DKGWF Chapter 2

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The Feeling of Death—So This Is What It’s Like?

Rong Jiahui felt as if she had been asleep for hundreds, even thousands of years. When her mind finally cleared, she found herself utterly weak, surrounded by darkness.

"Jiahui! Jiahui!"

Someone was calling her...

That gentle female voice—it was so familiar, so familiar...

Mother...

Could it really be her mother? The mother who had passed away from illness when she was twenty-two, the mother who had always loved her the most... How many times, when she had felt utterly wronged, had she longed to drop everything and return home, to throw herself into her mother's embrace and cry her heart out? But she never did. At first, it was because she didn’t want to make her mother sad. Later, she never had the chance again...

Her mother...

"Jiahui! Don’t scare me! Wake up! Jiahui! Jiahui!"

"Wife, the doctor said there’s nothing wrong with Jiahui. She’ll wake up soon."

Father? Her father was here too? How many years had passed? But wake up? Could it be that even after becoming a ghost, she still had to wake up? This underworld was certainly different from what she had imagined. As she pondered this, she could still hear her parents talking.

"You say that so easily! That’s because she didn’t come from your own flesh and blood! You don’t feel the pain, but I do!"

"Wife, I—"

"What me?!"

"Nothing..."

"Get out of my way! Don’t block the door!"

Hearing her mother’s footsteps, Rong Jiahui sensed her moving outside. Her strong voice carried through the doors and windows:

"How exactly are you people serving the young lady?! You actually let her fall into the water! Are you trying to anger me to death?! Mammy Ma, take these useless servants and have them flogged fifty times, then sell them all off! I won’t have them being an eyesore here. The Rong family has no need for such incompetents."

Listening to the servants' desperate pleas for mercy, Rong Jiahui was dumbfounded. Fell into the water? No, that wasn’t how she had died. Embarrassing as it was, she had choked on a cold melon. She had always been quick-witted and was usually accompanied by eight maids—never in her life had she fallen into the water. What did her mother mean? Could it be that the Liu family claimed she had drowned? No, no, the more she thought about it, the more confused she became.

With lingering doubts, she struggled to lift her eyelids, which felt as heavy as a thousand pounds. She slowly opened her eyes, and as the initial blur faded, what met her gaze was not the four-posted purple sandalwood bed inlaid with intricate carvings that she was used to, but instead, a yellow pearwood canopy bed adorned with light purple gauze curtains.

This bed... looked so familiar.

It seemed to be the very bed she had slept in when she lived at her parental home...

Could it be that her parents had built an identical marquis' residence underground, right down to the same bed with the same carved floral patterns? Or perhaps—was she simply hallucinating?

She reached out and rubbed her eyes. Looking again, nothing had changed. It wasn’t a hallucination...

At this moment, Zhen Guo Hou, Rong Chen, was overjoyed to see his precious daughter wake up. He quickly called out to his wife, who was still scolding the servants outside, “Xiao He! Jiahui is awake!”

Yu Shi, who had been reprimanding the servants, froze for a moment before rushing back inside. She immediately pushed aside Rong Chen, who had been about to approach their daughter, and sat down at the bedside.

By now, Rong Jiahui had already propped herself up, leaning weakly against the bed. Her long hair was still damp, and after her fever had subsided, her small round face looked rather pale. Her large, watery almond-shaped eyes were staring blankly at Yu Shi.

It had been so long since she had seen her mother looking so radiant.

With a choked voice, she called out, “Mother…”

As soon as she spoke, she was startled. This soft, childish voice—was that really hers?

Trembling, she stretched out her hand and looked at it. This hand… It was indeed hers, yet it was inexplicably much smaller.

What was going on?!

Shocked, her tear-filled eyes turned to look at her mother once again…

Her mother was undeniably still the same person, with the same brows and eyes. But she was not the mother she had last seen. When her mother passed away, she had only been thirty-nine. The woman before her, however, looked no older than her early twenties—well-maintained, almost like a young maiden, yet carrying a touch of mature elegance.

What was happening? Had they all become ten years younger upon entering the underworld?

Or… she turned toward the window, where the bright sunlight was almost blinding—

Was this not the underworld at all?

Yu Shi had always been unable to bear seeing her daughter looking so pitiful. She reached out and pulled Jiahui into her arms, speaking softly, “Jiahui, how are you feeling? If there’s anything uncomfortable, you must tell me. Do you know how worried I was about you?”

Obediently nestled in her mother’s embrace, Rong Jiahui’s round face was filled with confusion.

She was clearly twenty-four years old, married into the Liu family, and had endured eight years of living like a widow. So why had she suddenly reverted to a child’s age?

Could it be that she hadn’t actually choked to death, but was simply dreaming because she missed home too much? Maybe right now, her twenty-four-year-old self was lying on that so-called intricately carved bed, crying out for her parents.

Or perhaps… those ten years had only been a dream—a dream spanning more than a decade?

Zhuang Zhou dreamed he was a butterfly, and the butterfly dreamed it was Zhuang Zhou. She used to find it laughable, but now, caught in this blur of reality and illusion, she was utterly confused herself.

“Madam, have mercy!”

Hearing the cries for mercy from the maids outside, Rong Jiahui suddenly snapped back to clarity. A wave of unease washed over her. As the eldest legitimate daughter, she had been pampered and cherished all her life. Every morning when she opened her eyes, an entire room of servants was there to attend to her. She had four personal maids alone, not to mention the many junior attendants. They had lived well under her care, their skin fair and delicate. But fifty strikes of the rod—even a strong, burly man might not survive that. If so many people died because of her, how would she ever sleep peacefully again?

Though she still had no clear memory of how she supposedly fell into the water and wasn’t sure whether these people were truly at fault, she couldn’t bear to see them punished so severely. Tugging at her mother’s sleeve, she pleaded, “Mother, it was my own carelessness. Please don’t have them beaten, and don’t sell them either, alright?”

Yu Shi had been furious when she saw her daughter unconscious for so long, so she had immediately ordered the harshest punishment. In truth, twenty to thirty strikes would have been enough to take a life. Now that she had calmed down, she realized her order had indeed been too severe, but she couldn’t bring herself to retract it on her own. Seeing her daughter pleading, she decided to follow her lead. With a slight nod, she signaled to her trusted maid, Yuru, who immediately understood and withdrew to handle the matter accordingly.

With that settled, Yu Shi gently reached out and tidied Rong Jiahui’s slightly disheveled hair. Thankfully, the servants had found her in time, and aside from looking a little pale, she seemed unharmed. If anything had truly happened to her precious daughter, she would rather die than live with the grief.

Seeing that no one was going to be beaten to death anymore, Rong Jiahui finally felt at ease. Watching her mother gently fixing her hair, her heart ached. Her parents had always doted on her, indulging her at every turn. But it wasn’t until she had lost them after marriage that she truly realized how wonderful they were.

With that thought, she threw herself into her mother’s embrace. After a few sniffles, she could no longer hold back her emotions and burst into tears.

Between sobs, her voice thick with congestion, she choked out, “Mother, I really thought… I really thought I would never see you again!”

Yu Shi’s heart clenched. Hadn’t she felt the same? When she had seen her daughter’s lifeless, drenched body being pulled from the water, it had nearly shattered her soul. As her child lay unconscious, she had prayed to every deity she could think of, willing to trade her own life if only her daughter would wake up.

She gently stroked Rong Jiahui’s hair and said, “It’s okay now. Mother is here.”

“Mm… mm…” Rong Jiahui mumbled through her sobs, nodding mindlessly.

She clung tightly to Yu Shi, savoring the warmth emanating from her mother’s body. Even if this was just a dream, she didn’t care. Being able to see her mother again, to hold her in her arms, was more than enough.

After a few days of recuperation, Rong Jiahui finally managed to piece together the reason for her fall into the water from her maids. Apparently, she had been playing a game in the garden—a scenario that sounded exactly like something she would do. They told her she had been blindfolded while trying to catch her maids. They were all just young girls, lost in the joy of play, and in the excitement, they wandered too close to the pond. A single misstep, a slip of the foot, and in she went. It had taken quite some time to fish her out—what a fright that must have been!

But really, it was just a fall into the water—nothing too serious. She had always been restless and active, and after being confined to her bed for so many days, she felt like she was growing mold. At first, she had feared this was all just a fleeting dream—that the moment she opened her eyes, she would still see Liu Qianchen’s cold and impatient face, and her mother would still be lying alone in the family tomb.

Now, however, after several days of eating, drinking, sleeping, and simply existing in this place, she could no longer dismiss it as a mere dream. Could it be that the past ten-plus years had been the illusion? That everything she remembered had been nothing more than a dream she had while unconscious from her fall? A dream spanning over a decade?

She found the idea hard to believe, but then again, the world was full of strange and inexplicable things. Perhaps the Bodhisattva had taken pity on her, knowing she would meet an untimely end before even reaching thirty, and had given her this dream as a warning, a way to guide her?

The more she thought about it, the more absurd it seemed. Enough, enough. There was no use dwelling on it—she was twelve now, not twenty-four. Whether this was a dream or a second chance at life, what did it matter?

But… was the Dingyuan Marquis, Zhongli Luo, real? If he still existed, then this couldn’t be a dream. Among all the people she remembered, he was the only one who had appeared in her life after she turned twelve.

If none of this was an illusion and he still existed, then nothing had happened yet. She was only twelve, and if her memory served, he had come around this time. She couldn’t recall the exact month or day, but he hadn’t arrived yet.

For some reason, she found herself hoping he would come soon. Maybe she wanted to seize the opportunity first, to take advantage of the situation before anyone else could. Or maybe… she simply wanted to see him. After eleven years apart, she truly wanted to know what he looked like again.

As the sun dipped toward the horizon, painting the sky in shades of crimson, she dismissed her ever-fussing maids, telling them she wanted to rest and not to disturb her. Once they were gone, she slipped out the window and quietly ran off. Whoever wanted to lie in bed could do so—she wasn’t going to!

Though the sun had blazed during the day, the evening was cool and pleasant. A gentle breeze carried the scent of summer as she wandered under the colorful sky, an uncharacteristic sense of peace settling over her.

It was now the height of summer, and the lotus flowers in the pond were in full bloom. Their broad green leaves covered the water’s surface, while the vibrant pink blossoms stood proudly above, an exquisite sight to behold. She gazed at them, mesmerized, before an idea struck her.

She had no memory of falling into the water, so she felt no fear of the pond. Without hesitation, she crouched by the bank and reached out, intending to pluck a lotus flower to place in her room.

Just as her small hand was about to grasp the stem, a sudden shout rang out behind her.

“What do you think you’re doing?!”

The sudden shout startled Rong Jiahui, making her tremble. No way—she had just snuck out and was already caught? In her panic, she tried to stand up, but her legs went weak, causing her to lose balance. She desperately tried to lean toward the shore—falling on the ground was better than falling into the water—but in the end, she still plunged straight into the pond.

The pool was at least ten feet deep, and after a full day of being scorched by the sun, the water still carried lingering warmth. Mouthfuls of the heated pond water rushed into her mouth as she struggled to spit them out, but the more she flailed, the more water she swallowed. She had truly brought this upon herself—her parents had told her to stay in her room for a reason.

Gradually, her strength faded, and she could no longer fight against the water. In her daze, she vaguely felt a hand wrap around her waist, pulling her in. For some inexplicable reason, she felt reassured. With that, she closed her eyes and allowed herself to lose consciousness.

—

When she opened her eyes again, she was back in her own room. The moment her maid saw her wake up, her face lit up with joy, and she hurriedly ran out to inform the lord and madam.

Rong Jiahui sat up, reaching for her still-damp hair. She blinked a few times, and just as she did, a group of people entered the room—her father, his face full of anger; her mother, her brows furrowed in concern; and…

Her eyes brightened as she stared at the tall, handsome teenage boy before her. His features overlapped with the gradually fading image of Zhongli Luo from her memories.

Before she could say anything, Rong Chen scolded her immediately, “Why can’t you learn your lesson? You still dare to play near the water?! If we hadn’t come in time, you could’ve drowned without anyone knowing! We told you to stay put, so why won’t you ever listen? You—”

If it weren’t for your shout, I wouldn’t have fallen in! Rong Jiahui grumbled in her heart, but she didn’t dare to say it out loud. She lowered her head and obediently let her father lecture her.

Strict father, loving mother—seeing how harsh his words were becoming, and how his anger was only growing, Yu Shi couldn’t bear it any longer. Tugging at Rong Chen’s sleeve, she said, “Ah Chen, that’s enough. I’m sure Jiahui knows she was wrong. She won’t dare do it again. Weren’t you planning to add a railing around the pond? Just do that, and it’ll be fine. Besides, if you hadn’t shouted so loudly, she wouldn’t have been startled into falling in the first place.”

Rong Jiahui nodded in agreement—her mother was truly the best. Besides, wasn’t she fine? She had only swallowed a few mouthfuls of water.

Rong Chen shot Yu Shi a glare and said, “Too much motherly love spoils the child. You’re the one who’s pampered her too much!”

Seeing that her husband was just taking his frustration out on anyone in sight, Yu Shi could not be bothered to argue with him. Instead, she turned to Zhongli Luo, who had been standing silently to the side. Smiling, she gently shook her head before leading him to Jiahui’s bedside. “Jiahui, this is your Zhongli gege. He’s turning fifteen this year. If not for him acting quickly, you wouldn’t have been rescued so fast. Come now, thank your gege for saving your life.”

So it really was Zhongli Luo. Thinking of his promising future, Rong Jiahui’s mind spun, and in an instant, her face lit up with a dazzling smile. “Thank you, gege.”

Looking at the round-faced girl before him, her delicate features glowing with a cheerful smile, Zhongli Luo felt his fair complexion redden slightly. He turned his head away, clearly uncomfortable, and muttered, “No need.”

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