Aristocratic Family - Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Dreaming of the Past

Boom, boom… The thunder rumbled, like a message from the heavens, demanding justice and restoring balance to the world.

Under the flash of lightning and thunder, an ancient tree in the courtyard of the Lian Mansion was struck by lightning and split in half. The sound of the tree crashing to the ground echoed through the courtyard, and it fell into the rainwater.

Not far from the ancient tree was the courtyard of Lian Yueyao, the third young lady of the Lian family. The thunder and lightning didn’t wake her up, but the sound of the tree falling did. When the tree fell, Lian Yueyao opened her eyes.

After waking up, Lian Yueyao looked at the green fine cloth curtains in front of her and said woodenly, “Where am I?” As soon as she spoke, thunder rumbled outside, and flashes of white light flickered in the room.

The thunder brought Lian Yueyao back to her senses. She sat up in confusion, her mind a mess. Where was she? Hadn’t she died? A sharp dagger had pierced her body, so how was she still alive? And she was in…

At this moment, she was sitting on a Huanghuali wood bed, and beside the bed was a Huanghuali wood dressing table with various plain-colored hairpins on it. Against the wall was a large Huanghuali wood cabinet, and by the window was a soft couch with a black and white ink painting screen separating the inner and outer rooms…

Lian Yueyao opened her eyes wide, and this wasn’t… this wasn’t the room she had just returned to when she came back to the Lian Mansion. The courtyard she had lived in when she first came back was the courtyard her father had lived in. Later, she had moved out. But now, how was it possible… how could she be here?

Lian Yueyao murmured, “Is it a dream? It must be a dream. The heavens are letting me return to the courtyard of that time, letting me take a look before I leave.”

While Lian Yueyao was sizing up the room, footsteps sounded from outside. Soon, a maid with a duck-egg-shaped face, wearing a plain green dress, walked in.

The maid walked to the center of the room and lit the lamps. The room suddenly brightened up. The maid looked at Lian Yueyao, who was sitting up in a daze, and asked with concern: “Young lady, what’s wrong? Did you have a nightmare?”

Lian Yueyao stared blankly at the familiar face, this was… Mu Qiu.
Mu Qiu had died over ten years ago and should have turned to white bones, but how was she standing in front of her, looking so alive?
Lian Yueyao murmured: “It must be a dream. Otherwise, how could I see Mu Qiu?” Mu Qiu was a playmate bought for her by her mother when she was five years old.
Mu Qiu had followed her for over ten years, loyal and devoted. Until before her serious illness, Mu Qiu was wrongly accused and ordered to be beaten to death by Mo Shi.
At that time, she watched helplessly as Mu Qiu was beaten to death in front of her. Mu Qiu’s blood had stained her eyes. She never thought that not only would she return to the old place, but she would also see an old acquaintance.

Mu Qiu saw that her miss was in a daze, like she had lost her soul, and was very worried: “Young lady, don’t be afraid. It’s just a nightmare!” Yueyao moved slightly.

Mu Qiu thought Yueyao was going to do something, but after moving slightly, Yueyao still stared blankly at her, without any other movement. Mu Qiu was a bit worried and touched Lian Yue Yao’s forehead with her hand, then compared it to her own forehead, and whispered a sigh of relief that she wasn’t feverish: “Young lady, what’s wrong with you?”

Lian Yueyao felt Mu Qiu’s question, but she remembered that she had heard in the temple that ghosts didn’t have body temperature. Mu Qiu’s hand was warm, so why did she feel Mu Qiu’s body was warm? It wasn’t possible, unless the rumors were wrong, and ghosts did have body temperature.Lian Yueyao grabbed Mu Qiu’s hand, and it was warm, really warm.
Lian Yueyao panicked and said: “Mu Qiu, bring me a mirror to take a look. Hurry up and bring me a mirror to take a look.”

Mu Qiu was a simple-minded maid. Whatever Young lady asked her to do, she would do it without questioning why. After hearing Lian Yueyao’s words, she immediately brought over a bronze mirror.

Lian Yueyao looked into the bronze mirror. The reflection showed a young girl with dark, dull eyes and a small, pale face. The face was only the size of a palm and looked weak.

Lian Yueyao touched her own face. She had disfigured herself at the age of 16, and there were long, deep scars on both cheeks. But now, her face was smooth and fair, without any scars.

Lian Yueyao looked at the familiar yet strange face and couldn’t help but ask: “How old am I this year?”

Mu Qiu thought her young lady had suddenly lost her soul: “Miss, you’re 8 years old this year.”

Lian Yueyao murmured: “So I’m 8 years old.”
Lian Yueyao felt like she was dreaming. How could she dream back to being 8 years old? How could she dream back to over 20 years ago? Was this a dream? No, Mu Qiu was warm, not cold.

Lian Yueyao remembered something: it was said that ghosts didn’t feel pain. Dreams also didn’t have sensations. So she pinched herself hard. It hurt, it hurt a lot. This wasn’t a dream, absolutely not a dream. Dreams wouldn’t be so real.

Mu Qiu saw Lian Yueyao staring at herself in the mirror, lost in thought. She covered her mouth and pretended to smile: “Everyone knows that our young lady will definitely be a beauty when she grows up. But young lady shouldn’t stare at herself like that. If it gets out, people will definitely make fun of miss!”

Lian Yueyao saw Mu Qiu’s sweet smile and was lost in thought for a moment. This wasn’t a dream, it was real. She had returned to when she was 8 years old. Lian Yueyao put down the mirror: “I’m fine, you can go rest too.” She needed to think carefully about what was going on.

Lian Yueyao had a bad habit: she didn’t like having others in the room when she slept. That’s why there was no one in the room when she woke up. Mu Qiu slept in the outer room. Mu Qiu had discovered something was wrong in the room and immediately came in. Otherwise, Yueyao would still be sitting there, lost in thought.

Mu Qiu whispered: “Young lady, I’ll still sleep here.” Mu Qiu wasn’t reassured by Lian Yue Yao’s dazed expression.

Yueyao nodded.

Mu Qiu was overjoyed.
This meant she had agreed to let her stay. Although she didn’t know why young lady had suddenly agreed to let her stay, it was good that young lady had given in. With that thought, she quickly moved the quilt from the outer room and laid it on the couch.

Lian Yueyao closed her eyes and listened quietly to the sound of the rain outside. Only by listening to the continuous sound outside could she confirm that this wasn’t a dream, but reality. Even so, Lian Yueyao still slowly asked herself in her heart: had she really returned to when she was 8 years old?

Lian Yueyao thought about her past life, and suddenly her heart was filled with sadness. Why, why couldn’t she die? In her past life, she had tried to kill herself more than ten times but didn’t die, and she had suffered a lot because of it. The last time, she had finally succeeded in killing herself in front of Mo Shi, thinking that she could meet her parents in the underworld. But unexpectedly, she had returned to when she was 8 years old. What exactly did the heavens want to torment her with?

Lian Yueyao struggled for a long time, roaring silently in her heart for half a day, but eventually she was too exhausted to shout anymore. Looking at the green gauze curtains, Lian Yueyao couldn’t help but call out again: “Mu Qiu, Mu Qiu?”

Mu Qiu, who was sleeping under the bed, quickly got up: “Young lady, what’s wrong? Are you thirsty?”

Hearing Mu Qiu’s words, Lian Yueyao shook her head and said she wasn’t thirsty. But at this moment, Lian Yueyao’s heart felt a bit more at ease. She remembered that when she was 8 years old, it was the year she returned to the capital, and she hadn’t been manipulated by Mo Shi yet. The future could still be changed.

Thinking of this, Lian Yueyao felt a glimmer of warmth return to her heart. Once she started thinking about the good aspects, the sadness and anger gradually subsided. After collecting her thoughts, she called out again: “Mu Qiu, Mu Qiu.”

Mu Qiu quickly got up again: “Young lady, what’s wrong?” Mu Qiu felt that something was off about Young lady. She thought she should mention it to the lady of the house tomorrow and have a Physician examine Young lady.

Lian Yueyao spoke softly: “I just had a nightmare, and I’m a bit scared. Can you light the lamp?”

With the light, the room became brighter, and she felt less uneasy. Seeing the room also made her feel more at ease.

Mu Qiu quickly lit the lamp, and the room suddenly became brighter.

Lian Yueyao looked at the oil lamp, and the small flame flickered as if it might be blown out at any moment, but it still persisted in shining.

After a while, Mu Qiu got up and adjusted the wick. Seeing that Lian Yueyao was still staring blankly at the room, Mu Qiu whispered: “Young lady, what’s wrong?”

Lian Yueyao shook her head: “I can’t sleep, I don’t feel at ease.” After thinking for a moment, she said: “Can you talk to me? Tell me what’s been happening in the mansion recently?”

On one hand, it would help dispel the unease in her heart.
On the other hand, she had no memory of the events in the Lian mansion 20 years ago. So, she needed to know what was going on in the Lian mansion. This time, she couldn’t just copy scriptures and ignore everything outside like she did in her previous life. If she hadn’t done that, she wouldn’t have ended up with no one to help her.

Mu Qiu was Lian Yueyao’s senior maid, and although she hadn’t gone out, she knew most of what was happening in the mansion. Now that Miss wanted to know, she would naturally tell her everything.

Lian Yueyao had been back for a while, but she had been focused on copying scriptures and didn’t ask much about the mansion’s affairs. Mu Qiu didn’t suspect anything and whispered to Lian Yueyao about the recent events in the mansion that she knew of. She spoke in detail, even mentioning that the second young lady, Lian Yuebing, had lost a hairpin.

Lian Yueyao listened attentively. When she heard that Mo Shi had punished Yuebing’s personal maid for losing a hairpin, a hint of sarcasm crossed her lips.

Mu Qiu continued speaking and noticed that Lian Yueyao didn’t show the usual impatience when discussing trivial matters. She took a chance and advised: “Young lady, you shouldn’t do this anymore. It’s good that you’re copying the Classic of Filial Piety, but you should also take care of your body. Otherwise, the old lady will worry even more. Young lady, the old lady has already been ill once due to the master’s passing, and you mustn’t make her sad again.”

Lian Yueyao remembered that after she returned to the capital, she had been locked in her room copying the Classic of Filial Piety, except for paying respects to her grandmother. As a result, she had fainted from excessive copying, and her grandmother had been extremely worried. Her grandmother’s health had been poor since her father’s passing, and she had passed away half a year later.

At that time, people in the mansion said it was because of her that her grandmother had become so ill and passed away so quickly. People in the mansion whispered that she was unfilial.

Just as Lian Yueyao was thinking about the past, she heard a harsh voice outside: “What’s wrong with Young Lady? The lamp in this room has been on for half the night.” As the voice finished, a woman in her thirties wearing a dark blue jacket walked in.

Lian Yueyao heard the footsteps and looked towards the door. It was her wet nurse, Gu Mama. Lian Yueyao’s whole body trembled at the sight of Gu Mama.
Memories like a nightmare immediately flooded her mind, vivid and clear.