SGEIRS -Chapter 97 Another Nightmare

That night, Meng Jinyao had that dream again.

In the dream, Chengyu was crying and refusing to take his medicine. Concubine Du coaxed him gently for a long while, but it was useless. She watched as the sick little boy’s face flushed from crying, his breathing uneven.

Worried that Chengyu might cry himself into breathlessness, Concubine Du didn’t dare force him to take the medicine anymore. She just soothed him softly: “Chengyu, be good. If you don’t want to take it, then you don’t have to.” Then she gave a meaningful glance to the maid nearby.

The maid nodded and hurried off to fetch reinforcements.

But just as the maid was about to leave, little Meng Jinyao appeared.

Seeing her, Concubine Du’s expression brightened as if she’d seen a savior. She smiled warmly: “The eldest miss is here. Chengyu refuses to take his medicine again. You coax him—he always listens to you the most.”

“Da… hic… Big sister.”

Chengyu immediately stopped crying upon seeing her and reached out for a hug.

Little Meng Jinyao ran over on her short legs, and once lifted onto the bed by the maid, she hugged her sickly little brother and coaxed him in her sweet, childish voice: “Be good, Chengyu. After this last dose, you’ll be almost better. When you get better, big sister will take you out to play.” She hummed softly and added, “If you’re not good, big sister will take Cheng Zhang instead and won’t pay attention to you anymore.”

Hearing this, Chengyu felt as if the sky was falling. He continued to drink the medicine while crying. With every sip, his tiny eyebrows furrowed, lips pursed, and tears streamed down—evidently the medicine was awful—but he dared not refuse to drink it.

At that moment, Meng Jinyao burst into the room. Seeing the scene, a chill ran down her spine. Concubine Du held the medicine bowl, Chengyu—just two years old—was being held by the maid, and five-year-old Meng Jinyao was feeding him spoonful by spoonful.

“No—don’t drink! You can’t drink it!”

She shouted, but no one could hear her.

Seeing that they were unmoved, she ran forward, trying to knock the medicine bowl from Concubine Du’s hands. But as she reached out, her hand passed right through the bowl—it remained in Concubine Du’s grasp.

Panicking, she tried frantically, again and again, to overturn the bowl, to grab the spoon from little Meng Jinyao.

No matter how hard she tried, it was all in vain.

All the medicine went down Chengyu’s throat. Sick and frail already, he had just cried himself out, and now after taking the medicine, he fell into a deep sleep.

Chengyu had taken the medicine, but his condition did not improve—in fact, it worsened. Concubine Du suspected something was wrong with the prescription, so she secretly sent a trusted maid to consult another doctor. The doctor said the prescription was fine; the medicine was mild and slow-acting but suitable for children. Children couldn’t take harsh medicine; following the prescription would be fine.

But Concubine Du had overlooked one thing—the prescription was fine, but errors could occur during the decoction process.

Chengyu died young. Concubine Du fainted on the spot, then fell gravely ill herself, and finally passed away.

She felt like an outsider, watching the tragedy unfold, powerless, breaking down in uncontrollable sobs.

Gu Jingxi was a light sleeper. Hearing the sound of sobbing, he slowly woke, still groggy. Turning his head, he saw the young girl’s shoulders trembling and was instantly fully awake.

This girl had a resilient temperament; he had never seen her cry before. Why was she crying like this now?

Confused, he asked gently, “My lady, what’s wrong?”

After a moment, there was no response, but the sobbing continued. Hesitating, Gu Jingxi reached out and turned her over, only to see her frowning, eyes tightly shut, tears streaming from the corners, hiccuping continuously.

Lying flat seemed to make her feel unsafe. She curled up on her side and continued to cry.

It seemed she was having a nightmare.

Watching her cry louder and louder, Gu Jingxi—having no experience soothing children—felt helpless. If this went on, the night-duty maids outside might hear and misunderstand.

He thought for a moment, then awkwardly patted her back, coaxing gently: “Don’t cry, my lady. It’s alright. Don’t cry.”

Meng Jinyao, perhaps hearing his voice, instinctively moved closer to him and continued crying against him.

Gu Jingxi had no choice but to keep soothing her, hoping she would quiet down soon. If anyone heard her crying in the still of night, even if nothing were wrong, it could cause unnecessary trouble.

“Don’t cry, my lady. It’s just a bad dream.”

His voice was gentle, steady, and reassuring. Gradually, the crying lessened, though she showed no sign of waking.

Once the sobbing finally stopped, Gu Jingxi breathed a quiet sigh of relief. The girl had rolled into his arms, limbs entangled with his, clinging tightly.

By moonlight, he could clearly see the soft pink of her cheeks, the graceful curve of her neck, her small cherry lips slightly parted—both delicate and endearing.

For the first time in twenty-nine years, Gu Jingxi was so intimately close to a young lady. Their bodies pressed together, the fragrance of a young girl enveloping him. He spent the whole night awake, stiffly remaining still, letting the girl cling to him.

It wasn’t until dawn that sleep finally overtook him.

In the early morning, the first light of dawn filtered in.

Meng Jinyao woke slowly, intending to rub her eyes, and immediately sensed something was wrong. Her eyes snapped wide open—she was resting on Gu Jingxi’s arm, sprawled across him with both hands and legs, one hand around his neck, the other around his waist, one leg draped over his.

An awkward and terrifying sleeping position.

She instantly woke fully, heart pounding, too nervous to breathe. She couldn’t understand how she, who had always slept properly, ended up so uncontrollably restless last night.

She lifted her head slightly and saw Gu Jingxi’s eyes still closed, not yet awake. She exhaled slowly, then carefully slipped out of his arms. Seeing that he was still asleep, she finally relaxed.

Thankfully.

Thankfully, he hadn’t woken up and didn’t see her misbehavior. Otherwise, she would have wanted to crawl into a hole.

Not long after, Gu Jingxi slowly ‘woke.’ Seeing the young girl staring intently at him, he casually said, “Good morning, my lady.”

Meng Jinyao jumped slightly, forcing a smile. “Good morning, husband.”

Seeing Gu Jingxi shift uncomfortably, her heart skipped. Feeling guilty, she averted her gaze and asked anxiously, “Husband, is… is your arm uncomfortable?”

Gu Jingxi glanced at her. Seeing her guilty, unwilling to meet his eyes, he smiled faintly and said softly, “It’s fine. Just felt a little heavy, as if something pressed on it. Perhaps it’s been too long without movement.”

Meng Jinyao’s face tightened slightly. Sneaking a look at him and seeing his expression normal, she said, “Then, husband, move it around. I’ll get up first.”

With that, she sat up, straddled over Gu Jingxi’s body, got out of bed, and sent for the maid to attend to her.