retreated.

Zhou Jingyun came out after washing and changing his clothes and saw Zhuang Li making the bed.

"My mother...has always hoped to have a child," he said.

Is this an explanation for why I didn't go to Aunt Mei's place? Previously, I was sick and took care of her. Now that I'm not sick, I change my excuse to this?

Can't concubines also give birth to children?
Zhuang Li looked at him.

"It's not a good idea to go to my aunt's house during the New Year, or my mother will worry." Zhou Jingyun continued.

Zhuang Li smiled and nodded. Since he wanted to protect her, then let him do it.

"I was negligent." She said, "Your Highness must be tired today, go to bed early."

After saying that, he went to bed first.

"Today at the clinic, I invited Doctor Zhang to dinner, and he drank too much."

The couple always had something to say, and Zhuang Li took the initiative to talk about what happened today.

Zhou Jingyun sat down beside the bed: "As a doctor, you should be more restrained and rarely drink."

"How much alcohol can the prince drink?" Zhuang Li asked.

Zhou Jingyun smiled and said, "I attended two banquets today. What do you think of me now?"

As expected, Zhuang Li leaned over from inside to look at him.

Under the night light, Zhou Jingyun's face was slightly red and his eyes were bright, but under the dim light, he seemed a little dazed.

“Zhou Jingyun…” Zhuang Li said after a moment of hesitation.

In fact, she was not very confident in questioning Zhou Jingyun with the magic of confusion. She had used it before, but she didn't get anything out of him, and it made her relax her vigilance.

I don't know if it will be effective while drinking.

As soon as she opened her mouth, Zhou Jingyun interrupted her: "Don't call my name like that."

Zhuang Li was stunned.

"You and I are husband and wife." Zhou Jingyun lowered his eyes and said, "You are used to calling me that. If mother knew, she would talk about you behind your back."

So, it’s not good to call your husband by his name.

Zhuang Li smiled and that was it.

"Okay, Prince, I understand," she said.

Zhou Jingyun withdrew his gaze and blew out the light.

"Take a rest," he said.

I don't know when I stopped reading, and the two of them tacitly stopped mentioning it.

Zhuang Li hummed, "There are a lot of social events during the New Year, and I'm quite tired."

Zhou Jingyun also nodded.

The bed curtains were silent, and both of them seemed to be asleep.

"Ali." Zhou Jingyun suddenly said again.

Zhuang Li hummed in response.

"It's the New Year, don't forget to pay respects to your family." Zhou Jingyun said in a low voice.

Oh, Zhuang Li said, "Thank you."

The bed curtains fell into silence again.

The night is quiet.