Identity remains a mystery
Yan Dan snatched the bronze mirror and carefully examined the image reflected in it. It was a woman's exceptionally pale face, her eyes wide open in panic, her lips slightly downturned, revealing a hint of melancholy. The moment she saw this face, she immediately felt that Madam Zhao must be sensitive, perceptive, suspicious, and impatient.
The young girl held the comb and asked softly, "Madam, what kind of hairstyle would you like this time?"
Yan Dan put down the bronze mirror and turned to look at her: "You also think I am Mrs. Zhao?"
The young woman smiled slightly: "Madam, what's wrong with you today?"
"Although I don't know what happened, I am certainly not your mistress." Yan Dan tried to sit up, but lost her balance and fell to the ground. What happened? Even if she had been in the Ye Wangchuan River for a long time, she shouldn't be so weak that she couldn't even stand up and walk a few steps. She grabbed the medicine bowl from the bedside table and threw it forcefully towards the door, but before she could even get it out of her hand, she lost her strength, and the medicine bowl crashed to the ground a short distance away, shards of porcelain flying everywhere.
The young girl quickly stood up to help her, anxiously complaining, "Be careful not to step on those shards of porcelain. Madam, are you hurt anywhere?"
Yan Dan stared blankly at her hands. How could this be? She didn't even have this much strength left?
“Madam, I know you’ve been ill for a long time and it’s understandable that you’re not in a good mood, but please don’t take it out on your health. If you hurt yourself anywhere, Mr. Zhao will worry.”
Yan Dan was helped back to bed, speechless for a moment. Where exactly did things go wrong? Why had she suddenly become Madam Zhao? Why had her appearance completely changed? She clearly remembered that she had been crossing the River of Oblivion, and later, feeling tired, she closed her eyes to rest for a while. How did she end up here after waking up?
If she unknowingly crossed the Bridge of Helplessness and was reincarnated into the mortal realm, then she shouldn't still remember who she originally was.
What exactly happened?
Before Yan Dan could even sort out her thoughts, the door creaked open, and Mr. Zhao stood in the doorway, tall and elegant, with a cold and aloof expression: "Mang Gui, I told you to look after Madam first, why did you make such a commotion?" He lowered his eyes to look at the broken porcelain shards on the ground, then raised his eyes again, his gaze slowly sweeping over Yan Dan before finally settling on the young girl.
When his gaze swept over her, Yan Dan felt a sudden surge of fear.
The girl named Mang Gui was startled and stammered, "I, I'll go and pack right away..." She almost jumped up and ran past Mr. Zhao with her head down.
Mr. Zhao entered the room, his sleeve brushing against the round stool beside the bed. He then slowly lifted his robe and sat down on the stool, frowning as he asked, "Why are you throwing a tantrum all of a sudden?"
Yan Dan clenched her fists, barely managing to control her temper: "I already told you, I'm not your wife at all. What more do you want from me?"
Mr. Zhao lowered his eyes, slowly stood up, and said, "You should be alone for a while. I won't bother you anymore."
Yan Dan was furious, her anger rising from her heart. She wanted nothing more than to grab the bronze mirror and smash it against Mr. Zhao, hoping to wake him up. But she managed to hold back: "I don't know why my appearance has become like this, but I am definitely not your wife. Since you are husband and wife, you must be able to see that my personality is different from your wife's."
Mr. Zhao didn't say a word, walked straight to the door, opened it, and was about to leave.
Yan Dan finally lost her patience and said angrily, "Did you even understand what I said?!"
“I understand.” Mr. Zhao turned his head and said calmly, “Madam, I think you had a nightmare last night. You should get some sleep. We can talk about it tomorrow.”
Yan Dan, who usually had a pretty good temper, was now so angry that her head was spinning and she was getting a headache: "You weren't listening to me at all, you were just spouting nonsense to brush me off!"
As soon as she finished speaking, a slightly plump middle-aged woman's face peeked in, smiling as she said, "Madam Zhao, your husband dotes on you so much, so don't always take your anger out on him. It's fortunate that Mr. Zhao has a good temper; otherwise, he would have divorced you and found someone else."
Yan Dan was so angry that she couldn't speak.
The door slammed shut, and the middle-aged woman who had spoken earlier whispered, "Mr. Zhao, I think your wife's illness is getting worse; she gets very loud and disruptive every day when she has an attack..."
Yan Dan sat on the bed, hugging her knees, trying desperately to calm herself down.
Now that things have come to this, there's no point in her getting angry to the point of death. Besides, there must be some unusual aspect to this that she hasn't considered yet.
Originally, she wouldn't have needed to worry about this at all and could have simply left. But now she barely has the strength to even get out of bed, and there's no way she could walk very far. Now that she's lost her immortal status, she can't use many of the immortal techniques she used to know. Thinking about it now, this is truly adding insult to injury.
She slowly recalled everything that had happened. From the moment she opened her eyes, the first person she saw was Mr. Zhao, who brought her a bowl of herbal medicine. If he truly had ulterior motives, then that bowl of medicine must be strange. Although she had poured most of the medicine away, she had still drunk a few sips, so her current weakness was likely due to that medicine. Afterward, she had also drunk a glass of water, but something seemed off about that water too?
So why did Mr. Zhao do this? Why did her appearance change so drastically? If it was just because Mr. Zhao missed his beloved wife, then why did he specifically choose her, since her appearance really doesn't resemble Mrs. Zhao much?
If she's wrong to think that way, then what else could it be?
Yan Dan watched the sunset outside the window. The girl named Mang Gui from before came in carrying food, gently placed the plates and bowls on the table, and was about to turn and leave. Suddenly, Yan Dan had an idea and said, "Wait a moment."
Mang Gui immediately stopped, turned around, and asked with a smile, "Is there anything else you need, Madam?"
"Could you please get me a glass of water?"
Mang Gui was very obedient and immediately poured a glass of water and went to the bedside. Yan Dan took the glass, took a sip of water, and then handed the glass to her: "I think you're thirsty too, have some water."
Perhaps the former Mrs. Zhao also often did some strange things, so the girl looked slightly puzzled, but still drank the water in the cup in a few gulps.
Yan Dan nodded after confirming that there was no problem with the water: "You may leave now."
Mang Gui leaned slightly forward, slowly exited the room, and gently closed the door.
Yan Dan propped her chin on her hand, thinking. The only possibility she could think of was that Mr. Zhao had mistaken her for his wife for some unspeakable reason. If they were husband and wife, there was no reason why they couldn't even tell each other apart. Mr. Zhao had remained calm and composed, so it wouldn't be easy to find any clues. On the other hand, the girl named Mang Gui might be able to get some information out of him.
She had been feeling a dull, aching pain in her heart, constantly agonizing over that ill-fated relationship in Heaven, but now she had temporarily forgotten about it and was focused on the strange thing in front of her.
Yan Dan turned her head and saw the pot of orchids on the bedside table, muttering to herself, "I still have to rely on you..."
To get out of the current predicament, the first thing to do is to stay calm and clear-headed.
Yan Dan lay quietly on the bed, closing her eyes to rest. At the moment, she knew very little about the world, and no matter how much she thought about it, it would only lead to a bunch of guesses. Since they were guesses, they had to be based on evidence to be relevant. If she guessed randomly, she would only lead herself astray.
She couldn't help but think that she was like a hunter waiting for its prey, or perhaps she was the prey avoiding a hunter's trap, facing off against each other, waiting for the right moment to strike.
In the blink of an eye, the first watch had already been played, and all was quiet. Suddenly, Yan Dan heard a soft footstep and immediately pricked up her ears to listen intently.
The footsteps outside suddenly stopped, and someone asked softly, "Has Madam fallen asleep?" It was Mr. Zhao who spoke. Mang Gui immediately replied, "She's been asleep for quite a while. Would you like to go in and check on Madam, sir?"
Yan Dan was immediately horrified. Her current identity was Mrs. Zhao. Wasn't she going to have to share a bed with a stranger? This was a very common thing between husband and wife, but the problem was that she had only met this Mr. Zhao today, let alone thought of him as her husband. Even if she forced herself to think of him as such now, it would be too difficult.
After a moment, Mr. Zhao said calmly, "Since she's asleep, let's not disturb her. You should go to sleep early too."
The sound of footsteps receding into the distance was heard, but the other person remained standing still.
Yan Dan felt very upset.
The man stood outside for only a short while before turning and walking away.
This turn of events was completely unexpected for Yan Dan.
This unexpected situation lasted for five or six days. Yan Dan remained calm and quiet, and whenever food was served, she would pull Mang Gui to eat with her. If Mr. Zhao brought the food himself, she would rather go hungry than eat a single bite. As for the medicine she drank the next day, she drank two sips in front of Mang Gui, and then secretly poured the rest into the pot of orchids on the side when Mang Gui wasn't looking.
Having gotten to know Mang Gui a little better, he began to subtly inquire about the background of Mr. Zhao. Unfortunately, Mang Gui didn't know much either, and after much probing, he could only get the information that Mr. Zhao's double name was Huan Qin.
Zhao Huanqin, Zhao Huanqin, Yan Dan repeated the name to herself several times. She was almost certain that this was the first time she had ever heard of it.
Since she couldn't get anything out of him, figuring out where she was first would be just as good. But Mang Gui looked troubled, hesitant to speak, and looked at her with a worried expression.
Yan Dan felt uneasy under that gaze. Mang Gui was much younger than her, slender and shy, quick-witted, and often walked with her head down. She didn't talk much, and a girl like that should have evoked pity, but Mang Gui was often bullied. She rarely went out to buy things, but when she came back, her face and clothes were covered in dirt.
When Yan Dan saw her like this, she would ask her a few questions, and Mang Gui would look flattered.
Did Zhao Huanqin never concern himself with these matters?
Even if she were just a maid in the house, she would at least serve him well and considerately, and do whatever he said without hesitation. Yan Dan asked herself if she would be so diligent if it were her.
Seeing that Mang Gui was in a difficult position because of her words, Yan Dan understood and immediately said, "Fine, if you don't want to say, then don't. Actually, I don't really want to know either."
Mang Gui's reaction touched on her innermost thoughts. She wouldn't say it, or rather, dared not say it, which meant there must be something wrong with it. Actually, even if she didn't say it, Yan Dan wasn't in a hurry. She could feel her body gradually recovering. When no one was around, she would slowly walk a few steps while holding onto the table and cabinets. Although she would still be out of breath, she figured it wouldn't be long before she could run and jump nimbly again.
Naturally, neither Zhao Huanqin nor Mang Gui knew any of this. Zhao Huanqin's intentions were unclear, while Mang Gui would certainly listen to him. Yan Dan was happy to pretend to be obedient.
Hearing her say this, Mang Gui breathed a sigh of relief and then cautiously said, "Madam, Mr. Zhao is actually very worried about you. Please don't make him worry in the future."
Yan Dan smiled slightly: "Don't worry, I won't let him worry about me anymore."
If Zhao Huanqin had any shady dealings, she certainly wouldn't just let him worry about it for a moment.
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