Chapter 1 Chapter 1 The Dream Begins The girl woke up from her dream...

The girl woke up from her dream and sat up suddenly from the bed. She was shaking violently and took several breaths before she recovered.

The noise attracted the night watch maid Zhong Cui. She looked out, then quickly lit a small candle and walked quickly to the tent with tea in her hand.

"Are you having a nightmare, young lady? Have some hot tea to warm yourself up."

The candlelight illuminated the darkness before his eyes and dispelled the coldness in his dream. Zhao Mingsheng narrowed his eyes, took a sip of warm tea from the cup handed to him, and waited until the dryness in his throat passed before he spoke.

"What time is it?"

"It's just past the hour of Mao, would you like to rest a little longer, young lady?"

Zhao Mingsheng waved his hand and said, "No, today is the first day of the new year, and I have to go pay my respects to my mother in a while." Then he lifted the quilt and prepared to get out of bed.

Zhong Cui quickly stopped her, "Last night, after the young lady went to bed, the Third Madam sent someone to tell her that there was no need to pay respects today."

Zhao Mingsheng paused as he got out of bed and retracted his toes.

On weekdays, my mother would eat vegetarian food and chant Buddhist scriptures, rarely seeing anyone. As her daughter, she could only see her once on the first and fifteenth day of each lunar month, to pay her respects. I don't know why today, she wouldn't even be allowed to pay her respects.

Zhao Mingsheng lowered her eyelids, and her thick eyelashes covered the loneliness in her eyes.

Today is not only the first day of the new year, but also her birthday, but she can't even see her mother.

"Then let's rest for a while."

Zhong Cui carefully tucked in the corners of the quilt, blew out the candles, and quietly left.

Zhao Mingsheng closed her eyes but tossed and turned, unable to sleep. Recalling that strange dream, the chilling feeling welled up again, as if her entire body were in an ice cellar. She clenched her teeth to prevent the trembling sound from escaping her mouth.

Since I was ten years old, I have had a strange dream every year. At first, the dream was very vague and I almost forgot it as soon as I woke up.

It has become clearer in recent years, especially the dream tonight.

In the dream, the mother was holding another girl's hand and behaving very intimately, as if they were real mother and daughter. In front of everyone, the mother announced that the girl next to her was the legitimate daughter of the Caihou Mansion, and she was just a fake daughter who had usurped the throne.

The dresses and jewelry that filled the cabinets and boxes, the four exquisite meals a day, and the grandmother who always loved to hold her in her arms and dote on her, it turned out that none of these belonged to her!

It was time to put things right and let everyone go back to their own homes.

The self in the dream was greedy for the wealth of the Marquis' Mansion and was unwilling to return to her poor biological parents. The old lady of the Marquis' Mansion kept her because of her years of raising her.

However, her life in the Marquis' Mansion was not satisfactory. The gap in status made her jealous and she did many irreparable mistakes, which made everyone hate her more and more. Only the old lady was willing to protect her.

After the old lady passed away, there was no place for her in the huge mansion, so she was kicked out of the house and lived on the streets.

Finally, on a snowy winter night, he froze to death in a dilapidated temple.

It was this absurd dream that woke Zhao Mingsheng up.

Recalling the familiar yet unfamiliar self in the dream, for a moment, she couldn't even tell whether this was a dream or reality.

The cold feeling gradually faded away as she thought, and she fell asleep again in a daze.

*

It was an hour later when Zhong Cui woke me up.

Zhao Mingsheng sat in front of the rosewood dressing table, waiting for Zhong Cui to bring him water for washing. He played with the carved wooden comb in his hand, running it along the ends of his hair.

Through the bronze mirror, one can vaguely see a beautiful little face, with eyebrows and eyes as delicate and tender as the buds of a newly opened flower.

At this moment, this little face was not smiling and the brows were furrowed.

"Young lady! Young lady!" The little maid Zhong Yan ran into the house excitedly with a box in her hand. Her voice arrived before she even showed up.

Zhong Cui was holding a copper basin in one hand and was about to go into the house to help the young lady wash up. Seeing her rushing in so recklessly, she reached out to stop her.

"Hush, be quiet." Zhong Cui pulled her and whispered, "The young lady had a nightmare last night and didn't sleep well. Please move more quietly."

The little maid Zhong Yan stuck out her tongue, slowed down her steps, and gently shook the box in her hand.

Zhong Cui glanced at the box in her hand and said, "Come in with me."

The crisp sound of the beaded curtains colliding brought Zhao Mingsheng back to her senses. Noticing Zhong Yuan's excited look, she asked.

"What's in your hand?"

Zhong Yuan was waiting for her to ask, and immediately presented the box in her hand, saying happily: "It was sent by the old lady. Today is your birthday, and she specially ordered someone to choose a hairpin for you from the storehouse. It is said that this was the old lady's favorite before she got married!"

Zhao Mingsheng pressed the light lock and the box popped open.

An exquisitely crafted hairpin with powder and jade pendants appeared in front of everyone.

The hairpin is made of pure silver and intricately carved. The petal-like top is wrapped with a fine pink glass bead, and a small piece of delicate mutton-fat jade hangs below.

Everyone was busy admiring the exquisiteness of the hairpin and did not notice the shock in Zhao Mingsheng's eyes.

It’s the hairpin in the dream!

Zhao Mingsheng carefully stroked the patterns on the hairpin and it was definitely this hairpin.

In the dream, after hearing that she was not the legitimate daughter of the marquis's family, she returned to the house and cried bitterly, smashing many things. This hairpin was also damaged. The pink gem inlaid on the top was smashed to pieces, and the fine mutton-fat jade was also cracked.

She destroyed the beautiful hairpin in this way. Her mother took all the jewelry in her box and gave them to her own daughter on the pretext that she did not cherish the reward given by the old lady.

The little bit of hope I had before now shattered one by one with the appearance of the hairpin.

The hand holding the hairpin couldn't help but clench, and the palm of the hand ached.

Seeing Zhao Shengsheng holding onto it, Zhong Cui thought the young lady must be very fond of it and couldn't let it go. So she smiled and said, "The old lady really loves you. Why don't you use this hairpin to style your hair into a flying cloud bun when you go to the banquet today?"

The old lady of the Zhenyuan Marquis's mansion was originally the daughter of Prime Minister Fu, and the Fu family was the maternal grandparents of the current emperor. According to seniority, even the emperor had to call her "Aunt." Her status was so high that everyone in the mansion respected her.

Zhao Mingsheng's father was Zhao Jiasanlang, the old lady's most beloved youngest son. Unfortunately, he died young at the age of twenty. The emperor sent him to inspect the flood, but unfortunately he was caught in the flood. The river was turbulent and extremely dangerous, and his body was never found.

At the time, the third wife, Liang, was eight months pregnant. After hearing the bad news, she became mad all day long, muttering that Zhao Lang was not dead and she wanted to go find him. The Zhao family did not investigate and let her run away from home with a wet nurse.

Instead of finding her husband, she went into labor in a village along the way. Coincidentally, the woman she was staying with was also about to give birth, and both of them gave birth safely to a daughter.

After giving birth prematurely, Liang's health deteriorated greatly, so she gave up the idea of ​​looking for her husband. Less than half a month later, she hurriedly asked her wet nurse to arrange a carriage to return to the Marquis' Mansion. After the tiring journey, the baby was as thin as a kitten when she was brought back.

Since Zhao Sanlang's death, Liang's spirit seemed to have followed him. She usually just paid tribute to him and worshipped Buddha, and when she had nothing else to do, she would take his belongings and cry bitterly. The Third House's internal affairs were in a mess, and she didn't seem to care about them at all.

And there was also that ungrateful servant who took advantage of the situation and did not serve the young master wholeheartedly.

Zhao Mingsheng, still a baby, caught a cold and developed a fever without anyone noticing. If the old lady hadn't happened to come visit, he might have died. If he had been treated later, he might have been driven to insanity by the fever.

The old lady scolded Liang several times, but seeing that she still looked indifferent, she simply gave up and adopted her granddaughter.

Zhao Mingsheng can be said to have grown up with her grandmother. Although she and Liang were mother and daughter, they could only see each other when they paid their respects on the first and fifteenth days of the lunar month.

The first day of June is Zhao Mingsheng's birthday. Liang never cares about these things, so no preparations were made.

The old lady took pity on her, and every year at this time she would pay out of her own pocket to arrange several banquets in the mansion, and everyone in the mansion would come to enjoy the feast.

If I never wear this hairpin, will everything in the dream not happen?

After a long while, Zhao Mingsheng finally let out a long breath and slowly put the hairpin he had clenched tightly back to its original place.

That's all.

What was the final outcome of the self in the dream who was obsessed with the wealth of the marquis' mansion?

No good end!

What is coming will come, maybe she should learn to let go.

Zhao Mingsheng smiled at the bronze mirror with relief, "Okay, let's do it as Zhong Cui said."

Zhong Yan was choosing a dress in her wardrobe when she happened to come across a new flower-and-butterfly skirt made this year. The style and color were beautiful, but the young lady had never worn it. She couldn't help but say with regret, "This pink skirt would be perfect for it. It would be great if the young lady would wear it."

"OK."

I was prepared for rejection, but I didn't expect the young lady to actually agree. Zhong Yuan was overjoyed, "Young lady, you've finally come to your senses! You'll look great in something like this with your fair skin!"

Zhong Yan, who had been with Zhao Mingsheng since childhood, knew very well that the young lady usually wore simple and elegant clothes. It was not because she preferred plain colors, but mainly to avoid being so conspicuous.

The huge mansion looked harmonious on the surface, but secretly there were countless things going on. He was also very good at judging the situation, so cutting expenses on a daily basis was nothing.

Although Zhao Mingsheng was raised by her grandmother since she was a child, there were always conflicts between the sisters.

When she was ten years old, Zhao Mingjing, the third wife of the second house, was jealous that the dress she was wearing at the time stole her limelight, so she pushed her into the lake in a fit of rage!

Fortunately, the weather had warmed up and the lake wasn't too cold. The servants who managed the yard were lazy and hadn't cleared the silt from the lake, so the water wasn't deep. The young servants rescued them in time, so a big mess wasn't caused!

When I reported this to my wife, she casually said that it was just a joke between sisters, and the big matter became small, and the small matter disappeared.

Since even the Third Lady didn't pursue the matter, the Second Lady would certainly not punish the Third Lady. The Third Lady got the upper hand and acted even more recklessly. Every time she saw the Fifth Lady, she would either sneer or mock her.

Later, I don’t know how the old lady found out about this, but she gave Third Lady a lecture. Only then did she appear to be more restrained, and Fifth Lady’s life became better.

When Zhong Yuan thought about the injustices that Fifth Lady had suffered behind her back, she felt sorry for her because she had no complaints and sometimes even comforted the little maids who had been bullied.

The more Zhong Yuan thought about it, the angrier she became.

If the old lady hadn't taken care of me in this mansion, who knows what life would have been like for the young lady!

*

Before Zhao Mingsheng and his group entered the yard, the old lady's mother came out to greet them.

"Come inside quickly, young lady! It's very sunny today, be careful not to get sunburned!"

Zhao Mingsheng greeted him with a smile, "I feel bad for making Mama Li wait here in the hot sun for so long."

The two exchanged a few pleasantries and walked into the yard laughing all the way.

The girl immediately caught everyone's attention as she entered the room. Her pink dress accentuated her fair skin. Perhaps this is what they meant by "skin as white as first snow" (likely a rosy cloud of cream). The hairpin slanted into her bun was the finishing touch, making her look like a beauty stepping out of a poem.

When the old lady saw her, she smiled from ear to ear and waved at her: "Oh, my dear grandson, come to grandma quickly and let me take a good look at you."

Zhao Mingsheng politely bowed to the elders present, then walked to his grandmother and sat on the small table under the bed, just enough to lie on his grandmother's lap.

Feeling the caress from above his head, Zhao Mingsheng finally felt at peace after days of anxiety.

Zhao Mingjing, who was standing by, saw the hairpin at a glance and almost twisted the handkerchief in her hand to pieces.

She knew it was her grandmother's favorite hairpin. She had asked her grandmother for it once, but she hadn't given up. She hadn't expected it to appear on Zhao Mingsheng's head! She turned her head away in anger and snorted.

Second Madam Li noticed her daughter's angry expression and followed her gaze, seeming to understand something. She patted her and whispered, "Please restrain yourself today. If you like, you can come over tomorrow. Why be so rude in front of Grandmother?"

Zhao Mingjing finally calmed down and whispered, "My daughter knows she was wrong."

Mrs. Li nodded with satisfaction. She thought that her daughter was indeed so sensible.

The old lady saw that most of the guests had arrived and was about to announce the start of the feast when someone came to announce that the third lady had also arrived with her people.

Old Lady Gu frowned, her smile faded, and she said coldly, "What is she doing here?"

At first, she was considerate of Liang for being a widow at such a young age, and was tolerant of some of her actions. However, fourteen years have passed, and she has shown no sign of turning back.

She was also the one who lost her son in old age, and she had managed it all. However, Liang Shi was still in tears every day, and she never took care of the affairs of the mansion or her own daughter. She didn't act like the mistress of the house at all!

She had already treated this daughter-in-law as nothing!

If Sheng Yatou hadn't been there, she would have said something even more unpleasant. But when she remembered that today was Sheng Yatou's birthday, she couldn't help but soften her tone.

"Humph, now you know you have a daughter? Never mind, for the sake of Sheng's time, let her in."

Soon Liang came into the house with a young girl by her side.

Everyone was stunned when they saw the girl's appearance.