The Dreamer in the Spring Boudoir

Actually, their days were very cozy and warm, but Guibai and Miss Shui weren’t the type to idly chat. Other than sleeping in the same bed, it seemed more like they were roommates than husband and wife. There wasn’t even any friendly bickering between them.

—

“What’s this?” Ji Man saw Ning Yuxuan bringing over a bolt of silk fabric. She raised her eyebrows.

“I saw this in a fabric store on my way back from the imperial court,” said Ning Yuxuan, “How about you make me a cloak with it?”

Ji Man twitched her lips. “Dream on.”

Even though that’s what she said, she still took the silk fabric from him and looked at it. She considered what kind of cloak she could make from it.

Guibai was standing behind them. He felt even more conflicted. Why were the marquis and madam’s conversations so natural and intimate? How long would it take for him and Huayue to progress to this point?

—

Ms. Shui came with him as he accompanied the marquis and his family on their evening stroll. Seeing the family of three in front of them, Guibai couldn’t resist sneaking a glance at the person next to him.

“Huayue...”

“En?” Ms. Shui turned her head to blankly look at him.

Guibai couldn’t resist rubbing the mirror inside his sleeve. He coughed a few times to clear his throat, then he said, “Do you envy the marquis and madam’s lifestyle?”

Ms. Shui looked at him in puzzlement. “Why should I feel envy?”

“They have such a strong, loving marriage. The marquis has power over all levels of society, and madam is a woman that’s rarely seen in this world...” Guibai gesture as he spoke. “Isn’t that very enviable?”

“Yes, that is very enviable,” said Ms. Shui calmly, “Everyone wishes they could be like them, but unfortunately, that’s not a reachable goal for everyone. We can only be ourselves and live out our own kind of life. Other people’s lives are their own.”

Guibai froze in surprise.

“No matter how good the marquis is, he’s madam’s husband. No one else would be able to manage him as well as her. No matter how good madam is, she only likes the marquis. She wouldn’t want anyone else either,” said Ms. Shui with a serious expression, “They have their lives, and it’s okay to envy them, but there’s no need to insist that you need a life like theirs to be happy.”

It felt as if a lightning bolt had covered the sky in blinding brightness. Guibai came to a sudden realization.

Oh, so it was like that. He had been constantly worried that Ms. Shui would feel unhappy spending her life with him because she had the marquis and madam as a comparison point. He assumed that she would think their shared life was like a cup of plain boiled water that would becoming increasingly flavorless. But, as it turned out, he had just been overthinking things.

“I left a piece of beef for tonight,” said Ms. Shui in a quiet voice, “Come home earlier today, I’ll cook it for you.”

“Okay.” Guibai enthusiastically nodded. He thought it over, then he took out the mirror he had been using for several years. He handed the mirror to Ms. Shui.

“Huh?” Ms. Shui took the mirror from him to look at. Twitching her lips, she asked, “Don’t you like this mirror a lot? You always have it with you.”

Guibai nodded with a solemn expression. “Yes, I used this mirror to reflect on myself and to try to reason out why I had such a difficult time getting married.”

Ms. Shui: “...”

“I understand now. It’s because I’ve been affected too much by the marquis and madam.” Guibai’s gaze showed that he was very moved. “Thank you for waking me up to truth. I want to give you this mirror as my thanks.”

“I don’t want it,” Ms. Shui calmly stuffed the mirror back into his sleeve.

“Why?” Guibai felt very wronged. This mirror used to be his beloved treasure.

Ms. Shui sighed. She held Guibai’s hand as she said, “Just keep it for yourself. Since you’re no longer affected by them, let’s follow them and have a nice stroll together.”

The real reason was that she thought the entire issue was really stupid, whether it was the mirror or the owner of this mirror.

Once again, the marquis and his family met assassins on the riverbank. From a distance, Ms. Shui saw madam picking up miss and moving to the side. In the next second, the marquis took out a dagger stored at his waist and started exchanging blows with the two assassins.

“Your lord is getting attacked by assassins,” she said.

Guibai had been gazing at Ms. Shui with a foolish smile. He didn’t respond until he heard those words. He quickly gestured for the guards to come over to stand in a circle and watch.

The group of guards formed a circle and watched the marquis fight off two assassins. When he executed a particularly brilliant move, they would cheer too. On the other side, Ji Man had already taken money out and purchased candied hawthorn from a passing merchant. She gave one stick of candied hawthorn to little Sangyu. The mother and daughter happily watched the show on the side while Ms. Shui was standing next to Guibai. Seeing that the fight had reached a critical point, Guibai went forward with his sword.

As the sun was setting, the assassins quickly retreated. On the way back, the marquis and madam hugged each other and coaxed their daughter. Guibai and Ms. Shui withdrew to their rooms and happily left to eat beef.

Each relationship and person had their own good points.There was no need to feel envious.

—

Guibai and Ms. Shui continued to follow after the marquis and Ji Man. They watched them mutually supporting each other and as their hair turned from black to white. They admired them, but they didn’t feel jealous. After all, when they turned to the side to look, didn’t they also have a partner that was accompanying them as their hair grayed?

There were thousands of feelings in the world. There were ones as ardent as fireworks, and ones as quiet as the starry sky. You have your glittering splendor, and I have my tranquil and comfortable life.

Everyone deserves a sincere love.