Chapter Twenty: Nightmare

  That night, Lin Chen stayed at Miao Yutang's place.

  When the aunt was about to leave, she cast a meaningful glance and secretly sent a flirtatious signal for half a moment. He also remained unmoved, thinking that he had already understood that today's unpleasantness was all her fault from the start. His own son couldn't recite his lessons, so be it; he could try harder when he got home. Why bother trying to splash dirty water on someone else?

  Liu's family saw Wan Niang eating, very happy in her heart, and the words flowed out. Inevitably, she mentioned letting Lin Ruoyan enter the palace.

  "If Ru'er's temperament you also can't say you haven't seen, if she enters the palace I'm afraid it will stir up the entire imperial palace, how can she wholeheartedly serve the empress dowager? In my opinion, Shao'er's temperament is more suitable." Lin Xuan refuted Liu Shi's words without thinking, but not because entering the palace was bad, rather because her chosen candidate wasn't good.

  Liu furrowed her brow, and the hand that was helping Lin Xuan massage his back slowed down. Her voice was low and mournful, "I know you've always doted on Fourth Young Miss, but Ruo'er is also your daughter. From young to old, you haven't personally taught her anything, so it's fine if you don't take care of her. But must you also side with Lin Zhao Yan in such a big matter?"

  Lin Chen furrowed her brow, feeling displeased in her heart. "What are you talking about? Isn't Zhao Er your daughter?"

  Liu coldly snorted and walked over to sit down on the warm bed, saying in a bad temper: "You and I are not fools, whether she is my daughter or not, you know better than anyone else!"

  Lin Chen's face stiffened and he was choked with speechlessness.

  This matter has always been a taboo in the Jian'an Marquis's estate, and Liu had always kept her mouth shut about it. This time, she actually brought up this old account again, it seems that she is determined to let Ruo Yan enter the palace.

  Lin Chen thought of Lin Zhao's calm and gentle nature, feeling that she shouldn't want to enter the palace to compete for favor either. He reluctantly said: "Alright, alright, if you want Ru'er to enter the palace, then let her enter the palace. However, you must teach her more about etiquette and rules, so she won't learn from those martial generals' daughters who are reckless and willful."

  Liu's face lit up with joy, and she said happily: "Don't worry, sir, I've already asked my sister-in-law to help me find out about those etiquette rules for serving girls. I'll make sure that Ruo'er learns all those complicated rules within a month!"

  The "second aunt" in Liu's mouth refers to the second lady of her natal family, the Yanling Bo An Hou Fu. Two years ago, the old lady of the Bo An Hou Fu passed away, and the Bo An Hou Fu was divided into separate households. The second master of the Liu family inherited the title of Bo An Hou and donated a small official position in Shengjing, which is an actual job that often deals with the Imperial Household Department. Usually, Liu didn't hesitate to ask for their help.

  Lin Chen nodded and said, "Since we've invited someone, let's not waste resources. Call up Zhao'er and Xing'er to come and learn together!"

  Although Mr. Liu was dissatisfied, he had no choice but to agree.

  Lin Zhaoyan returned to the courtyard, thinking back and forth in her mind whether she should still care about Lin Ruoyan's affairs.

  But it's just asking for trouble.

  No matter what, she still felt uneasy at heart.

  That night, she had a dream.

  In the dream, Lin Ruoyan was surrounded by raging flames, wearing a bright red wedding dress, with a phoenix coronet on her head, contrasting with the surrounding fire, exceptionally desolate and beautiful.

  "She kept shouting: 'Sister, save me! Sister, save me...'"

  The sound was too sharp and piercing, like scratching porcelain with a sharp stone, directly piercing into the heart. Lin Zhaoyan was suddenly awakened, and then spent a sleepless night.

  The next day, two circles of dark eye shadow appeared under her eyes without any politeness.

  Man Shuang was startled and hastily asked: "Miss, what's wrong with you?"

  "I had a nightmare." Lin Zhaoyan's eyes were dim and her chest felt like it was pressed down by a huge boulder, making it hard for her to breathe.

  Last night's dream was too real, as if she had really seen Lin Ruoyan being surrounded by the big fire and was powerless to do anything.

  The most bizarre thing was that the one being burned was clearly Lin Ruoyan, but she could feel the scorching pain of her skin being roasted by the fire, and even heard the "sizzling" sound of her skin burning. The surroundings were filled with thick smoke, making it impossible for her to see ahead, and she was choking on the fumes, unable to catch her breath. All she could do was shout repeatedly, "Save me, save me...", but couldn't quite remember who she was shouting to.

  Lin Zhaoyan felt more and more afraid as he thought about it, his body trembling uncontrollably.

  What does this dream represent?

  Does it foretell the future?

  But whose future is this? Lin Ruoyan's or hers, Lin Zhaoyan's?

  Why were they trapped in the big fire? And finally, did anyone come to rescue them?

  "Miss, miss." Man Shuang stretched out her hand and waved it in front of Lin Zhaoyan's eyes, worriedly saying: "Are you alright? What kind of nightmare did you have to be so scared?"

  Can't you be afraid? If it were an ordinary dream, it would be fine. She is a fortune teller, what if this dream really foretells her own or Lin Ruoyan's future?

  "I'm fine, just need a rest." Lin Zhaoyan closed his eyes, trying to suppress the fear in his heart, and repeatedly told himself to calm down.

  No matter what this dream represents, she believes that things are up to people, and she will never let herself and Lin Ruoyan go down that road of no return.

  "Why don't we go tell them today and say that the girl is feeling unwell?"

  "Good." Lin Zhaoyan did not want to be stubborn, and readily agreed to Man Shuang's proposal. But before Man Shuang could respond, Man Hua hastily walked in and said, "The maid Zijuan by the mistress' side has come to say that Second Uncle's wife has brought Young Master Biao to visit, and asks the young lady to quickly get dressed and go see them."

  Mrs. Lu, the wife of my second uncle, was from Yanling and followed Liu Er Ye to take office in the capital two years ago. Now she lives in Qingjiao Hutong, far away from Bading Alley. She is a lively and enthusiastic person who often visits our mansion and can be considered a noble guest. It's unprecedented for Lin Zhao Yan to go see her with such fanfare.

  Lin Zhaoyan couldn't help but feel suspicious, why was Liu so eager for her to meet Lu? What was this all about?

  "Miss, you don't look well today." Man Shuang furrowed her brow and said with concern.

  Manhua looked at Lin Zhaoyan and saw that her face was indeed pale, with dark circles under her eyes, as if she hadn't slept all night. She didn't seem surprised and said: "Why don't I go and inform Sister Ziyan, let her..."

  "It's all right." Lin Zhaoyan waved her hand, what was meant to come would always come, she didn't like to evade anything. She patted the knot in her chest and stood up, saying: "You two don't have to worry about me, go get dressed! Man Shuang, put on some makeup later, this haggard look will make us seem lazy when we meet our guests."

  Man Shuang had a pair of skilled hands, and in no time at all, she helped Lin Zhaoyan put on her makeup. As a result, Lin looked radiant with a healthy glow, her skin smooth and lustrous, and the rouge on her cheeks seemed to have been infused with the tender beauty of a lotus flower, making her even more alluring.

  She picked out a spiritual apricot-colored crossover embroidered plum blossom jacket for Lin Zhaoyan to change into, paired with a light yellow underskirt, and an outer moon-white rabbit hair edge jacket, making Lin Zhaoyan look slender and elegant, with a majestic demeanor.

  "With this dress, the young lady is even more beautiful than Seventh Young Miss!" Man Shuang couldn't help but exclaim. In her impression, Fourth Young Lady was indeed beautiful, but her beauty was introverted and low-key, if one didn't carefully appreciate it, they wouldn't be able to discover it at all. But now, she had brought out all the hidden brilliance of the young lady.

  Lin Zhaoyan gazed at the bright eyes and lovely eyebrows in the rhombus mirror, her vermilion lips and white teeth forming a charming smile. Her slender eyebrows were tightly furrowed together. She merely wanted to dress up a bit, but not to be so stunningly beautiful.

  Manhua and Manshuang were seen with a stunning and delighted expression, but could only helplessly smile.

  Forget it, she's not that kind of pretentious person anyway. Since she's already dressed up, just let her be!

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