Yun Si tried the imperial physician’s prescription once, but it remained ineffective.
At night, she still dreamed of that man.
This time, however, Madam Zheng was not as lenient. Seeing Yun Si had grown alarmingly thin, she ordered her maids to supervise Yun Si while she took her medicine.
Yun Si would seize opportunities to secretly pour out the medicine, and her maids would cover for her. But when Madam Zheng personally came to supervise, Yun Si had no choice but to grit her teeth and drink it.
After taking the sedative, the night would become particularly unbearable…
Yet Yun Si had no other option. If she stayed awake every night just to avoid dreaming, she would have long exhausted herself to death.
In early June, Yun Si received an invitation from Princess Yong Jia. Princess Yong Jia was hosting a birthday banquet and had invited many noble young ladies from the capital.
Yinzhen, who was well-informed, told Yun Si, “Princess Yong Jia has not only invited noble young ladies this time but also many young gentlemen.”
“Princess Yong Jia is only a year younger than you, Miss, and has reached the age for matchmaking. The Run Prince’s Mansion is likely using this opportunity to find a suitable match for her.”
Yun Si was surprised. “Then Father will definitely not allow me to attend.”
Yinzhen explained, “Male and female guests will naturally be separated.”
“The male guests will be on the east side, and the female guests on the west side, with a winding stream between them. No one can cross over.”
“Don’t worry, Miss. Princess Yong Jia’s birthday banquet will be impeccably arranged by the Run Prince’s Mansion. No one would dare to act improperly.”
Yun Si remained hesitant. “Separated by a winding stream?”
Yun Si vaguely remembered the layout of the Run Prince’s Mansion. The winding stream was a waterway that ran through the estate, and as long as the small bridges were guarded, no one could cross from one side to the other.
However, the winding stream was not particularly wide… Noble young ladies and gentlemen on opposite sides could still catch distant glimpses of each other.
According to the customs of the dynasty, this was not considered excessive.
But the Chancellor’s Mansion had always maintained strict discipline, and Yun Si had never attended such a banquet before.
“Will Father agree?” Yun Si was uncertain.
Yun Si took Princess Yong Jia’s invitation to her father. Prime Minister Yun hesitated for a moment, thinking of how listless Yun Si had been at home lately, and agreed. “It might be good for you to go out and relax.”
Now that Yun Si was already engaged, Prime Minister Yun had relaxed his restrictions on her somewhat.
“Take several maids with you. Don’t wander off, and don’t be alone,” Prime Minister Yun instructed.
Yun Si obediently agreed, feeling a flicker of anticipation. In truth, she had little acquaintance with Princess Yong Jia, but the birthday banquet had invited many noble young ladies, and several of Yun Si’s close friends had also received invitations.
Thinking of reuniting with her dear friends, Yun Si was filled with anticipation.
Yun Si had grown much thinner, and her summer dresses from before no longer fit well. Before Princess Yong Jia’s birthday banquet, she had new measurements taken and several new outfits tailored.
When the newly tailored dresses arrived at Drifting Cloud Garden, the maids helped Yun Si try them on, and they all gasped in admiration.
“Miss, you look absolutely stunning.”
“Miss looks beautiful in anything.”
Lu Ya said playfully, “These clothes are truly blessed to be worn by you, Miss.”
Yun Si tapped Lu Ya’s forehead. “You little tease.”
The maids helped Yun Si carefully select an outfit to wear to the banquet and matched it with jewelry.
On the day of the banquet, Yun Si entered the Run Prince’s Mansion. She first paid her respects to the Run Princess Consort, then went to find Princess Yong Jia to present the birthday gift she had prepared.
Now she could relax. Yun Si disliked socializing with acquaintances who weren’t close friends, so she directly settled into a quiet corner with her two bosom friends.
When Yun Si’s two bosom friends, Fu Xue and Luo Xuanji, saw her, they both revealed looks of astonishment.
Luo Xuanji reached out and linked arms with Yun Si: “Ah Si, you’ve lost so much weight!”
“How did you slim down? Tell me quickly!”
Luo Xuanji was the daughter of the Minister of Imperial Banquets. Yun Si had heard from her father that the Minister of Imperial Banquets was rather… robust in stature.
Yun Si had also met Luo Xuanji’s mother, a plump and beautiful woman.
Therefore, from childhood, Luo Xuanji had grown up plump and lovely.
Such an appearance was adored by everyone when she was young; they all praised her for looking like a doll from a New Year’s painting. But upon entering her teenage years, Luo Xuanji began thinking of ways to make herself slimmer every day.
Yun Si naturally knew Luo Xuanji’s sore point, but the reason she had slimmed down this time was something she couldn’t share with Luo Xuanji.
Yun Si could only tell half the truth: “Lately, I haven’t been sleeping well at night, so I’ve had no appetite during the day. Without realizing it, I’ve lost some weight.”
Luo Xuanji was almost envious to the point of tears: “Without realizing it! You lost so much weight without even realizing it!”
Every time Luo Xuanji starved herself until she felt miserable all over, her waist wouldn’t slim down by even an inch.
What Luo Xuanji found even more incomprehensible was: “If you don’t sleep well at night, how could you have no appetite during the day? Whenever I have a night of poor sleep, the next day I’m especially prone to hunger and especially greedy for food!”
Yun Si held back a laugh: “You’re fine just the way you are.”
Yun Si knew Luo Xuanji envied her, but didn’t she also envy Luo Xuanji? Her biggest worry was wanting her waist to be two inches slimmer…
If she could be freed from those dreams, Yun Si would willingly let her waist thicken by two inches, even four inches would be fine!
Princess Yong Jia’s birthday banquet was arranged quite lavishly. Besides the feast, as it was summer and the lotus flowers were blooming beautifully, Princess Yong Jia invited a group of young ladies to admire the lotuses by the lakeside in the shade.
Since they were admiring lotuses, composing poems and painting naturally followed.
Yun Si wasn’t afraid of these activities, but later, someone—no one knew who started it—suggested playing pitch-pot, with the losers having to drink as a penalty.
Yun Si had never been good at pitch-pot. She was naturally weak, and every time she threw the arrow with all her might, it would fly halfway before weakly falling down, never making it into the pot.
Each round, Yun Si drank a small cup of wine.
To suit the occasion, today’s wine was lotus brew. Lotus brew was a wine specially made for young ladies like them, with seven parts sweetness and only three parts alcohol. Drinking a few cups wasn’t likely to make one drunk.
Yun Si had never gotten drunk on lotus brew before, so she was somewhat careless.
However, this time, after a few cups of lotus brew, Yun Si soon felt her cheeks grow hot and her head grow heavy.
“Jin Ming, Lu Ya… help me to that empty pavilion over there to rest for a while…”
Yun Si inwardly groaned; she was a bit drunk. Perhaps it was because she hadn’t rested well for several days and was already weary, or perhaps because she had lost so much weight recently, her alcohol tolerance wasn’t what it used to be.
Yun Si sat in the cool pavilion, leaning against a pillar. The moment before her eyelids closed, she saw her maids gathered around her, with Fu Xue and Luo Xuanji also hurriedly following.
With so many people surrounding her, there was no need to worry… Yun Si relaxed her mind and immediately drifted into a deep sleep.
.
After Yun Si fell asleep, she immediately descended into a dream.
For some reason, outside the dream, Yun Si was drunk, and inside the dream, she had also drunk wine, carrying the scent of alcohol on her, half-drunk and half-awake.
After drinking, people become especially bold.
It was unclear whether it was the wine from outside the dream or the wine within it that emboldened Yun Si.
She cupped the man’s face with both hands, leaning in with wide eyes. “Who exactly are you?”
“Or are you not human at all?”
“Are you a demon? A monster? A ghost?”
Yun Si’s eyes were nearly pressed against the man’s nose, her warm breath brushing his face.
Yet a layer of white mist shrouded the man’s features, making it impossible for Yun Si to see his face clearly. Just like the previous times, even though they were so close, she couldn’t make out his appearance.
The man’s voice held a note of surprise. “You’re very different tonight.”
Yun Si’s enthusiastic approach from the moment they met led the man to interpret her actions as an invitation.
His large hands gripped Yun Si’s slender shoulders, pulling her even closer.
Having drunk wine, Yun Si’s lips were redder and more delicate than usual.
Xie Yan lowered his head and pressed his lips directly to hers.