The Same Aura of Two Women

The rain kept falling.

The atmosphere wasn't very harmonious.

We only got to go out for a walk together today, since we live under the same roof.

Liu Chang'an and Shangguan Dandan were soaked from the rain. Liu Chang'an was not worried about catching a cold, and as for Shangguan Dandan, a little girl who had never been seen eating, a little rain wouldn't hurt her.

Liu Chang'an stopped jumping between the city's high-rise buildings. His previous leaps across the city's night sky must have been witnessed by some people, but these witnesses would often dismiss their own observations as if they had seen things wrong. Even those who firmly believed in their own eyes would only be treated as gossip fodder for ghost stories when discussed with others.

Shangguan Dandan refused to walk on the ground, probably due to her resistance and fear of the unfamiliar world, so Liu Chang'an didn't mind carrying her.

After all, just over two thousand years ago, the late emperor passed away prematurely amidst the threat of powerful ministers, leaving behind an orphan and a widow, beset by internal and external troubles. The two had even held a very formal ceremony to confirm their relationship, which was recognized by both parties.

Once the gates of the Everlasting Palace are closed, these are the two people with the closest relationship within the vast core of the empire.

Thinking back now, it has a warm and peaceful feeling. Liu Chang'an lowered his head and saw the Empress Dowager, who was once high and mighty, now nestled in his arms, staring wide-eyed at him with curiosity, looking around. It felt somewhat strange.

As I strolled along, my footsteps made a sticky, wet sound as they touched the damp ground.

Liu Chang'an carried Shangguan Dandan along his usual running route until there were more pedestrians on the road before they returned to the residential area.

At this moment, Shangguan Dandan got out of bed by herself and saw that Liu Chang'an only had a slightly dry spot on his chest. She beckoned Liu Chang'an to come into the room.

Shangguan Dandan found Liu Chang'an's brazier. Liu Chang'an watched her busy herself and realized that ever since the coffin was moved into the room, she hadn't spent most of the time in the coffin with the door closed, but she had become quite familiar with the room.

Shangguan Dandan poured the charcoal into the brazier, then looked at her fingers, which were stained with charcoal ash, picked up the igniter and lit it. She watched the flame burning on the tip of the igniter with curiosity for a while before finally lighting the charcoal.

"You warm yourself by the fire for a while, I need to take a bath and change," Shangguan Dandan said.

Liu Chang'an nodded. He admired her for letting him sit there in his wet clothes, waiting for the small fire to grow strong enough for him to warm himself, out of concern for him.

Even though she started to get used to doing things herself, her old habits often left her daily life feeling awkward and clumsy.

Shangguan Dandan walked into the small bathroom separated by bricks and aluminum panels. She looked inside, then turned to look at Liu Chang'an. Lifting the hem of her long coat, she walked back, her face slightly flushed, and moved a small stool to sit in front of Liu Chang'an, warming herself by the fire with him.

Liu Chang'an glanced at the few remaining flames and suggested, "Why don't I go upstairs to change first, and you can shower and change here? I'll come down to find you later."

Shangguan Dandan nodded quickly; she wasn't comfortable wearing such damp clothes.

Liu Chang'an went upstairs to change his clothes and shoes, drank a pot of tea, and then came back down. He saw Shangguan Dandan already sitting by the brazier, poking at the burning coals with an iron skewer.

Liu Chang'an sat down opposite her.

Shangguan Dandan was still wearing a white long robe, but with a different pattern. The collar was slightly parted to reveal a red undergarment, a style of the Han Dynasty underwear. Its most distinctive feature was that the back was completely exposed, with only the crisscrossing hooks on the shoulders and the belt at the waist.

"How are you feeling today?" Liu Chang'an asked.

"You've lectured me for so long, and I've seen so many things on the internet, but seeing them in person still feels incredible." Shangguan Dandan looked up in disbelief. "Is this really the human world we live in now?"

"Yes."

"Could it be that a great demon has devoured the mortal realm and is using its demonic energy to bewitch us?"

Liu Chang'an did not deny it directly, but looked into her eyes, which trembled slightly.

Or perhaps it was a dream orchestrated by an immortal, one that neither of us was aware of?

Liu Chang'an waited for her to continue imagining.

Shangguan Dandan looked at the calm Liu Chang'an, but did not offer any further possibilities. For a young girl with limited knowledge, she couldn't think of concepts like parallel universes, and the unsolvable mystery couldn't escape the idea of demons or immortals.

"Probably not..." Shangguan Dandan glanced at her coffin, finally snapping out of the surreal feeling after being shocked by reality. "I really did come to a world more than two thousand years in the future, and I even met you."

"How exactly were you put into this coffin?" Liu Chang'an asked casually, though it was actually a very important and crucial question.

"I don't remember." Shangguan Dandan's eyes were blank; it wasn't that she didn't want to talk about it, but rather that she simply had no relevant memory. "She's probably dead."

"After I left Chang'an, we kept in touch through letters. I was on the east side of the lake for many years. When I died, you were still alive." Liu Chang'an remembered this as such. He would occasionally jokingly call Shangguan Dandan "Little Old Lady," but the woman in front of him was clearly just a young girl, just like when they first met in Chang'an.

Shangguan Dandan's eyes were still filled with confusion. He was clearly not dead. All she could remember were things related to him.

"Then you probably can't remember whether you've woken up or left this coffin in the past two thousand years, or what you've done using this coffin." Liu Chang'an sighed softly. If she had woken up and left, it would be such an interesting story that he could tell her.

"I've woken up." Shangguan Dandan gave Liu Chang'an an unexpected answer.

"When did you wake up?" Liu Chang'an rubbed his hands together, looking at Shangguan Dandan expectantly.

"The time in the coffin is unknown, how would I know what time it is?" Shangguan Dandan tugged at her collar, then reached out and tugged at Liu Chang'an's collar, revealing his chest, which made Shangguan Dandan's cheeks flush.

The glow of the charcoal fire made her cheeks feel even warmer.

"What happened then?" Since you remember waking up, you should remember at least a little bit of what happened.

"But I've already talked to you a lot today." Shangguan Dandan looked at Liu Chang'an somewhat unwillingly.

"A story can't be told in such a disjointed way. Please finish, thank you." Liu Chang'an felt that since she had read so many online novels, she should understand this feeling.

"You used to tell me stories like this all the time," Shangguan Dandan said matter-of-factly.

Liu Chang'an opened his mouth. "Is this what they mean by 'you'll have to pay back eventually'?"

Seeing Liu Chang'an's expression, Shangguan Dandan touched Liu Chang'an's cheek with satisfaction. She didn't intend to hold it against him, after all, she was his mother.

"I woke up because I sensed your presence... I thought you wouldn't let me go even after I was dead, and I was so angry I felt like I was going to die again... But something felt off. This presence didn't smell like you, but rather like the lingering scent of you in my body." Shangguan Dandan tried hard to recall, her memory was still fairly clear, so she tried to remember more details. "I don't know if that was the first time I woke up, but I wasn't panicked when I woke up, and I could naturally sense the life force and vitality around me."

"The scent that lingers in your body... well... it really has a long shelf life." Liu Chang'an found it somewhat unbelievable.

"It's saliva!" Shangguan Dandan stared at Liu Chang'an with an unchanged expression, then suddenly shouted loudly.

"Go on," Liu Chang'an nodded.

"That aura comes from... she's the woman who often comes to see you now."

So that's how it is... There's no new story or plot. Qin Peng has already told him almost everything. What he and Qin Peng didn't know before was that when Ye Sijin was buried alive, Shangguan Dandan opened her eyes in the coffin under that land.

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I recommend a book called "The Wall Street Club." Xia Hua's books are usually not very realistic, and they don't offer much of a sense of accomplishment in business warfare and finance. You can read this book to supplement your reading experience.