Chapter 71 She also possessed the same dream memories…
When Meng Yutong mentioned the location "Qingle Garden in the Western Suburbs," Ji Yun did not ask why. For some reason, he felt a strange certainty; if she thought they should go there, then they should go there.
The horse quickly arrived at the newly opened gate. It was already past midnight, and the city gate had long been locked and closed. Only one guard was standing guard by the gate, dozing off.
The sound of horses' hooves was particularly clear in the quiet night, and the guard was jolted awake, instantly becoming more alert and gripping his weapon tightly.
It was at this moment that Ji Yun, on horseback, suddenly made a move.
He gently tugged at Meng Yutong's sleeve. Caught off guard, Meng Yutong leaned back slightly and into his arms due to the force of his pull.
Before she could react, Ji Yun had already reached out and pulled her shoulder close, quickly covering her head and face with his wide sleeves, tightly protecting her in his arms.
"Don't move." His deep voice whispered in her ear, warm against her skin. "Even if you don't care about fame, riding with someone late at night and having your face seen will still damage your reputation."
The voice seemed to carry tiny hooks, drilling into her ears in a dense, persistent manner, and she could even clearly feel the subtle vibrations in his chest as he spoke.
This distance is far too intimate.
Her back was pressed against his warm, firm chest, and through the thin fabric, she could almost feel his steady heartbeat. The cool, herbal scent emanating from him mingled with the night breeze, enveloping her and creating a small, secluded space within her.
Meng Yutong froze in his arms for a moment, then finally moved very slightly to indicate that she understood.
Feeling the movement of the person in his arms, Ji Yun secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but the arm around her still maintained just the right amount of strength, providing protection without making her feel imprisoned.
He looked straight ahead, his expression unchanged.
But Meng Yutong felt her heartbeat quicken slightly, as if it were a little noisy.
The guard, now fully awake, strode forward, weapon in hand, and barked angrily, "Who goes there! It's curfew! Don't you know the rules?"
Ji Yun lowered his head slightly, his chin accidentally brushing against the top of Meng Yutong's hair. He lowered his voice and said to the person in his arms, "Please take out the token from my arms."
The position of Meng Yutong being held in his arms was actually quite awkward. She had to twist her body on the horse's back, and her hands had nowhere to go, so she could only loosely wrap them around his waist. Now, after hearing his words, she had no choice but to withdraw one hand and tentatively reach into his arms to feel around.
What my fingertips touched was his warm and firm chest beneath his clothes.
Although he was a civil official, he appeared slender and tall, but his muscles were clearly defined and contained a restrained strength.
Perhaps because she had been suffocating in his arms for too long, Meng Yutong suddenly felt her ears burning uncontrollably... Her hand groped around on his chest for a few moments before finally touching a cold, hard object.
She took out the token and handed it to Ji Yun.
This token was a gift from Princess Gyeongbok, granting her free access to the palace, let alone a city gate.
Ji Yun took the token, showed it to the guard, and explained succinctly: "I have urgent business and need to leave the city immediately. Please do me the favor."
By the moonlight, the guard could see the shape and pattern of the token. He was shocked and realized that the person in front of him was no ordinary person. His attitude immediately became respectful. He dared not be negligent in the slightest. He quickly turned around, took out the key, pushed open a gap in the heavy city gate that was large enough for a horse to pass through, and bowed to see the two people out.
Qingle Garden in the western suburbs is a renowned garden outside the city, featuring exquisite pavilions, exotic flowers and rare herbs, and a large open lawn at the back. Every spring, many noble ladies from the city enjoy coming here in groups for outings and picnics.
However, at this hour of the night, the garden was completely deserted.
The moonlight was dim, and all around was silent except for the night wind rustling through the grass and trees.
Occasionally, the chirping of insects or the calls of unknown birds can be heard from afar. In this tranquil night, they do not seem noisy, but rather add to the emptiness and loneliness, and even make people feel timid, requiring them to muster their courage to move forward.
The two rode through the most bustling pavilions and waterside terraces in Qingle Garden during the day, and went straight to the open grassland behind it.
By the sparse starlight, a small figure could be seen huddled on a large rock in the middle of the meadow. The child hugged his knees tightly, burying his face in them, his thin shoulders trembling slightly.
It was pitch black here, and Ji Ming buried his head in his knees, not daring to look up.
He didn't know what impulse or obsession drove him to come to this desolate wilderness alone.
He remembered the strange yet incredibly real dream he had the day before, and feeling afraid, he went crying to find his brother.
His elder brother had clearly promised to take him to Zhaoyutang to see Sister Meng the next day, and because of this, he had no heart to go to school and felt that the days were passing by like years.
He cried and made a fuss twice at first, but then he got tired and stopped, sulking to himself. He thought to himself, since his brother won't take him, he'll go by himself!
So he pretended to fall asleep, and after Yunzhou left, he took advantage of the still dim light of dusk to sneak out of the window. He carefully avoided the servants and guards in the mansion, crawled through the dog hole he had already noticed, and slipped out of the Ji mansion.
Sadly, once he left the mansion, he realized he didn't know the way to Zhaoyu Hall at all.
He was all alone and dared not ask anyone for directions, fearing that he might be discovered and dragged back to that dreary mansion.
So he wandered aimlessly, and by some strange twist of fate, he left the city. Relying on the faint remnants of his dream, he stumbled and walked for nearly two hours before finally finding the garden that had appeared in his dream.
By this time, he was exhausted, cold and scared, so he had no choice but to stop on this unfamiliar grassland, huddle next to a rock, cold and scared, not knowing what to do.
Also, school is closed tomorrow. How come he can't even pick a day to run away from home? He should have chosen a day when he has class.
That way, I can listen to the teacher nagging less in the classroom.
He let these chaotic thoughts race through his mind, as if only in this way could he dispel the boundless darkness and fear around him.
This method actually had some effect. As he thought about it, extreme exhaustion overcame him, and he leaned against the cold, large rock and drifted off to sleep.
He started dreaming again.
He dreamt that he was running again on the vast grassland of Qingleyuan, holding a large, colorful kite high in his hand. As he ran forward, he turned back and waved to the people behind him.
The bright sunlight shone on the person's face, outlining a warm and radiant smile. The hem of the person's light green skirt swayed gently in the breeze, like ripples on a lake.
He felt the string in his hand was taut, and with a sudden release, the large kite "whooshed" free and joyfully soared into the azure sky.
He tilted his head back, clapping and cheering in a clear, loud voice: "Sister-in-law! Look! It's flying! Flying higher! Higher still!"
He was feeling happy and carefree when he suddenly heard a call in his ear.
"Ji Ming... Ji Ming..." The voice came from afar, carrying obvious anxiety, and abruptly pulled him back from the sun-drenched grass.
Ji Ming's eyelashes trembled as he reluctantly opened his heavy eyelids.
His blurry vision gradually cleared, and what came into view were his elder brother Ji Yun and his sister Meng, who were squatting on either side of him.
He was stunned, unable to tell whether it was a dream or a real scene.
Subconsciously, with a mix of grievance and resentment, he pushed Ji Yun aside, then recklessly buried his face in Meng Yutong's warm, soft embrace, rubbing his head against her skin while mumbling that familiar address, "Sister-in-law..."
Ji Ming's sudden shove and his address to Meng Yutong caused Ji Yun to stiffen noticeably, his expression becoming complicated.
Meng Yutong's heart tightened at Ji Ming's dependent gesture, and almost instinctively she hugged his thin shoulders and patted them gently.
However, her heart was already in turmoil. It was just a guess at first, but now, not only had she found him at Qingleyuan Park in the western suburbs, but he had also called her "sister-in-law" so naturally... Judging from this situation, Ji Ming was most likely thinking of the "past" things, just like her.
She suppressed her shock and spoke in an extremely gentle and soothing voice: "It's alright, it's alright... How could you run out by yourself? It was so dangerous."
Nestled in this warm embrace filled with familiar scents, and listening to the genuine, tender words of care, Ji Ming finally came to his senses and realized that this was not a dream.
But because of this, a huge wave of grievance surged into her heart. Her lips trembled, and tears streamed down her face like a broken string of pearls. She sobbed and complained, "I...I originally wanted to go to Zhaoyu Hall to find you...but...but I don't know the way...I had no choice but to wander around aimlessly..."
Hearing Ji Ming's tearful "accusation," Meng Yutong couldn't help but raise her head, her eyes filled with obvious disgust and reproach, and glared at Ji Yun.
Knowing he was in the wrong, Ji Yun pursed his lips and didn't argue. He simply reached out and tried to brush away the grass clippings and dust that were stuck to Ji Ming's hair and clothes.
Ji Ming, however, acted like an enraged little animal, slapping his hand away and shouting in a tearful voice, "I don't need your help! You big liar!"
Ji Yun's hand froze in mid-air, paused for a moment, and then slowly withdrew.
Although it was early summer and the weather was warm, the dew was heavy and the wind was cold in the suburbs late at night, and the chill was penetrating.
Ji Yun silently took off his outer robe, intending to drape it directly over Ji Ming's shoulders, but after glancing between Ji Ming's resisting back and Meng Yutong, he handed the robe to Meng Yutong instead.
Meng Yutong naturally understood his intention, took the outer robe that still held his body heat, and carefully wrapped it around Ji Ming.
The person was finally found, and Ji Yun's heart, which had been hanging in suspense all night, finally settled down.
Once she relaxed, her sharp mind began to work again. She thought about Ji Ming's earth-shattering cry of "Sister-in-law!" and how Meng Yutong was able to pinpoint the location of Qingleyuan in the western suburbs so accurately. After all, no one in the family had ever brought Ji Ming to this place before.
Various doubts arose in my mind.
Unable to resolve his doubts, he began to take seriously the dream that Ji Ming had mentioned earlier.
He said that in his dream, Meng Yutong married him. Is it possible that this place is the same place that Ji Ming and Meng Yutong visited together in his dream?
And Meng Yutong also knows this place, doesn't that mean... she also has the same dream memories?
The thought suddenly flashed through his mind, like the sun breaking through the clouds. In an instant, the fog that had lingered in Ji Yun's mind for so long gradually dissipated, and many details that he had been unable to understand before suddenly connected.
From the moment Meng Yutong began her relationship with him at her mother's birthday banquet, she displayed an inexplicable, distant, and even slightly hostile attitude towards him; later, as they spent more time together, she revealed complex expressions and subtly different attitudes towards him compared to others.
He couldn't understand it and had asked her directly why, but she didn't tell him the truth.
What if all of this stemmed from a shared "dream" memory, one he knew nothing about? And what about his mother's recent unusual behavior and those meaningful words...?
Did Mother also...?
The three of them may have shared a memory of "another life".
During that period of his life, he and Meng Yutong did not break off their engagement, but instead became husband and wife.
However, judging from Meng Yutong's attitude and Ji Ming's dependence in his dream, the ending of that marriage does not seem to be happy, and may even be full of regret and pain.
The root cause of this unhappiness most likely lies with him.
Could it be that... he had let Meng Yutong down or hurt her?
When this thought entered his mind, his body swayed uncontrollably, and a subtle, aching pain welled up in his heart.
Although he had no memory of these events, a deep, indescribable grief kept welling up uncontrollably, causing him great distress and making him unable to control himself.
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