73: Chapter 46: Who is Yin Wanwan?
73: Chapter 46: Who is Yin Wanwan?
“Wan Lu!” Ran Yan suddenly sat up from the couch, the night wind brushed past, her forehead and back were cool, already soaked with sweat.
“Wife, did you have a nightmare again?” Xing Niang heard the noise, hurriedly carried the lamp from the outer room, pushed open the bamboo curtain, and saw Ran Yan sitting with the covers, then placed the lamp on a low table beside her, and knelt down next to her.
Under the dim light, Xing Niang saw the glistening sweat on Ran Yan’s forehead, took out a handkerchief, and wiped it for her, “Wife, ever since you recovered from your illness, you have been waking up frightened every night, you should go to the temple to burn incense.”
“Xing Niang, do you know who Wan Lu is?” Ran Yan frowned and asked.
She guessed it was something she had tried hard to forget in her previous memories, or perhaps this body suffered selective amnesia.
Xing Niang’s expression darkened, she sighed and said, “I know this has become a heartache for you, Lady, you had already forgotten all about it, why think of it again?”
Ran Yan pursed her lips and stared steadily at Xing Niang.
Seeing her resolute expression, Xing Niang knew she could not conceal it any longer and said, “Wanwan was the fourth lady of the Yin residence, close friends with you.
Later, she fell ill with a severe sickness and passed away, which left you heartbroken for many months, and your health gradually deteriorated as well.”
“Is that all?” Ran Yan could not recall having a close female friend named Yin Wanwan no matter what.
Some mentally fragile people, after experiencing terrifying or sad incidents, unwittingly block out those memories, also known as selective amnesia.
If the situation was as simple as Xing Niang described, why would such a condition arise?
Considering the images she saw in her dreams, Ran Yan felt that the bigger reason for choosing to forget was fear.
Xing Niang remained silent for a moment before saying, “I remember, that day was just a few days before the Lady’s memorial day.
I stayed in the residence with Wan Lu to prepare for the Lady’s memorial day, while you went to the Yin residence with Ge Lan.
However, when you returned, Ge Lan was nowhere to be seen, and you were unconscious.
I truly don’t know what happened.”
“Ge Lan…” Ran Yan murmured the name.
Could the woman she saw drown in her dream be Ge Lan?
With this suspicion in mind, Ran Yan asked, “Do you remember what color clothes Ge Lan wore that day?
Or what colors she usually liked to wear?”
“I’m not very clear about that, perhaps Wan Lu would know.
However, Wife, don’t you usually prefer them to wear the colors that match their names?
Ge Lan most often wore blue,” Xing Niang said worriedly, looking at Ran Yan, then added, “Lady, it’s still early, try not to think about it anymore, sleep a little longer.
Whatever the issue, we can think it over carefully after sunrise.”
Ran Yan nodded and laid back down on the couch.
Fearing that she might have another nightmare, Xing Niang placed the lamp on a low table by the window and drew a gauzy curtain, creating a space bathed in soft light.
For seven years, Ran Yan had invariably awoken from nightmares every night, but she had never before dreamt such disjointed images—a scarlet dress, a face bound by plain fabric, desperate cries…
If that woman was Yin Wanwan, then everything made sense.
Perhaps the original Ran Yan had inadvertently witnessed Yin Wanwan’s violent death, which had shocked her into unconsciousness, and thus upon awakening, her subconscious rejected that memory.
Then her previous dreams, seeing the girl, and later the woman drowned, were indeed of the same person at different times.
Yin Wanwan said she was in pain—where was it hurting?
Was it really a severe illness?
And finally, the echoing shriek, vague in articulation yet clearly conveying her emotions—despair, fear, unwillingness.
Did these emotions suggest she died wrongfully, and was murdered?
Ran Yan pondered wildly, linking head and tail as best she could, but there were still many inconsistencies, such as why Ge Lan had disappeared?
After Ge Lan disappeared, what was the situation in Ran residence?
If the drowned woman was truly Yin Wanwan, then what caused her death?
Long-forgotten memories do not just emerge without reason.
Generally, this kind of amnesia might be triggered by familiar people or events, perhaps it was the recent re-entry into Yin residence that stirred up these memories.
After much tossing and turning, the morning sun gradually rose outside the window, casting rays through the slits of the lattice, Ran Yan felt no trace of sleepiness and got up to open the window.
The cool early morning air mingled with a faint smell of water plants hit her face, moist and fresh—a distinct scent of the Jiangnan water town.
Ran Yan did some breathing exercises for a while, watching the dawn spread across the eastern horizon, and soon streaks of sunlight broke through the clouds.