She could not see clearly in the blur, but then again, somehow, she thought she could see through it, so she tried hard. However, she always found that there seemed to be a veil. What was blocking her from seeing it clearly? That seemed to be a crucial, really important person who she had been ignoring.

Then, she vaguely saw that she was lying in a palace. The large palace was majestic and tall, and was very cold, but not as cold as her heart.

Chu Liuchen’s face appeared in the palace. His pair of deep eyes seemed to not have a trace of light in them at all. They were so dark that they seemed to cover the entire sky. His desperate face carried a bloodthirsty aura that could destroy the world. Then, an image of a pool of blood flashed. All consort candidates fell down on the ground. Those once beautiful faces all looked twisted and grim. The magnificent palace was almost covered in blood.

The royal palace that used to be gorgeous and graceful turned into an asura hell, cold and bone-chilling. Drops of blood accumulated to surround and protect something that she could not see clearly. She only felt her body shaking. She suddenly opened her eyes and looked at a place in the dark, feeling dazed. She felt so nervous that her entire body tightened up.

She felt so real while going between the dream and reality. She could see clearly those candidates’ desperate and twisted faces. Flower-like girls lay dead everywhere in the royal palace, which was a massacre she had never seen before. She had even painted some of the girls.

They were all aristocratic family daughters entering the palace for consort selection.

She remembered she went into the palace just to paint those consort candidates and then present them to the Emperor to select. However, those girls should all die in such a bloody way! What in the world did she forget, or did she remember it wrong? Why was it so messy!

In the past, though her memory was kind of hazy, she was sure about the part she could remember. Nevertheless, now, she even had to doubt if she really remembered it clearly. Why did it feel contradictory from her past memory?

“What? Did you have a nightmare?” In the dark, a voice rang out.

Shao Wanru froze for a moment and subconsciously wanted to scream but someone covered her mouth. Then, there was a gentle voice. “It’s me!”

Hearing it was Chu Liuchen’s voice, Shao Wanru became relieved. She smelled a faint medicine fragrance, which she found soothing, so her body involuntarily relaxed and she reached out to gently push Chu Liuchen’s hand.

Seeing her calm down, Chu Liuchen then lay his hand down. “What is it? What is the nightmare about!”

After saying that, he leaned beside Shao Wanru very casually and even took a cushion by her head to lazily lean against it.

“I don’t know. I seemed to have a dream about Shao Yanru. There’s something… I couldn’t see clearly in my dream!” Shao Wanru kneaded her forehead, feeling an uncomfortable, numb pain.

She closed her eyes again to calm down her beating heart, which was flustered by the bloody scene she had witnessed. What exactly did she remember wrong? Or did she fail to understand something?

The memory, especially the part she dreamed, from her past life was indeed somewhat blurry. She seemed to have seen something that happened after her being cut in two at the waist!

Why did she seem to see Shao Yanru’s face among those dead people for a moment? How… did Shao Yanru die? Why was it like that!

“Dreaming about Shao Yanru? That’s really so great of you to dream about her instead of me! Do you still have any feelings for her!” Shao Wanru still felt a kind of numb pain in her forehead and Chu Liuchen stretched his slim fingers to flick it.

“Ouch!” Shao Wanru felt like she had woken up because of the pain. All the hazy scenes in her head all vanished and her clear memory was restored. While covering her head, which was aching from the flick, she raised her eyes and looked at Chu Liuchen. “Why are you here now?”

Huaguang Temple was not a place that was easy to enter. If someone could sneak in so easily, it would not be called a royal temple. She heard that there were martial artist monks in Huaguang Temple. They were good at kung fu and protected the temple. It was very hard for people to sneak into Huaguang Temple.

Royal family members would not have cultivated in seclusion here if the place had not possessed strong power. For several dynasties, it remained a royal temple and also had a rich history. Huaguang Temple was not loyal to one certain emperor, but to whoever the current emperor was, which was why they still were flourishing after hundreds of years.

Chu Liuchen said, as if it had been natural for him to say this, “Of course, I’m here to cultivate in seclusion too.”

“You also come here to cultivate? And why didn’t I know that?” Shao Wanru asked in a daze while flashing her watery eyes. She really found it weird. If Chu Liuchen came to Huaguang Temple too, it should have been something big. How could he come here silently?

“I’m poor in health and can’t come here extravagantly. So I simply brought a few people to live here!” A smile flashed across Chu Liuchen’s eyes as he spoke leisurely.

“Where do you live?” Shao Wanru suddenly had a bad hunch.

“Next to you, of course!” Chu Liuchen said casually and reached out to fondle her hair scattered on the pillow. Shao Wanru did not like tying up her hair when sleeping and just let it loose every time. When he wrapped her sleek hair around his finger, he felt smoothness and indescribable subtleness.

Moonlight flowed in from the half-open windows. It was vague, carrying a feeling that was hard to describe. Suddenly, both of them stopped saying anything; an atmosphere beyond expression flowed in the air.

Shao Wanru’s face reddened somehow. She did not look sideways but could feel that Chu Liuchen seemed to be looking at her. At that time, she felt lucky that it was dark; she could hide a little bit. Nevertheless, her temperature rose unnaturally; she felt a little hot.

“Why don’t you go back!” She did not feel too comfortable when her body remained in the same position for a long time. Since she was between the sheets, she took the opportunity to move her hands and legs. “It’s late.”

“I’ve slept too much during the day. I can’t sleep now, so I came over to talk to you for a while!” Chu Liuchen said very casually, “I heard the previous scene was really big, and Shao Yanru kept pestering you!”

“She might be going back soon. Will the consort selection start soon?” Talking about Shao Yanru, Shao Wanru slowly calmed down and her face returned to normal. Her watery eyes flashed. In the dark, her tranquil eyes looked very beautiful.

“Yes, it will start soon. But there’s no hurry. You still need to wait for a while. At least it has to be past the new year!” Chu Liuchen said leisurely.

He meant that Shao Wanru also had to attend the consort selection, which she had expected. Chu Liuchen had used her entering Prince Chen’s Mansion as an excuse, and Empress Dowager agreed too. However, it was not announced publicly, after all, not so many people knew about it.

Since the consort selection was going to start, she had to take part in it, even though it was only nominal. Otherwise, people would say that the Emperor liked his own two sons more and wasn’t that enthusiastic about his nephew. He could only choose all the consorts from the candidates and give them to those princes to stop the public from gossiping.

People would gossip when he was just an ordinary nephew. Moreover, Chu Liuchen had always been a special one.

“Prince Yue, Prince Zhou, you, and Commandery Prince Qing?” Shao Wanru thought about it and asked.

In her last life, she remembered that Prince Xin got married late, probably because he had younger than other princes. Chu Liuxin always looked like a child. Though he was a little older than Shao Wanru, Shao Wanru just considered this Prince Xin really childish by doing things with his courage only, not having any plans.

Chu Liuchen fondled Shao Wanru’s strand of hair that had been wrapped around his finger and said very casually, “And there’s Chu Liuxin too. But Consort Ming might not choose anyone since she’s vain.”

Chu Liuxin’s mother Consort Ming was an ambitious woman as well. In the last life, it could be said that Consort Ming was the one who caused Chu Liuxin’s tragedy.

With that ambition, she naturally would choose a marriage that was beneficial to her son, and it was not easy to choose a daughter-in-law. Nevertheless, this time, Prince Yue, Prince Zhou, and Chu Liuchen would choose wives too. Prince Yue’s mother was the Consort of Virtue. Though they were all consorts, the Consort of Virtue was the first consort of the four consorts, whom Consort Ming couldn’t compare with.

Moreover, it was even more so when it came to Prince Zhou since he was the Empress’s legitimate eldest son. Even Chu Liuchen could choose a marriage with protection from the Empress Dowager and the Emperor.

Prince Xin would be the last to choose from those that the others did not want. Consort Ming would never be satisfied. Moreover, Chu Liuxin was really too young. He could wait for another three years. Of course, she would not say anything like this. Publicly, she was bound to choose with others and it would not matter if she really chose anyone or not in the end.

The youngest prince was supposed to be treated with more care. Moreover, this one still looked like he had not grown up!

“What? Are you worried that you can’t get into my mansion? Rest assured, the place of my Princess is of course reserved for you!” Chu Liuchen smiled and looked languid and casual.

In the dark, Shao Wanru’s expression became a little uneasy. “Your Highness, since I’ve promised you, you can use me for sure!”

Wouldn’t a Princess be the best target to block all arrows!

“As long as you remember. Now, let yourself recover first. After the new year, go attend the consort selection. I’m living right next to you now. If you need anything, just have Qing’er call me there!” Chu Liuchen titled his head to look at Shao Wanru. He could only see a pair of clear eyes in the dark, looking somewhat innocent against her raven hair.

He gently patted her thin body and slowly rose, with a small light on his handsome lips.

Seeing him get up, Shao Wanru also sat up. However, just as she did that, he pressed her back down, his lazy tone sounding somewhat teasing. “Don’t get up now. In the future, just serve me getting up in the morning when you marry me!”

After finishing that, he then frivolously pinched her cheek and narrowed his mysterious eyes. He actually stopped embarrassing her and turned to walk away in a good mood. Then, under Shao Wanru’s dazed eyes, he straightforwardly opened her door and overtly walked out like that after closing it for her!

“Overtly… So he did not come in through the windows?”

Shao Wanru almost froze as she watched him leave. Could he be more out of line…