An Author and Protagonist Got a Happy Ending [Transmigration] - Chapter 18

Xiao Muyu had not slept peacefully for several days.

The symptoms resembling sleepwalking did not appear every night, but waking up with a start from dreams had become the norm. She appeared perfectly normal during the day, but as soon as night fell, she would experience irregular bouts of heart palpitations.

The Princess summoned several physicians, but after examination, they all claimed there was nothing unusual. Xiao Muyu figured ordinary doctors wouldn’t be able to find anything anyway, so she simply hid the abnormalities, claiming she had just been frightened previously and was now feeling better.

The Princess harbored suspicions, but seeing Xiao Muyu lively during the day—and with people in the imperial court causing trouble—she was too busy to look into it further. However, she subsequently sent Pei Qiuyue over.

Pei Qiuyue had moved near Xiao Muyu’s small courtyard to make looking after her more convenient. Since the Princess became busy, almost all of Pei Qiuyue’s spare time was spent here.

Furthermore, those few imperial consorts had come to cause trouble several times over the past few days. When the Princess heard of it, she remarked casually, “Then just execute them.”

This gave Pei Qiuyue quite a fright. It was one thing for the Saintess to have no real power before, but those consorts had sons; if something truly happened to them, it would only add trouble to the Princess’s own plate. Fortunately, the Princess was only speaking in passing. Only after Pei Qiuyue repeatedly guaranteed the Saintess’s safety did the Princess feel at ease enough to deal with the people at the front.

Pei Qiuyue, also fearing an accident, began to visit even more frequently.

Perhaps because the troublemaking consorts served as a sharp contrast, after a few days of visiting, Pei Qiuyue began to feel that this Saintess was becoming a bit more pleasing to the eye. There was also the fact that Xiao Muyu had been quite well-behaved lately.

She was naturally good-tempered. The palace maids, who had initially held grievances, spent every day with her and grew closer; in private, when the Princess wasn’t around, they could even chat a bit.

But aside from the maids, there was no one else to talk to. The Princess was burdened by ten thousand affairs, and Pei Qiuyue remained wary of her—to say nothing of the strangers outside. Xiao Muyu didn’t think much of it herself, but when Pei Qiuyue occasionally visited her in the evening, she inexplicably sensed a trace of loneliness surrounding her.

A person is bound to feel lonely eventually. Although the Princess liked her, she couldn’t truly be her confidant. Currently, she was trapped in this one small courtyard; even after marriage, she might never be able to step out of these palace gates. It was no different from a bird in a cage.

Then again, the moment the Saintess was kept here, such a fate was already sealed.

Pei Qiuyue was sometimes sentimental for others. As the sun set and she finished her work for the day, she hurried to visit Xiao Muyu, only to find her sitting alone on the corridor again. Lately, perhaps having grown accustomed to the climate, she rarely wrapped herself in a quilt. One leg dangled off the edge, swinging back and forth, while she propped her chin on her hand and stared blankly at the branches in the yard.

“She’s been sitting there since the afternoon.”

“She seemed a bit unwell toward the evening and refused to eat.”

“But the Saintess said herself that she’s fine.”

The maids reported the situation to Pei Qiuyue in low voices.

Pei Qiuyue nodded in understanding. As she walked in with light footsteps, she saw a maid walk up to Xiao Muyu on the corridor, holding a picture book and saying something to her.

“…Is it this kind of flower? I asked Sister Qin; she said her hometown seems to have such a flower, though it’s not some grand, precious variety…”

“It’s a bit like it.” Xiao Muyu propped her chin while flipping through the book, gesturing with her hand. “But the stem should be thinner, and the stamens are yellow.”

“What flower?” Pei Qiuyue interjected.

Standing behind Xiao Muyu, she looked down. There was a small flower in the book, looking plain and unremarkable, yet very unfamiliar; she had never seen such a flower before.

The little maid was startled, only just noticing her presence, and hurriedly knelt down. Pei Qiuyue raised a hand to signal her to rise, while asking Xiao Muyu, “Does the Saintess want this kind of flower?”

“Ah, I don’t want it that badly.” Xiao Muyu blinked and shook her head. “I just remembered it suddenly and mentioned it in passing. I didn’t expect this child to remember. It’s not a big deal, just a type of wildflower.”

Saying this, Xiao Muyu handed the book back and said “thank you.” Pei Qiuyue sat down beside her and signaled the maid to go rest first.

“Is that something unique to the Saintess’s hometown?”

“You could say that,” Xiao Muyu replied vaguely.

Pei Qiuyue’s words might have been a probe. The original Saintess was not a native of Xuefu; she was a refugee from another country who had been picked up by the Temple because of her exquisite looks and pure aura. This wasn’t a particularly hidden secret, but the Temple had never publicized it. It wouldn’t be hard for Pei Qiuyue to find this out; Xiao Muyu just feared she would overthink it. Cautious people have that drawback—over-imagining things.

In truth, Xiao Muyu was indeed just acting on a whim. In her countless recent dreams, increasingly clear scenes were mixed with past memories, including her childhood before the apocalypse, running through the fields in the countryside. She saw the wildflowers covering the mountains and, turning around, could see the vivid, smiling faces of children her age.

They were at the age of losing baby teeth; some had a missing front tooth, and the moment they grinned, they were ruthlessly teased by their playmates. They would hurriedly cover their mouths, chasing after the one laughing loudest in a fit of embarrassment. When they ran to the edge of the field and flopped backward into the weeds, the closest thing to them was those ubiquitous small white wild chrysanthemums.

That was a memory so distant it felt as if it belonged to several centuries ago.

Lately, I seem to be dreaming of things from the past constantly.

The smiling faces of her companions in the flower fields, which she thought she had completely forgotten, were becoming clearer in her dreams. Along with them came that groundless sense of heart palpitations. It felt similar to a certain period in the past—when exactly was it…

“Is the Saintess homesick?”

Pei Qiuyue asked a few times before Xiao Muyu returned to her senses.

“Hmm?” Xiao Muyu paused for a moment. “Were you calling me?”

Seeing Xiao Muyu’s face full of daze, Pei Qiuyue felt helpless: “Who else would I be calling?”

Xiao Muyu touched her hair, tugging at the ends and realizing it had grown quite a bit. She wanted to say “just call me by my name,” but then realized she didn’t know if the Saintess had a name; saying it would risk exposure, so she gave up.

“Sorry, I might just be a bit sleepy.” Xiao Muyu looked at the branches in the yard. “I’ve been feeling a bit lazy lately; my brain isn’t working very well.”

“Is the Saintess unwell?”

“No.” Xiao Muyu shook her head, then added solemnly, “I might just be entering hibernation.”

Pei Qiuyue: “…”

Xiao Muyu rubbed her eyes and leaned sideways against the doorframe, half-closing her eyes as if she were truly exhausted. Pei Qiuyue had nothing else to chat about and took this as a cue to leave. After saying her goodbyes, she stood up.

Before leaving, she looked back from the doorway. The person huddled in a ball under the moonlight looked quite pitiable at first glance. Recalling her previous conversation with the Princess, Pei Qiuyue’s heart softened, and she left a few parting words.

“I will also keep an eye out for those flowers for you. If there’s anything else you want, just tell me. I’ll try my best to help, but…”

Pei Qiuyue paused before continuing, “Please, stay well by the Princess’s side.”

No matter how pitiable the Saintess was, for her, the Princess’s wishes always came first. As for anything else, she could only try to compensate elsewhere.

Xiao Muyu didn’t look back; she just raised a hand, likely saying “I understand.” Pei Qiuyue took it as agreement and, feeling somewhat relieved, gave the maids a few more instructions to take good care of her before turning to leave.

The door on the other side opened and closed; the room returned to silence. Xiao Muyu slid down the doorframe and splayed out on the cold floor like a flat pancake, her rising body temperature warming the ground.

But surprisingly, it wasn’t as painful as she imagined. Xiao Muyu covered her forehead with her hand, blocking her eyes, feeling the long-lost sensation of a scorching summer.

The sound of wind, insects chirping, birds flapping their wings, and the distant murmurs of humans… even covering her ears was useless; those sounds were everywhere, as if imprinted directly into her brain, playing compulsorily. Occasionally, they even skipped.

It was as if the unease brought by her dreams had materialized into reality, or as if another power was taking shape—just like the first time she awakened her superpower. The same palpitations, the inability to sleep all night, leading to her being successfully ambushed while in a daze. And the intermittent high fevers that had started even earlier. It only returned to normal after she died once.

…No way. Xiao Muyu wailed silently, covering her face.

When Xiao Muyu woke up and saw the pitch-black room, she briefly thought she had fried her brain or her eyes. The maids in the small courtyard were very indulgent for various reasons; without her request, they wouldn’t touch her, at most adding a few quilts or an outer robe.

But this was clearly not the corridor where she had fallen asleep. There was no scent of another person nearby, and the bed beneath her was cold and hard, poking her bones painfully.

“Where is she?”

“In the servants’ quarters.”

“And those few idiots?”

“They’re gathered together discussing things.”

“Where is the Princess?”

“Lord Shen’s second son caused trouble and it even reached the Pei Manor. The Princess is tied up and can’t get away for the moment.”

“Very well. Keep a good watch outside.”

A woman’s voice drifted in from a great distance, followed by a series of light footsteps. Xiao Muyu blinked once, then again.

Probably a hallucination.

Thinking this, Xiao Muyu turned her head, only to find she was tied up hand and foot. The surrounding space was narrow and emitted a faint smell of mold. While she didn’t know exactly where she was, it was clearly not the small courtyard she had been living in.

Before long, the footsteps outside drew near. Xiao Muyu stared at the closed door, counting to twenty in her head. The footsteps stopped. The door was pushed open forcefully.

The Noble Consort’s face appeared behind the door. She met Xiao Muyu’s gaze, raised an eyebrow, and gave a cold sneer: “So you’re awake.”

Xiao Muyu paused for a moment, then lay back down, turned over, and closed her eyes: “…No, I’m not.”

I must have woken up in the wrong way!