Return the dream companion
"Well, dreams are always the opposite."
Yuanli knew clearly that all this was a dream, and she also knew the consequences of indulging in the dream. Even if there were more important things to do outside the dream, the thought of indulging in it in her heart was as difficult to extinguish as the Samadhi True Fire.
"Before the morning court session, I slowly cooked the Eight Treasure Soup over low heat. Now, it should be just right, not too hot nor too cold, perfect for my wife."
Wen Yici pulled her into the house, but Yuanli's legs and feet didn't obey her head and she let him lead her.
Greed arose in her heart. There was still more than an hour before the first ray of sunlight shone into the Nanzhao territory. Before finding that golden light, she wanted to stay with him for as long as possible.
She promised herself countless times in her heart, just one hour, just this one hour.
Wen Yici took her hand and sat down in front of the window closest to the peach tree. A few scattered peach petals floated in from the window and landed on the table where the eight-treasure soup was placed. The faint fragrance of peach blossoms was carried in by the breeze, refreshing the heart.
He lay on the couch, his right hand supporting his head as he looked at her, his eyes full of tenderness and his face full of happiness. His wide collar was half open, revealing his strong chest and beautiful figure. Even in the dream created by Huanzhu, he was still so attractive.
"My lady, if you don't eat now, the porridge will get cold."
After being reminded by someone who was in a good mood and trying not to laugh, Yuanli realized that her eyes were too fiery, and quickly shifted her attention to the Eight Treasure Soup, and a blush immediately crept up her cheeks.
The porridge was the perfect temperature, not too hot but still comforting and warming to the stomach. The taste was exactly as she remembered. Yuanli's eyes watered unconsciously, and all the suppressed emotions poured out with each spoonful of porridge.
By the time she had controlled her emotions, the bowl of porridge was almost empty. When she came to her senses, she saw Wen Yici had sat up without her noticing, leaning against the table and looking at her.
"What's wrong?"
"I think the porridge I made today is very much to my lady's liking. It's rare that you ate it all. Very good. Since my lady likes it, I will make it for you every day before going to court."
Yuanli shook her head and said, "I know what you mean, but you have to get up early to attend court. If you cook porridge in bed, you will have to get up even earlier and sleep in a little longer. You can drink the Eight Treasure Soup anytime. After all, we will be together for the rest of our lives, right?"
"Well, my lady is right. Let's go to bed earlier next time." Wen Yici took the bowl of porridge from her hand, put it on the table, and got her outer robe.
"Where are you going?"
"My lady, haven't you been saying that you want me to go out with you? I've been busy with official duties lately, and today is a rare day off. Let's go."
The carriage drove leisurely into the busy alleys. The streets of Kyoto were still bustling with people coming and going. The endless hawking sounds echoed through the streets, and all kinds of shops were steaming.
Suddenly, the carriage slowly stopped, and Lin Jian handed a candy picture to her outside the carriage. Wen Yici took it and handed it to her as usual, and the picture was naturally the white phoenix.
After getting off the carriage and strolling along the streets, Wen Yici took her in and out of every shop that she would be interested in, and the servants behind him all had their hands full of things.
As time passed, Yuanli became more and more absent-minded, until Wen Yici asked, "Madam, are you unhappy?"
Yuanli maintained her smile and said, "No, Ah Ci, I'm a little tired. Let's go back home."
After much thought, the golden light could not possibly exist in the bustling streets where there are not many memories. Dreams create obsessions, and the golden light is most likely to be in Prince Wen's Mansion.
But what made her so suspicious was the fake Wen Yici in front of her.
The fact that the golden light has remained, unremoved, suggests that no soul has yet returned to the human world through it. Furthermore, the light remains hidden from view because souls cling to their dreams. Since the control of dreams rests with Huanzhu, even if they stumble upon the golden light, they fear it is the path to hell, leaving their dreams behind, and thus feign ignorance.
Back in Prince Wen's mansion, Wen Yici, who usually read official documents or ancient books whenever he had free time, seemed to have nothing to do in this dream. He was only concerned with staying by her side all the time, gazing at her with tenderness in his eyes.
But the more Wen Yici acted like this, the more she became more convinced of her doubts.
Finally, she managed to get him out of the house under the pretext of making lunch for her. When the footsteps faded away, Yuanli immediately stood up, approached the door with light steps, and peered through the crack. Once she was sure Wen Yici wasn't in the yard, she began to carefully search the house for any possible spot where the golden light might be.
But after opening almost every cabinet door in the house, I still couldn't find it.
The place where the golden light was located was hidden and hard to find. A lot of time had been wasted since entering the dream. Yuanli became increasingly anxious. Although she knew that time was pressing and progress was slow, the desire to procrastinate and give up increased instead of decreasing. The two were contradictory, and she was filled with annoyance.
Sitting back in her previous position, Yuanli kept trying to adjust her mentality, but the more she tried, the more useless it became. Instead, she was overwhelmed by the feeling of powerlessness, feeling irritated and wanting to cry but unable to.
Just as he was feeling bored, the door opened and Wen Yici was followed by seven or eight maids, each holding an exquisite food box. Following Wen Yici's instructions, the maids took out the steaming dishes from the food boxes and arranged them in an orderly manner.
"Come here, my lady, these are all your favorite dishes, made by me personally."
Looking at the dishes prepared by Wen Yici, just the five-flavor apricot cheese goose, Jiangyao soup, steamed shad with rice wine, and crab stuffed with orange would take at least three hours to make.
It seems that the time in the dream cannot be calculated according to common sense. The algorithm for comparing the time in the dream with the time in the living world is still unclear, which makes it even more troublesome.
"My wife is a little...unhappy?"
Before Yuanli could open her mouth to reply to him, Xiaotao's voice came from far outside the house. It seemed like she was chasing someone and reminding them to be careful and not fall.
"Mother! Are you in the house? I picked some peach blossom branches for you on my way home from school."
Hearing this, two young children came towards her, holding a few peach branches in full bloom, jumping and skipping, threw themselves into her arms, and rubbed their heads against her.
"Mother, mother, you're finally here. My sister and I have been waiting for you for so long." Seeing no response, the boy shook her sleeve in confusion and asked pitifully, "Mother, why are you ignoring me?"
Wen Yici leaned closer and whispered in her ear, "My dear, don't just stand there. If you ignore them, our children will be sad again."
When Wen Yici reminded her of this, Yuanli instantly remembered the two fully grown children who died in the womb in her previous life, and her heart was shocked.
She took a long while to react, then she slowly stretched out her hand with trembling hands and gently stroked the baby's head as she had practiced countless times during her pregnancy.
The two children looked up, their eyes full of anticipation. "Now that Mother has come this time, she will never abandon me and my sister again, right?"
"Silly brother, mother wasn't by our side before because of her own reasons. Now she has gone through so much hardship to be here. We are finally reunited as a family. Mother is not such a cruel person."
After hearing what his elder sister said, he happily threw himself into Yuanli's arms, holding her tightly and not letting go. "I know that mother loves us the most. Let's make a promise, mother, from now on, we will never, ever be separated."
At this moment, Yuanli's desire to sacrifice her life reached its peak. An inexplicable voice in her heart kept persuading her to give up, saying, "Even if Huanzhu is fake, she will wake up one day and perhaps become a real ghost, but so what? Before becoming a god, she was a lonely and helpless will-o'-the-wisp in this netherworld. It's just that she has returned to her original identity. Regardless of whether the God of War in Heaven succeeds or fails in his tribulation, Wen Yici will never come back. What does it have to do with her? But staying here is my only chance to live with my child..."
This time, she only fought against the voice in her heart for a moment, and chose to indulge in the child's calls of "Mom".
The family was having a happy meal together. There was a huge dining table, and the two children had to clumsily move their stools as close to him as possible.
Even when he ate by himself, he still needed the maids to serve him, but he imitated his father and kept picking up the dishes that his mother liked.
After dinner, the two children sat obediently beside her and refused to go anywhere. The elder sister sat quietly and dignifiedly, but the younger brother's worries were written all over his face, and he opened his mouth several times but hesitated to speak.
Yuanli couldn't help feeling helpless and subconsciously worried that if he still couldn't hide his thoughts when he grew up, he would be manipulated and deceived by others. However, the child was still young, so it was normal.
"It's a beautiful day today, and it would be a waste to stay here. Your father once made me some kites, they were really beautiful. If you two have finished your homework and have some free time, why don't you accompany mother to fly kites?"
Hearing this, the two children's eyes lit up and they couldn't hide their smiles. "Okay, okay, I love flying kites the most."
"Father can actually make kites? He really treats Mom very well."
"Your father can cook a lot of things. He can make soups and delicious dishes, embroider cushions, sew clothes, make hairpins, and so on."
That kite was made by Wen Yici in her previous life, and it had been many years since then. She remembered that Wen Yici had played with her for half an hour before she reluctantly put it away, fearing it would break.
Later, Wen Yici saw that he loved her too much, so he would make a few for her every early spring.
She then crafted a wooden box of the perfect size, decorated with mother-of-pearl and silver inlay, and stored the kite away. Ever since she became pregnant, she had been thinking about teaching her children how to fly kites after they were born, so she placed the box in a room next to the children's bedroom. Later, he also packed the kite into a silver bell and brought it back to the Broom Star Lord's residence for safekeeping.
I just don’t know if this still happens in my dreams. Even if it does, I don’t know if I can still play it after so many years.
Fortunately, the wooden box was still in the house, and the kite was as good as new and could still be flown.
Yuanli took them out carefully and said, "You two can pick and see if there is anything you like."
Seeing the child's joy, he was dazzled by the pair of kites and could not make a decision for a moment. Yuanli stayed by his side and looked at the furnishings in the room with affection until he saw the locked wardrobe in the corner.
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