An ordinary carriage rolled out from the Qi Tian Marquis's Mansion. Its heavy shafts swept up the fallen leaves on the ground as it sped away in a cloud of dust, soon charging out of the Imperial City.
Inside the carriage.
"Thank you! Last night was the soundest sleep I'd had in more than ten years. With a night like that, I have no regrets in this life." Silver Pool Madam pursed her rosy lips, a maiden-like shyness on her face, and said with a sweet smile, "Last night, I dreamed of you!"
Ning Xiaochuan smiled. "Oh? What happened when you dreamed of me?"
Silver Pool Madam's gaze turned misty, as though she were lost in longing. "I dreamed that we met fifteen years ago. Back then, I was at my youngest and most beautiful, singing long songs and dancing graceful dances, my beauty unrivaled beneath heaven. Countless young talents adored and pursued me—truly, 'one crimson silk song, beyond counting.' And at that time, you were the foremost genius of the Imperial City, the Little Marquis of the Sword Pavilion Marquis's Mansion. You knocked every talented hero flat onto the ground. Then you took me boating beneath the bright moon, with emerald-green Lotus Leaves everywhere around us, and adorable fireflies fluttering over them. The night wind was cool, so you drew me into your embrace and whispered softly into my ear. You told me stories—the love story of a genius youth and a beautiful maiden!"
A trace of sadness rose in Ning Xiaochuan's heart. If they had truly met fifteen years ago, what would the ending have been? "And then?" Ning Xiaochuan asked.
"I woke up." Silver Pool Madam smiled. "Actually, having this one dream is enough to satisfy me. It was as though that was the life I had