Both worlds are like dreams

Xue Huang still didn't wake up. She was still having the same nightmare over and over again. By the time the young man brought her consciousness to the world of gems, she could no longer tell whether the dream was real or reality was a dream.

She stood there for a long time, staring blankly at her own reflection at her feet, but tears were already streaming down her face.

Until the boy called her, "Are you okay?"

Xue Huang concentrated, the pain in her heart was indescribable, "I know everything."

The young man lowered his head and sighed helplessly: "After all, I can't escape my fate!"

"I had many dreams. I dreamed that Gu Qinglan and I were childhood sweethearts, but in the dream, he called me A-Li. I also dreamed that Mo Yunchen and I spent a long time in Shuanglin City. He called me Gu Qingli, and then he killed me with his own hands. Gu Qinglan was buried in the snowy mountains, and the entire Gu family was executed."

The boy's face showed no surprise, he just sighed, but he said nothing.

Xue Huang continued: "Tell me, that wasn't a dream, right? You once said that it was a past event that I had forgotten, right?"

The young man sighed: "Why bother to remember it when I have already forgotten it?"

"I don't want to remember it either!" Xue Huang's emotions completely collapsed. "As long as I can never remember it, I can selfishly escape and I can always be Wei Xue Huang. But how can I pretend that nothing happened?!"

"You can still choose to forget it and treat it as a dream."

Xue Huang smiled sadly, "How can I treat this as a dream?"

"So what do you want to do?" the boy asked.

"I want to know the whole truth. I want to know who Gu Qingli is? And when did this happen?"

The young man sighed heavily, "Then I will start from the beginning, starting with your past."

In the silent world, the boy's voice slowly tells the story of the distant past...

The story begins with the destruction of Beiyuan and the massacre of the royal family. The last princess of Beiyuan was born at that time.

Her name is Xiao Jingyu, which was the name given to her by Prince Jingchen.

Prince Jingchen was a man of both literary and military talents, well-read in poetry and literature, and he gave her countless names, but he was not satisfied with any of them, because he felt that his sister deserved all the good things in the world.

Finally, he named his sister Xiao Jingyu. The word "Yu" also contains the expectations of him, his father, and his mother. They hope that this child will be kind and loving, and live a worry-free life.

Unfortunately, Xiao Jingchen did not see the birth of his sister with his own eyes. At that time, he and Emperor Yuanwen were holding the jade seal to accept the surrender in Taiji Hall, and finally died.

What followed was a massacre of the Beiyuan royal family. In order to protect Xiao Jingyu, her mother had to hand her over to her personal female official and escaped in the chaos, but she herself died beside her husband and son.

In order to prevent Xiao Jingyu from being hunted down, she even deliberately found a baby's corpse and held it in her arms to conceal her identity.

But the female official was still discovered. She was chased all the way, but she still tried her best to escape from the palace. However, she was seriously injured at that time. In order to protect the child, she had to hide the child first and lead away the pursuers herself.

But when she desperately came back, the child was gone.

It turned out that when she was leading the pursuers away, the child seemed to be moved and cried out.

Her voice attracted Gu Rongchuan who was patrolling the city at the time. Among the corpses scattered all over the ground, she was the only one still alive.

When Gu Rongchuan carried her out of the chaotic alley, she suddenly stopped crying.

At that time, Gu Rongchuan did not know the identity of the child. He just felt that it was very pitiful that she suffered such a disaster at such a young age. Seeing that she was very cute and charming, he thought that he had no daughter, so he quietly took her back home.

Unexpectedly, everyone in the Gu family liked this child very much, especially Duke Jingguo. He did not care about the child's unknown identity. Instead, he personally named her Gu Qingli and raised her as the second daughter of the Gu family.

The Gu family really treated her as their own daughter and gave her the best of everything.

At this point, the young man smiled, "Gu Qingli at that time was different from you now. She was the most beautiful woman in Shangyang City who was good at both literature and martial arts. The Gu family was a family of military commanders, so Gu Qingli's martial arts, like Gu Qinglan's, were inherited from Gu Rongchuan. Gu Rongchuan's wife was also a talented woman who was well-read in poetry and literature, so Gu Qingli also studied literature since she was young. As a result, when the brother and sister grew up, they directly occupied the reputation of Shangyang City's talented man and woman."

Xue Huang recalled the self in the dream, and it was indeed very different from the current self. Gu Qingli was well-educated, proficient in music, chess, calligraphy and painting, and her every move was virtuous and dignified like a daughter of a wealthy family. And when she was wielding a sword, she was not at all pretentious, but heroic and vigorous.

The young man continued, "At that time, Gu Qingli was highly sought after and had countless men in love with her, but she rarely went out. Even when she did, she never went to crowded places. She avoided all invitations from the wealthy nobles, sons and daughters of aristocratic families in the city."

"Why?" Xue Huang asked puzzledly.

"You have something on you that directly proves your identity."

Xue Huang thought for a moment, "My necklace?"

The young man nodded. "When Gu Rongchuan picked you up, he didn't find the necklace hidden in your swaddling clothes. But you also know that your necklace is made of top-grade South China pearls and rare gemstones. How could an ordinary family have such a precious thing?"

"So, they know my identity?"

"You have also seen the necklace. Under special light, you can see that there is a phoenix feather pattern inside. It is the totem of the Beiyuan royal family. But the Gu family does not know this secret. They just think that since you have such a precious treasure, your identity must not be that of an ordinary person."

"But even so, the Gu family still raised me."

"That's right." The young man said. "Even though they guessed that you were not ordinary, they still kept you. In order to protect you, they rarely let you go out. At that time, you really didn't like to associate with the princes and daughters of nobles in this city. You were either writing or playing with swords and guns in the mansion. Even when you went out, you went to travel with Gu Qinglan. So there were very few people in Shangyang City who had even seen you."

Xue Huang was lively and active by nature, so it was hard to imagine that Gu Qingli would be willing to stay in the mansion all day. But from another perspective, she grew up in a different environment from her, which probably led to a different personality.

But she dreamed of the time when she and Gu Qinglan grew up together. Gu Qinglan treated her very well and would accompany her whenever he had time.

He would play chess with her, sometimes playing a game for a whole day. He would listen to her playing the piano, and then make her favorite tea. He would also practice swordplay with her, practice calligraphy with her, and plant flowers and grass with her.

As long as she likes, he will satisfy her.

He tried all kinds of ways to make her happy every day, for fear that she would be bored in the house.

Even though Xue Huang did not really remember that period of time, the dream was so real that she could even feel that Gu Qingli was still very happy at that time.

"and after?"

"Later... after all, you are the second daughter of the Gu family, and you have a good reputation. Because of the relationship between Mo Ruilin and Gu Qinglan, the Gu family naturally began to support Mo Ruilin. The emperor of Beiling directly issued an order to arrange your marriage with Mo Ruilin!"

"what?!"

"As a veteran minister of three dynasties, the Gu family is highly regarded by the emperor and has become the target of all parties. However, Duke Jingguo does not want you to marry into the royal family, because your identity may put your life in danger. And you don't like Mo Ruilin, but the Gu family cannot disobey the order."

"I dreamed that I left Shangyang City and did not marry my fifth brother. Did something else happen during this period?"

"Yes." The young man raised his eyebrows. "Although the past and this life are different, some things have not changed. Wei Yunzhou is still a disciple of Guigu, but everything he suffered in his childhood has not been healed. He is bent on revenge. Although he has reached a cooperation with Mo Ruilin, he is not as humane as he is now. After Xu Yao appeared, he cooperated with him without hesitation, determined to get rid of Shen Congfeng and Mo Yunchen's party. After the emperor granted you and Mo Ruilin a marriage, you were depressed and went out of the house alone to relax, but you met Wei Yunzhou and Xu Yao at the Shili Pavilion outside the city. They didn't want you to marry Mo Ruilin, so they told you the truth."

"What happens next?"

"Gu Qingli clearly distinguishes between gratitude and resentment. She knows that Gu Rongchuan attacked Beiyuan on orders, and that the Gu family raised her for fifteen years and was very kind to her. But at that time, no one knew that the destruction of Beiyuan was caused by Shen Congfeng, so you were full of hatred for the Beiling royal family at that time, and it was even more impossible for you to agree to marry Mo Ruilin. Mo Ruilin didn't want to force it, so she asked the Emperor of Beiling to withdraw his order. Gu Qingli didn't want her identity to be exposed and implicate the Gu family, so after the order was withdrawn, she left a letter and left the Gu family."

"left?"

"Although Gu Qingli had hatred in her heart, the revenge methods of Wei Yunzhou and Xuyao were somewhat extreme at that time, especially Xuyao, who almost didn't care about anything and repeatedly instigated the relationship between Tianqi, Xiyue and Beiling, implicated many innocent people, and made the people of Shangyang City panic. Gu Qingli did not approve of this and kept trying to dissuade them. Xuyao was furious, but they still didn't want you to be in danger, so they proposed to send you to Guigu. You just planned to leave the Gu family, so under their arrangement, you left Shangyang City."