White Fence Dream

Chapter 172 Newcomers
After the 16th day of the first lunar month, the curfew was restored in the capital.

Although the city was still brightly lit, after nightfall, apart from the patrolling soldiers, night watchmen, and the occasional drunkard, there was no longer the noisy sea of ​​people and lights.

In contrast, the flower-filled boats that left the dock and glided into the Jinshui River were extremely lively.

Bai Li stood at the highest point, holding the railing and looking down, through the patio he could see the graceful singing and dancing on the first floor and the decadent life on the second floor.

She was watching the fun, and some people were looking at her.

"Look, that young lady, is she new here? I haven't seen her before."

"Brother Sun, you remember every young lady in the brothel? And you said you came here to calm down and think about new paintings?"

"My new painting is a picture of 100 beauties, and of course I have to remember every beauty!"

"Why are you new here? You're dressed just like everyone else."

"Brother Liu, your eyes don't see anything except cards? That young lady has a pearl curtain covering her face, which makes her different from the others."

“Why do you want to cover your face?”

"Of course it's to make people want to be called beautiful."

“Maybe it’s too ugly.”

While they were discussing, they saw Shangguan Yue staggering to the side of the beauty and saying something with a smile on his face.

Although Shangguan Yue always boasted that he was always welcoming guests with a smile, he was a playboy after all, and his smile always carried a hint of complacency and provocation, making people afraid to get close to him.

At this moment, Shangguan Yue smiled brightly and kindly.

The people watching the fun couldn't help but grab the servant Jixiang who happened to be passing by.

"Your master's new favorite?" they asked.

Some people also think that this sentence is wrong: "Shangguan Xiaolang didn't have an old favorite before."

Jixiang coughed lightly and said, "That is the maid that Princess Jinyu gave to you."

That’s right, now Shangguan Yue is no longer a concubine’s daughter, she has finally entered the family and can call Princess Jin Yu her mother.

Now Shangguan Yue always says that he is the "son of the princess" in front of others.

It was common for a princess' mother to give her son a maidservant because she loved him dearly.

As they were talking, they saw Shangguan Yue handing the new maid a glass of wine...
The new maid took it calmly, lifted her pearl-veiled face to taste it, shook her head, and handed it to Shangguan Yue. Shangguan Yue hurriedly turned around, took two more cups from the tray of the wine-serving maid standing at the stairs, and hurriedly handed them to the new maid.

The new maids each tasted a sip, finally chose one cup, and nodded to Shangguan Yue.

A smile broke out on Shangguan Yue's face.

The people downstairs were stunned: "This is very good service."

This compliment was of course not for the maid, but for Shangguan Yue. This was not a compliment, but a joke. Jixiang said unhappily, "What does it have to do with you? The princess gave me a maid. You want to serve me but you don't have the chance."

Everyone burst into laughter. "Yes, yes, we don't have this opportunity." "Shangguan Xiaolang is so lucky."

Jixiang waved his hand and said, “Go and look at your cards quickly. Don’t lose again.” He dispersed everyone and looked towards the third floor, frowning.

This new maid was certainly not given by Princess Jin Yu. No one knew where she came from. She suddenly appeared beside the young master today.

The young master did not explain her origins, and when asked, he told them to treat her as a new arrival.

What's new?

This person doesn't behave like a maid at all, instead she seems to be here to bully others.

Where did she come from? A fairy falling from the sky?

.....
....
"The wine I drank before was not tasty." Bai Li said, looking at the wine he chose with interest.

Whether it's my father's wine or Mr. Zhuang's.

Shangguan Yue looked at her and took a look: "Before? You drank alcohol at such a young age?"

Bai Li smiled at him and said, "I was not a good kid when I was young."

Of course her father didn't allow her to drink, and Mr. Zhuang was also forbidden to drink when he was sick. But since there was alcohol in the world, she saw it and of course she had to taste it secretly.

Unpalatable.

Thinking of this, she pursed her lips, as if she could still feel the taste and see her own wrinkled face.

She couldn't help but smile, and the smile flashed and then fell silent.

"Maybe the wine I drank before wasn't good." She said, looking around the ship with admiration, "I thought the Dongyang Marquis's Mansion was already very luxurious, until I entered the palace. I thought the palace was already very luxurious, until I came to Shangguan Langjun's ship, it was really amazing."

Shangguan Yue laughed, "Thank you for the compliment." She looked around the ship and laughed at herself, "It's luxurious but useless."

Like a cage.

He looked at Bai Li.

"It's better to be like you when you were a kid in the mountains and forests, and travel around with Mr. Zhuang and his wife, seeing a lot and feeling free."

Bai Li told him that he was not a ghost and was not dead. He was regarded as unlucky since he was a child, so he stayed away from his neighbors and lived in the mountains and forests. Later, he was accepted as an apprentice by Mr. Zhuang and his wife, who took him to travel around mountains and rivers, so he escaped the disaster.

At this point, Shangguan Yue smiled bitterly again. "But now you have no choice but to stay here."

Bai Li smiled and said, "If I am free, it doesn't matter where I am, whether it's in the mountains or on a boat, it's all the same."

Shangguan Yue looked at the woman in front of him. Actually, what he said about the woman being free when she was a child was just a beautification. In fact, he understood that she had been despised since she was a child and had to live in seclusion. She also suffered a disaster of her family being wiped out and completely lost her home. She sought refuge under a false identity and finally escaped with her life. How tragic.

But there was no sadness, despair or resentment on Bai Li's face. She held a wine glass in her hand, and her eyes were calm, clear and lonely.

Noticing that he was silent, Bai Li looked at him and smiled: "Should I act more sad?"

Be a delicate and pitiful little lady.

"I know, it's not that you're not sad, it's that sadness is useless." Shangguan Yue looked at her and said softly.

Yes, sadness is useless. Bai Li lowered her eyes. She had known since childhood that sadness and resentment could not change anything.

Let’s think about how to avoid sadness next time.

When she was young, she would scare away those who made her cry.
Bai Li turned around and looked outside the boat.

She originally lived in seclusion, away from the human world, but first her family suffered a disaster, and then she was used as a carrier by Mr. Shen Qingzhuang and brought here.

In addition to her, Zhou Jingyun and his family were also implicated, which changed their originally peaceful life.

Things can't just let it go.

Now that they had brought her here, they had to bear the consequences.

Bai Li looked at the dazzling city in front of him and drank the wine in one gulp.

Shangguan Yue looked at her from behind and said softly: "I still say the same thing, if you need anything, I will help you."

Bai Li smiled and turned to look at him: "You haven't said it yet, what do you want or wish for?"

Shangguan Yue smiled. Bai Li had said before that he wanted to repay him and asked him what he wished for or what he wanted, but the question was too sudden and he didn't answer.

“As for me…”

"It's hard to say if you have a big wish. Since you promised, I have to think about it seriously."

"But I have a small wish for now."

Bai Li asked: "What's your little wish?"

Shangguan Yue smiled and said, "I want to have a good sleep." Then she sighed in distress, "To be honest, I really can't sleep well these days. I wake up as soon as I fall asleep."

After going through so much, it's impossible not to be affected. Bai Li nodded: "No problem, I'm the best at making people sleep."

Shangguan Yue breathed a sigh of relief: "That's great." He drank the wine in one gulp and stood beside Bai Li looking at the Jinshui River at night.

Bai Li suddenly pointed to the shore.

"You know?" she said, "I actually saw you when I first came to Beijing."

That was her first or second time traveling in a dream. She walked a little further and saw the flower-building boat.

She stood on the shore in the night, looking at the young man standing on the railing of the boat.

That was the first time she met Shangguan Yue.

But at that time, I never thought that one day I would stand side by side with him on this ship.

Looking back, it seems like a dream.

She looked at the street disappearing into the night.

I don’t know what the family is doing now, or whether they have fallen asleep.

……

……

The night lights flickered, the festive lanterns had been taken down, and the white lanterns for funerals had also been taken down, and the courtyard became increasingly desolate.

The maid on night duty sat in the room, staring at the light in a daze.

"The prince is back."

A report from a maid came from outside.

The maid stood up suddenly and turned her head happily: "Young Madam, the prince is back--"

The lights were on in the inner room and the east room, but there was no woman sitting at the desk reading or writing, and no woman making the bed in the bedroom.

It's empty.

Zhou Jingyun walked in and saw Chunyue’s dazed expression. The next moment, she lowered her head and saluted him in a panic.

"Prince," she said, her voice choked with sobs.

Apparently crying again.

Zhou Jingyun was silent for a moment: "Go down, I will wash myself."