Сhapter 1: Ноw Could Shе Havе Slерt fоr Sеvеn Yeаrs!
“…Моther, Мommу! Wake uр… Dоn’t yоu want Таngtаng anуmоre?”
In thе еlеgаnt аnd rеfinеd roоm, a brоnzе incense burner shаpеd like а рhоеnix holding а ring emitted а fаint, lingеring frаgranсe.
Тhe doоrs аnd windоws wеrе clоsed, and a wisр оf раlе blue smoke driftеd lаzilу into thе inner сhamber.
А wоmаn with strikinglу beautiful fеаtures laу quietly оn thе squаrе cоuсh, covered by a thick brоcаdе quilt.
Shе sееmed tо have lost аll signs of lifе.
Due tо the mеdicine she had been forced to drink earlier, she had broken into a sweat.
The damp perspiration soaked her temples, causing her cloud-like hair to cling to her pale, smooth forehead.
Shen Zuihuan felt as though her head was splitting with pain.
A tremendous pressure weighed down on her chest, making it impossible to breathe.
She struggled to open her eyes, but her eyelids felt as heavy as lead.
To make matters worse, an irritatingly childish voice was chattering incessantly in her ear.
“Mother, Mommy… Wake up quickly… Sob~… Tangtang… Tangtang is so scared…”
…Tangtang? Who is Tangtang?
And who is she calling “mother”?
Who is her mother?
She distinctly remembered going to bed early last night because of the rain.
So why did she feel such unbearable pain today?
And why was there a young child in her boudoir looking for her mother?
Shen Zuihuan was utterly bewildered.
Suddenly, she felt another small, cool, and soft hand cover her own feverish, sweaty one.
Shen Zuihuan was instantly startled into a shiver.
Her eyes flew open.
What greeted her was the pale blue canopy above her head.
She shifted her sore and stiff eyeballs.
Belatedly, she realized that this didn’t seem to be her room…
How could this be!
How could she have woken up in someone else’s house after just one night’s sleep!
However, before Shen Zuihuan, the person experiencing this bizarre event, could even scream in shock,
Another shriek erupted beside her ear.
“Mommy! Mommy, you’re awake! Go call Doctor Liu! Hurry and call Doctor Liu!”
It was the same childish girl’s voice that had been calling out to her earlier.
Shen Zuihuan still hadn’t figured out what was going on.
She simply stared blankly at the little girl, who appeared to be about four or five years old.
The girl was tightly clutching her hand, crying tears of joy, while ordering the maid standing nearby to fetch “Doctor Liu” like a little adult.
The child was indeed adorable, with skin as fair as jade and snow.
Two lotus-pink ribbons tied her hair into twin flower-bud styles on either side of her head. She wore a tender green straight-collared ruqun dress,
Over which was draped a light pink beizi jacket.
Yet the words she spoke made Shen Zuihuan suspect the girl might have something wrong with her mind.
The little girl looked at her with eager attentiveness and asked cautiously, “Mommy, are you feeling a little better now?”
She was actually calling her “Mommy”?
Shen Zuihuan thought to herself, she was only fourteen years old—how could she possibly have such a big child?
Her pale, cracked lips trembled slightly.
But soon, a sharp, knife-like pain shot through her throat.
Shen Zuihuan forced herself to sit up.
With an aloof and indifferent expression, she gently pushed away the little girl’s hand that was still resting on the back of her own.
Looking at the child with utter confusion, she explained in a hoarse voice, “…I am not your mother.”
She wasn’t even married yet—how could she have a daughter?
As soon as the words left her lips, the little girl’s previously bright, glistening black eyes instantly dimmed.
She obediently lowered her head.
Looking as if she wanted to glance at Shen Zuihuan but didn’t dare.Her lips trembling, she asked in a small voice, “…Mother, don’t you recognize me anymore?”
Shen Zuihuan: ?
She felt even more bewildered.
Everything that had happened today felt like a dream.
Just as she was about to speak, she suddenly felt a heavy weight on her chest.
Shen Zuihuan looked down.
Due to her earlier movements, the brocade quilt that had been covering her had unknowingly slipped down to her waist.
It was all piled up around the smooth curve of her waistline.
Only then did she realize with a shock that she was wearing nothing but a crimson undergarment!
It barely covered the two soft, snowy mounds on her chest.
Shen Zuihuan: !
How… could they be so big!
Her eyes widened abruptly.
Like a startled rabbit, she looked around the unfamiliar room with uncertainty.
Then she looked at the little girl before her.
Finally, she lowered her head and looked at the two soft, snowy mounds on her chest that were impossible to look away from.
Shen Zuihuan trembled as she tightly grasped the little girl’s arm, her voice hoarse as she said, “Bring… bring me a bronze mirror.”
The little girl, who had been immersed in the sorrow of her mother not recognizing her, suddenly heard this inexplicable request.
But she always obeyed her mother.
She jumped off the bed and, with her short little legs, brought Shen Zuihuan the bronze mirror.
Shen Zuihuan took the mirror.
When she saw the reflection in it, she couldn’t help but gasp.
The person in the mirror resembled her, yet didn’t.
To be more precise, it looked like how she had once imagined herself grown up.
The reflection showed dark hair, snow-white skin, delicate eyebrows like distant mountains, eyes like autumn waters, and a pointed chin.
Clearly, it was the appearance of a young woman, with no trace of a fourteen-year-old girl.
Shen Zuihuan slapped the mirror face-down onto the brocade quilt.
She looked up, breathing rapidly, and asked the little girl, “Is it currently the third year of Yuanshou?”
The little girl, who had been sniffling softly in grievance over her earlier words, suddenly let out a choked sob and fell silent.
She looked at Shen Zuihuan in disbelief, then whispered in a voice as faint as a mosquito’s, “…Mother, this year is… the tenth year of Yuanshou…”
As soon as the words fell, Shen Zuihuan’s vision went dark!
How could this be!
Why had she slept for seven years in one night!
Meanwhile, the little girl seemed equally frightened by her words.
Tears streamed down her face.
Wiping her tears with her sleeve, she hurried out on her short little legs, calling for someone in a panic.
Shen Zuihuan’s mind buzzed.
She only vaguely heard the little girl shouting, “Father! Father! Come quickly! Mother doesn’t remember me!”
The father the little girl spoke of.
Was he her current husband?
Was it her fiancé, Wei Xianyù?
Shen Zuihuan took a deep breath.
The thought of meeting the gentle, jade-like man from her memories made her feel slightly calmer.
The little girl stopped under the eaves of the doorway.
The door was open.
From the inner room, Shen Zuihuan could vaguely see through the moon-shaped doorway that the little girl seemed to be looking up and whispering to a man.
Was it her current husband?
She felt an inexplicable heat rise to her face, followed by a couple of coughs.
Outside, the wind seemed to stir, rustling the wind chimes under the eaves.
Shen Zuihuan shifted slightly and caught a glimpse of the man’s black robe fluttering in the wind.
She froze for a moment. In her memories, she had never seen Wei Xianyù dressed in black.
He always wore white.