Nightmare

It was after the first day of the new year, and the courtyard was covered with a thick layer of snow.

At the An Shou Hall, in the north courtyard of the Yu Residence of Jingzhao.

It was warm and cozy, with the fireplace burning in the house. Old Madam Yu, who was in her fifties, was wearing a yellow lined jacket, and resting against a large pillow with her eyes closed. There was a string of rosewood seven-treasure prayer beads around her wrist as she was a devoted Buddhist.

Seeing that the food on the ebony table was still untouched, Nanny Liu consoled, “Old Madam, this congee porridge is light and easy to digest. You should have a few mouthfuls at least.”

Old Madam Yu let out a cry. “Oh! At the thought that my Yao Yao is still suffering in the Temple Hall, how could I possibly still eat?”

Nanny Liu did not know how to persuade her further.

Old Madam Yu doted on the Eldest Miss most. Usually, she could eat an additional half a bowl of rice whenever she saw her. Now, it had only been an hour since Eldest Miss had been punished to stay in the Temple Hall, but Old Madam Yu was already feeling completely enfeebled.

At the mention of her granddaughter, Old Madam Yu let out a string of lamentations. “Sigh, Yao Yao lost her mother when she was young, while her father favored her sickly step sibling. Seeing this as her grandmother, I indulged her a little more at times. Tell me, am I wrong for that?”

Nanny Liu used the massage stick to massage the Old Madam’s legs. “No, that sounds too harsh. Eldest Miss is nine years old; she’s still a child. It’s common for sisters to squabble. Perhaps she pushed Third Miss by accident, I’m sure it wasn’t intentional. You’ve already reprimanded and punished her, and Third Miss is fine too. First Madam couldn’t possibly bear a grudge with her stepdaughter. Besides, Eldest Miss is still young. There’s still time to teach her in the future.”

Of course she understood how Old Madam was feeling.

Even before Eldest Miss turned a month old, her biological mother had passed on and her stepmother had married into the family soon after. Old Madam’s heart ached for her eldest granddaughter, so she kept Eldest Miss close by her side as she loved and took care of her like she was the apple of her eye.

If it weren’t for the fact that Eldest Miss had accidentally pushed Third Miss to the ground, startling the already frail girl and causing her to have a high fever for two consecutive days—almost costing her life—Old Madam would not have been willing to punish Eldest Miss to kneel in the Temple Hall.

“Only you understand me.” Old Madam Yu’s spirits improved slightly and her appetite returned a little as well. Nanny Liu helped her to her feet and she walked to sit down at the table.

Nanny Liu heaved a sigh of relief. It seemed like after Old Madam finished her meal, she would finally be tasked to go to the Temple Hall to fetch Eldest Miss.

Old Madam Yu had just finished a small bowl of porridge when hurried footsteps approached from outside the door. “Old Madam, Eldest Miss has fainted in the Temple Hall.”

Upon hearing this, she felt a wave of dizziness. Immediately, she stood up from the stool. “My Yao Yao, quick, quickly, help me there to take a look at Yao Yao…”

An Shou Hall fell into chaos.

The entire Yu Residence also fell into a chaotic frenzy.

Old Madam Yu sat in front of the bed, staring at her granddaughter’s tiny little figure in bed. Her chubby little face was now as pale as a sheet of paper, and her mouth kept mumbling incoherently, “No, it hurts. Yao Yao is in so much pain. I’m scared, Grandmother. Grandmother, save Yao Yao…”

The Eldest Miss of the Yu family, Yu Youyao, had already been unconscious for an entire day. She even had a high fever at night, where her body alternated between feeling cold one moment, and hot the next.

Doctors were called over one after another, but all of them said that she’d had a fright and was possessed.

They prescribed calming soup and fever medicine, which were sent into the room bowl after bowl, then one by one poured into Yu Youyao’s little mouth while pinching her nose. But nothing worked.

The little girl curled up on the bed and curved herself into a ball. Her hands were on her chest and clutching tightly onto her shirt. At times, she would cry out that she felt cold, while at other times, she would cry out that she was in pain. No one knew what was hurting her, and Old Lady Yu’s heart ached terribly.

Old Madam Yu twirled her prayer beads in one hand and wiped her tears with a handkerchief in the other. “My poor, unfortunate Yao Yao, who lost her mother at a young age, and has a weak, elderly grandmother like me, who has caused my darling granddaughter to suffer so much. If Yao Yao doesn’t make it, I’ll just go with her too.”

Everyone in the room stiffened. The Old Madam’s words clearly meant something else; she was scolding someone else. In reality, she was completely biased towards the apple of her eye.

To her, only Yu Youyao was her real granddaughter, and any others were insignificant.

However, despite having these thoughts, no one dared to say anything. Instead, they rushed to say words of consolation.

“Mother, what are you saying? Yao Yao is blessed by the heavens. She’ll be fine after a while.”

“Grandmother, you’re not young anymore. You have to be mindful of your health.”

“Old Madam, Eldest Miss is still unwell. Don’t say such inauspicious things.”

“…”

In a subconscious state, Yu Youyao could hear a cacophony of voices in the room, but she was still trapped in a terrifying nightmare.

In her dream, an already grown version of herself was lying on a cold, hard bed. She shivered from the cold as she pulled the shabby, moldy blanket tightly around herself.

Her throat felt a little itchy, but as she opened her mouth and coughed, a mouthful of cold air rushed in.

“Cough, cough, cough—” A burst of sharp coughs caused an ache in her chest. She clasped over her mouth tightly, as dark red blood seeped out from between her fingers.

“Chun Xiao… Cough…” Yu Youyao called out for her personal maidservant.

With a creaking sound, someone pushed open the door.

Yu Youyao looked up as she thought that Chun Xiao had returned. However, it was a young man wearing a sapphire garment and a crane-patterned overcoat standing at the door, looking at her apathetically.

He was tall and slender, with a handsome face. Even the shabby courtyard could not shadow his elegance.

Marquis of Zhen, Song Mingzhao—

Her husband!

He walked to her bed and looked down at her, his eyes showing nothing but indifference. “Yu Youyao.”

Yu Youyao suppressed the cough in her throat, then opened her mouth, wanting to hurl abuse. However, when she saw the man’s apathetic expression, she came to a sudden realization—

Cursing at him would only be futile.

Song Mingzhao gently tucked Yu Youyao in. “Jia Jia has been in a coma for five days and has yet to wake up. The blood from your heart no longer works for her.”

Upon hearing this news, Yu Youyao was stunned for a moment, then she started laughing. Her laughter was heart-wrenching, and tears flowed down her face. A shrill and piercing quality strained through her hoarse, gravelly voice.

“Hahaha… Cough, cough…” She laughed and coughed at the same time, as if she had gone mad.” Yu Jianjia is finally going to die. Hahaha, she deserves to die anyway…”

When she was fourteen, her grandmother—who loved and doted on her the most—had passed away due to illness.

At the time, Song Mingzhao was still an heir, but he was already nineteen years old. The Marquis Residence was worried that she would need to observe three years of mourning, causing a delay in producing offspring for their family, so they suggested to her father, Yu Zongzheng, that the wedding should be held within a hundred days.

A married daughter only needed to observe mourning for a year. Although this was a little hasty, the necessary formalities were still observed.

Her father agreed!

Due to the situation, it was not convenient to arrange a lavish wedding. The Marquis Residence kept everything quiet and casual, where she was brought into the Residence in a simple manner and they hastily performed their marriage ceremony.

She had become the wife of the heir to the Marquis of Zhen, inciting envy from all others.

However, as she was still too young for her coming-of-age ceremony, coupled with the fact that she was still in deep mourning, it was inappropriate for them to consummate their union, so she and Song Mingzhao slept in separate rooms.

…

Waking Up

Little did she expect that just after a hundred days, she got locked in by Song Mingzhao, in the most remote courtyard of the Marquis Residence. Meanwhile, he announced to the public that she had fallen ill because of heartache over her grandmother’s passing.

Song Mingzhao used the most precious and most expensive, the most unorthodox and most poisonous medicinal herbs, to reduce her into a medicine-human. Every three days, he would take a drop of blood from her heart. This was because her younger stepsister, Yu Jianjia, had a heart disease and needed this blood to treat her illness.

Her own biological father was unconcerned about her, and she had no one to turn to for help. Even death seemed like an extravagant hope.

In just three years, she had been tortured until she was reduced to a bag of bones, and seemed to be neither dead nor alive.

Song Mingzhao looked at her wordlessly. He did not stop her. “You are right. Without you, Jia Jia would have died long ago.”

Just like that, she had managed to strike him where it hurt.

Yu Youyao clutched her chest, coughing so hard that she was out of breath. Her pale face was flushed with a sickly shade of red, and she looked like she had just revived from the ashes.

“You are also about to die. So,” Song Mingzhao stated in a matter-of-fact tone. He took out a handkerchief embroidered with green bamboo, and gently helped to wipe away the blood stain on her lips. Then, he said in a low voice, “Can you help Jia Jia with your heart?”

Yu Youyao thought that she had heard wrongly. For a moment, she showed no reaction.

“Prodigious Physician Xie has developed a new prescription. If your heart is incorporated into the medicine, Jia Jia will be able to recover fully from her heart disease. In the future, you won’t have to suffer the pain of blood extraction from your heart anymore.” At this point, even the impassive Song Mingzhao couldn’t help getting worked up, and his eyes filled with passion as he looked at Yu Youyao.

Those who didn’t know better would think that he was looking at the woman he loved deeply.

Yu Youyao did not even have the strength to yell at him. She looked at him calmly, with bitter hatred deep in her eyes.

Song Mingzhao ignored her look of resentment. “Yao Yao, just go in peace. After you die, the Marquis Residence will announce to the public that you have passed away due to illness.”

Yu Youyao smiled sarcastically. That was true in a way. She had been ‘sick’ for three years; it was really time for her to die.

Song Mingzhao paused for a while and then said, “I know that you have a close relationship with Jia Jia. Even on your deathbed, you are still worrying about your weak and sickly third younger sister…”

She? A close relationship with Yu Jianjia?

Instantly, Yu Youyao’s eyes widened. Without waiting for her to speak, Song Mingzhao continued in a calm and sophisticated voice, “I will give Jia Jia a grand wedding and marry her as my second wife. I will take good care of your younger sister so that you may rest in peace.”

If Yu Youyao had heard such words before, she would definitely have lost all rationality. She would have screamed and shrieked like a mad woman, screaming and cursing at this shameless adulterous couple.

But now, she only wanted to weep!

This marriage had been painstakingly planned for her when her grandmother was still alive.

Her grandmother had thought of the Marquis Residence’s generations of meritorious deeds. Their heir, Song Mingzhao, also appeared to be a man of talent and character. If she was no longer around in the future, at least her granddaughter would still have a way to a good life.

Yu Youyao had also once harbored some sort of vague longing for Song Mingzhao. She had thought that Song Mingzhao would be a good man for her and had fantasized about her life after marriage.

But she and Grandmother were both wrong.

Song Mingzhao was indeed a good man.

But not to her.

He was a good man to Yu Jianjia.

To her, Song Mingzhao was a wolf in human skin.

…

After a period of time, Yu Youyao woke up in a daze. She heard her grandmother’s surprised voice. “Thank goodness, after a whole day and night, my Yao Yao’s fever has finally subsided.”

But soon after, her head plopped down and she fell unconscious again.

This time, the coma lasted yet another entire day.

In the middle of the night, she woke up once. She had called out, ‘Grandmother,’ in a daze before falling back asleep. However, she did not sleep well; she seemed to be dreaming continuously.

In her dream, someone had stabbed a long silver needle into her chest and retrieved a drop of dark red blood. She was in so much pain.

Then there were also people with knives, who had cut open her chest without a care that she was still alive, and proceeded to take her heart out.

And then there was also her favorite almond yogurt, osmanthus candy, glutinous rice balls, sugared steamed cheese, squirrel fish, and pork belly marinated with cherries…

All sorts of scenarios were mixed together, and everything was utterly confusing.

This lasted until Yu Youyao woke up. Still yet to be fully awake, she stared blankly at the pink mosquito tent above her head. After sorting through her thoughts, she finally remembered what had happened.

A few days ago, she had gone to play at the Lotus Lake. There, she had run into her third sister, Yu Jianjia, who was on her way to pay a visit to their grandmother.

After the two of them greeted each other, Yu Jianjia noticed the exquisite jade pendant on her neck. Immediately, she took off the bracelet made of cat’s eye gemstones on her wrist, and wanted to make a trade.

Yu Youyao’s jade pendant was a carving of a child Buddha sitting atop a lotus flower.

It was impeccable white jade; a smooth and lustrous child Buddha pendant. He sat atop the lotus flower with closed eyes and a blood red lotus flower between his eyebrows, exuding a dignified and holy aura.

It was carved from an entire piece of the finest jade, where a pigment of scarlet had appeared on its own and the lotus flower had taken its shape naturally—a rather mystical phenomenon.

Her grandmother had told her that this was something her mother had left for her. She always wore it close to her heart, so naturally, she refused to trade, turning around in a huff to leave instead.

Just then, Yu Jianjia suddenly reached out to pull her. Having a hot temper, Yu Youyao immediately shook off her hands.

Alas, Yu Jianjia slipped and fell to the ground.

That very day, word of her deliberately pushing Yu Jianjia was spread around in the Residence. Her grandmother reprimanded her accordingly, but Yu Youyao did not care one bit.

Unexpectedly, Yu Jianjia started running a high fever and burned for two consecutive days and nights due to the shock. Only then did her grandmother become really upset and punished Yu Youyao to kneel in the Temple Hall.

Kneeling alone in the Temple Hall, Yu Youyao felt hungry and afraid. She looked at the gold Buddha statue in front of her, which seemed to be looking at her with a pitying expression. In a trance, she thought that the Buddha statue had come to life, and she felt the child Buddha pendant she was holding in her hand “cut” into her palm, until her hand felt pain and numbness.

Gradually, she started to lose consciousness and fainted, plummeting into the absurd dreamworld.

At this moment, the maidservants keeping watch in front of the bed saw that Yu Youyao had woken up. They rushed excitedly to the bed and called out in surprise, “Young Mistress, you’re finally awake.”

Yu Youyao blinked in confusion. She wanted to tell them that she was thirsty, but the moment she opened her mouth, she realized that her throat was swollen and painful. For a moment, she could not even make a sound.

Just then, the bead curtain decorated with strings of crystal pearls made a pleasant clinking sound.

A maidservant wearing a blue-purple jacket walked in. She had a silver hairpin on her head and silver jasmine earrings. On her wrist was a jade bracelet of a decent quality.

It was her personal maidservant, Chun Xiao.

Yu Youyao felt a little dazed. In her dream, she was locked up in the most remote courtyard of the Marquis Residence, with only Chun Xiao accompanying and attending to her as well as she could.

“Young Mistress is awake. Go and report to Old Madam, then fetch a doctor here to take a look.” Chun Xiao instructed. The few servant girls in the room hurriedly responded and left the room.

Chun Xiao helped Yu Youyao up and stuffed a big pillow behind her, before turning around to pour a cup of warm water and carefully fed it to her.

After drinking the water, her throat felt a little better, so she looked at Chun Xiao anxiously.

That wasn’t her story, she’d merely had a precautionary dream, but it was nothing final.

Grandmother’s Wrath

“Young Mistress, you’ve been burning up for a day and a night. Your throat must be hurting, so don’t speak for now. Let the doctor take a look and prescribe some medicine for you. You’ll be fine after a few days.” Chun Xiao caressed Yu Youyao’s head and soothed her gently.

“Okay,” Yu Youyao replied in a hoarse voice, softly and agreeably.

Chun Xiao could not help but feel her heart ache. Eldest Miss used to be like a mischievous little monkey, a nine-year-old girl who would chatter at all day long, either catching crickets or climbing trees to reach bird nests.

It seemed like she had become an adult after experiencing this brush with death.

“Good girl, Young Mistress. I will go get some food for you.”

After a while, Chun Xiao returned, and the small tray was full with all of Yu Youyao’s favorite food.

Red bean soup, warm pork broth, almond yogurt, osmanthus candy, crystal skin dumplings, and more. There were more than a dozen different food items, and everything looked delectable.

Yu Youyao felt so ravenous that she was almost drooling. She sighed as she glanced down at the little fat rolls on her arms, feeling slightly sad as she resolved to cut down on one bowl of rice during her next meal.

No, maybe just half a bowl!

Grandmother would be heartbroken if she was starving herself.

Just then, the curtain was lifted and the maidservant standing guard outside greeted respectfully, “Old Madam.”

Old Madam Yu was helped into the room by Nanny Liu. When she saw her granddaughter eating, there was immediately a small fire in her gaze. She hurriedly walked over and sat down beside her granddaughter. She picked up a bowl of red bean soup drenched with osmanthus honey and coaxed, “Yao Yao, you are still sick. You need to eat less of this and more porridge so that you’ll have a faster recovery.”

But Yu Youyao was too famished. She ate a small bowl of red bean soup and another bowl of almond yogurt. She also secretly stuffed a crystal dumpling into her mouth when her grandmother wasn’t looking. Her little cheeks were so stuffed that she could barely chew, and she looked like a greedy little hamster.

Old Madam Yu said unhappily, “Don’t choke on the food.”

“Mm, it’s yummy. Grandmother, you eat too.” With a mouth full of food, Yu Youyao could not speak clearly. Her chubby hands reached for a crystal dumpling and brought it to her grandmother’s mouth, then gazed up at her grandmother with sparkling eyes.

Old Madam Yu’s heart melted as she ate the crystal dumpling. The crystal dumpling was bite-sized—it was just the right mouthful for an adult.

After she finally finished chewing on her crystal dumpling, Yu Youyao licked her lips and glanced discreetly at her grandmother. Seeing that her grandmother wasn’t paying attention, she repeated the same trick again, stretching out her meaty little hand to reach for the soup dumplings at the side.

But before her hands could reach the dumplings, Old Madam Yu noticed and moved the soup dumplings further away, then instructed the servants to remove the remaining food.

Yu Youyao hugged her round little tummy and blinked her big eyes. “Grandmother, I’m still hungry.”

She was dewy-eyed, and her big, bright eyes caused Old Madam Yu’s heart to waver. She opened her mouth, almost calling out for the servant girls to come back.

When Nanny Liu saw this, she quickly said, “You haven’t eaten for two days, your stomach is weak, so it’s not suitable for you to eat too much. After an hour, I’ll get the kitchen to cook some bird’s nest with rock sugar for you, alright?”

Yu Youyao pouted and nodded reluctantly. “Well okay!”

Old Madam Yu felt both amused and sorry for her granddaughter, and couldn’t resist pinching her rosy little cheeks gently as she jokingly scolded, “You’re like a little piglet, you greedy girl.”

Yu Youyao shook her head about it. With her round little face, she looked just like the cartoon doll in Chinese New Year paintings—so lively and adorable.

Finally, the despondent look that had been on Old Madam Yu’s face for the past few days had dissipated. She pulled her granddaughter into her arms and hugged her tightly. “Yao Yao, it’s all my fault. I won’t punish you for kneeling in Temple Hall anymore.”

Yu Youyao shook her head. “It’s not Grandmother’s fault. Grandmother did it for my own good.”

Yu Jianjia’s fever lasted for two whole days and almost cost her life. This was a serious matter, so her grandmother had needed to react accordingly, no matter how much she doted on Yu Youyao.

Seeing that her granddaughter was behaving as if nothing had happened, neither crying nor feeling wronged, Old Madam Yu felt that something was amiss.

Nanny Liu was also stunned for a long while.

In an instant, the room fell silent.

After a while, Old Madam Yu let out a soft sigh. “Tell me, how was it for your own good?”

Yu Youyao cocked her head to the side. “Since Grandmother has punished me, Mother has vented her anger, so she won’t hold it against me anymore and Father won’t punish me either.”

Old Madam Yu and Nanny Liu exchanged looks, both seeing the surprise in each other’s eyes. They were astonished that their little girl had become so sensible after her near-death experience.

Yu Youyao frowned, feeling a little vexed. “However, I didn’t push Third Sister on purpose. She wanted to use her bracelet made of cat’s eye gemstones to trade for my child Buddha jade pendant. I refused, then she grabbed my hand. Grandmother always told me to keep a distance from the people of the main courtyard, so I shook her hand off. I didn’t expect that she would slip and fall. I thought the maidservant beside her was holding her. I didn’t expect that she would let Third Sister slip and fall.”

Yu Youyao wasn’t lying, but she just felt that she was speaking strangely today. After thinking about it, she still couldn’t figure it out.

What little Youyao did not know was that there was a type of language art called “connotation” .

While explaining everything that had happened that day, she had actually expressed three layers of meaning.

Firstly, she did not provoke Yu Jianjia. It was Yu Jianjia who had started it.

Secondly, she did not push Yu Jianjia.

Thirdly, she had shrugged off Yu Jianjia’s hand only because she was obeying her grandmother’s words and distancing herself from Yu Jianjia, so the fall had nothing to do with her. It was Yu Jianjia’s maidservant who was at fault for failing to support her well.

Old Madam Yu understood everything upon hearing this. She felt a rush of blood to the head and gritted her teeth as she said word by word, “That darling daughter of the Yang family!”

When the news first spread in the Residence that Yao Yao had pushed Jia Jia, she had thought that it was probably nothing serious since the sisters both had maidservants with them, so she had just lectured Yao Yao a little.

Yao Yao knew that her grandmother was not really angry, so she did not bother explaining, and instead happily munched on her osmanthus candy.

It wasn’t until Yu Jianjia had a persistent fever which almost burned her life away that Old Madam Yu became anxious and angry, punishing Yao Yao to kneel in the Temple Hall without even asking her in detail about what had happened.

She did not know that this matter had nothing to do with Yao Yao at all.

The more Old Madam Yu thought about it, the angrier she became. She suddenly raised her voice and said, “That jade pendant was a keepsake that Yao Yao’s mother had left for her before she passed away. How dare Yu Jianjia try to take it!”

Seeing how angry her grandmother was, Yu Youyao was startled. Her voice was soft and cautious as she uttered, “Grandmother?”

Immediately, Old Madam Yu calmed down and patted the little girl’s hand gently. “Yao Yao, be good. Have a nap first. Grandmother will come and visit you later.”

Yu Youyao obediently crawled under her covers and closed her eyes. Sleepiness crept in the moment her head touched the pillow. Her mind drifted off, becoming fuzzy, but she kept feeling like she seemed to have forgotten something?

What exactly had she forgotten?

With this question in her mind, Yu Youyao began to snore.

After tucking her in meticulously, Old Madam Yu rose to her feet with Nanny Liu’s help.