My chat group is full of female losers

Chapter 283: Elegy in a Dream (I)

Chu Lu hasn't had a dream for a long time.

Ever since he traveled through time, he has been either on the brink of life and death every day, or racking his brains to scheme against others. His mind is always extremely tense, and even when he falls asleep, it is mostly a shallow sleep.

However, at this moment, he was clearly aware that he was dreaming.

He could sense that he was suspended in a pitch-black space, and at the same time, completely different images emerged uncontrollably before his eyes.

These pictures are all from a first-person perspective, as if he has become another person, experiencing a strange life.

The initial scene is the back garden of a mansion with carved beams and painted buildings.

The bright sunlight shines through the carved window lattice onto the exquisite dressing table. The bronze mirror reflects a beautiful face of a young girl, with a double-ringed bun on her head, smiling softly at the mirror.

Suddenly, footsteps were heard outside the door. I moved my vision and looked towards the door. There were two people coming in, a man and a woman, who seemed to be a couple. The man had a gloomy and guilty look on his face, and the woman had red eyes.

"Dad! Mom!" The girl's clear and sweet voice rang out, but the next moment she obviously realized that something was wrong with the expressions of the two men. Then her eyes moved again, first down, and then turned to the right side of the man, where a little boy with a gloomy face stood.

"Dad..." The girl's voice sounded again, but this time there was more doubt and anxiety, "Who is he?"

The man had a complicated expression. Just as he was about to speak, the woman next to him said resentfully, "He's your father's illegitimate son who's wandering around!"

In the bronze mirror, the blood color on the girl's face suddenly faded.

The next moment, the scene suddenly changed.

It was the sky, but it was gloomy and yellow leaves were falling from the treetops, clearly indicating that autumn had arrived.

Then the perspective moved forward, from looking up at the sky to looking straight ahead, and the little boy came into view.

He fell to the ground, his face grim and full of hatred, with four or five children beside him holding him down.

Footsteps were heard, and the vision flickered towards the little boy, followed by the girl's resentful voice.

"It's all your fault!" A foot stepped heavily on the little boy's face, "It's all your fault, you bastard from nowhere! Mom and Dad quarrel every day now, they never smile again, and they never care about me anymore!"

The foot kept stomping harder, and the girl began to cry as she cursed: "It's all your fault! It's all your fault! Bastard! Bastard! Bastard!"

Suddenly, a shrill and sharp cry like a thunder came from a distance: "Master! Master is gone——!"

The girl's stomping suddenly stopped.

The mourning hall was solemn, white banners hung low, and white smoke from burning paper money floated in the air. In the center of the field of vision was a cold coffin, and the face of the man in the coffin was peaceful but lifeless.

I heard intermittent sobbing. My vision followed the sound and turned to the side, where I saw the blurry figures of the elders of the clan. My vision stopped and locked onto one of the faces. That face seemed to be trying hard to squeeze out some sorrow, but there was a barely perceptible ecstasy hidden deep in his eyes.

The scene changed again, this time arriving at a nearly abandoned house.

First, the thick spider web in the corner of the wall came into view, and then the woman the girl called mother, who looked haggard and had messy hair, hugged the girl tightly. The girl looked past her shoulders and messy hair and looked at the dirty ground.

Footsteps sounded. Turning to the door, against the light, a slightly fat figure with a sinister face appeared. It was the man who was secretly proud at the funeral. He looked down from above, stretched out his hand and threw a small bag of heavy copper coins on the muddy ground under his feet. His cold voice came: "From now on, you two will live here, be quiet, and don't come out to get in the way."

The sound of my mother crying was heard.

The screen flashed again.

Still in that shabby room, my mother was lying on the bed with a pale face, holding a newborn baby boy in her arms. Her face was still pale, but there was finally a glimmer of light in her eyes, and she said gently: "Shu'er, look, you have a younger brother..."

His vision shifted slightly downward, seemingly focused on the baby boy's soft and pink face. A hand reached out, carefully extending a finger, and hesitantly touched the face.

Then there seemed to be a faint, inaudible laugh from a girl.

But then, the picture suddenly changed into a door.

Then there was a bang and the door was kicked open.

Several soldiers rushed into the simple house like wolves and tigers. Behind them was an official in embroidered robes with an expressionless face. He slowly unfolded the bright yellow imperial edict in his hand. The cold and ruthless voice sounded word by word, hitting the eardrums: "In compliance with the will of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: The Xie family has colluded with the rebels and intended to rebel. This crime is unforgivable. The entire family shall be executed. This is the decree!"

The soldiers rushed forward, grabbed Ah Niang, and took the child away. Ah Niang screamed loudly, struggled like crazy, and rushed forward. The next moment, Ah Niang was pushed away and hit hard against the wall. She got up and was about to attack again, but a soldier drew his knife and stabbed her in the chest.

"Mom!" The girl screamed and rushed over.

Then, a cold fist rapidly expanded in the girl's vision. With a bang, the scene suddenly spun around, and the old house turned into a shadow. A stern rebuke rang in her ears: "Take them away! Send the guilty minister's wife to the Jiaofang Division!"

The screen fell into darkness.

Then countless lascivious sounds rang out in the darkness.

The screen slowly lit up, and before one's eyes was a scene of golden cups, jade dew, lewd music, even more dazzling gold and silver utensils, mountains of delicacies, and countless figures in luxurious clothing, chatting and laughing.

His vision suddenly moved forward, as if someone pushed him from behind. A deep voice exploded in his ears: "What are you daydreaming about! Do you still think you are Xie Mingshu, the daughter of the Xie family? Hurry up!"

The scene began to move forward, towards the platform in the center of the hall that was the focus of countless eyes. The girl glanced at the faces below the stage who were looking at the goods, and raised her arm with a slight tremor.

The screen switches again.

In the dim room, a haughty maid walked in. She raised the girl's chin with her hand and looked at her face. Her face was full of excitement and envy: "Girl, you are lucky because of your ancestors' good deeds! There is a banquet in the palace tonight, and the emperor is very pleased. He specifically asked you to perform to liven up the atmosphere. You should be very energetic and perform well! If you are lucky enough to catch the emperor's eye and get a little favor, you will be rich and prosperous in the future!"

The picture shook up and down.

The scene changes.

A magnificent palace banquet with bright lights leapt into the picture. Bells rang, food was served, and wine was poured. It was a scene of extravagance with singing and dancing. The girl's vision began to spin and jump, and she saw her own dancing limbs.

The dance was over. His eyes first lowered, then he heard a voice saying "Lift your head for me", and then he slowly raised it up again. His sight passed through the layers of pearl curtains and green curtains, and finally suddenly met the face on the dragon throne - it was the face of the illegitimate little boy!
Although there have been significant changes over the years, one can still see traces of the past.

The emperor's eyes were smiling but cold and ruthless, with a hint of mockery.

Her vision suddenly trembled violently, followed by a crazy roar that was suppressed to the extreme, like a volcano that had been suppressed for a thousand years. The girl began to rush towards the high dragon throne like a madman, regardless of everything.

"Escort! There are assassins!"

The originally peaceful palace banquet suddenly turned into chaos. The crisp sound of wine glasses overturned, the screams of frightened women, and the clanging of guards drawing their swords were heard. Almost in the blink of an eye, the scene that was approaching the emperor suddenly shook, and then only a cold and smooth floor tile could be seen.

The girl was caught.

The scene switched again, and the floor tiles turned into cold and damp cell walls.

The red-hot iron was sizzling in the center of the field of vision. The barbed cowhide whip was whistling down with a chilling gust of wind. Various tortures were performed one after another.

The sun and the moon alternate outside the window.

At first, the girl remained silent, staring at her feet as if the scene was frozen. Until one day, the sound of two jailers chatting could be heard outside her field of vision.

A jailer lowered his voice and said, "Hey, isn't that strange? Normally, someone who committed such a serious crime should have been killed with a single blow, cleanly and neatly. But this guy, His Majesty has issued a death order, he must be kept alive and well. Look at this day after day... Tsk."

Another jailer sounded older. He spat and said, "What do you know? This is not something that can be solved with just one blow. There are many hidden dangers here."

He lowered his voice: "I heard from the older brothers that the eldest daughter of the Xie family... offended no one else but His Majesty."

"Ah?" The young jailer was puzzled. "She is just a dancer. How could His Majesty hate her so much?"

"You don't know this, right?" The older jailer said with a bit of sarcasm, "The current emperor...didn't grow up in the palace. The old emperor had no children, and then Xie Mingshu's father, Lord Xie, got some clues and made a secret investigation, only to find out that there was a single child outside. He was afraid that something might happen to the prince, so he quickly took him back. After that, he was afraid that he would make a mistake, so he didn't dare to offer him up immediately, and he was also afraid that the news would leak out and attract the attention of villains, so he simply hid him at home and only told others that he had adopted a son."

The young jailer was shocked: "Adopted son? Your Majesty's biological son was raised as an adopted son in the Xie family?"

"That's right!" The older jailer said in a more serious tone. "Don't you think it's strange? Even stranger things are still to come. The future emperor will have a hard time in the Xie family. The legitimate Xie Mingshu, our... Tsk, she is so vicious! She relied on the favor of Lord Xie and treated the adopted son...our Majesty, as a servant, beating him, starving him, freezing him, and torturing him in any way she could. But her father, Lord Xie, knew that he was the prince, but he just watched and allowed his daughter to bully him, pretending that he didn't see anything!"

The young jailer took a deep breath and said, "Hiss... There is such a thing! What happened next?"

"What happened next? What happened next was that the prince recognized the old emperor, the blood test was successful, and he ascended the throne as emperor." The older jailer sneered, "Do you think he could forget those days in the Xie family? Can he forget the young lady who tortured him while his father turned a blind eye? So he found a reason to destroy the Xie family and threw the young lady into the Jiaofangsi.

Afterwards, he deliberately called the young lady to perform a dance in order to humiliate her. But he did not expect that the young lady would have the guts to assassinate the emperor, so naturally he could not let her go.

This is called a tooth for a tooth, blood debt with blood! He didn't kill her, but he wanted her to have a taste of the feeling of being unable to live or die. He wanted her to remember clearly day and night who gave her all this! "

In the cold and damp corner of the cell, the seemingly solidified scene finally began to tremble slightly. The sound of heavy breathing gradually began to sound.

No matter the burning of the branding iron, the whipping, or other unimaginable tortures, the girl had endured them all with gritted teeth, without a single sign of weakness. But at this moment, the hard outer shell that she had been struggling to support collapsed.

She uttered a short whimper like a wounded animal. Then, the emotions that had been suppressed for a long time and on the verge of collapse burst out like a flood. She began to twitch violently, and an uncontrollable and extremely painful roar came from her throat. It was no longer a muffled groan of enduring torture, but a pure, fatal wail after a mental blow.

She began to cry and screamed in tears: "Anyone! Anyone can bear this pain for me! I don't want to live anymore! I don't want this life anymore!"

Everything in front of his eyes suddenly went dark. Chu Lu waited for a while, but still didn't see any changes.

Seeing this, Chu Lu breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that this story filled with despair and pain had finally ended, and that the woman named Xie Mingshu should be dead.

However, the next moment, light came again.

It is still a first-person picture, but the perspective has become extremely small, as if it is only as tall as a small insect.

The surrounding environment seemed to be a bedroom that was decorated quite exquisitely.

"This is... my room?" A childish but bewildered voice sounded, in the tone of a young girl, "But why am I here? Wasn't it demolished a long time ago? And... how did it become so big?"

As she spoke, she lowered her head, and what came into view was a pair of small and delicate hands with a strange wooden luster.

That's the puppet's hand!

“Ahhh!” A short and sharp cry came out of her mouth, “What, what’s going on? My hand…what’s wrong with my hand?!”

She raised her head suddenly, her eyes fell on the dressing table not far away, on which was placed a shiny bronze mirror. She immediately used her hands and feet to crawl over awkwardly.

In the bronze mirror, a small puppet wearing an exquisite dress was reflected.

The puppet Xie Mingshu was suddenly struck by lightning and fell to the ground in panic. Her little wooden head was blank and she was at a loss and extremely panicked.

At this moment, a woman's exclamation and dissuasion suddenly came from outside the bedroom: "Miss! Miss, stop hitting me! Stop it now!"

The puppet Xie Mingshu's heart moved, and she didn't care about her own strange changes. She quickly used her hands and feet to crawl to the window. The window sill was a bit high, and she struggled to grab the window edge, and barely poked out half of her wooden head to look out.

In the courtyard, a little girl, about seven or eight years old, dressed elegantly, but with a sick and cruel look in her eyes that did not match her age, was slowly pushing the head of another little girl of the same age into the cold water. The girl who was pressed into the water struggled violently, making a whimpering sound, and water splashed everywhere. The face of the little girl who was doing the violence had a charming blush, as if she had gained infinite happiness from the other girl's pain.

Several servants nearby gathered around anxiously, but no one dared to step forward to stop it.

The puppet Xie Mingshu was stunned.

"That... isn't that me?" She looked at the little girl who had committed the violence. Her face, slightly distorted by excitement but with a hint of strange beauty, was so familiar and yet so strange. "That's what I looked like when I was a child."

Then she looked back into the water. The little girl was being held down, her wet hair sticking to her face, revealing a face of fear and struggle. That face was also very familiar.

"Cousin?" She was shocked. "Isn't that my cousin Xie Mingyue?!"

Puppet Xie Mingshu felt dizzy.

"Where am I?"

"Did I go back to the past?"

"But why did I become a puppet?"

"If I am Xie Mingshu, then where did the Xie Mingshu in front come from?"

"And this scene in front of me... As far as I can remember, I have never done anything so vicious!"

When the puppet Xie Mingshu was confused, Chu Lu also frowned.

When he first saw the puppet Xie Mingshu resurrected, he thought it was a common rebirth and revenge plot, but now it seems not that simple.

In the picture, the puppet Xie Mingshu wanted to rush out to find out what was going on, but she knew that she was just a puppet that could move and talk. If she really showed up in public, she would be burned as a monster. She could only suppress her fear and confusion and secretly hide behind the window to observe.

Things quickly became more and more serious, and more and more servants gathered in the courtyard. Finally, a gorgeously dressed woman - the second wife, Xie Mingyue's mother, rushed in crying, pushed the fake Xie Mingshu away, pulled her daughter out of the water, and then pointed at the fake Xie Mingshu and screamed at the top of her lungs: "You little bitch! I'm going to find the old lady! I want the old lady to give me justice!"

Far from being afraid, the fake Xie Mingshu slowly shook off the water droplets on her hands, tilted her head, and chuckled in an almost innocent yet slightly cruel tone: "Oh? Old lady? Okay, go and call her. Remember to ask her to bring more people, it's more fun with more people."

Sure enough, not long after, the old lady sent someone to tell the fake Xie Mingshu to come over. Upon hearing the news, Xie Mingshu's mother, Ling, also hurried over. She looked exactly like the woman in the previous picture. She hugged the fake Xie Mingshu in her arms and comforted her softly, "Shu'er, don't be afraid. Mother will protect you." The fake Xie Mingshu tilted her head slightly, her eyes seemed to be looking at an interesting object, and a mysterious smile appeared at the corner of her mouth, but she said nothing and let Ling protect her. The puppet Xie Mingshu looked at this scene and her nose wrinkled unconsciously, as if she wanted to cry.

Afterwards, the group came to the main hall of the Xie family in a mighty procession.

The atmosphere in the hall was solemn. Sitting at the top was an old lady with a gloomy face, and on both sides were people from the second and third rooms.

When the second wife saw the old lady, she burst into tears and showed Xie Mingyue's injuries. Everyone realized that Xie Mingyue was not only drowned, but also had bruises all over her body and even a few bloody scratches on her face, which had already disfigured her. Her mother cried, "My poor Yue'er! How can you get married in the future!"

The old lady's face became more and more gloomy. She stared at the fake Xie Mingshu and asked sternly, "Xie Mingshu! How can you be so cruel at such a young age? Are you still a human being?"

The fake Xie Mingshu seemed not to hear her question, but looked at the furnishings in the hall with interest, as if she was watching a lively drama that had nothing to do with her. It was not until the old lady scolded her again that she slowly turned her head, her eyes pure, but her tone was creepy and innocent: "She is too noisy, buzzing like a fly, talking nonsense, which annoys me. Press her into the water and she will be much quieter."

When these words came out, everyone in the room was shocked. This reason was simply unbelievable!
The old lady was so angry that she was shaking all over. "Well, well, well! You are so arrogant! What did she say to deserve being beaten like this?"

At this moment, Xie Mingyue, who had been sobbing, said with a feeling of grievance, "I... I was just saying... that my family... my family finally had a little brother, and I... I was happy for my parents... and she... she suddenly started to hit me..."

"Great!" Upon hearing this, the old lady was furious and pointed at the fake Xie Mingshu and cursed, "What do you mean by Xie Mingyue is too noisy? I think you are just jealous that she has a brother. You are such a vicious girl, that's why you did this!"

"Old lady, calm down! Old lady, calm down!" Aunt Ling quickly knelt on the ground and hugged the fake Xie Mingshu. She forced a sad expression on her face and said in a crying voice: "Shu'er didn't mean it! We... our eldest house has not had a male heir, and her father and I have been frowning and sighing all day long. Shu'er... she must be worried about us, so when she heard Mingyue talking about her brother, she was emotionally excited and lost her sense of proportion! She is still a child!"

As soon as these words came out, the old lady was stunned at first, and then her jawline, which was originally tense due to anger, relaxed visibly. The anger burning in her eyes seemed to be poured with a bucket of cold water, and it was no longer so fierce and oppressive. She looked at Ling and sighed softly. The atmosphere in the entire lobby also quietly relaxed a little as the old lady's mood eased, and everyone showed sympathy and understanding.

The old lady suddenly lost the desire to blame and was too lazy to continue. She was just about to say a few words to get the matter over with.

At this moment, the fake Xie Mingshu, who had been protected by Ling and had a bored look on her face, suddenly sneered, as if she had heard a huge joke.

"Jealous? Brother?" She repeated, as if she had heard some hilarious joke. "Just for something that's weak, noisy, and needs to be served? Are your brains filled with water?"

She raised her finger and pointed it precisely at the old lady. She suddenly burst into laughter, her eyes reddened. "Especially you, old thing. You are so old, but you are just a decoration. You can't even tell who is the master here. How dare you interrogate me?"

Her words not only shocked Ling, but also shocked everyone in the hall.

Everyone was suddenly in an uproar.

"presumptuous!"

"Reverse! Reverse!"

The old lady was so angry that her face turned blue. She pointed at the fake Xie Mingshu and shouted, "You! What did you say? Who taught you to say that? Someone, take this evil creature away! Beat him up!"

Several strong and sturdy maids immediately stepped forward in response.

Unexpectedly, the fake Xie Mingshu was not afraid at all. Instead, her eyes sparkled with excitement, as if she had finally waited for something fun. She did not retreat but advanced, her body moving faster than a child. With three punches and two kicks, she beat the maids to the ground, causing them to scream in pain. Then, she rushed to the old lady in one step, and in front of everyone's horrified eyes, she grabbed the old lady's collar and dragged her off the chair!
"Want to teach me a lesson? Who are you? Do you have the qualifications?" She burst into hysterical laughter, grabbed the old lady's hair, and slammed her hard onto the hardwood square table next to her!

The old lady had never expected that this seemingly weak child would go so crazy. She didn't even have time to scream. She only felt a sharp pain in her scalp, as if it was grabbed by a pair of pliers. Then, the world spun around, and a terrifying force dragged her to the hard table without any explanation. She only had time to see a flash of light in front of her eyes, and a flash of unbelievable fear and pain flashed through her mind...

"Bang!" "Bang!" "Bang!"

Blood splattered everywhere, and the fake Xie Mingshu even stuck out her tongue and gently licked the blood that splashed onto her lips, her eyes trembling with excitement.

"stop!"

"Stop her quickly!"

The people from the second and third rooms screamed and rushed over to try to stop her, but they were all kicked to the ground by her. The lobby was in chaos, with cries, screams, and the sound of tables and chairs falling to the ground.

The fake Xie Mingshu finally stopped until the old lady's head was broken and she fainted on the spot. She wiped the blood on her face, and her bright eyes looked even more weird against the blood. She looked around at the terrified people in the room, slowly revealed an innocent yet creepy smile, and asked softly: "Now, does anyone else want to play with me?"

For a moment, you could hear a pin drop, and no one dared to say a word.

The fake Xie Mingshu then snorted with satisfaction, turned around and walked away.

The others looked at each other, and no one dared to chase after him.

Only Ling looked at her daughter's receding back, felt worried, and ran out quickly.

When she arrived at her daughter's bedroom, she stretched out her hand to hug her, but the fake Xie Mingshu nimbly avoided her. This made Ling very sad, and her voice trembled: "Shu'er...you...you don't even want to pay attention to your mother?"

The fake Xie Mingshu turned around, tilted her head, and looked at Ling up and down with a hint of amusement in her eyes: "Oh? Are you acting like a heartbroken mother? Just now when they wanted to beat me and that old thing wanted to punish me, why didn't you put on this expression to help me? When they took sides, didn't you also acquiesce?"

Ling was stunned by the question, and then she defended herself: "Shu'er, how could you...how could you be so harsh to the old lady? She is your grandmother! They are right to stop you, and mother will naturally..."

"They were wrong first!" Fake Xie Mingshu interrupted her, still with that nonchalant teasing tone, as if she was talking about something interesting that had nothing to do with her. "Xie Mingyue was a bad mouth and sent herself to my door for my entertainment. It was that old thing who couldn't tell right from wrong and favored them, which just gave me an excuse to stretch my muscles. They all deserve to be beaten to death."

Ling wanted to say that it was obviously you who was wrong, and there was no reason to kill someone just because of a disagreement. But when she saw her daughter's little face, her heart softened. She loved her daughter very much, so how could she bear to blame her? So she could only sigh and tactfully persuade her: "Even so... Shu'er, you are too harsh."

"Humph," the fake Xie Mingshu sneered, "Is it because I'm a daughter that you think I'm only fit to be a puppet at the mercy of others? If I were a son, you would have stood by my side just now, happily helping me smash those eyesores, right? After all, a son is someone who can back you up, while a daughter is just a money-loser."

Ling's body froze, and her face instantly lost all color, as if she had been slapped hard. Her lips trembled, and her eyes were filled with incredible pain, as if she had never expected that she would be misunderstood by her daughter. She slowly stretched out her hand, wanting to touch the fake Xie Mingshu's cheek, her voice choked with sobs and uncontrollable heartache: "Of course it's not like that! Who said that? Having you is enough for me, really!"

The fake Xie Mingshu still had that half-smile on her face, her eyes showed no emotion at all, but a hint of pleasure from watching a show: "Oh? Really? What a pity, I don't believe it. Although your tearful look is pitiful, I'm tired of seeing it."

Ling felt as if she had been hit hard, her eyes instantly turned red, tears welled up in them, and she was almost about to cry.

Xie Mingshu, the puppet hiding behind the bedroom window, saw this scene and felt as if her heart was being tightly grasped by an invisible hand, causing her to have difficulty breathing. Ah Niang... In her memory, Ah Niang had never suffered such injustice.

Just when Ling was heartbroken and about to collapse, a servant suddenly shouted excitedly outside the courtyard: "The master is back! The master is back!"

Ling's face suddenly lit up. She hurriedly adjusted her slightly messy collar and said to the fake Xie Mingshu: "Your father is back. Do you want to go and pick him up?"

The fake Xie Mingshu did not speak or nod, but just watched Ling's instantly changing expression with interest, as if she had discovered a new fun.

Ling walked out alone, holding up her skirt, and took two brisk steps forward. Perhaps she realized that this posture was not dignified, so she slowed down her pace, took light steps, and went out to greet him gracefully.

Fake Xie Mingshu walked to the window. Because she was too short, she jumped hard and barely held onto the window sill, with only her small head showing. She saw Ling happily approaching a tall, slender, and elegant man. The man naturally embraced Ling in his arms, lowered his head and whispered softly to comfort his beloved wife. Although they were at a distance and couldn't hear what they were saying, the deep love between them, the envy of others, was so dazzling.

The man was none other than the head of the Xie family, her father, Xie Chengyuan.

Xie Chengyuan lowered his head and listened carefully to Ling's sobbing confession, patting her back from time to time to comfort her. Then, as if he heard something, he raised his eyebrows slightly in surprise, and looked across the courtyard to the fake Xie Mingshu. When he saw his daughter's small figure lying on the window, he couldn't help but smile at her with a warm and doting smile. Then, he took Ling's hand, and the two walked towards the bedroom together.

The fake Xie Mingshu looked at the way Ling only had eyes for Xie Chengyuan, and looked at Xie Chengyuan's seemingly always gentle smile, with no expression on her face. A hint of hidden jealousy flashed in her eyes, and then a cruel and vicious smile appeared at the corner of her mouth, as if it was a sneer carved out of mud.

When Xie Chengyuan and Ling were about to reach the door, she slammed the door shut and bolted it.

Xie Chengyuan and Ling outside the door were both stunned.

"Shu'er? What's wrong? Open the door quickly, father is back." Xie Chengyuan's gentle voice sounded outside the door.

There was no response from inside.

"Shu'er, has someone made our Shu'er unhappy? Tell daddy and he will take care of it for you."

Still silent.

Xie Chengyuan didn't seem angry at all. Instead, he apologized repeatedly, his tone full of doting, without any airs of the head of the family: "Okay, okay, it's Dad's fault. Dad came back late and made our Shu'er angry. Shu'er is magnanimous, please don't be angry with Dad, okay?"

There was still no response from inside the room.

He said helplessly: "Then what should Dad do to make our Shu'er happy?"

"If it's about my brother... didn't we agree on this long ago? Shu'er is enough for my father and mother, and they won't have any more."

However, no matter how Xie Chengyuan tried to persuade her, the fake Xie Mingshu inside refused to open the door.

In the end, Xie Chengyuan and Ling could only sigh helplessly and leave together.

Seeing her father and mother being treated like this, and seeing the fake Xie Mingshu finally left alone, the furious puppet Xie Mingshu could no longer hold back. She suddenly jumped down from the windowsill. Although she was just a small puppet, her voice was particularly sharp because of her anger: "Who are you?! Why do you call my father and mother daddy and mommy?! Why can't my father and mother recognize that you are fake?! Who are you?! Who are you!"

The puppet Xie Mingshu questioned the fake Xie Mingshu who was standing in the middle of the room with her back to her at the top of her voice.

The fake Xie Mingshu slowly turned around, still with that morbidly beautiful smile on her face. She stared at the small puppet on the ground with interest, tilted her head, and chuckled, "Oh? A little puppet? So cute. But if you dare to shout like that again, I will tear you into a pile of firewood and light it up to warm myself."

An inexplicable chill instantly gripped the puppet Xie Mingshu, causing her to shiver involuntarily, and fear surged into her heart like a tide.

At this time, the fake Xie Mingshu's cold but teasing voice sounded again: "As for why I am here...you don't remember your last wish before you die? Oh, you are such a fool."

Upon hearing this, the puppet Xie Mingshu was stunned.

That desperate, unwilling, heart-wrenching cry...she remembered it!

“Could it be, could it be just because of that sentence!?” She screamed in disbelief, her little puppet body trembling slightly with excitement.

She shook her head desperately: "How could you take those angry words seriously?! At that time, I was in so much pain that I was about to die. I wanted to die but couldn't, so I...that's why I thought like that! I didn't mean that at all! It's not that I don't want to live! I-I am-"

The fake Xie Mingshu just looked at her with a smile on her face. That smile was as pure as an angel's, but it did not give people the slightest sense of warmth. Instead, it was as if she was appreciating a wonderful one-man show, waiting for her to continue crying.

Who would have thought that the puppet Xie Mingshu actually began to sob as she spoke: "It's not that I don't want to live... It's just that it hurts too much, it really hurts too much, I can't stand it... I want to live! Give my father and mother back to me! Give my father and mother back to me! They are my father and mother, not yours... Please, give them back to me... Please give them back to me!"

Hearing this, the fake Xie Mingshu's smile deepened. She clapped her hands gently, as if praising the wonderful performance, and her tone was full of mockery: "You said it very well. I am almost moved by you. It's a pity that you have already had one life."

"It happened a few times, but that was my life!" The puppet Xie Mingshu retorted fiercely, "Why do you take it away?! And... and I made a lot of wrong choices! I won't accept it! It's all because I'm too stupid! It's because I'm too stupid that I humiliated that prince and caused the destruction of my family! I want to start over again! I want to make amends! These are my parents, my life, you can't take it away! You can't!"

The fake Xie Mingshu slowly picked up a tea bowl on the table, a hint of boredom flashed across her eyes, but the corner of her mouth still had that faint smile.

The puppet Xie Mingshu was still immersed in great sadness and did not realize what the other party wanted to do, nor did she see the impatience in the other party's eyes.

Until the cold tea bowl fell over her head, completely covering her small puppet body, and her voice became weak and vague.

The puppet Xie Mingshu then reacted in panic. She banged her fist hard, but the tea bowl only vibrated slightly.

The fake Xie Mingshu tapped the tea bowl with her fingers and chuckled, as if teasing a trapped insect. She said mercilessly, "It's too late. Your life is already mine."

……

Chu Lu suddenly opened his eyes, sat up from the bed, a thin layer of cold sweat on his forehead.

It was already getting light outside the window.

He was breathing heavily, his expression serious.

This dream... is obviously wrong!
Putting aside the question of how a man who had been dreamless for years could suddenly have a dream, even as a dream, it was too long, too real, and too detailed.

And the plot in the dream, letting a future emperor be tortured by his daughter in his own home, and finally leading to the destruction of the family? This plot is a bit too much for female abuse. As for the fake Xie Mingshu, her style of behavior is very heroine.

How could he have such a dream?
"Qin Su?" he called in his heart.

"I'm here. What's wrong?" Qin Su's voice was filled with concern.

Chu Lu briefly recounted the content of the dream.

Qin Su was silent for a moment, and said: "It is indeed strange, but I didn't notice anything unusual. If someone, even if she is the heroine, wants to secretly influence your mind, it is impossible to hide it from me. And I can't find any copy information related to this Xie Mingshu in the database. Maybe... it's just that you have been under too much pressure during this period?"

"How is this possible? This isn't the first time I've been under so much pressure. I've never encountered anything like this before." Chu Lu said, rubbing his temple.

"Then I really don't know." Qin Su also showed a trace of worry, "But even if someone can bypass me, but has this ability, why would they just let you have such a dream? It seems meaningless, right?"

Chu Lu felt uneasy, always feeling that things were not that simple. He thought hard, trying to come up with at least a reliable guess, but he had no clue even after thinking for a headache.

At this moment, light footsteps sounded, and the palace door was silently pushed open. Several graceful palace maids filed in. Chu Lu was stunned for a moment, and then he realized that the time had come, and the palace maids came to help him get up. He naturally would not refuse and let them serve him.

When Chu Lu finished washing up, a eunuch saw that he looked unhappy, so he stepped forward and reported in a low voice: "Your Majesty, today is the palace examination. However, your Majesty's health is the most important thing. If you feel unwell, I can ask for permission and delay it for a while..."

Palace examination?

Chu Lu's eyes narrowed, and then he remembered, yes, today was the palace examination.

The dream was so long that he blurred the date and for a moment he forgot that today was the day of the palace examination.

He immediately put the strange dream behind him. No matter what, the strange dream was a matter for the future, but Xiao Jiu's threat was right in front of him and had to be dealt with immediately.

So Chu Lu said in a deep voice: "No need to delay."

(End of this chapter)