Chapter 25: The Man in My Dream? Song Linsheng? ...
"What rouge... powder..." Wen Yu was beginning to get drunk, and her words were intermittent. "I don't have money to buy rouge... burp!"
She spoke, her voice trembling, and finally burped. Wen Yu immediately raised her hands and covered her mouth, her cheeks puffing up from holding it in.
Azhu and Abai looked at each other and explained to Wenyu, "The store that delivered the items said that the young master ordered it this morning..." After that, they lowered their heads and said nothing.
Wen Yu turned around and tilted her head to look at Song Linsheng. This morning?
Song Linsheng nodded in affirmation. He glanced at the stacked cosmetic boxes and said to Wenyu, "This morning I went to the back alley of Mingyang's shop to investigate Chen Mian's affairs. Business seems to be booming there, so their cosmetics must be quite good."
"So I went into the store and bought some, thinking Madam Wenyu might need them."
Azhu and Abai remained silent. When they saw Song Linsheng and Wen Yu talking, they quietly retreated.
Wen Yu blinked his eyes, his head felt as heavy as if it weighed a thousand pounds, and his speech became slow and hesitant.
"Uh-huh……"
Wen Yu wanted to express her gratitude, but she didn't know how to begin. Her thoughts were in a turmoil, and she didn't know how to form her words. However, it seemed she had spent quite a bit of Song Linsheng's money in the past few days, and she should think of a way to repay him.
She remembered a money tree growing in Houchun Mountain. Its branches didn't produce money, but rather possessed extremely high medicinal value, worth a fortune in ordinary shops, hence the name "Money Tree." The tree spirit had attained immortality years before her, and she would go back to him and ask for a fortune branch to give to Song Linsheng...
Thinking of this, Wen Yu smiled happily. As her smile grew, she became less and less able to control her steps, and she swayed from side to side as she entered the inner room.
Song Linsheng hurried forward to protect Wen Yu, but stopped at the screen that separated the inner and outer rooms.
While hesitating, Song Linsheng saw Wen Yu stumbling every few steps, stumbling on tables, chairs, and cabinet corners, and walking with great difficulty.
He didn't think any more and followed in. Song Linsheng supported Wen Yu and walked her to the bed.
Wen Yu fell onto the bed, curled up in the quilt, rubbing her head against the corner of the quilt and humming with satisfaction.
Song Linsheng half-knelt in front of the couch and smoothed the corner of Wen Yu's quilt. He quietly stared at Wen Yu's sleeping face, so pure, peaceful, and adorable.
She was so unguarded towards him that Song Linsheng didn't know what to say.
Wen Yu lay on her side with her right cheek pressed against the soft pillow, her left side hair hanging down, crawling over the tip of her nose and lying across the middle of her cheek.
Song Linsheng watched quietly for a moment, then he raised his right hand and pointed two slightly curled fingers towards Wen Yu, intending to brush her hair.
But before he could touch her, he heard Wen Yu calling out, "Song Linsheng..."
Song Linsheng was startled and quickly withdrew his right hand and put it behind his back, but he saw that Wen Yu showed no signs of waking up. What he had just said was just a dream talk.
He was stunned for a moment, then couldn't help but laugh. What was he hiding from? He couldn't tell whether the laughter was directed at Wen Yu's nonsense or at himself, feeling guilty.
"Song Linsheng..." Wen Yu murmured and called out again.
"Hmm?" He responded patiently, never being perfunctory even if it was a whisper in a dream.
"Why...are you going to live in the government office?" Wen Yu said in two parts, dragging his feet for a long time before finally speaking clearly. "Why don't you just stay at home...okay?"
Song Linsheng listened intently, finally understanding what Wen Yu was saying. He straightened up and gazed at Wen Yu calmly. The candlelight flickered in the room, its shadow dancing on Song Linsheng's brow, making his gentleness even more pronounced.
"Okay, okay, I'll do as you say." Song Linsheng readily agreed. He knew that drunk people were most likely to tell the truth, but he hadn't expected Madam Wen Yu to be so concerned about this matter.
Song Linsheng lowered his eyes to look at Wen Yu, his mind lost in thought. He reached out and gently smoothed Wen Yu's messy hair. This time, his heart was pounding like a drum, but his movements were calm, no longer as flustered as before.
"Well...you promise me..." Wen Yu's voice was soft and sticky, with three parts of drunkenness and seven parts of laziness.
Song Linsheng's eyebrows relaxed, his expression gentle, afraid to disturb Wen Yu's deep sleep. He coaxed Wen Yu softly: "I promise you."
Wen Yu's breathing gradually calmed down, and her breathing became heavier. Song Linsheng knew that she was drunk and had passed out, so he didn't stay any longer.
Song Linsheng slowly stood up, walked around the screen embroidered with the newborn green phoenix tree, and went out quietly.
The night deepens and a chill sets in.
Song Linsheng looked up at the sky. The numerous stars scattered across it made the long night less quiet.
He turned around and closed the door, then lifted his robe slightly and went down the stairs.
"Young Master..." The figure in front of the door came forward and called softly.
"You're back." Song Linsheng raised his eyes to see who was coming, "Wash the inkstone."
Xiyan nodded and pointed inside the house, "Has Madam Wenyu gone to bed?"
Song Linsheng nodded and walked out.
Xiyan, who was standing by, followed Song Linsheng and asked, "So, Mr.
Song Linsheng kept walking, pondered for a moment, and said, "Let's go to the government office to settle down."
He knew Madam Wenyu's good intentions. She could ignore them, but he couldn't take it as a sign of disregard and be rude to her. The result of rushing to the government office overnight remained unchanged, but Song Linsheng felt that something was different from yesterday.
He walked briskly and felt full of joy in his heart, so he didn't even hear Xiyan calling him for a while.
"Young Master? Young Master?" Xi Yan trotted over to catch up with Song Linsheng. What had happened to his young master? He wasn't as calm as before, and he was so excited to be settled in the government office? Xi Yan was puzzled.
"Hmm?" Song Linsheng finally stopped where he was and gathered his thoughts.
"What did you say just now?" Song Linsheng asked after Xiyan's breathing became a little smoother.
Xiyan put one hand on his waist and stroked his collar with the other hand, and replied to Song Linsheng.
"Lord Mu and I led people to search the city for a whole day, but we didn't see any trace of the white lady."
"We've even asked around in the inhabited areas outside the city, but no one has ever seen the White Lady."
When Song Linsheng heard Xiyan's reply, he frowned slightly, slowed down his pace, and walked out while thinking.
There was no way a pregnant woman could just vanish into thin air. Now that there was no trace of her, there were two possibilities: she had been assassinated, or she was still hiding somewhere in the city.
"Send more people tomorrow and dig deep to find Lady Zhibai."
No matter what the truth is about Chen Mian's case, it doesn't matter whether he is really guilty or not. This does not prevent Zhi Bainiang and her child from being innocent.
He, Song Linsheng, cannot let others suffer for no reason.
Xiyan responded repeatedly and then started talking again, "Today, while we were looking for Lady Bai, Lord Mu also checked the household registration of Lady Wenyu's brother."
Song Linsheng paused and asked hurriedly, "Oh? Any news?" He realized he had lost his composure just as he finished speaking. Was he being too hasty?
Fortunately, Xiyan was a man of good sense and didn't ask any further questions. Instead, he continued, "Master Mu said that there isn't a single family with the surname Wen in Jiangyang Prefecture. However, there is a family with the surname Wen, which sounds the same but has different characters. They have a son in his twenties."
"Wen? The one who is famous all over the world?" There are not many people with the surname Wen, and he seemed to have seen it somewhere.
Song Linsheng's face showed a hint of surprise. There wasn't a single family with the surname Wen? Could it be that Madam Wen Yu's brother had already moved out of Jiangyang Prefecture?
"That's right!" Xiyan told Song Linsheng what he had seen and heard during the day.
"The Wen family is very strange! Lord Mu came to inquire personally, just to confirm whether they are related to Madam Wenyu." Xi Yan's words were full of doubts, "But the Wen family refused to even open the door, and only said through the door that they didn't know any girl named Wenyu."
Logically speaking, Lord Mu had been an official in Jiangyang Prefecture for a long time, so how could the people be so unconvinced? Xi Yan shook his head, thinking hard but to no avail.
"So I searched all over Jiangyang, but couldn't find a young man named Wen Song." In other words, I couldn't find Madam Wen Yu's brother.
"But Lord Mu said that he would go through the household register again after returning home. There might be something missing."
"Hmm..." Song Linsheng pondered for a moment and walked out of the backyard.
Xiyan looked at the young master's face and added, "Young master, don't worry. Lord Mu told you and Madam Wenyu to wait patiently."
Song Linsheng didn't reply, but just walked forward. Soon he left the Song residence and took a carriage to the Jiangyang government office.
The next day, we visited Wuyuan.
A gentle breeze rustled the camphor trees, and the first golden light of the morning woke up the entire yard, but it could not wake up Wen Yu, who was drunk and sleepy.
Wen Yu's arm slipped out of the quilt and fell in front of the couch. A soft pillow lay on the ground, leaning against the two embroidered shoes.
Wen Yu was still immersed in sleep, wrapped in the quilt and murmured: "Promise me...promise me..." as if she was talking to someone.
Not knowing what the person in the dream responded to, Wen Yu smiled foolishly and nodded frequently.
"Yeah! Just promise... that's all! Just promise!"
Wen Yu in the dream seemed very satisfied. She couldn't help waving her arms and turning over.
Wen Yu was startled awake by a muffled sound. She sat up in shock, shielding the back of her head with one hand, and looked left and right before she could see what was happening.
It turned out that she had somehow fallen off the couch.
Her pretty features wrinkled into a ball, Wen Yu sat on the ground wrapped in her blankets, stunned. The aftereffects of her hangover were gradually taking hold, and she was momentarily unable to react.
Ah Zhu came into the room upon hearing the noise and this was the scene he saw.
"Madam!" Ah Zhu hurriedly trotted over to Wen Yu and called out anxiously, "Madam, are you hurt?"
"Abo! Abo! My wife fell! Come in quickly!"
Wen Yu let Azhu and Abai, who had rushed over after hearing the news, hurriedly carry her back to the couch. She felt dizzy and her reaction was slow.
Wen Yu closed her eyes and waited until she recovered before saying to Ah Zhu and Ah Bai, "I'm fine, I'm fine! Don't worry! Don't worry!"
Ah Bo looked more demure, unlike Ah Zhu who was always noisy. When she saw Wen Yu waving her hands, she asked Ah Zhu to fetch water for Wen Yu to wash and groom herself, while she brought out new clothes and prepared to help Wen Yu change.
Change clothes?
Wen Yu jumped up from the couch after hearing what A'bo, who was standing in front of her holding a dress, said. Help her change clothes? Washing the inkstone wasn't like asking someone to serve him. It was clearly asking someone to restrain her!
When no one was around, she could still perform some magic in secret, and trivial tasks like washing and changing clothes were a piece of cake. But now that Abo was standing right in front of her, what should she do?
"You...you go out first!" Wen Yu really didn't want to ask anyone to help her get dressed, so she sent A Bo away.
Fortunately, A-Bo did not insist and did not say much, and he quickly left.
Wen Yu waited until the door slammed shut before collapsing on the couch. She didn't want to get up, nor did she want to wash... She just wanted to stay in the soft, warm bed...
She closed her eyes contentedly, intending to recall what she had seen in her dream. She remembered that the man in her dream had promised her...
Dream person?
Wen Yu suddenly opened her eyes, and this time she was completely awake...
The person in my dream? Song Linsheng?
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