Chapter 995: The Peasant Girl’s Splendid Manor
Chapter 995: Legacy Awakening (4)
Mo Yan’s expression became serious as she said earnestly, “I, as your disciple, will follow Master’s instructions!”
Physician Du stroked his beard and nodded, his eyes filled with affection for his apprentice.
Just as Xue Tuanzi had predicted, Cui Ping’an did not awaken until late into the night. He was first discovered awake by Cui Qingrou, who stayed vigilantly at his bedside.
Soon, Old Madam Cui received the news. Ignoring the objections of her maidservants, she hurriedly dressed and rushed to Cui Ping’an’s courtyard.
Seeing her grandson leaning against the bed, still weak but able to speak normally with his daughter, Old Madam Cui’s eyes widened as she stepped into the room, hardly able to believe that her grandson had woken up.
“Grandmother!” Cui Ping’an gently called out upon noticing her, his youthful face filled with guilt.
“Xiao Qi!” Old Madam Cui staggered to the bedside; overcome with joy at seeing her grandson truly awake, she burst into tears.
Cui Ping’an reached out and tightly embraced her, saying, “Your grandson has been unfilial, making you worry so much.”
Old Madam Cui gently pushed him away, touching his somewhat pale face as she smiled through her tears, “It is grandmother’s fault. I should not have forced Xiao Qi; blame me, blame me…”
Cui Ping’an listened in confusion, not understanding why his grandmother would speak that way.
Old Madam Cui assumed that her grandson had not fully cleared his head upon waking and did not suspect anything unusual.
However, Cui Qingrou knew that her nephew’s memory was affected. Unsure whether it was good or bad, she said to Old Madam Cui, “Mother, it seems Xiao Qi does not remember many things. Should we have a physician come take a look?”
Old Madam Cui was startled and quickly asked Cui Ping’an, “Xiao Qi, is it true what your aunt said? Have you really forgotten many things?”
After shaking his head and thinking carefully, Cui Ping’an replied, “Grandmother, I remember everyone, but I do not remember how I fell into the coma. I feel as if I had a very long, yet very vivid dream…” Gradually, he could not help but recount everything that had occurred in the dream.
In the dream, the girl he loved could not bear that he would marry someone else; on the day of his wedding, she left home and, just after leaving the capital, was assaulted, then threw herself into the river. For selfish reasons, he had married a cousin he did not truly love, tarnishing her reputation and indirectly causing her tragic death; even his grandmother’s family was estranged, leaving her to die in sorrow. And he himself was imprisoned in a cellar, spending day after day in regret until the moment of his death…
After listening to Cui Ping’an’s account of the dream, Old Madam Cui’s face darkened; she clearly felt that it was more than a dream but a warning to them.
Cui Qingrou clutched her handkerchief, her pale face forcing a smile as she comforted both her mother and her nephew, “They say dreams are reversed. The misfortunes Xiao Qi dreamed about will never come to pass! Mother, Xiao Qi, please do not worry.”
Cui Ping’an opened his mouth as if to say he was not worried, but just as he was about to speak, a sharp pain suddenly shot through his head. A strange voice in his mind kept warning him: this wasn’t a dream—it was real. If he married his cousin, those tragedies would definitely occur, without fail!
“What’s wrong, Xiao Qi? What’s wrong?” Seeing her grandson (or nephew) suddenly clutch his head in pain, Old Madam Cui and Cui Qingrou turned pale with alarm.
Cui Ping’an was in such pain that he could not speak and could only shake his head repeatedly as he tried to comfort his tearful grandmother and aunt.
Before the Cui women could order a maid to fetch a physician, Cui Ping’an’s headache abruptly subsided as if it had never been there—a truly strange occurrence.
Still uneasy, Old Madam Cui sent for the household physician.
The physician arrived and carefully examined Cui Ping’an. Finding nothing wrong except that he was physically weak, he reported his findings honestly to Old Madam Cui.
Yet Old Madam Cui remained anxious. As she was about to send a maid with the name tag to summon a high-ranking physician, Cui Ping’an stopped her, “Grandmother, your grandson is alright for now. If you are still worried, let us wait until morning.”
Cui Qingrou also persuaded, “Xiao Qi had a headache earlier, probably because of long sleep. He is fine now; if we call the high-ranking physician and nothing is found, it won’t do him any good if the news spreads.”
Cui Ping’an was only a son born of the concubine in the Cui family and had no standing to request a high-ranking physician. Previously, it was Old Madam Cui’s excuse of poor health that allowed an official to call one in. Such matters were common; if not made public it was fine, but too many occurrences might eventually be noticed.
After a moment’s hesitation, Old Madam Cui relented and set aside the plan to call in the high-ranking physician. With loving concern, she said to Cui Ping’an, “Then let us wait until morning. If you feel unwell, you must tell your aunt—do not bear it in silence.”
“Mm, your grandson understands!” Cui Ping’an nodded with reddened eyes, filled with guilt. Not only had he lately burdened his grandmother with worry, but also in that long dream, he had seen his grandmother suffer blame and die without receiving forgiveness from her loved ones. He felt that the dream was too real and could not help but merge it into his reality.
Early the next morning, the birds that had been guarding Cui Ping’an’s window flew back to the Mo household to inform Mo Yan that Cui Ping’an had awakened. Overjoyed, Mo Yan saw that a new red mark had appeared on her Merit Pearl. She couldn’t help but grab Xue Tuanzi and give it a big, hearty kiss.
“Humph, stinky Yan Yan, you’re being a lecher—so naughty, so naughty!” Xue Tuanzi squeezed out two tears, complaining. It clearly enjoyed its master’s kiss but pretended to be a proper lady wronged by a pervert.
Mo Yan’s eye twitched, and she decisively turned the cheeky creature over and over, giving it a thorough thrashing a hundred times!
(End of Chapter)
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