Chapter 52 A Startling Dream: "Never Let Go".
Wen Miao hadn't had a nightmare in a long time.
Although her memories are still fragmented and cannot form a clear past, since she left the outskirts of the capital and returned to the Xie family's Qin Garden, the dreams that used to haunt her have become increasingly rare, until this summer, when she didn't dream of them even once.
To this day, she still remembers the contents of her dream.
The man wearing the black ghost mask, his overly hot and powerful hands, his aggressive figure and posture, the teeth marks he left on her calf, the deep yet familiar faint fragrance...
Now, once again, she sank into the depths of sleep, as if accompanied by the chilly winds of the night. Wen Miao vaguely dreamt of something she had once forgotten—
Snow and wind.
A heavy snowstorm.
Everything was a vast expanse of white, and Wen Miao felt as if she were floating in the sky, observing everything in this icy and snowy world from an unfamiliar perspective.
She saw a woman, her figure trembling, emerge from the snow-covered mountains and forests.
The woman had her hair piled up, wore a shimmering white veil on her head, and a very light white gauze skirt with a large, flowing hem adorned with many tiny beads. As she staggered along, one could see the pointed toe of her shoe, leaving strange, deep marks in the snow.
Wen Miao had dreamed of this outfit many times, but she was never sure who it was actually worn.
The scene in her dream aroused her curiosity, but in the instant her thoughts stirred, the woman who had been struggling to walk on the snow also raised her head.
Their eyes met in an instant.
In her sleep, Wen Miao's breathing became slightly labored, and her delicate brows furrowed.
...That familiar face was probably more familiar to everyone than Wen Miao; it was herself!
Or rather, a more sorrowful, numb version of myself.
Wen Miao stared blankly at everything in her dream. Before she could try to search her memory for anything, the scene before her eyes began to distort and change, like countless clusters of flowers. When she could see clearly again, the icy snow had become a dimly lit interior, decorated in a simple and elegant style. The blurry scene gave Wen Miao a sense of familiarity that seemed to be rushing out.
The dream was terrifyingly real, as if it were actually happening right before Wen Miao's eyes.
She remained an observer, watching the servants with their heads bowed go in and out, the physician carrying a medicine chest hurrying along, and then a tall man with a blurred face quickly walked in. He knelt on the couch and grasped a pale, sickly hand from under the hanging curtains.
He held her hand very carefully and tenderly, which showed his strong possessiveness. He even murmured something, but it was as if there was a hazy mist between them, so Wen Miao could not hear him clearly.
Who is this man?
Whose hand is the one he's holding?
Why would she dream about these things?
Could this be related to her lost memories from the past?
Filled with questions, Wen Miao took a few steps forward, just as the man carefully lifted the gauze curtain, revealing the owner of the hand—
She was another "her," lying on the couch, sickly and pale.
Wen Miao's pupils constricted. In that instant of eye contact, the scene seemed to freeze, and the "she" lying on the hospital bed opened her mouth slightly, silently speaking to her—
Don't you remember?
"You came from another world."
—Splash splash.
“Miaomiao? Miaomiao…”
Wen Miao suddenly opened her eyes, beads of sweat appearing on her forehead. She was breathing heavily, her chest heaving violently, and the jade key, adorned with a red string, fell crookedly to the side of her neck.
Her vision gradually adjusted to the darkness and then refocused, until she saw Emperor Qian Yuan, who was leaning over her, supporting himself on his arms.
It was still late at night, and the howling wind could be faintly heard outside. The handsome emperor, with his hair loose, had lost the aloof majesty he displayed during the day and instead exuded a more domestic gentleness, though his eyes were filled with worry and unease.
"...I had a nightmare."
It is a declarative sentence.
Wen Miao was stunned for a few seconds before she came to her senses. She wanted to say yes, but found that after this nightmare, she was hoarse and weak all over.
Emperor Qian Yuan, however, observed carefully. He raised his hand and pulled the person into his arms around the waist. He first patted Wen Miao's back gently to comfort him, and then took a clean handkerchief from the bedside and gently wiped the sweat from the other person's forehead, temples, and neck.
After doing all this, the emperor got up and poured a cup of cool tea, then put his arm around Wen Miao's lower back and said, "Moisten your throat first, drink slowly."
It was clearly another person who had been unexpectedly awakened in the dead of night, yet Emperor Qian Yuan remained patient and meticulous throughout, without any sign of annoyance. In fact, when he looked at Wen Miao, his eyes were filled with genuine concern and empathy.
Wen Miao swallowed the tea in her mouth, and her heart softened for some reason.
Her voice was still a little hoarse, but she surprisingly took the initiative to make a request: "...Ji Huan, hold me tighter."
In their daily interactions, Wen Miao always addressed Emperor Qian Yuan as "Your Majesty," and such requests for intimacy were extremely rare. In fact, Emperor Qian Yuan was stunned for at least two seconds before he realized what she had said.
The emperor, who had once held Wen Miao with such natural ease, now seemed petrified.
He stiffly opened his arms, then looked around unsure of the best angle, which made Wen Miao unable to help but smile. She rarely abandoned her shyness and took the initiative to find a comfortable position in Emperor Qian Yuan's arms.
Wen Miao held Emperor Qian Yuan's hand so that his arm could wrap around her waist.
The bed curtains remained hanging, and no candles were lit in the hall. Wen Miao leaned quietly against Emperor Qian Yuan's chest and suddenly said in a very soft voice, "I just had a dream."
Emperor Qianyuan asked in response, "What did you dream about?"
"Snowy ground."
The emperor's hand around Wen Miao's waist tightened slightly.
Unaware that she was once again trapped in her dream memories, Wen Miao tried to describe what she saw and heard in her dream—
"It kept snowing, the snow was thick, and the weather was very cold. In my dream, I seemed to have walked a long way, and I was cold and tired. I had a very sad feeling in my heart..."
"I also dreamed of many servants and healers walking back and forth, and of many faces whose features I couldn't even make out. I could even smell a bitter, sweet medicinal odor at the tip of my nose..."
When she dreams, Wen Miao always feels she can remember everything in the dream very clearly, but when she wakes up, she finds that only scattered images remain in her mind, except for that one sentence that is still clear and vivid, as if another version of herself in the dream is constantly asking her questions—
Don't you remember?
"You came from another world."
Wen Miao sighed, concealing the strange feeling that she herself couldn't understand, and simply said to Emperor Qian Yuan, "I always feel like I've dreamed about many things, but when I wake up, I can't remember them clearly."
"...Never mind if you can't remember."
The breath that had been pounding in Emperor Qianyuan's heart slowly eased.
He said, "Don't think so much. The imperial physician told you to worry less and rest more. Nothing is more important than your health right now."
Emperor Qian Yuan knew that he had made a mistake from the very beginning. Perhaps the best way to make up for this mistake was to be honest now and tell Wen Miao everything clearly. However, he was too self-conscious to gamble on his importance in Wen Miao's heart.
Wen Miao will miss the kind Xie Jingxuan, the innocent Xie Mengjun, the like-minded Li Qing, and the servants Shi Cui and Wan Bi who attend to her...
But Emperor Qianyuan could not say definitively that Wenmiao would miss her husband.
Greedy yet cowardly, he clung to that precarious warmth, refusing to let go, and could only endure until the knife hanging over his head finally fell.
...It should be soon.
Emperor Qianyuan suddenly kissed Wen Miao's shoulder, his voice slightly unsteady, "...Empress, today, how much do you like me?"
If my amnesia is exposed in the future, will you dislike me a little less?
Wen Miao was somewhat surprised by how quickly Emperor Qian Yuan changed the subject.
She tilted her head slightly and met the emperor's heavy eyes in the darkness, eyes that were filled with a great deal of emotion.
—It seemed capable of completely engulfing her.
"……some."
She subconsciously responded with a soft "yes".
Emperor Qian Yuan didn't hear clearly, "...Huh?"
I said—
Wen Miao suddenly knelt up, turned to the side, and placed her hand on Emperor Qian Yuan's shoulder.
Although the small space shrouded by the bed curtains was dimly lit, at this moment, they could clearly see each other's eyes. One was silent and deep, hiding deep affection, while the other was gentle and tender, like spring water.
In this position, she was half a head taller than the fully seated emperor, allowing her to look down at him and also to cup his face in her hands.
The emperor, as fierce as a dog, let Wen Miao do whatever she wanted. While he was still staring blankly at Wen Miao's beautiful face, he suddenly saw that the overly great face lower slightly, and then a light touch landed on his lips.
Wen Miao finished the second half of the sentence.
"some."
"There will be more in the future."
She herself didn't know when she started to like Emperor Qian Yuan a little. Perhaps their first encounter and time together weren't pleasant, and there was a seven-tenths of it being forced, but Wen Miao had to admit that Emperor Qian Yuan was very, very good to her, so good that she herself would slowly fall for him.
Otherwise, after the wedding, she would never have changed her mind so quickly and wanted to try to maintain the relationship.
Emperor Qianyuan quietly accepted the kiss, then embraced Wen Miao's waist and abdomen, burying his entire face in her soft, snowy breasts—a gentle sniff revealed a warm fragrance that he would never want to let go of for the rest of his life.
He said, "...Then I will wait for that 'lot' of it."
Then let him pray that the guillotine hanging over his head will fall more slowly.
In the latter half of the night, when Wen Miao was awakened by a nightmare, Emperor Qian Yuan simply held her quietly. The two did nothing but lie in the warm quilt, and could vaguely hear the howling cold wind outside Fengyi Palace.
Perhaps haunted by the previous nightmare, Wen Miao couldn't fall asleep, so she held the emperor in her arms and began to tell him a story—
In a desolate courtyard lived a little boy. No one liked him, and no one ever cared for him. He had nothing since birth. To survive, he could only eat the leftovers of the servants or dig up wild vegetables and roots.
The little boy thought his end was to die in this yard, until one day he saw a beautiful little bird with shimmering feathers perched on the yard wall.
The little boy had never seen such a beautiful bird before.
He liked it but dared not like it, because he knew very well that from childhood to now, he could not hold onto anything. Rather than being sad about it, he would rather not get close in the first place and not leave a mark in his heart.
For the first few days, whenever the little boy saw the beautiful bird perched on the courtyard wall, he pretended to ignore it. He never looked at the bird directly, but after returning to the house, he would quietly hide at the door and, through the narrow gap, cast his hopeful gaze at the courtyard wall.
As time went by, the little boy noticed that the bird would fly over every day, land on the wall, and preen its feathers—day after day, without fail.
At first, the little boy thought that it would be enough for him to just look at it from afar.
After a while, he wanted more, so he went to the courtyard wall and tried to get closer to them.
To him, the bird was so beautiful that it seemed to be a creature of the human world, completely out of place in the dilapidated little courtyard. Thus, a strange emotion gradually took root in the little boy's heart.
After some time, the little boy was still not satisfied. He began to think about how to leave the dilapidated courtyard. He wanted to know where the bird roosted and to obtain a status and position that matched it.
He desperately and uncontrollably wanted to possess that bird.
So he started climbing the ranks for that reason.
He wanted to climb very, very high, so that the bird could perch on his shoulder or in his palm.
Wen Miao was drowsy from listening. Seeing that Emperor Qian Yuan hadn't continued speaking for a while, she snuggled against him in her sleep and asked softly, "And then?"
She wanted to know how the story ended.
"And then..."
Emperor Qian Yuan lowered his voice, his hand still gently stroking the back of Wen Miao's neck. Seeing that the other's eyes were completely closed and her breathing gradually slowed, he spoke slowly and deliberately:
"...The dissatisfied little boy grew into a greedy man. He gained power and status, and finally locked that beautiful little bird in a golden cage that he had built himself."
"Never let go."
...
Since Princess Zhao, the wife of Prince Rui, was demoted to a commoner and hanged, Prince Rui's heir has been in a daze, spending his days in a drunken stupor and becoming completely despondent.
In the past, because his mother took care of things for him, his conduct and character could at least be considered "promising for a young man." But clearly, among his peers, the Prince Rui's heir had long been far behind Meng Hanzhou, the heir of the Duke of Wei, and Lin Su, the son of the Minister of Revenue.
People who aren't in the same circle can't get along.
Meng Hanzhou, Lin Su, and the others had long known that the Prince Rui's heir was indecisive, sweet on the outside but cold on the inside, and couldn't even protect the pregnant maidservant who served him. He was a spineless coward who only listened to Zhao Shi, so naturally no one looked up to him.
To use their words to describe Prince Rui's heir, that guy is a slick, effeminate scoundrel who only knows how to use sweet words to deceive young girls!
The young lady Chen from Qu County, Qingzhou, is a perfect example!
Now that the Zhao family has been convicted, the title held by the Prince Rui's heir will inevitably be affected. He is clearly aware that he will not be able to hold his position as heir for long!
On the contrary, Prince Rui, Ji Heng, was overjoyed without his wife's restraint. Coincidentally, one of his beloved concubines was pregnant, and he was overjoyed every day. However, before he could enjoy his freedom for more than a few days, he received an imperial decree, specifically requesting him to oversee the matter—
"What? His Majesty... His Majesty wants me to... to do this?"
"Is it really me? The eunuch didn't deliver the wrong decree?"
Having spent over a decade lying around in the palace, spending his time tending flowers and plants and indulging in the company of beautiful women, Prince Rui stammered in return, asking, "Then who hasn't suffered much?" He pointed to himself with an incredulous expression, his usually delicate skin showing no signs of hardship.
Is his elder brother even sensible? How could he possibly assign this task to such a muddle-headed fool like him?
It is obvious that Prince Rui has managed to survive peacefully among his brothers for two reasons: firstly, he is timid and cowardly, and secondly, he has self-awareness.
Emperor Qianyuan was naturally aware of Prince Rui's flaws. Although his fifth brother was a womanizer and a coward, he was still considered kind and gentle among a group of ruthless princes. He was lustful but did not force women into marriage, and cowardly but never beat or killed servants. He had a lot of bad habits, but he was perfectly suited to promote the "reform of the slave system".
In addition, the reform was proposed by the Empress, approved by Emperor Qianyuan, and supervised by Prince Rui. It was carried out in a great manner, achieving twice the result with half the effort. Moreover, some things were easier for Prince Rui to do personally.
At this moment, the chief eunuch Xu Sheng said with a smile, "When has His Majesty's decree ever been wrong? Your Highness, you can't just say things like that!"
"Yes, yes, yes, you're right, Your Majesty's decree is absolutely correct!"
Prince Rui, Ji Heng, patted his mouth chuckled, then asked cautiously, "Your Majesty, aren't you afraid I'll mess this up?"
Xu Sheng said meaningfully, "His Majesty said that the Empress is in the inner palace and it is inconvenient for her to move around in the court. Now, Your Highness is doing things for the Empress. There are rules and procedures for how to do it. Your Highness just needs to follow the steps. If you do it well, His Majesty will naturally reward you."
As for not handling it well... what a joke! How could Her Majesty's affairs be not handled well? If they were not handled well, His Majesty would probably personally leave the palace and put a knife to Prince Rui's neck!
Prince Rui readily agreed, as he did indeed have a reward he wished to claim, which was nothing more than the matter of establishing a new heir.
He was indeed not close to Zhao's son. After the child was born, Zhao kept him hidden and never let him see him. Although Ji Heng was a coward and a womanizer, he was sincere towards the child. At first, he went to great lengths to find many precious items to give to his son. He even cut off his affairs with other women during that time, trying to be a good father.
Ji Heng wanted to do it, but Lady Zhao wouldn't allow it—she even taught her son not to get close to Prince Rui.
When Ji Heng finally got the chance to see his own son, he found that the boy had been raised by Zhao Shi to look exactly like a copy of him. The two women looked at him with disdain and contempt, and even ignored him when he spoke. With such behavior, how could Ji Heng continue to care about his son?
Therefore, after the Zhao family was punished, Prince Rui Ji Heng wanted to establish another heir. As for the Zhao family's son, he could not get close to him, but he would not mistreat him either... after all, he was his bloodline.
So after Xu Sheng visited Prince Rui's residence, the task of reforming the servants' uniforms fell to Ji Heng.
Ji Heng looked at those few pages, which were written by the Empress and later copied by Emperor Qian Yuan (the original handwritten version by Wen Miao was kept by the Emperor), over and over again. A restless feeling arose in his chest, and he immediately called for his servants to change his clothes and tidy him up, preparing to unleash his full power.
Soon, astute individuals from all walks of life in the capital noticed the recent changes and shifts in the political climate—
First, the Empress heard about the evil deeds of the criminal Zhao, who harmed slaves, changed their contracts, and forced good people into lowly status. The Empress was compassionate and kind, and pitied the poor. She could not bear to see such evil deeds rampant in the Great Chu, so she proposed reforms to the slave system.
Afterwards, Emperor Qianyuan praised the Empress's actions as excellent. With a wave of his hand, he ordered Prince Rui to investigate and supervise the matter. At the same time, in accordance with the Empress's wishes, he abolished the dead contracts and promoted the new type of live contracts. He also established a special agency in the capital to manage the affairs of slaves, known as the West Market Office.
Although the abolition of the death contract initially caused a minor uproar in the court, Emperor Qian Yuan's authority and power were such that even if a few officials were dissatisfied, they could be suppressed.
In particular, this matter did not significantly affect the interests of those in power. Although they could not arbitrarily abuse or kill slaves, these people at the bottom still had to work for them obediently. Moreover, in the past, there were more living contracts than dead contracts. Thinking about it this way, it seems that nothing much has changed.
After all, not everyone has those shameful hobbies like torturing and killing servants!
For those in high positions, this change may not be obvious, but for those in lower positions, it is a life-saving charm that they can hold in their own hands.
With the dead contract abolished, it naturally had to be changed to a live contract. The West Market Office was specifically responsible for handling this matter, which required the person in charge of signing the contract from each household and the servants to appear at the same time.
Under this trend, the Duke of Wei's mansion and the Minister of Revenue's mansion were the first to express their opinions. On the first day that the West Market officially opened, Meng Hanzhou and Lin Su, accompanied by their steward and several servants who had signed life contracts, walked through the streets openly and generously.
The steward led the servants inside the West Market Office to handle matters related to the contract alteration, while Meng Hanzhou stood outside the door, squinting as he gazed towards the palace walls.
"Hello--"
Lin Su nudged his shoulder and asked in a low voice, "Still thinking about it?"
Meng Hanzhou snapped out of his reverie, pursed his lips, and said, "...No."
"Ha, you're kidding me! If I didn't care, would I have sent someone to deliver a message to me last night about this? Would I have brought my servants here first thing this morning to be the first to stick my neck out at the West Market Office? Meng Hanzhou, you call this not caring? If I didn't care, I would have had the steward take everyone back."
"What are you doing!" Meng Hanzhou punched Lin Su in annoyance and said in a low voice, "This is the Emperor's... the Empress's will, His Majesty's order, and Prince Rui is in charge of handling it. Didn't your father tell you how to do it?"
Lin Su: "Of course I told him, but my dad didn't expect me to come on the first day. He always said he wanted to observe for a couple of days first."
"Whether we wait and see or not, given His Majesty's methods and personality, we will eventually have to do these things. What difference does it make whether we do them sooner or later?"
“That makes sense.” Lin Su then asked, “Seriously, Meng Hanzhou, what exactly is your situation right now?”
Fearing that Meng Hanzhou might not tell the truth, Lin Su even raised his chin, indicating the direction of the imperial city, and silently mouthed "Your Majesty the Empress."
"I……"
Meng Hanzhou paused, then said in a low voice, "Would I dare to have any other thoughts? If I did, my father alone would beat me to death. As for now... I'm just thinking that I can at least do something, maybe... maybe I can leave an impression on Her Majesty."
"Tsk, you're quite the romantic one too."
On the first day of the establishment of the West Market Office, the heir of the Duke of Wei and the son of the Minister of Revenue expressed their willingness to cooperate, and the news was quickly sent to various residences.
Those families with slightly closer ties to the two also began to make contact, presenting the dead contracts that no longer held any binding power, and exchanging them for living contracts.
The contract stipulated that if a slave or maid signed a contract with her master, she could receive wages monthly, and was free to marry and have children, without affecting her work. She could discuss leave with her master for miscellaneous matters. After working for the full term, the slave could choose to renew the contract or take back the contract and change her status from slave to commoner.
During the contract period, the master can supervise the behavior of the servants. If there is any offense or theft, it must be punished through the West Market Bureau. Private abuse is not allowed. If there is any slacking off, the master can report the situation to the West Market Bureau for handling according to the circumstances.
Prince Rui carried out this task with great enthusiasm, and the capital city was only the first stop.
Sooner or later, this gentle breeze stirred up by the Empress will reach other states and counties further away.
For some people who had been bound by death contracts, destined to be slaves for generations, with no guarantee of their lives and subject to being killed or beaten by their masters at will, this winter of the eleventh year of the Qianyuan era felt like spring had arrived.
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Author's Note: I'm here! [kissing emoji] I really want to see Zootopia 2! [pleading emoji]
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