White Fence Dream

Chapter 173 Empty
Hot water for bathing was delivered quickly.

Zhou Jingyun entered the bathroom, soaked in the hot water, and exhaled a little tiredly.

Ever since Zhuang Li's accident, the wife of the Marquis of Dongyang has been in a very bad state. Sometimes she is not conscious and thinks Zhuang Li is still there. When she is conscious, she blames herself and cries. The Imperial Hospital prescribed sedatives, but she still cannot sleep well at night. Originally, her aunt was supposed to stay with her, but her aunt's condition is not much better than her mother's.

"Aunt, your life was saved by A Li. She would feel uneasy seeing you like this." Zhou Jingyun advised Mrs. Xue.

Mrs. Xue was now straightforward. She wiped away her tears and said, "Yes, I can't get hurt. That would be a shame to Ah Li. I really can't hold on any longer. I'll go back and take care of myself. I'll come back to accompany your mother later."

After Mrs. Xue left, Zhou Jingyun wanted to stay with his mother, but was persuaded to come back by Mrs. Xu and Mrs. Huang.

"Your Highness, you need to rest well. Otherwise, if Madam sees that you are not in good spirits, she will feel even worse and will not be able to sleep well."

Zhou Jingyun got up from the bathtub, wiped himself, changed into pajamas and walked out. Chunyue was still waiting outside and said, "We've prepared some midnight snacks. Please have some, my son. Mother Xu sent someone to say that you didn't eat much for dinner."

Zhou Jingyun originally wanted to refuse it, but when he looked at the bowl of vegetarian noodles and the plate of pickled fish that were served, they were light but with meat, which was Zhuang Li's preference. It was obvious that the small kitchen still followed her habits.

After all, she had only been away for a few days.

Zhou Jingyun lowered his eyes and nodded, then sat down at the table by the window. Chunyue turned and left.

This was also a habit left by Zhuang Li. When they were eating, the maids were not around to serve them.

Zhou Jingyun didn't say anything else. He lowered his head and took a mouthful of noodles and a bite of vegetables.

Looking at the shadow cast on the window, Chunhong pulled Chunyue's sleeve and whispered, "Why did you come out? There is no one to serve the prince. Before, there was..."

The three words "Young Madam" came to Chunhong's lips but before they were uttered, her tears welled up in her eyes. She covered her mouth with her hand to block the sound.

Chunyue turned her head and looked at the window, her eyes dazed. Yes, the young lady was here before, but now the prince is alone. She really can't bear to watch this scene.

Not only could she not bear to look at it, she couldn't even stay here anymore. It was empty, empty everywhere.

It turns out that one person missing can make the house feel so empty.

.......
.......
The lights in the room went out one by one, the maid on duty left, and Zhou Jingyun sat beside the bed.

The night light cast a patch of light beside the bed.

Everywhere else was filled with the night, but the boundlessness seemed even emptier.

Zhou Jingyun went to bed. This was the first time he slept on this bed since the 16th day of the first lunar month. The other pillow and quilt were put away, so the bed still looked very big.

Thinking back to the first time I slept with Zhuang Li, he only slept on one side, and even then I would still accidentally bump into it. The bed felt so small.

Zhou Jingyun couldn't help but smile, took out a book from under the pillow, and looked at the bookmark inside.

"Read, I'm going to sleep."

There seemed to be a woman next to me saying this.

Zhou Jingyun turned his head and saw her lying on the pillow with a smile on her eyes.

The next moment, the woman in front of him shattered and scattered on the bed, covered in blood and twisted bones.

Zhou Jingyun suddenly closed his eyes and breathed rapidly. He seemed to be back to the night of the palace banquet. The sounds of singing and dancing were coming and going in his ears. He stood on the tall building, loosened his hand, and watched Zhuang Li fall and be shattered into pieces.

"I will weave a dream in which Zhuang Li dies in front of Bai Ying."

Originally, she killed herself, but dreams can be fabricated artificially, and it is difficult to predict what will happen in reality.

Zhuang Li got into an accident and was trapped, and he ended up killing her.

He knew that when he let go, or when Zhuang Li told him to let go, he would fall into a dream.

Dreams are fake.

The real Zhuang Li did not fall down the stairs.

But when people are dreaming, they don’t know that they are dreaming, so everything they experience is real.

He loosened his grip himself and saw with his own eyes the torn body of Zhuang Li.

The impact was real.

He woke up when he was leaving the palace in a car.

After waking up, he was still stiff, his inner clothes were soaked with sweat. He used a lot of strength and bit the tip of his tongue several times before he woke up, telling himself that it was just a dream and now it was reality.

Then he dared to look at the cloak wrapped in his arms and saw a broken lotus root.

"Don't worry, I'm not really dead, it's fake, it's a replacement."

Zhuang Li had told him this in the morning when he was giving instructions, but he didn't say what the replacement would be. Just like the previous times, he couldn't say it.

"If I tell you, it will leave an impression in your mind, and it will be affected, and the dream will easily collapse."

It turns out that the thing that replaced her was lotus root.

He still remembered this lotus root, which was said to be used to make incense. The maid placed it on the bookshelf as a decoration. It turned out that it had such a wonderful use.

It turned out that she was already preparing at that time.

Zhou Jingyun remained silent and took a deep breath to calm himself.

Although he knew it was fake, the transition between dream and reality, the contrast between the bloody horror and the lotus root made him a little dazed. He would often lose focus and had to constantly remind himself to adjust his mood.

His emotions finally calmed down, he opened his eyes, looked at the bed curtains dimly lit by the night light, put the book down, held the lamp and walked out again.

The night light illuminated the east room.

The pen, ink, paper and inkstone were still on the desk, and there was a half-finished piece of calligraphy by Zhuang Li in the calligraphy and painting jar.

Zhou Jingyun reached out, took it out and unfolded it. Under the night light, the words on the paper were blurry.

He was stunned. How come it was wet? He couldn't make out what was written on it, just like a memory that fades after a dream.

He rolled up the calligraphy and put it back into the calligraphy and painting jar. There was also a Boshan furnace on the table. She liked to make and burn incense, but he had never smelled any fragrance, and at this moment he could not remember her scent at all.

The Boshan incense burner is empty, no incense is burning.

Zhou Jingyun found the incense box on the bookshelf, which she also brought. It was filled with homemade spices. He reached out to open it, but it was also empty.

Have you finished using it?

Zhou Jingyun was stunned for a moment, then raised his head and looked at the bookshelf. The incense box was empty, the lotus root was gone, and only a few books were left, which were taken from his study.

She came here with almost nothing, and left with nothing.

Zhou Jingyun's eyes fell on the wall, and when he saw the bamboo flute hanging on the wall, he breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, the flute was still there. He reached out and took it down.

It's a pity that I only heard her play the flute once, and it caused me to become ill.

Zhou Jingyun put the flute to his lips.

The melodious sound of the flute spread in the dark night.

Chunyue, who was sitting in the duty room in a daze, raised her head and asked, "Is that the young lady's flute?"

The main room is mostly filled with the young lady's belongings, while the prince's books and musical instruments are all in the study.

Because she was worried about her, Chunhong, who was on duty, sat up on the bed and sighed softly, "Yes."

Prince, you are missing the young lady.

Chun Yue murmured, "I have never heard the young lady play the flute."

The young lady has been practicing calligraphy. Once she has mastered it, she will be able to play the flute.

but.
how…..
It’s been less than a year.

Chunyue couldn't help but raise her hand to wipe away her tears.

"Chunhong." She was a little flustered again, "I can't remember the last words I said to the young lady that night."

Chunhong sighed inwardly. Maids and servants were not allowed to enter the imperial city, so Chunyue, who was accompanying her, could only wait at the carriage area.

Who could have thought that that night would be the last time we saw each other.

Chunyue covered her face with her hands: "I should have said a few more words to the young lady." Suddenly she thought of something and grabbed Chunhong, "Before the young lady went out, she wanted to visit the garden at home. Later, I accompanied her to walk around the house. The young lady looked very carefully. Do you think she felt something?"

The young lady didn't intend to visit any garden at all. Was she saying goodbye?

Chunhong held her hand and said, "If Madam knew something was going to happen, she wouldn't have gone."

If you don't attend the banquet, at most the Queen will dislike you, but it won't be fatal.

Chunyue wanted to say something, but Chunhong hugged her and patted her: "Chunyue, don't be like this. The young lady always makes us laugh and never embarrasses us. She definitely doesn't want to see you so distraught."

Chunyue leaned on her shoulder and sobbed, "I don't want this either."

She can't control it.

She couldn't control her tears.

And she suddenly couldn't remember what the young lady looked like.

Is it because the person came and left suddenly, and in such a short time, she forgot about the young lady?
Chunyue's tears fell like rain.

Chunhong hugged her and couldn't help crying. Suddenly the flute sound stopped.

The two of them couldn't help but look up at the main room.

The night lights were turned off and the room was silent.

"You see, it's good that you can cry like this. Even the prince can't vent his sorrow at will." Chunhong murmured.

You have to be alert and take care of your madam, and you have to consider the reputation of the court. After all, your madam had an accident in the palace.

.......
.......
Zhou Jingyun came to the side of the wife of the Marquis of Dongyang. Mother Xu was standing outside the door, instructing a few maids about something. When she saw him, she hurried to greet him and looked at his face.

"Prince, you didn't sleep well last night." She said softly.

The maids said that the prince's courtyard was playing the flute in the middle of the night.

"I'll pay attention next time." Zhou Jingyun said. He was a little out of control at that time and couldn't help playing the flute. Later he realized that it was the middle of the night and stopped immediately.

He knew he should be sad, and it was better for others to see his sadness.

But he didn't want to do this, as if he was faking it.

he.
In fact, I don’t know what I am thinking.

Probably don't think about anything.

Mother Xu looked at him and said, "Don't suppress yourself too much, my prince. You are the saddest person."

She couldn't even think about the love between the prince and the young lady. As a bystander, she felt extremely heartbroken, let alone the people involved.

How painful it must be for the prince.

Zhou Jingyun nodded to her: "I know, don't worry, Mother Xu."

"Madam didn't sleep much last night. She took medicine and fell asleep at dawn." Mother Xu said, "Your Highness, there is no need to go in. Let her sleep well."

Zhou Jingyun said, "Thank you, Mother Xu." He paused, "Then I will go to pay tribute to her."

Zhuang Li's funeral was not a grand affair, and the memorial service after the burial was also much simpler.

Burn the paper once more and it's over.

Mother Xu sighed in her heart: "Go, my son."

Zhou Jingyun left the house with a servant and a guard.

Perhaps because it was still early, the streets were a little deserted. Zhou Jingyun was a little dazed while riding on the horse, wondering where she was now.

Zhou Jingyun couldn't help but look around, then looked away.

Zhuang Li is dead.

Although it was a dream, his wife Zhuang Li was indeed dead and no longer existed.

He had to keep this in mind so that he could get the survivors out of trouble.

He dropped his eyes and pulled up his hat to cover his head and face.

So, even though it is fake and a dream, the loss is real and the sadness is also real.

"Prince." The guard's voice came from the front, with a hint of shock, "It's someone from the Supervisory Council."

Board of Supervisors?
Zhou Jingyun raised his head and saw that he had arrived at the cemetery of Dongyang Marquis Mansion. A group of people were now standing in front of the originally quiet new grave.

Zhang Ze was wrapped in a cloak, sitting on a wooden chair, holding a bowl of tea in his hand.

"Prince Zhou, I was away from home and missed seeing the young lady for the last time, so I plan to dig her out and say farewell to her in person with all my heart." He said, raised his tea to Zhou Jingyun, and asked coldly, "What do you think?"