On the Wedding Night, Ms. Cui Realized

Is Reality a Prolonged Dream?

The spring in Xijing is beautiful, the willow leaves are green and tender, the peach blossoms are pink, and the mountains, lakes, and rivers have become a praiseworthy environment filled with prosperity and stability.

The thrush, with its magnificent plumage, perches atop the tree branches, while pure white clouds drift across the clear blue sky.
The natural beauty is breathtaking, as grandeur and splendor appear at every turn.

In the early morning, when the first bell of the city tower rings, the scene changes, flowing like water and unfolding slowly like a scroll.

High walls and low-slung tile-roofed houses stand in contrast to the bustling common folk who are struggling for their livelihoods.
While young men in clean and primitive clothing ride on their breathless horses.

To the tiniest of detail including the newlyweds to the musicians, all manner of people simply exist in such a beautiful environment, eachleading a unique yet similar life.But alas, on this beautiful summer day, Cui Ti is unable to see its splendor.Harsh as it is, Cui Ti is blind.

Her reputation built solely on the fact that she was the daughter of a wealthy man, yet in reality, she is widely disliked by those around her.

She lived in a small rundown side courtyard, as the sound of orioles singing in the lush willows and tendrils of white smoke rising from the chimney, Cui Ti fell into a deep, prolonged sleep.

In her dream, she was only known as the blind daughter of a rich father.
Her father disliked her mother, and she was mocked and humiliated by others, with even the household servants refusing to take her seriously.

What was even more tragic is how joyful they all felt while bullying her.
Almost every day, they loved to set up obstacles on the road as she passed by, watching her fall, then watching her get up, and then hiding and secretly giggling. 

Of course, listening to the mockery and laughter of those around her naturally made her angry and caused her to cry at times.
But while wiping away her tears and telling herself not to cry, she realized once more the harsh reality she lives in.

But then, someone did notice.

The glorious son of the Pei family—Pei Xuan.

At her lowest point, Pei Xuan gave her the greatest gift of all: treating her as normal.

In fact, he prepared eight large sedan chairs to welcome her, made her his first wife, and promised her a lifetime of devotion.
He was willing to hold her, protect her, support her, remove small obstacles for her, hold the servants accountable, fill her with love, hug her, kiss her occasionally, and never rebuked or belittled her. 

Everyone else treated her like a broken piece of rubble, but he cherished her like a beautiful jade and saw her as a bright and beautiful moon in his eyes.

Cui Ti was content with this marriage, to the point where she didn't want to wake up even though she knew it was a dream.

She wanted to repay him, even if everything ended up being false, she still felt immense gratitude.

Still, it’s quite ridiculous that she is blind even in her dreams.

Being blind, she could do very little, so after marrying him, she considered having children for Pei Xuan as a way to repay his kindness. 

But he refused.

Continuing the dream, Cui Ti was worried she had upset Pei Xuan and couldn't eat because of stress, and she became thinner day by day.

…

Inside the dilapidated and crumbling tile courtyard, Cui Ti's maid, Bai Ge, was scurrying around in a frenzy. 

She used a damp cloth to repeatedly wipe Cui Ti's forehead and face, worried that if her fever didn't go away, Cui Ti would not only have the reputation of being blind but also that of being mentally impaired.

Bai Ge implored her grandparents in heaven, longing for the gods to take care of her poor mistress.
It broke her heart to see how this blind girl struggled to live despite her kind heart and the suffering she had endured all these years, swallowing her grievances and enduring the jealous stares of others.

It was said that good people receive fruitful rewards, and this girl certainly deserved them! 

So, why did such bad luck continue to cling to her and never let her go? Why did she have to suffer like this?

Bai Ge gritted her teeth, tears streaming down her face as she implored, “Mistress, you must endure this.
I am still waiting for the day when you can smile and laugh without always being mistreated.”

Despite her tireless efforts to assist Cui Ti throughout the entire night and day, Bai Ge was exhausted and collapsed onto a makeshift straw bed, her eyes closing as she drifted off into a fitful sleep.

But as soon as there was sound made on the bed of the sick-ridden girl, Bai Ge immediately woke up, and saw Cui Ti lying there with a pale face and sweating profusely, she was surprised and happy: “Mistress! You made it through? Great, great, woo woo woo…”

She covered her face and cried out: “You've made it through, I thought, I thought…you scared me to death!.”

The dream was short, and despite her marriage, Cui Ti's fate was sealed as she was pushed into a lotus pond and drowned. 

As she lay dying, she realized with a crushing clarity that Pei Xuan's feelings towards her were nothing more than pity, and never love. 

Though the sensation of water closing over her head and the feeling of her body sinking in the pond were vivid in her mind.

Forget it.

The dream was peculiar, yet what stood out was the way it displayed a person who claimed to love her, protect her, and respect her, yet pitied her and ultimately married her, but also imagined a fairy riding a crane.

The details of the fairy and the crane were vivid in her mind, with the fairy's ethereal beauty and the crane's majestic presence, making an unforgettable impression on her subconscious.

“Hah, I must be going crazy.”

“Mistress, how can you still laugh? You fell into the pond yesterday and came back with a serious fever.
The servants in the North Courtyard are too brazen, we can't let it go this time!.”

“This time, it was a servant of the North Courtyard?.”

“Yes!”

Bai Ge spoke softly, her voice filled with concern as she noticed that Cui Ti was still not fully lucid, “The servants  in the North Courtyard deducted our rations, and we were only protesting.
In the end, they were so bold that they dared to attack the mistress, but then the mistress fell into the water and caught a cold.”

Seeing that Cui Ti's expression was still blank, she panicked, “Mistress, Bai Ge is timid, don't scare me!.”

So, it also happened in reality?

In Cui Ti’s dream, she was bullied by the people from the north courtyard. As she ‘accidentally’ stumbled and fell into a beautiful lotus pond in the backyard, becoming completely drenched.
Luckily, Bai Ge came to her rescue. 

When Cui Ti returned to her residence, she developed a high fever and almost died.

Afterwards, her younger sister