Gasp! She's a Time Traveler Using Modern Tech to Improve Ancient Life-Chapter 526 - 525: Cousin, Let’s Watch the Sunrise
I don’t know how long I slept before Lin Wanwan suddenly awoke from a nightmare, where she was still the helpless orphan driven out of her house, with no Space-Time Bracelet, no Great Tang, and no family.
She sat up, drenched in sweat, her ears buzzing as she opened her eyes to see the flickering candlelight.
In the dim light, there stood a man as serene as a deep sea, his allure and elegance indescribable, veiled and ethereal, like an Immortal Monarch.
"Have I ascended to heaven?"
"Cousin, cousin?"
The sound of a clear voice gradually reached Lin Wanwan’s ears, like the gentle tinkling of a brook in a mountain stream.
She snapped back to reality from the haze of the nightmare, her eyes gradually focusing, suddenly realizing that it was Xiao Chong, clad in a gray-blue scholar’s robe, standing before her.
Lin Wanwan couldn’t help but rub her forehead, her voice slightly hoarse as she asked, "Cousin, what time is it now?"
"It’s the Hour of the Tiger," Xiao Chong replied softly, then asked, "Did you have a nightmare, cousin?"
Lin Wanwan didn’t answer. She threw off the blanket and looked around, noticing a worried young girl staring at her.
It was her personal maid, Hong Yan, whose eyes were red with a few bloodshot veins, clearly exhausted.
Yes, I’m not all alone now. I have family to lean on, and those who rely on me. This ancient world isn’t a dream.
As Lin Wanwan calmed down, warmth began to seep into her eyes. She looked at Hong Yan and said, "Go rest quickly, don’t stay up. Look, your eyes are red from exhaustion."
Hong Yan quickly shook her head and said, "I’m fine, my lady. I’m staying up with you for New Year’s Eve."
"No need, go, and get some rest," urged Lin Wanwan, "I don’t need company."
Hong Yan eventually listened to Lin Wanwan and went back to her room to rest.
Lin Wanwan descended from the Imperial Concubine Couch and walked to the window, gazing outside through the semi-transparent parchment window paper.
Outside, lights were still brightly lit everywhere. Even the most frugal families would light their lamps on New Year’s Eve.
The night sky was dimly lit with the moon hidden amongst thick clouds, growing darker—a sure sign that dawn was approaching.
Xiao Chong stood quietly behind Lin Wanwan, also watching the sky outside. Suddenly he asked, "Cousin, have you ever seen a sunrise over the sea?"
Lin Wanwan turned her head to look at him, replying, "Last year I took a boat to Qiantang and was fortunate enough to see a sunrise over the river. It should be quite similar."
Xiao Chong smiled slightly, his face showing a leisurely yearning, "You won’t truly know unless you see it for yourself. Are you interested, cousin?"
Lin Wanwan replied, "Yes, with the new year, let’s welcome the first ray of sunshine."
The two exchanged smiles, grabbed their capes, and walked out together arm in arm.
As they passed through the flower-arched gate, they heard a commotion of cheers and shouts from the servants gathering and having fun in the main house.
"Cousin treats her servants with exceptional kindness and warmth, quite rare," Xiao Chong commented nonchalantly as they stepped out of the main door.
Lin Wanwan listened and understood that Xiao Chong implied she was not strict in managing them, allowing the servants to overstep their bounds. In his aristocratic family, their servants surely wouldn’t dare be so brazenly joyous.
As the two walked from indoors to outside, the main door was open, and neither the servants nor the gatekeepers responded, all engrossed in their own merriment, a bit negligent indeed.
But, after all, it’s New Year’s Eve, it can be forgiven.
"Cousin must be joking. The servants here are either recruited wandering souls or dim-witted Kunlun slaves, indeed inferior to the domestically bred slaves under your command, not very useful," Lin Wanwan remarked with clear sarcasm.
Xiao Chong smiled bitterly, "Cousin, that’s not what I meant."
Pausing without giving the astute Lin Wanwan a chance to speak snide remarks, he directly said, "I received word before New Year that the palace released some palace maids. Many of these have nowhere to go, too old to marry or bear children, but still capable in their tasks. Is cousin interested in recruiting a few?"
Lin Wanwan blurted out, "Oh, have they released palace maids again? Certainly! If they have nowhere to go, I would be happy to recruit them."
Palace-trained maids are undoubtedly disciplined; Lin Wanwan certainly could use them.
Xiao Chong gave Lin Wanwan a deep look and said, "Cousin knows of the palace’s release of individuals?"
"Three thousand palace maids released, four hundred condemned prisoners returned to prison." Any high school graduate would have memorized this poem; how could Lin Wanwan not know?
After Li Shimin succeeded to power, he released three thousand of Li Yuan’s original palace maids in the ninth year of the Wu De era, allowing each to pursue their own paths. This action shocked the entire court.
Later historical records noted that he released another batch of useless maids from Da’an Palace and the Imperial Court in the second year of the Zhenguan era, but did not specify the number. Historians conjecture it couldn’t be fewer than the first batch of three thousand.
Now it’s the fifth year of the Zhenguan era, and if Xiao Chong says they released people before New Year, that means the third batch was released in the fourth year? But it was likely a very small batch, not recorded in history.
To Lin Wanwan, who can travel between times, she not only knows this, but also what grand events Li Shimin will undertake in the future!
Yet Lin Wanwan couldn’t possibly tell Xiao Chong she knew because she read future historical records, so she ambiguously replied, "Oh, a senior brother mentioned it."
"Oh~" Xiao Chong nodded, twisting his response in a charming manner.
Lin Wanwan was tempted to sharpen her small teeth, listen to this! Listen to this sarcastic tone!
"Cousin, you really know how to provoke people."
"Cousin must be misunderstanding me."
"Haha."
Talking all the way, occasionally bickering, they unknowingly arrived at the seashore.
At this time, thick fog rose from nowhere, covering the sea in darkness, visibility barely ten meters while waves crashed onto the rocky beach, confirming this was indeed the sea ahead.
Lin Wanwan often frequented this area for clamming, so even though visibility was poor now, it didn’t matter; she was quite familiar with the surroundings.
"Cousin, come, let’s sit on that cliff rock over there, it’s the easternmost large rock of this coastline."
Xiao Chong had no objections and followed Lin Wanwan there.
A shadow named Shu Qi quietly followed behind them. Xiao Chong waved his hand in the dark, and Shu Qi silently made himself unseen, no longer following.
Once at their destination, Lin Wanwan spread a handkerchief over the stone, lifted her cape, and sat down directly.
Xiao Chong also casually seated himself nearby, both gazing at the black sea, listening to the waves, exchanging light conversation.
After a moment, Lin Wanwan suddenly asked, "Cousin, I’ve never heard you mention your family. How many siblings do you have?"
