White Fence Dream

Chapter 169: Banquet
There were more and more people outside the hall, and it seemed that everyone came out, but not to admire the lanterns, but to cross the dazzling mountains and seas of lights and surround the Jielin Building.

There were several more layers of guards downstairs in the Jielin Building, stopping everyone from approaching.

The imperial doctors carrying medicine boxes hurried in, and the eunuchs drew aside the curtains to block the view, but the curtains could not block the discussions of the night soldiers.

"…Who? Madam Dongyanghou?"

"Young Madam of the Marquis of Dongyang."

"The new wife?"

"Is it true? He jumped off the building?"

"It's not jumping off a building, it's falling from a building!"

The singing and dancing could no longer be heard, and a buzz of discussions came from all directions.

Even in the emperor's arms, Bai Ying was still shaking.

"I, I invited the young mistress to come upstairs to enjoy the lanterns." She said in a trembling voice, "The young mistress also came along... I don't know what happened, she was fine, but suddenly..."

At this point she could no longer speak, she burst into tears, her breathing became rapid, and her body fell limply.

The emperor hurriedly summoned the imperial physician.

The imperial doctors gathered around.

The Queen was watching from the side. Now she should have stepped forward to show concern and greetings, and personally held Bai Ying's hand to comfort her, but for some reason, she resisted with her hands and feet, and finally just walked to the Emperor and pulled his sleeve.

"Your Majesty, the young wife of the Marquis of Dongyang..."

Although the emperor was worried about Bai Ying, he thought of the tragedy on the other side and hurried over to look.

There were also imperial physicians there, but they did not surround the patient to treat him. Instead, they spoke to Marquis Dongyang who was standing nearby, looking helpless and shaking their heads from time to time.

Although they were at some distance, the emperor seemed to hear what the imperial doctors said.

The building next door was very high, and when he fell from it, his bones and flesh were broken, his head was bleeding, and his internal organs were shattered.

There is no chance of treatment at all.

He died on the spot.

Marquis Dongyang's face was pale and he looked distraught.

The wife of the Marquis of Dongyang collapsed to the ground, and Madam Xue pinched her Ren Zhong while she cried. The imperial doctors surrounded her and rushed to treat her.

In comparison, the Prince of Dongyang was very calm.

He knelt on the ground, neither crying nor making a fuss. He had taken off his cloak and covered his wife on the ground to prevent her bloody appearance from being exposed to everyone.

From the emperor's side, all that could be seen was his messy hair sticking out from under his cloak.

Zhou Jingyun reached out and stroked her hair, as if trying to soothe her to sleep.

The emperor's eyes followed the cloak and saw a foot wearing an embroidered shoe outside the cloak. The foot was obviously broken and twisted into an abnormal angle.

There is also a deep shadow of light spreading under the cloak...

That's not light, that's blood...
The emperor was frightened and quickly looked away.

At the same time, General Jinwuwei, who was in charge of the imperial guards, also hurried over.

"Your Majesty, we have checked and the railing is broken." He whispered.

Sure enough, there was no such thing as a fall from a building without a reason. The emperor asked in a deep voice, "Was it man-made?"

The Jinwu Guard general hesitated: "Not really, it just looks rotten."

Maybe it's because of disrepair?
Since His Majesty ascended the throne, he has been busy maintaining stability in the court and has been frugal himself. The palace has not been repaired for five or six years.

"There is more." General Jinwuwei thought of something and said, holding up the Emperor Bell with both hands, "It was on the ground when we went up."

The emperor's face darkened. He had personally watched over the hanging of the Imperial Bell on the Jie Lin Tower, otherwise he would not have been at ease leaving Bai Ying here alone.

Such talismans must not be touched.

"Who took it off?" he asked in a low voice.

Eunuch Wang Degui was kicked out by Gao Twelve and fell to his knees on the ground, looking dazed.

"No, no one picked it." He stammered, his eyes dazed, "I don't know, I don't know what happened, the queen suddenly wanted to go outside to see the lanterns, and the wife of the Marquis of Dongyang supported the queen, and then, then, I blinked again, the queen and I were standing there, the emperor bell fell to the ground, and the wife of the Marquis of Dongyang held the railing and fell down - the queen was scared, the queen fainted -"

He was incoherent, and when he saw the Prince of Dongyang and the corpse covered with a cloak over there, he began to tremble all over and was about to faint from fear.

Gao Twelve raised his foot to kick him again: "You're a piece of trash—"

The emperor waved his hand to stop him: "Alright, I know what's going on."

The people around couldn't help but look at him.

what happened?

What else could be going on? It must be Empress Chiang’s doing!

The emperor looked at the Emperor Bell and said in a deep voice, "Go and invite Xuan Yangzi here quickly."

After saying that, he looked at the Dongyang Marquis' family again and sighed.

It seems that the ghost of Queen Jiang is trying to harm Bai Ying. Because of the protection of the Emperor's Bell, Bai Ying is spared, but the young lady of Dongyang Marquis...
The general of the Jinwu Guard took the order and left quickly.

"Your Majesty." Zhou Jingyun turned around and kowtowed to the emperor. "I'd like to take my leave. I want to take my wife home."

The emperor stepped forward and gently advised: "Let the imperial doctors... "

Zhou Jingyun shook his head, his face was pale and his eyes were red.

"Your Majesty," he said only, "I want to take my wife home."

After saying this, he kowtowed heavily, "dong dong dong", and the sound was like the beating of drums on the bluestone bricks.

Seeing the blood flowing from Zhou Jingyun's forehead, the emperor hurriedly supported him and said hastily: "Okay, okay, okay, I allow you to leave and take your wife home."

Zhou Jingyun bowed his head to the ground and choked up: "I thank your majesty for your grace."

After saying that, he knelt down in front of the cloak and looked at the human figure under the cloak.

"Ali, let's go home." He said softly, reaching out to pick up the person wrapped in a cloak.

Marquis Dongyang moved his lips, said nothing, and followed.

The wife of Marquis Dongyang had fainted and was held in Madam Xue's arms.

The Queen arranged for the eunuchs to carry the sedan chair and asked Zhou Jingyun to put Zhuang Li on it as well, but Zhou Jingyun seemed not to hear and just walked out holding the person in his arms.

"Let him hold him." The emperor said to the queen, looking at Zhou Jingyun's back and sighing again.

Bai Ying's crying sound was heard behind him.

The man stood up, pushed away the palace maid's support, and stumbled, as if trying to chase after Zhou Jingyun.

The emperor quickly reached out his hand and Bai Ying fell into his arms.

"What's wrong? What's wrong?" the emperor asked anxiously.

Bai Ying looked at Zhou Jingyun's back, her hair shaking under her cloak and her body trembling violently.

"Your Majesty." She buried her head in the emperor's arms, tears streaming down her face, and she burst into tears. "Your Majesty, I am afraid."

The emperor hurriedly patted him and comforted him, "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid. I'm here, I'm here."

The queen curled her lips and ordered the eunuchs to disperse the onlookers.

There was no need to disperse. Seeing Zhou Jingyun coming over with his wife in his arms, the onlookers made way. The timid ones covered their eyes with their hands, while the brave ones stood on tiptoe to look over. However, Zhou Jingyun's cloak was too large, so only his legs and feet could be seen vaguely, his messy hair, and the blood dripping as he walked.

It seemed that some flesh was falling off.

too frightening.

The brave ones also avoided their sight and dared not look again.

Many people looked dazed, watching the Dongyang Marquis' family walking among the crowd. It seemed as if they were back to the beginning of the banquet, when the Dongyang Marquis' wife was holding her new daughter-in-law's hand and introducing her to everyone with a smile on her face.

In a blink of an eye, the wife of Marquis Dongyang fainted and was carried in a sedan chair, while the well-behaved daughter-in-law was lifeless.

It's like a dream.

……

……

Is the dream over?
Shangguan Yue stood on the top of the pavilion. After a period of darkness, he regained his sight and saw that there were no two moons in the sky.

There was a commotion all around, and many people poured out of the Linde Hall. The emperor, empress, Princess Jin, Princess Yu, the prince consort, and so on also came out and hurriedly ran towards the Jielin Building.

In addition, the imperial doctors and eunuchs were running around.

Shangguan Yue stood on the top of the pavilion and heard countless buzzing sounds, echoing a sentence.

The young wife of Marquis Dongyang fell to her death.

Shangguan Yue put her hand on her chest, feeling her heart beating rapidly.

The young wife of Marquis Dongyang died?

Why did he die?
"If you hear that someone has died, don't panic." Bai Li said after handing him the lotus root in the early morning at Dongyang Marquis Mansion, "The death you see is not necessarily death. There is life and death, and there is death and life." There is life and death, there is death and life, Shangguan Yue muttered to himself, and there was a buzzing sound all around. The sound was very loud and very far away, as if there was a barrier between them.

He saw the soft moonlight, the swaying lanterns, and the wooden and dull expressions of the people talking.

He lowered his head and saw a lotus root lying on the ground.

Yes, he just threw the lotus root down.

The light flickered, and the lotus root seemed to stretch out on the ground, growing legs, arms, and a head.

Shangguan Yue’s eyes widened instantly.

What did he see?
The lotus root turned into a human!

He must be dreaming!
……

……

Was he dreaming? Zhou Jingyun was a little dazed. He couldn't remember how long he had been walking, and the people around him had disappeared.

Until I saw a maid coming towards me.

Spring month.

Seeing him coming, Chunyue was happy, but her expression became nervous, and then she saw the person covered by the cloak held in Zhou Jingyun's arms.

Chunyue's face turned pale instantly.

"Young Madam, Young Madam, what's wrong with Young Madam!"

Zhou Jingyun heard the maid's terrified cry, which gradually turned into crying. The maid in front of him had a distorted face from crying.

"This is impossible, this is impossible, I must be dreaming-"

The maid raised her hand and hit her own face, as if to wake herself up.

Zhou Jingyun looked at her with a confused expression.

"Is your wife dead?" a voice suddenly asked in my ear.

Zhou Jingyun looked past the maid Chunyue who was kneeling on the ground and saw an old Taoist standing in front of a carriage not far away.

The old Taoist was wearing a Taoist robe and his hair was a little messy. When he looked over, he yawned and scratched his eyes.

"Is your wife dead?" he asked again, looking at Zhou Jingyun.

Zhou Jingyun's blank eyes focused.

"Dead," he said.

This is not a dream.

His wife Zhuang Li died.

He was thrown down the building by himself.

He watched her fall, hit the ground, and shatter into pieces, with blood all over the floor.

He did what he promised her.

Zhou Jingyun smiled.

But tears flowed from my eyes and my vision became blurry.

I heard the old Taoist's voice in my ear: "Since you think your wife is dead, then she is dead."

The next moment there was crying and noise and chaos.

Zhou Jingyun's blurred vision saw people everywhere in the dim and chaotic environment. There was no Taoist figure in front of the carriage, only his own servants, servants from other families, eunuchs and palace maids.

At the same time, Marquis Dongyang, his wife, and Madam Xue also came over.

Everyone is crying.

Zhou Jingyun raised his head to let the tears flow back, then lowered his head to look at the person in his arms.

"Ali, let's go home." He said softly and got on the carriage.

.......
.......
The carriage from the Dongyang Marquis' Mansion drove away, and the eunuchs who saw them off looked at the empty sedan and sighed again.

A good person, if you say nothing, you are gone.

It's really unpredictable.

Your Majesty will be upset again at this palace banquet.

Thinking of this, several eunuchs hurried inside.

"Be careful, don't come too close."

"Everyone, be smart. I see that the people from the Board of Supervisors have already gone in. I don't know how many people are going to be in trouble."

They walked into the palace gate while talking in low voices, and suddenly saw someone walking towards them.

In the dim light, the person in gorgeous clothes was particularly dazzling. It was the concubine of Shangguan Fu Ma who had just been recognized in front of the emperor tonight.

However, Young Master Shangguan, who was so arrogant that he dared to climb up the pavilion in the imperial city, seemed a little stiff. When the eunuchs looked over at him, he stopped abruptly.

Both sides fell into an eerie silence.

"Shangguan Xiaolang, are you leaving?" an eunuch asked.

Shangguan Yue looked at them, hummed slowly, and pouted: "It's too scary. I'm timid. I'd better go back early."

The fact that the young wife of the Marquis of Dongyang fell from the building was indeed horrible, but he was timid… Although the eunuchs met Shangguan Xiaolang for the first time, they had heard a lot about him, including that he ran a gambling boat, ate, drank, whored and gambled, and that General Li’s grandson died on his boat…
I really don't see why he is timid.

However, they really couldn't stop Shangguan Yue from leaving, so they quickly moved out of the way and watched Shangguan Yue slowly walk away.

"Princess Jinyu is still in the palace."

"He just doesn't care?"

"What do you care? You really treat him like your own son."

"Hey, Shangguan Xiaolang looks..."

The eunuchs were talking in low voices, and when they got to this point, one of them turned his head and said something.

Others looked back as well: "What's wrong?"

Several people looked at Shangguan Yue's back.

The young man stood straight, and although he behaved like a dandy, he was the son of Prince Consort Shangguan after all, so his manners and behavior were well disciplined.

"He seems to be holding something?" the eunuch murmured.

I always felt that Shangguan Xiaolang's arms were held stiffly.

Another eunuch said, "He is holding something. Didn't you notice it just now?"

What are they holding? They really didn't pay attention just now, their vision was particularly dim tonight.

"He is holding a lotus root." The eunuch said, "It should be a plucked lantern."

There are various kinds of lanterns, including flowers, birds, insects, fish, and although the lotus roots look a bit strange, they may be used to embellish the lotus lanterns.

There are lotus leaves and lotus roots, which are lifelike and complete.

The other eunuchs suddenly realized and seemed to remember everything.

"Yes, yes, I saw it, it's a lotus root."

"Hey, this Shangguan Xiaolang is really a house-breaker."

Several people went inside muttering to themselves.

The sight behind her disappeared, and Shangguan Yue's tense shoulders slowly relaxed. The eunuch had indeed seen it, but as expected, he could not see it either.

What he was holding in his arms was a lotus root, but not a lotus root, but a lotus root man.

Shangguan Yue didn't know whether he should address her like that, because he didn't know how to address her either.

Just now, taking advantage of the chaos, he picked up the lotus root on the ground which was supposed to be a lotus root but turned into a human.

When Bai Li gave him the lotus root earlier in the morning, he told him that he could pick it up and take it away after throwing it.

He reached out and picked up the "lotus root". He could feel its exquisite body and how much heavier it was than a lotus root...

It was not his hallucination, the lotus root really turned into a human.

He walked out step by step with a stiff body. What was even more strange was that everyone who saw him thought that he was holding a lotus root in his arms.

Shangguan Yue lowered her head and looked at the "lotus root man" in her arms.

It was dark at night and he couldn't see the man's face clearly.

Or, the person seems to have no facial features.

He must be dreaming.

Only in dreams can you see such a strange scene!

He turned around. The palace was still as bright and dazzling as before, but it was shrouded in a layer of gauze, making it seem real and illusory.