The open book on the desk lay right beside Yun Si’s face. The faint scent of ink and paper drifted continuously into her nostrils.
She struggled to open her eyes, but in her dazed state, she couldn’t make out the contents of the book. In the end, she only managed to fix her gaze on the man’s annotations, committing his handwriting firmly to memory.
“Miss… Miss!”
The anxious voices of her maids drifted into her ears, growing clearer and clearer.
Yun Si felt her body swaying, each sway growing more intense.
Bleary-eyed, she opened her eyes to see Lu Ya pushing her forcefully while calling out loudly.
“Wh… what’s wrong?” Yun Si’s voice was hoarse.
“Miss! You’re awake?” Lu Ya’s voice was filled with delight. “Miss, you’ve finally woken up!”
Yun Si frowned. “How long have I been asleep?”
Lu Ya replied, “It’s already past noon!”
Yun Si had fallen asleep at the beginning of the Hai hour yesterday and hadn’t woken up late into the morning. At first, the maids thought Yun Si wanted to sleep in and didn’t dare disturb her. But Yun Si slept through breakfast and still hadn’t woken up by the time lunch approached.
The maids tried to wake her, but no matter how hard they tried, she wouldn’t stir!
They shouted loudly, patted her, pushed her forcefully, and even pressed a cold, damp cloth to Yun Si’s face… yet Yun Si remained deeply asleep, showing no signs of waking.
The maids were terrified. Bai Hao’s voice trembled as she asked, “Has Miss fallen ill?”
Yinzhen touched Yun Si’s forehead. “No fever.”
“Could she be having a nightmare?” Lu Ya asked nervously.
Jin Ming gritted her teeth. “Let’s go report to Madam.”
Just half an incense stick’s time before Yun Si woke up, Jin Ming had just left Drifting Cloud Garden to report to Madam.
Now that Yun Si was awake, Lu Ya quickly said, “Should I go chase after Sister Jin Ming?”
Yun Si hadn’t expected that her prolonged sleep had already been reported to her mother. Anxiously, she pushed Lu Ya. “Go quickly!”
“Yes!” Lu Ya hurried out.
A moment later, Lu Ya and Jin Ming returned together, panting heavily.
Yun Si asked, “Did you disturb Mother?”
Jin Ming shook her head. “No, Lu Ya caught up with me right at the entrance of the main courtyard.”
Yun Si let out a long sigh of relief, filled with lingering fear. It was so close—so close to worrying her mother.
“Thank goodness I woke up in time.” Yun Si knew she had spent a long time in the dream this time, but she truly hadn’t expected it to be this long—eight hours!
“Miss, perhaps we should still call a doctor?” Jin Ming suggested worriedly.
Yun Si waved her hand. “No need. I was just sleeping too deeply. I don’t feel unwell at all.”
Yun Si forbade the maids from calling a doctor. She knew the real reason she couldn’t wake up.
If the man in the dream hadn’t acted decisively, allowing Yun Si to keep avoiding the situation, she would have truly alarmed her mother.
That damned dream! Whether lost in the dream or lucid, it always had to be so intimate!
Yun Si leaned halfway against the soft pillow, her heart pounding.
She pushed aside the images that made her blush and her heart race, focusing instead on sorting through the clues she had gathered in the dream this time.
This time, she had gathered enough clues—she had seen the man’s handwriting!
With the previous clues and now his handwriting, she was certain she could find out who that man was this time!
“Is Father still at home today?” Yun Si asked Jin Ming beside her.
Jin Ming replied, “Yes.”
Yun Si: “Help me style my hair in a neat and simple way. I’m going to the study to assist Father with his writing.”
Ever since Father was dismissed from the palace by the Emperor, he had been staying at home every day. Recently, Yun Si had been finding various excuses to visit her father’s study, subtly engaging him in conversations about the prominent noble families in the capital.
Her mother knew mostly about matters concerning the womenfolk, while her father was more knowledgeable about the young men from these noble families.
Prime Minister Yun assumed that his daughter was learning about these things to better support her future husband after marriage, so he patiently explained them to her. Yun Si had learned a great deal from these conversations.
However, she still hadn’t figured out who the man in her dream was…
Today, Yun Si wanted to ask her father which young man in the capital had exceptional calligraphy skills.
The handwriting of the man in her dream clearly showed that he had studied under a master and had already developed his own distinctive style.
A young man who could write such beautiful calligraphy at such a young age would surely be well-known in the capital.
Perhaps the man was already famous and accomplished, but since she had been secluded in the inner chambers and hadn’t paid attention to such matters, she couldn’t recognize him. She planned to subtly probe her father for information. Perhaps she wouldn’t even need the clues of the imperial-bestowed cloud-patterned brocade and the hot spring bathhouse—she might be able to find the man directly based on his handwriting.
Yun Si felt she was on the verge of success and eagerly entered her father’s study.
“Father…” Yun Si’s voice abruptly stopped.
On the official document casually spread out on her father’s desk, she saw four large vermilion characters: “Utter Nonsense!”
The bold and unrestrained handwriting was identical to what she had seen in her dream!
“Father…” Yun Si mustered all her strength to control the trembling in her voice.
Her father was the Prime Minister. Who else could write these four characters on the Prime Minister’s official document…
Yun Si’s legs grew weak, and her heart was overwhelmed with shock.
“Father, who wrote these characters?”
Prime Minister Yun didn’t notice anything unusual about his daughter. His current worries were about the Emperor’s selection of consorts, which even included newly married women.
If the Emperor truly refused to change his mind, wouldn’t that mean… wouldn’t that mean Yun Si would also be summoned to the palace?
Even married women were required to participate in the selection, so Yun Si, who was already betrothed, would definitely have to go!
Prime Minister Yun raised his head and glanced irritably at the official document on his desk. The vermilion characters were as glaring as fresh blood.
He let out a long sigh: “Naturally, it’s the Emperor’s handwriting.”
He found it strange that his daughter would ask such a question: “Besides the Emperor, who would dare write such words on my memorial?”
Yun Si’s legs gave way, and she nearly collapsed to the floor: “The Emperor?”
Yun Si had never considered such a possibility!
The man who had been so intimate with her in her dreams… was actually the Emperor?