Chapter 1: Peach Blossoms Fall into Her Bosom

In the fifth month, flowers were in full bloom, and the spring breeze carried warmth as it gently blew across the earth.

Chirp, chirp—the sparrows nesting under the eaves chirped and chattered, occasionally turning their heads towards the paper window with a broken corner, as if discussing something.

Li Ruantang, who was lying on the kang bed, was still in a daze. Her hibiscus-colored gold-woven dress was stained with mud and traces of blood, which was a startling sight.

Yet she was still dreaming, her fingertips slightly curved outside the blanket, and her unintentionally furrowed brows looked serious.

“Li Ruan…” The sobbing cries sounded, and the young gentleman sitting beside her lowered his head, not even having the chance to check her breath again.

“What an ominous thing! If you call out again, see if this old lady doesn’t burn your nest!”

Outside the window, some lady shouted angrily, not only startling the sparrows under the eaves to fly away in a flurry but also causing Li Ruantang’s body to tremble. Not to mention the peach blossoms that filled her bosom in her dream had vanished into thin air, her whole body also suddenly ached unbearably, as if she had been beaten several times.

“Mmm…”

As soon as Li Ruantang became slightly conscious, she felt indescribably uncomfortable.

She slightly moved her numb fingers, about to ask which maid was so inconsiderate, but then she heard low sobs beside her ear.

The voice was both repressed and sad. If the sparrows under the eaves had not been startled away, she wouldn’t have noticed it.

“…Tang, sob, Tang.” He seemed to have cried for a long time, and even when calling her name, it was intermittent. “Please wake up soon!”

Tangtang?

The way he called her sounded intimate. Li Ruantang felt her face burning when she heard it. Ever since she returned to the capital, she had never been so familiar with any young gentleman.

However, this voice sounded pure and clear, with a tinge of familiarity in her ears.

Who could it be?

Li Ruantang’s head was still a bit dizzy, and her eyelids struggled to open a tiny crack. She curiously yet calmly concentrated her efforts to gather her scattered gaze in one place.

The sunlight that entered her eyes was dazzling, but it couldn’t hide the dilapidated walls and the dusty, decaying ceiling.

For a moment, Li Ruantang was stunned, her peripheral vision not reaching beside her. In an instant, her attention was completely drawn to a small spider happily descending along its silk thread.

The little thing descended very quickly. Before Li Ruantang could blink, it was only a hair’s breadth away from the tip of her nose.

You should know that Li Ruantang was fearless in her daily life, but when she saw these insects and ants, her back would break out in a cold sweat.

In a flash, her soul, which had seemed to be pressed by a mountain and filled with lead, was immediately summoned back by seven or eight parts.

She screamed, no longer caring to look at the young gentleman. She swiftly dodged towards the window. Seeing that her skirt was about to touch the layer of grayish-black on the wall, Li Ruantang’s eyes twitched. She turned around and rolled towards the edge of the kang bed.

After all, besides being afraid of insects, she was also a person who loved cleanliness.

“Oomph!”

The imagined smooth escape and turn were abruptly interrupted. Li Ruantang was so startled that her back went numb. Before she could completely stop, she had already clumsily rolled into the arms of the dumbfounded young gentleman.

In an instant, she felt as if she had collided into a fragrant warmth. Li Ruantang was so flustered that she didn’t know where to put her hands and feet.

Fortunately, she had released her strength and didn’t cause a big disaster.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”

Li Ruantang apologized repeatedly. The person in front of her was a stranger, so her voice was a bit hesitant. “May I ask which family’s young master you are?”

The young gentleman’s cheeks were still flushed, and his phoenix eyes were brimming with tears. Being bumped by Li Ruantang, he let out a muffled groan and took a few breaths before asking in shock, “You don’t remember me?”

He had red lips and white teeth, a face like a crown jade. Even when sitting on the edge of the kang bed, his back was still straight. His frost-colored robe was also covered in a lot of dust.

Li Ruantang’s ears turned red again when she saw him. She couldn’t keep staring at him, so she turned her face and mumbled in her heart.

Should she remember him?

Judging from his words, they seemed to be old acquaintances? How come she had no impression of him at all?

Li Ruantang slightly furrowed her brows, but the pain between her brows was like dense threads, entangling her consciousness. She really couldn’t think any further. She could only endure it, and soon, a forehead of fine sweat fell.