Qi Yue was rolling down the mountain.
She desperately tried to grab something with her hands, regretting to death. Why did she have to take this mountain path as a shortcut? In a blink of an eye, it was dark and snowing. One false step and she was tumbling down. She managed to grab some withered branches and tree roots with great effort, but the emergency medical kit on her back swung over with the momentum and struck her squarely on the forehead. Qi Yue’s vision went black…
She wouldn’t die just like this, would she? That would be too ridiculous.
This was great—she didn’t even know if her future was ruined yet, but her life was finished first. Her boyfriend—no, ex-boyfriend—would probably admire her foresight to death.
Qi Yue couldn’t help but clench her hands. How unwilling she was!
When she clenched her hands, she was stunned. Dead people probably shouldn’t be able to make this movement, and her consciousness had been clear all along. She could still feel pain in her body, and then this pain became even more intense, as if something had struck her heavily in the stomach.
Qi Yue cried out and sat up, covering her stomach with her hands, just in time to see the emergency medical kit rolling off her body.
This troublemaker again!
First it hit her head, now her stomach. This time she had filled the kit to bursting when restocking in the city.
Qi Yue angrily lifted her foot to kick the medical kit, but when she raised her foot, she was scared out of her wits.
What was this strange clothing?
A white skirt? White gauze skirt? Who changes an injured person’s clothes at a time like this? Besides, what emergency doctor would dress their injured self like this in the dead of winter? Had their brain short-circuited? Dead of winter…
This thought flashed by, and Qi Yue looked up somewhat dazedly. Then she saw that the rustling sound in her ears wasn’t tinnitus from a concussion, but that it was actually raining heavily outside.
Qi Yue opened her mouth wide, unable to process this for a moment.
Then she mechanically turned her head and saw classically carved wooden doors, windows, round doorways common in old folk architecture, and further inside, she could see a bed with hanging curtains…
A burning pain came from her neck, overwhelming the pain in other parts of her body. Qi Yue instinctively reached up to touch it.
“Strangulation marks and bruising…” she murmured out of professional habit. Then she looked up and saw the roof with exposed beams, rafters, and no ceiling, with a white cloth hanging down from the beam, swaying back and forth.
A cacophony of footsteps accompanied by crying came through the rain from outside.
Qi Yue withdrew her gaze from the beam and looked toward the door, seeing a group of people rushing in. As they got closer and clearer, Qi Yue couldn’t help but rub her eyes.
“My God, am I dreaming?” she murmured.
This group was indeed people, but not people she was familiar with. Regardless of age, they all had elaborate hairstyles and wore clothes that modern people would never wear, as if they had walked out of paintings, television, or ancient tomb murals…
They carried the fresh smell of earth and were making sounds.
“…Cry, cry, cry! What’s all this crying? You’ll have something to cry about later…”
“…Wuu wuu wuu, Nanny Liu, quickly go tell the Marquis and Madam…”
This group was walking and talking, some crying as they went.
They quickly stepped up the stairs. A’Ru looked toward them with tears streaming down her face.
“The Young Madam, she…” she said chokingly, her words getting stuck halfway in her throat.
Qi Yue sat on the ground, staring at them unblinkingly, her bloodless mouth slightly open.
A’Ru covered her face with her hands.
Two screams simultaneously pierced everyone’s eardrums.
“A ghost!”
Compared to A’Ru, who screamed and collapsed on the ground trembling, Qi Yue screamed while scrambling backward using both hands and feet.
“You little hussy!” The leading woman was nearly knocked over by the sudden screaming. Seeing that figure, though disheveled, nimbly scrambling into the inner room, she immediately understood the cause and effect like looking in a mirror. Her originally anxious expression immediately darkened, and she kicked A’Ru, who was still screaming at her feet. “Come here! Tear her mouth apart! What use is keeping this trouble-making mouth!”
Immediately, three or four women swarmed over and began beating her mercilessly.
A’Ru cried and dodged. A’Hao, who had collapsed behind the others when A’Ru screamed, squeezed forward crying, blocking these women while shouting that they really weren’t deceiving the nannies, that the Young Madam really had hanged herself…
But she never said the words “the Young Madam really died.” The two maids, having received two such frights in this short moment, shook like chaff and couldn’t catch their breath from crying.
The leading woman glared angrily at the two, stepped inside, first looked up at the white cloth hanging from the beam, and a cold smile appeared on her face.
“Young Madam,” she called out.
No one answered from inside the room.
“Young Madam, do you have any other instructions?” she asked in a neither warm nor cold tone, not expecting an answer.
Still no one answered from inside.
“If you have nothing else, this old servant will go down first. The residence is busy with many people and affairs now. Madam’s health is poor, and the two young ladies are helping manage the household. We’re also dealing with funeral arrangements at the in-laws’ house, and these mourning rituals cannot be the slightest bit careless. This really troubles the Young Madam. When this old servant has free time, I’ll come keep the Young Madam company again.” The woman slowly spoke this long passage, then without waiting for any response from inside, turned and left.
“Nanny Liu, this…” A woman pointed at the white cloth hanging from the beam, asking for instructions.
The woman glanced sideways at the interior and snorted through her nose.
“Leave it. The Young Madam’s health is poor—climbing up and down is inconvenient. It’ll be easier to use next time,” she said indifferently.
These words were truly outrageous, but the women in the room showed not the slightest fear or surprise, instead all showing smiles.
“Look how anxious she was—didn’t even bother with an umbrella, got her clothes all wet. Quick, go tell the kitchen to prepare soup for Nanny to ward off the cold,” another woman instructed.
A young maid immediately ran off, while others held umbrellas, led the way, and escorted the woman out.
As the woman came out, she glanced sideways at the two maids still huddled on the ground.
Feeling that gaze piercing their backs like ice, the two maids couldn’t help but huddle closer together.
“Fortunately, I didn’t listen to you and go tell the Marquis and Madam, otherwise this old bag of bones would have been played to pieces by you two young ones at the end…” she said slowly. “A’Ru, you used to serve the Old Marchioness. How is it that instead of improving, you’ve regressed?”
A’Ru and A’Hao fell to their knees and kowtowed repeatedly.
“We really dare not deceive Nanny Liu, we really dare not deceive Nanny Liu,” A’Ru cried.
The woman didn’t even look at them, said nothing more, and stepped over them.
The group quickly departed, with faint sounds of laughter coming through the rain mist.
“…Only now after so long does she have the guts to try hanging herself…”
“…Has the guts to play but not to endure—really worthless…”
“…If she had really died, that would have been perfect. Our Young Master would finally be free…”
Hearing this unrestrained laughter and conversation, the two maids looked at each other, then hugged and cried loudly.
“Stop crying. The Young Madam is fine—that’s a good thing. I’d rather take a beating and scolding than have it really…” A’Ru patted A’Hao, saying through tears.
A’Hao nodded.
The two supported each other as they stood up, not caring about being soaked from head to toe, and walked into the room in a few steps.
“Young Madam?” they called.
No one answered from inside. A’Ru quickly walked in and saw the corner of a skirt showing from one side of the bed curtain.
“Young Madam…” she softened her voice and called again. “Are you… really all right?”
A hand slightly emerged from behind the curtain, grabbed the curtain and pulled it, wrapping the person more securely inside.
She was too embarrassed to face people. A’Ru sighed. Today’s incident would be thoroughly humiliating if word got out.
“Young Madam, should we call a doctor…” she asked gently again.
“No need.” Finally, a thin voice came from behind the curtain, as if frightened, the voice trembling, hoarse, and brief.
A’Ru stopped and exchanged glances with A’Hao.
“I’m fine.” Another voice came from behind the curtain, this time louder than before. At the same time, half a face appeared briefly from behind the curtain, quickly glanced at A’Ru, then hid back again. “You… you go out.”
A’Ru stood without moving.
“You… go change your clothes quickly,” the voice from the curtain became smoother. “Be careful of catching cold.”
Catching cold? A’Ru was confused. What did that mean?
Given the Young Madam’s temperament, she didn’t ask further.
“Then I’ll go down and change clothes first, then come back to serve the Young Madam,” she said.
A sound of agreement came from the curtain.
A’Ru then came out. A’Hao stood in the main room, looking up at the hanging white cloth with a pale face.
“Sister, this…” she asked timidly.
A’Ru moved over a stool, stood on it, and yanked it down, quickly bundling it up.
“Burn it,” she said.
A’Hao nodded and hurried to straighten the overturned chairs and stools. Suddenly she saw a silver-white box on the floor in the corner.
“Sister, what is this?” she asked.
A’Ru looked over at the sound and was also puzzled. This thing was square, with strange symbols and strange characters marked in red on top.
“We don’t have this in our room, do we?” she said.
They had lived here for three years and could recognize the furnishings with their eyes closed.
She reached out to pick it up.
“Don’t touch it.” A voice suddenly came from the inner room.
A’Ru and A’Hao were startled and looked back to see the Young Madam leaning halfway out of the curtain, staring at them.
“Yes, yes.” The two quickly replied and stepped back several paces. “Young Madam, we’ll go down first.”
Watching the two people lower their heads and retreat, even closing the door behind them, Qi Yue finally breathed a slight sigh of relief. After confirming that the two weren’t actually eavesdropping outside the door, she came out.
She looked around, full of surprise and amazement, her gaze finally settling on a bronze mirror nearby.
Qi Yue took several deep breaths and strode over like going to an execution, first closing her eyes, then suddenly opening them.
In the mirror, a person with a silver plate-like face, almond eyes, and jade-like plain features—completely unfamiliar—was staring at her.
She pouted, bared her teeth, and tugged at her cheeks. The person in the mirror did the same.
“Oh my God…” Qi Yue said to herself, finally putting down the mirror and scanning the room full of furniture that was undoubtedly authentic and definitely not television props. “I’ve transmigrated…”