Song Yihuan masked the depth of meaning in her eyes and smiled. "Don't worry. I won't ask you about anything related to Eldest Sister."
Fu Ling nodded.
"How old are you this year? Where are you from? Are your parents and other relatives still alive?" Song Yihuan asked softly.
Fu Ling answered her one by one. "I'm from Jiancheng. My parents passed away when I was three. After they left, I was raised by my uncle and aunt. But before two years had passed, I got completely separated from them in a flood. To get a bite of food, I fell into a human trafficker's trap and ended up in the capital after many twists and turns. Then I entered the Marquis Mansion to serve."
"Where is Jiancheng? Are there any delicious food or interesting places there?" Song Yihuan asked again.
During those years when she attended school at the Imperial College on behalf of her elder sister, Song Yihuan's favorite thing was to sneak into the library to browse through ancient books.
When she was only thirteen, she had already planned to take her mother away from the capital. So the book she often opened was the Records of Mountains and Rivers.
She had a photographic memory and could remember a book after reading it once. But after thinking for a while, she didn't remember that the Records of Mountains and Rivers had mentioned Jiancheng.
When it came to her hometown, Fu Ling gradually became talkative. She told Song Yihuan a lot of things about Jiancheng. Only then did Song Yihuan know that Jiancheng was located in Hengzhou. It was a small city closest to the Heng River and very far from the capital.
If Fu Ling hadn't told her, she wouldn't have known there was such a small city in the world. Maybe it was because the city was too small that it wasn't included in the Records of Mountains and Rivers.
But this discovery made Song Yihuan's heart stir slightly.
Since it wasn't in the Records of Mountains and Rivers, it meant that very few people in the world would know about it. Maybe it was the place where she and Xuan'er could settle down.
She remembered that the Heng River flowed from west to east and finally converged with the Cang River. If they took a water route, they could go all the way south to reach it. Uncle Qi had been running a noodle stand at the painting boat dock all year round. Many boat masters often went to his place to eat noodles, so he knew a lot of friends who traveled by water!
Song Yihuan couldn't help getting excited. She clenched her hands tightly to prevent her emotions from showing.
Fu Ling didn't notice Song Yihuan's strangeness and still picked out things from her memory to tell Song Yihuan. Unfortunately, she was too young when she got lost, and she couldn't remember many things. So she could only say to Song Yihuan,
"Fourth Miss, that's all I can remember."
Song Yihuan smiled. "Okay, that's enough. With your stories, I can have a good and peaceful sleep tonight."
She glanced at the wound on Fu Ling's forehead and gently patted the other's hand. "Fu Ling, you're a good girl. Go and rest too."
After Fu Ling left, Song Yihuan lay down on the bed. She stroked her flat belly and let out an almost inaudible sigh.
It wasn't that she didn't want to escape. It was just that her elder sister was watching her so closely now. How could she have a chance to leave?
Moreover, her elder sister was right. Xuan'er was still a concubine's son of the Marquis Mansion. And now the Marquis Mansion had formed an alliance with the Prince Ning's Mansion. Once she took Xuan'er away, with the power of the Prince Ning's Mansion and the Marquis Mansion, they would probably be caught before they even escaped from the capital area.
By then, what awaited her would not only be prison but also the possibility of being disgraced.
The best plan for now was to wait until she was really pregnant and gave birth to the child. When the eyes of the Prince Ning's Mansion, the Marquis Mansion, and her elder sister were all on the child and they had no time to take care of her and Xuan'er, that would be the best time to escape.
But when would the child come?
That night when she fell asleep, Song Yihuan had a dream in a daze.
She dreamed that she was called by her elder sister to the Shulan Courtyard to accompany a man to sleep again. The quiet Shulan Courtyard still had a small lamp lit outside as usual. She sat nervously by the bed waiting for the man to come.
She heard Ji Lingchuan's familiar footsteps in her ears. She looked up and saw the man walking towards her step by step against the weak light outside.
Eager to get pregnant, she got up and undressed him as usual. She actively wrapped her arms around his slender waist and pulled him onto the carved bed.
The man was aroused by her. He clasped her waist with both hands and was about to pounce on her. Just then, the crowing of a rooster came from outside the window. The sky suddenly brightened. The bright light illuminated the Yixiang Pavilion and also the situation on the bed.
In the dream, Song Yihuan couldn't see Ji Lingchuan's face clearly. She only knew that when he saw her face, an irresistible force came from her neck.
The man tightly pinched her neck. Gone was the tenderness and lingering of the night. He made a chilling sound in her ear:
"Song Yihuan, how dare you deceive me? A woman like you is not qualified to bear my Ji Lingchuan's child—"
Song Yihuan suddenly woke up with a start. She covered her neck and coughed violently. Tears of fear welled up in the corners of her eyes.
Hearing the noise in the room, the door was pushed open. Fu Ling rushed in with a lamp in her hand.
"Fourth Miss, are you okay?"
Song Yihuan was helped up by Fu Ling. She leaned in Fu Ling's arms and gasped for a long time before she came to her senses. She found that it was just a dream. While she felt relieved, a deep sense of powerlessness welled up in her heart.
Although it was just a dream, it was so real. Did it already foreshadow her ending?
Why did she have to provoke such a fearsome god?
Seeing Song Yihuan sitting there blankly against her with tears hanging in the corners of her eyes, Fu Ling felt even more heartache.
She wiped away Song Yihuan's tears and poured her some water to drink. Only then did Song Yihuan regain some energy.
But for the rest of the night, Song Yihuan didn't dare to sleep again. She hugged her knees and curled up in the corner. She rested her head on her knees and stared blankly at a corner of the room.
When the sky brightened, roosters crowed and dogs barked. The whole capital city woke up from its slumber and started a busy day.
In the Tinglan Courtyard, Song Yihuan finally moved when the sunlight shone into the room through the window lattice.
She seemed to come back to life. She got out of bed and stood in front of the mirror. She carefully tidied herself up. There was no longer the panic and vulnerability of being woken up by a nightmare last night on her face. She was as calm as if nothing had happened.
Just as she was about to walk out of the door, someone grabbed her sleeve. She turned around and saw Fu Ling looking worried. "Fourth Miss, are you really okay?"
Song Yihuan raised the corners of her lips and smiled faintly. "I'm okay. It was just a nightmare. It doesn't count when the day dawns."
She looked at the rattan creeping into the room and said, "Anyway, life has to go on, doesn't it?"
Except for a slightly pale face, there was nothing strange about her. Fu Ling had no choice but to nod and let go of her sleeve.
Song Yihuan walked out of the door and went to the next room to check on Song Yixuan.
As soon as Song Yixuan opened his eyes, he saw Song Yihuan sitting beside him. A big smile immediately appeared on his face. He rushed forward and hugged her. "Fourth Sister, Xuan'er had a sweet dream last night."
Song Yihuan helped him get up and tidied his hair and clothes. She asked with a smile, "Oh? What did you dream about?"
The little boy said very naively, "Xuan'er dreamed that he was cured of his illness. He could run, jump, and play as freely as Brother Zhe. He didn't have to worry about having a heartache anymore. Xuan'er also dreamed that he entered the school to study. Father hugged Xuan'er. Xuan'er also learned kung fu from Eldest Sister's husband."
"Oh, right!" Song Yixuan bent his eyes and shook his sister's arm. "Fourth Sister also got married! It seems that she even had a baby in her belly."