In the Northern Song Dynasty, he started by marrying the eighth daughter of the Su family.

"I dare not accept such praise," Han Zhi quickly returned the greeting. "It was just a momentary display of skill; please do not take it seriously."

Liu Yong smiled faintly and said, "I just don't know, Mr. Han has a happy family and is about to achieve fame and success, so why do you write such bitter and sorrowful words? It doesn't seem like a pretense or an act, but rather a genuine feeling."

"I wonder if Lord Han could offer some guidance?"

Han Zhi bowed even lower and said, "I dare not offer guidance. My poetic talent is far inferior to that of my wife, and I dare not accept the title of guidance."

"Don't be modest, just say it."

Han Zhi thought for a moment before saying, "Actually, it was a dream I had, in which there was a beautiful illusion."

Su Zhen then began to prick up his ears and listen attentively:

"In a dream, a celestial general was chasing a fairy when he bumped into a celestial messenger, and the two fell in love. However, for some reason, the celestial general was banished to the mortal world and became a monster. In order to follow him, the celestial messenger also entered the mortal world and became a monster as well."

"However, the celestial general received a mission, and after reuniting with the celestial messenger, they could only fight each other. After the celestial general left, the celestial messenger waited bitterly in the mortal world, even going so far as to make a deal with the demon lord, just to wait for the celestial general."

"The immortal envoy was about to die, and when he finally met the heavenly general, they could not recognize each other. The heavenly general could only place the bead that symbolized their love in front of the immortal envoy's tomb and keep everything in his heart."

"The celestial messenger, who waited patiently, never saw his lover again, and the heavenly general could only harden his heart and leave on his own."

After hearing the story, Han Zhi himself sighed. He had felt a pang of sadness about this plot back then.

Su Zhen also said, "No wonder, the final line of the poem only asks: 'The night lamp is left for you,' it seems that it was to wait for the beloved."

Liu Yong also sighed and said, "It's remarkable that Han Yu could write such a poem about such a dream. The events in the dream must have deeply touched Han Yu's heart. We haven't seen this dream, so we can't truly understand it."

Han Zhi exhaled a breath of white air and felt something on his face. He reached up and touched it, only to find that it was snowing again.

"It's snowing again..."

He slowly raised his head, and Liu Yong said, "It's snowing, so it's not good to stay here any longer. Gentlemen, I'll take my leave now, and you should both head home as soon as possible."

Han Zhi nodded: "Please take care, Mr. Liu, and get home soon."

Liu Yong had already turned around and walked some distance, but after hearing Han Zhi's words, he turned back and shook his head, saying, "I have no home."

"Then...where does Master Liu live?" Su Zhen asked, somewhat puzzled.

"This is not a home, but a house."

After saying this, Liu Yong turned and left. Han Zhi watched him go, then raised his sleeve to cover Su Zhen's upper body, and said:

"Ba Niang?"

"Officer."

"We should go back now, or we might catch a cold."

Han Zhi smiled slightly, then pulled her along and quickened their pace, heading back the way they came.

Su Zhen followed him, her eyes never leaving him, and even asked, almost as if possessed, "Go back where? To our house?"

“That’s our home,” Han Zhi said, holding Su Zhen’s hand and gently scratching her palm. “An empty house is called a house, but a house with family is a home.”

"So, Eighth Sister, would you be willing to come home with me?"

"willing."

Su Zhen held Han Zhi's hand tightly, as if afraid he would run away again.

......

They hurried home, and Su Zhen and Han Zhi arrived at their doorstep, where Yue Ping and Qian Su were already standing, each holding an umbrella. Upon seeing their two masters, the two quickly came forward to hold the umbrellas for them.

Qian Su took Xiao Hei, and Yue Ping said, "My lord, my wife, the bath is ready. You may go and take a bath."

"Alright, go back and tell the servants at home that more will be coming tomorrow," Su Zhen nodded and instructed.

"Yes."

Qian Su and Yue Ping also hurriedly ran away, leaving Han Zhi and Su Zhen behind.

Back inside, after quickly brushing the snow off his clothes, Han Zhi, as usual, began to pack Su Zhen's clothes for her to change into. At that moment, Su Zhen leaned closer, reached into the wardrobe, and took out a set of Han Zhi's clothes as well.

"Eighth Sister hasn't washed yet, and it's getting late. Eighth Sister should go first." Han Zhi thought Su Zhen wanted him to go first.

“It is indeed getting late,” Su Zhen said, “My lord has to go to the Imperial Academy tomorrow. If you sleep late, you may be out of energy tomorrow and get scolded by your teacher.”

"Then this is?"

Han Zhi was somewhat puzzled. Su Zhen's face flushed again, and she stammered, "The bath at home is quite large, and my lord shouldn't delay your bedtime, so... so my lord might as well come with me..."

Han Zhi was stunned for a moment, but before he could come to his senses, Su Zhen pulled him out of the room. Then, under the bewildered gazes of Yue Ping and Qian Su, they walked into the bathroom together.

The two maids exchanged a glance and quickly understood what was about to happen. They hurriedly called to the other maids nearby and left quickly.

Su Zhen hung up her clothes and then went to stand in front of Han Zhi. It was already cold outside, and the hot water in the bathroom had just been tested. Steam filled the air, making it difficult to see Han Zhi's face clearly.

......

Han Zhi sat in the pool, with Su Zhen behind him, rubbing his back. The atmosphere was not only quiet, but also somewhat awkward.

Finally unable to contain himself any longer, Su Zhen gently touched Han Zhi's shoulder and whispered, "My lord?"

"what happened?"

"Was the dream you and Master Liu were talking about just now real?"

No sooner had Su Zhen finished asking than Han Zhi turned around, and their eyes met. He gently pulled Su Zhen closer and asked, "Why did you ask, Eighth Sister?"

“A wise man once said that dreams are beautiful, but they reflect what happens after waking up. I would like to know if your dream has any hidden meaning? If it is not understood, I will not be at ease.”

Han Zhi nodded and said, "Of course it's true. What's wrong? Why can't you rest assured?"

"I don't know. Right now, I feel like I'm in a dream, as if my husband, or everything here, is unreal." Su Zhen frowned slightly. She felt that everything was strange, but she couldn't quite put her finger on what was wrong.

Han Zhi smiled, reached out and pulled her into his arms, and asked, "What's strange? I'm right here, aren't I?"

Su Zhen shook his head: "It's just strange, I can't quite put my finger on it."

Han Zhi gently tucked her wet hair behind his ear and asked, "What about me? Am I a monster too?"

Su Zhen nodded and said, "After hearing what you said about your dream, I feel uneasy."

"I know how good you are, my lord. No matter how much I misbehave, you always respond. My parents-in-law and elders also feel sorry for me. I'm just afraid that one day I'll wake up and find that everything with you was just a dream."

"It's alright, I've always been here." Han Zhi gently touched her cheek and said, "This isn't a dream."

"I'll be here when Eighth Sister wakes up tomorrow; I'll be here the day after tomorrow too. Don't worry."

Su Zhen smiled, her eyes now clouded with tears, whether it was an illusion or not was unknown.

"It's really good."

At this moment, Han Zhi suddenly started again, saying, "If Eighth Sister still doesn't think it's real, why don't you give it a try?"

"Try it? Try what?"

Su Zhen didn't react at first, but after thinking it through, her face flushed. She bit her lip and asked again, "Do we really have to stay here? We can go back to the room."

"Then let's go back to the room and try again. Besides, doesn't Ba Niang really want a baby? While trying the illusion, let's see if we can also have a child to make Ba Niang happy?"

Su Zhen bit her finger and finally nodded.

Whether it's a hallucination or not doesn't matter; what matters is, if we really did have a child...

Yes, it's not that I'm afraid of whether it's real or fake, I just want a child!

Su Zhen thought to himself.