Nightmare

"Even though I'm not your biological daughter, why do you want to block my marriage at every turn?" A woman in white had a dazed and unfocused look in her eyes, and the clarity she once had was replaced by emptiness.

Her hair was in disarray and her expression was agitated. Her beautiful face turned pale as paper. She trembled and asked, "Haven't you been forcing me?"

She suddenly raised the dagger in her hand and scanned her former relatives one by one with a cold gaze: "Then I will die in front of you!"

With the sharp sound of the silver weapon piercing her skin, blood gushed out from her fair neck, staining her white skirt red.

"No!" A hurried male voice came in an instant.

In her dim light, she saw a figure in armor snatching her dagger and hugging her tightly.

But in the end, she couldn't see the person's face clearly, so she slowly closed her eyes and sank into endless darkness.

*

Go to the capital, the residence of Marquis Chongde, and Xiangningxuan.

Mu An Ning's eyelashes trembled slightly, and she suddenly opened her eyes.

Her gaze passed through the moon-white bed curtains, and her mind could not be withdrawn for a long time.

She sat up slowly, her white fingertips unconsciously touching her neck, as if the tingling pain from her dream still lingered.

Thinking of this, she staggered towards the dressing table.

The jade-like face in the bronze mirror was now completely bloodless, and gradually overlapped with the woman in the dream.

She couldn't help biting her bloodless lips, and for a moment it was difficult to distinguish between dreams and reality.

Her head ached slightly, and as she recalled the ridiculous things that happened before she fell into a coma, an unbelievable thought suddenly came to her mind.

That dream was a foreshadowing of her future.

But...why did she become so strange?

Prior to this, she invited Mu Wan'er, who had just arrived at the mansion two days ago, to go to the pavilion in the garden to admire the lake.

The water on the lakeside was sparkling, and the breeze blew past, stirring the tender leaves of the willow trees, making a faint rustling sound.

At that time, she deliberately sent the maidservant away to get a cloak on the pretext of being cold, intending to take this opportunity to inquire about the condition of her biological father and mother.

But for some reason, a ethereal voice that was difficult to tell whether it was male or female suddenly rang in her mind.

It kept repeating that the naive girl in front of her would take away everything that belonged to her: status, family, marriage...

She just felt it was unreasonable. It was obvious that she had taken over Mu Wan'er's status as the legitimate daughter of the marquis's mansion and lived comfortably for fifteen years.

Everything she owns now belongs to Mu Wan'er, and she should return it all.

She just thought that she was too tense these days and had auditory hallucinations.

But while talking to Mu Wan'er, she felt an invisible force guiding her, gradually approaching the lake.

She tried to resist, but to no avail.

In the end, she only saw Mu Wan'er's surprised eyes and the hand reaching out to her.

Then she was swallowed by the lake. Although it was spring, the cold was still biting.

She couldn't swim, and the water that went into her mouth almost suffocated her. She tried to struggle but couldn't muster any strength.

As her consciousness gradually faded, she sank to the bottom of the lake, waiting for death to approach.

*

"Sister Baoqin...that person...pushed..."

"I didn't see it clearly...don't..."

"...Miss...scheming..."

"Chess Heart... Nonsense!"

The maid outside the door whispering from far away brought Mu An Ning back to his senses.

She frowned slightly and only heard the general idea.

"Squeak——" Two personal maids pushed open the door.

The first person to react was Baoqin, who had been serving her since she was five years old and was only three years older than her.

"Miss, you finally woke up!" Baoqin walked quickly to her side and helped her sit down. Her pretty face was full of anxiety and reproach: "Miss, you were unconscious for half a day, how come you woke up so quickly! Are you still feeling unwell?"

Mu An Ning pursed her lips and shook her head gently.

Baoqin felt relieved and turned around to take out the medicine she had prepared in advance: "Miss, drink it while it's hot. This is a good medicine to drive away the cold."

Upon hearing this, Mu An Ning took the medicine bowl and slowly took a sip.

Qi Xin, who was standing nearby, saw this and said angrily, "Miss, you fell into the water, but the old lady just punished that person by grounding him without any pain!"

"House arrest?" Mu An Ning's eyebrows twitched and he looked at Qi Xin in confusion.

What does it have to do with others if she fell into the water?

Qi Xin nodded vigorously: "But finally I can dampen her temper!"

A hint of pride flashed in her eyes: "So what if she is my biological daughter? Our young lady was raised by the old lady herself. How can she be inferior to a country girl like her..."

"Chess heart!" Baoqin glanced at her disapprovingly, interrupting her before she could finish her words, "Don't tell the young lady about this!"

Mu An Ning didn't care about scolding the maid for her outspokenness. She put down the medicine bowl and stood up: "Baoqin, help me with my makeup."

She had to explain this to her grandmother.

*

seishin-in temple.

Mu An Ning pushed the door open and walked in alone. The room was quiet and peaceful, with only a faint scent of sandalwood floating in the air.

An old woman with rich clothes and gray hair, with Buddhist beads wrapped around her hands, sits on a cushion.

Mu An Ning walked slowly to her, stood up straight, and called softly, "Grandma."

Madam Mu slowly opened her eyes upon hearing the voice, looked at the frail girl, and said calmly, "An Ning is awake, is she okay?"

Mu An Ning bowed and said gently, "Grandma, An Ning is fine. I came here today for Wan'er..."

Seeing that her grandmother had no unusual expression, she continued, "It's me..."

She wanted to explain that she had fallen into the water by mistake and it had nothing to do with Mu Wan'er, but her throat suddenly tightened and she couldn't utter a word.

She frowned unconsciously, feeling vaguely uneasy.

It seemed as if something was controlling her again, just like the force that caused her to fall into the lake before.

"An Ning." Seeing her granddaughter hesitate to speak, Madam Mu gently turned the Buddhist beads in her hand and said slowly, "Although the child grew up in the countryside, she is still a daughter of our Marquis' Mansion. I have seen that she is a polite girl these past two days."

Mu An Ning suppressed his surprise and nodded in agreement.

Mu Wan'er behaves well, has a lively personality, and is not fussy about details. It is obvious that she has been well brought up.

She couldn't help but wonder, if that fateful incident hadn't happened, would she be as free as she was?

Madam Mu changed the subject, and her kind eyes turned fierce: "But you should never have such evil thoughts and frame her."

Mu An Ning's heart trembled and his pupils shrank slightly.

Grandma, what does this mean?

"I raised you, so how could Grandma not know that you were unwilling to give up?" Madam Mu sighed, "Grandma is an experienced person, and has seen too many tricks of these mansions."

"This time, grandma has suppressed the matter for you. Just treat it as if you just fell into the water accidentally, so as to avoid giving people a reason to talk and ruining the reputation of the Marquisate."

"It's just that the child is a little wronged."

Madam Mu’s words pierced the softest part of Mu An Ning’s heart.

Unspeakable bitterness suddenly surged in her heart. Her red lips moved slightly, but she still could not utter any words of excuse.

She had no grudge against Mu Wan'er, so why would she risk her own life to frame her?

Seeing her granddaughter remained silent, Madam Mu said, "You have always wanted to know about your life experience. I wanted to wait until your adoptive parents returned to Beijing to discuss it. But now that things have developed to this point, I will explain the whole story to you."

Mu Anning's eyelashes fluttered and she nodded slightly.

She really wanted to know why fate played such a trick on her. The parents she had been calling for fifteen years had no blood relationship with her at all.

Madam Mu pulled her to sit down and said, "Back then, your adoptive parents were staying in a country house to escape the summer heat. Unfortunately, your mother accidentally got pregnant, so they had to find a local midwife to deliver the baby in a hurry."

"Because of premature birth, the child was dead when it was born. Because the woman was afraid of the nobleman's anger, she bribed the midwife who delivered your mother that day and exchanged you two."

"Unexpectedly, after the exchange, the child miraculously recovered. The two midwives had no choice but to keep their mouths shut until the midwife who delivered your mother died. Because she felt guilty, she told your biological parents about your life stories."

The tension in Mu An Ning's throat disappeared without him noticing, and he trembled as he spoke, "So how are they now?"

“Alas…” Madam Mu shook her head and sighed, “According to what the child said, they both passed away one after another. When they were dying, they were worried that she would have no one to rely on, so they told her the truth.”

The color on Mu An Ning's face instantly drained away.

Even though she had guessed half of it in the past two days, how could she remain calm when she heard it from her grandmother's own mouth?

Grievances and bitterness surged into my heart in an instant, and a tear slid down like crystal jade.

Mu Wan'er has found her biological parents, but what about her?

As fate would have it, they are now separated forever.

She was in a daze and couldn't even remember how she left Jingshenyuan.

*

Mu An Ning walked on with red eyes and unknowingly came to Wan Lingxuan.

She thought about it for a while, and finally knocked on the door gently.

The door was quickly opened, and what came into view was a face that was 50% similar to that of his adoptive parents.

Looking closely, the tranquility between Mu Wan'er's brows was exactly the same as her adoptive mother's, while her lips of moderate thickness were almost the same as her adoptive father's.

Mu An Ning could not hide the pain in her heart. No wonder people around her questioned her beautiful appearance and found that she had no resemblance to her parents.

Now that I think about it, her appearance should be similar to her biological parents.

Mu Wan'er's eyes lit up when she saw the person coming, but she was a little doubtful: "Sister?"

Mu An Ning came back to his senses and apologized in a hoarse voice: "I'm sorry, it's my fault that you were grounded. I wronged you."

Although her grandmother misunderstood her and framed Mu Wan'er, Mu Wan'er was ultimately innocent.

"Oh, that's what happened." Mu Wan'er waved her hands and looked at the self-blaming girl. "I know that sister didn't mean it. Besides, I've walked a lot these days, so I just need to take a good rest."

The girl was half a head shorter than her. She stretched lazily while speaking. Her lively and lovely personality formed a sharp contrast with her gentle appearance.

Mu An Ning was startled and lowered her eyes slightly.

She never thought that in the end it was her sister, whose wealthy status she had taken advantage of, who was willing to believe her.

"I wonder if you could tell me..." Mu An Ning pursed her lips, her tone trembling unconsciously: "What kind of people are my biological parents?"

Mu Wan'er was surprised, but nodded happily and smiled: "They are very nice and always let me do what I like."

She paused, as if she remembered something, and continued, "Before they died, they told me that they really wanted to meet you. Now that they see that my sister has grown up to be so generous, I believe their spirits in heaven will be relieved."

The more Mu An Ning listened, the more she could no longer suppress the emotions surging in her heart, and her tears fell silently like pearls falling from a string.

Mu Wan'er was at a loss as to what to do, and hurriedly wiped her tears: "Sister, don't cry!"

"Then I'll feel at ease," Mu An Ning forced a bitter smile, "Just take a good rest."

She felt a little shy, covered her face and turned away.

She didn't understand why she suddenly became so sentimental today. She had never shed so many tears since she was a child.

[After traveling through the book for so long, I finally got to see my daughter! 】

[My poor little one, this time I will definitely help you stay away from the dog man and get rid of the control of the dog author! ]

Mu An Ning's body froze, a few tears still dripping from his red eyes. He turned around again and said, "Wan'er, what did you say?"

Traveling through a book? A dog author? All these things she had never heard of.

But Mu Wan'er opened her watery eyes wide and said innocently, "Sister, I didn't say anything."

Mu An Ning did not suspect anything and thought he was hallucinating. However, at this moment, the voice sounded again -

[Wuwuwu, my daughter is hallucinating because she is too sad! ]

Mu Anning:!

There were only two of them here, but the girl in front of them clearly didn't open her mouth!