“Yaoyao, you little lazy cat, aren’t you getting up yet?”

Hearing the voice, Yun Shuyao let out a soft sigh and opened her eyes, just in time to see a figure walking through the doorway. The person lifted the bed curtains, revealing a gentle face full of helpless but doting affection. Seeing her like this, she urged, “Since you’re awake, stop being lazy in bed.”

Yun Shuyao had already awakened alertly when she heard the footsteps. She stretched contentedly, “Mother, what time is it?”

Song Shi reached out and touched her daughter’s forehead. Some time ago, her daughter had suffered a serious illness. After taking her pulse, the doctors had all shaken their heads, which terrified her. Fortunately, her daughter gradually recovered, though she had become more drowsy than before.

The temperature was normal, so she withdrew her hand, “In half a shichen, your younger brother will be back.”

So now it was time to prepare the evening meal. “What do you want to eat tonight—fish or preserved meat?”

This wasn’t really urging her to get up; it was clearly coming to ask what she wanted to eat.

Yun Shuyao’s eyes curved with a smile, “Mother, I want to eat fish.”

The fish at home had been specially sent by her uncle. Seeing how it lay motionless and depressed in the water vat, she feared that if they kept it longer it would get thinner, and then there would be less meat to eat—what a loss that would be. Preserved meat was different; eating it a bit later wouldn’t matter.

Song Shi agreed with a smile, “Alright, then we’ll eat fish tonight.”

As they spoke, Yun Shuyao got up and put on her outer garment. Song Shi helped her daughter arrange a simple hair bun and inserted a wooden hairpin into it. “There, all done.” Song Shi looked at the delicate beauty of her daughter’s face with a satisfied smile.

Walking out the door, they reached the kitchen in just a few steps.

When washing and putting rice in the pot, Song Shi habitually prepared enough for five people.

With her husband away taking the provincial examination, there were now four people at home—herself, her daughter, and two sons around ten years old. Logically, they didn’t need to prepare this much rice, but as her daughter recovered day by day, her appetite grew day by day. She had asked the doctor about it, and the doctor said there was nothing wrong, telling Song Shi to relax. While thinking that a good appetite was a blessing, she also worried: would her future son-in-law be able to provide for her daughter?

She didn’t know if her husband would pass the autumn examination this time. Regardless, her daughter was already seventeen this year, so they absolutely had to settle her marriage this year. Unfortunately, most suitable young men were already betrothed. She wondered which family her daughter would marry into in the future.

Yun Shuyao was unaware of Song Shi’s worries and sat happily on a small stool sorting vegetables, not letting a single good one go to waste.

“People regard food as heaven”—having crossed over from the apocalypse to this ancient world, what gave her the greatest sense of happiness was this peaceful era.

No need to rack her brains for a single bite of food.

No need to be on constant alert every moment guarding against the appearance of zombies.

No need to regard every approaching fellow human with suspicion to prevent herself from becoming a “two-legged sheep”…

Compared to the apocalypse, this place was paradise!

“Crack—”

The bamboo in the stove made a crisp sound. Yun Shuyao lifted her head and glanced at Song Shi busy at the stove. Despite such a loud noise, she hadn’t reacted at all. From her expression, she was clearly lost in thought. As for what she was thinking about, Yun Shuyao estimated it was most likely one of two things: either her father attending the autumn examination, or her own lifelong matters.

Her soul had crossed over here, taking over after the original owner died from serious illness. She had been awake for some time now.

She was very fortunate—this was the second time.

The first time was when she was hit by a racing car on her way home from overtime work in the modern world. Her blood stained a copper coin she had worn since childhood. Later she learned it was a severely damaged spiritual artifact that automatically recognized her as its master and carried her soul through to an apocalyptic small world, where she awakened in the body of a woman who had just starved to death.

In that apocalyptic hell where order had collapsed and everyone struggled to survive, Yun Shuyao managed to survive for several months before perishing in a massive zombie siege.

The second time was now.

Though it was regrettable she hadn’t returned to her original world, at least this was a peaceful world.

Moreover, even though she hadn’t transmigrated as the daughter of nobility or a high official, her current father was a scholar. While not particularly wealthy, they didn’t worry about food and drink. Now he had even gone to take the provincial examination. If luck was on their side, she could upgrade from a scholar’s daughter to the daughter of a recommended man, and then she would have even less to worry about regarding food and clothing. Furthermore, this was a rare harmonious family that reminded her of her grandmother with whom she had depended on each other. However… it wasn’t without troubles.

Yun Shuyao couldn’t help but furrow her brow. She was already seventeen this year. In modern times, this might still be a high school student, but in this era, she was undoubtedly an old maiden.

If not for the fact that her paternal grandfather and grandmother had died in succession requiring mourning periods, the original owner would have already married.

Presumably after her father’s autumn examination ended, regardless of whether he passed, her marriage would be arranged.

As for being a single noblewoman?

After learning about current policies, Yun Shuyao had dismissed this notion.

In some countries in later generations, singles had to pay taxes. In this era, being overage and single not only incurred fines but also resulted in forced matchmaking—randomly pairing you with any unmarried man.

If she wanted to avoid marriage, that was fine—she could become a nun. But becoming a nun had too many restrictions. While called a pure place, weren’t there plenty of places where filth was concealed? There were also many limitations. Comparatively speaking, marrying was a decent choice.

If the other party was decent and life could go on reasonably well, that was fine. If the other party wasn’t good, she could still find a way to divorce. If the other party was utterly conscienceless, there was always widowhood, wasn’t there? No matter what, life wouldn’t be harder than in the apocalypse.

Thinking of this, Yun Shuyao smiled. If her mother knew about this line of thinking, she’d probably be scared half to death.

No help for it—having gone through the apocalypse once, aside from being particularly obsessed with food, the other change was her view on human life.

“Mother, Father should have reached the provincial capital by now, right?”

Hearing her daughter mention her husband, Song Shi’s brow furrowed with some concern in her words, “He should have arrived. I wonder if the two of them have found lodging yet.”

Also traveling with them was her uncle’s cousin Yun Chang, who already had the status of a county student. Barring any accidents, becoming a scholar wouldn’t be a problem. He was going now to scout ahead. If things went smoothly, in a few years he could also go to the provincial capital for the autumn examination.

Yun Shuyao reassured her, “Didn’t Father’s friend in the provincial capital write before saying that if they couldn’t find lodging, they could stay with him for a while?”

Song Shi’s brow relaxed somewhat, “That’s true. I hope the Star of Literature shines upon your father this time.” If he passed, there would be more choices for a son-in-law, and they wouldn’t need to rush.

What a pity. Song Shi thought of the Chen family who had already married. If not for the successive mourning periods, and the Chen family having elderly who couldn’t wait and breaking off the engagement, her daughter would have already married by now.

Now they could only choose anew.

Yun Shuyao said, “Father will pass with high marks.”

As they spoke, she smelled the fragrance coming from the pot and took a breath. Seeing this, Song Shi thought that if her husband really passed, the conditions for a son-in-law could rise another level, and she wouldn’t need to worry about her daughter being looked down upon for her appetite after marriage.

Just as they were chatting, they heard someone knocking on the door, “Second Aunt! Second Aunt!”

That voice… Yun Chang?

Hadn’t he gone with her husband to take the autumn examination?

Song Shi felt her heart skip a beat. Still holding a large bowl in her hand that she forgot to put down, she hurried over in quick steps to open the door for him.

As soon as she opened the door, Yun Chang delivered terrible news, “Second Aunt, something terrible has happened—Second Uncle has been thrown into prison!”

At these words, Song Shi was frightened. The bowl in her hand fell directly, making a crisp cracking sound as fragments scattered across the floor. But at this moment, everyone’s attention wasn’t on that.

“Chang’er, what—what happened? What did you just say?”

Yun Chang took a breath and licked his dry lips, “…Second Uncle was falsely accused and thrown into prison.” Looking carefully, you could see the dark circles under his eyes and his disheveled clothes. There was also an odor on him—who knew how long it had been since he had bathed.

Presumably after the incident occurred, he no longer had the mind to pay attention to such matters.

Song Shi took three seconds to process this information. After processing it, her whole body went weak, her vision darkened, and she fell backward. Yun Shuyao quickly stepped forward, wrapping an arm around her waist to support her body, “Mother, calm down. Father needs us now.”

The two of them helped her back to the room together.

Song Shi’s fainting spell was brief. Before long, she came around groggily and struggled to sit up. Her voice wavered weakly as she asked Yun Chang, “Chang’er, what exactly happened?”

Yun Chang gave a bitter smile, “We traveled with a merchant caravan’s carts to the provincial capital. When we reached Baizhu City, we weren’t going the same way as the caravan, so we separated. Since we weren’t far from Qichen County, we walked. On the road, we met a woman who had twisted her ankle. We gave her a ride and took her to her relatives’ home, then parted ways. But when we stopped at a teahouse to rest and eat, not long after, soldiers came to the door saying Second Uncle had stolen a jade pendant belonging to the County Magistrate’s brother-in-law.”

Yun Chang’s mouth was full of bitterness, “We don’t even know who the County Magistrate’s brother-in-law is!”

Yun Shuyao immediately thought of that woman, “Did that woman’s clothing or appearance have any distinguishing features?”

Yun Chang was impressed by his cousin’s perceptiveness, “…After Second Uncle was arrested, I asked around and learned that the County Magistrate’s brother-in-law, Wu Peng, is extremely lustful. Many respectable women in the county have been forced to become his concubines. That woman was one of the respectable women he had his eye on who escaped. She fled to her relatives’ home and was sent away. We were caught in the backlash.”

Hearing this, Song Shi’s tears fell in large drops, “Is—is there no justice? How is your Second Uncle now? What will it take for him to get out? He was wrongly accused!”

This was why Yun Chang had returned. He swallowed with difficulty, “I asked around. A steward said that jade pendant is worth two thousand taels. If we pay two thousand taels, we can buy that broken jade pendant, and Second Uncle can be released.”

This was clearly robbery. From beginning to end, they had never even seen this Wu Peng, let alone stolen any jade pendant!

Two thousand taels?! Song Shi gasped.

Where would their family get so much silver?!

Even if they emptied their entire savings and sold this small house, at most they could scrape together three hundred taels, of which two hundred and fifty taels would be the price of the house.

Where would the rest of the money come from?

Song Shi cried, “Chang’er, how could our family possibly have so much silver?”

Yun Chang naturally knew this, “Later I gave gifts to that steward and inquired. He said that Wu Peng wanted to make an example to warn others, so that in the future no one would dare help. I came back thinking to seek out Mr. Wang. If Mr. Wang could put in a word with them, perhaps Second Uncle could be released.”

Mr. Wang—Yun Shuyao remembered him. This was a friend her father had made, a former classmate who had just passed the provincial examination in the previous round and was now a newly appointed recommended man. He had opened a private school and was teaching students.

Song Shi was delighted and wiped her tears, preparing to set out immediately, “Right! Let’s go find Mr. Wang!”

But the result disappointed them.

After learning what happened, Mr. Wang didn’t want to offend Wu Peng and avoided seeing them.

When they went to find other classmates and peers, after learning what happened, every single one found excuses saying they weren’t home or had gone on distant trips.

Wu Peng’s notorious reputation was widespread. Even those who didn’t know before, after asking around, heard a long string of shocking tragedies.

Never mind that they only had scholar status—even recommended men weren’t officials. Under Wu Peng’s hand, it wasn’t unheard of for recommended men to die unjustly. How would they dare stick their necks out?

The Yun household was shrouded in sorrow.

Song Shi fell ill.

The two younger brothers didn’t collapse but were also dispirited.

They saw no hope of rescuing their father.

Their uncle had already taken silver to Qichen County to bribe the people in the prison, lest failing to do so would let those petty devils in the jail make things difficult.

Yun Shuyao looked at the situation at home and refused to give up. She asked Yun Chang, “Big Brother, is there really no other way?”

This was a calamity from heaven.

A perfectly happy family was about to be destroyed before their eyes.

Yun Shuyao suddenly deeply understood why so many people fought desperately to climb upward.

It was precisely for this reason.

Your peace and security depended on a single casual word from those in positions above.

Now, just one word from the County Magistrate’s brother-in-law had put the pillar of this small household in prison.

Yun Shuyao couldn’t help but clench her fists. Unfortunately, her supernatural ability was only at level one now, and her body had no strength to truss a chicken. If given enough time to grow, perhaps she could charge into the prison and rescue him. Unfortunately, there simply wasn’t that much time now.

In the apocalypse, law and order had failed before long. The rule was that fists were truth. Aside from a few bases led by national military forces and government, the other small bases operated on naked law of the jungle.

Those with ability could enjoy better resources. Those with supernatural powers enjoyed resources a level above those without abilities. When she had crossed into that world, she had a supernatural ability, but hers was a wood-type ability—famously a useless ability with little attack power in the early stages.

She had crossed over to this place, and her ability had revived as well, but it was still too weak.

Yun Chang said, “If it still doesn’t work, I’ll go to the prefectural yamen to beat the drum and appeal for justice. I refuse to believe there’s truly no law!”

The saying goes that officials protect each other—unless absolutely necessary, Yun Chang didn’t want to resort to this.

Just as they were discussing what other options remained, a well-dressed old nanny came to the door.

She announced herself as a servant from the household of their Xingtai Prefecture’s Prefect, sent on orders from her household’s Old Madam.

The two families didn’t know each other—what was she here for?

“The Old Madam happened to learn your young miss’s birth date and time while offering incense at the temple, and it’s a heaven-made match with our Old Master.” Their Old Master currently had no sons and wished to engage her as an honorable concubine.

Nanny Wang’s eyes swept over Yun Shuyao appraisingly, seeing she looked healthy and robust. She smiled sincerely, “By coincidence, our Old Madam heard that your household’s Old Master encountered some misunderstanding in Qichen County and has already written a letter there. Surely there will be good news before long.”

The room fell silent.

After Nanny Wang left, Song Shi was bewildered, her heart like it was being fried in oil, “Chang’er, do you know what background this Prefect has?”

If such a person had taken a fancy to her daughter, with their family’s status, could they escape? A County Magistrate’s brother-in-law had already gotten her husband thrown in prison—never mind the Prefect who was above the County Magistrate.

Yun Chang pondered for a moment and looked at Yun Shuyao, “Second Aunt, don’t panic. I’ve heard people mention that our Prefect took office not long ago. Supposedly his ancestral home is Gusu, he comes from a marquis family, passed the imperial examination as third-place scholar at seventeen, deeply favored by the Emperor, married the legitimate daughter of the late Duke Rongguo, is approaching thirty this year, and still has no sons or daughters.”

As he spoke, he couldn’t help but look deeply at his cousin. It must be said, if the Prefect stepped forward, as long as the Qichen County Magistrate wasn’t a fool, the problems their family faced would be easily resolved.

They hadn’t yet given a reply, but the Prefect’s household had already helped write a letter there. Presumably Second Uncle should already be safely released.

Yun Shuyao was thinking of something else—the legitimate daughter of Duke Rongguo from Gusu?

Why did that sound somewhat familiar? Where had she heard it… Wait!

She couldn’t help but raise her eyebrows, “Big Brother, do you know this Prefect’s given name?”

Yun Chang happened to have heard a classmate mention it. He greatly admired this Prefect’s achievements and remembered clearly, “His surname is Lin, courtesy name Ruhai.”

Yun Shuyao: “…”

(⊙ – ⊙)

If her memory wasn’t mistaken… wasn’t this Sister Lin’s father?!!

—

**Author’s Note:**

1. Alternate universe Qing transmigration + Dream of the Red Chamber, timeline will have some changes

2. Before transmigrating, the female lead was a corporate slave, had a previous relationship, has not read the great work Dream of the Red Chamber

3. The female lead is emotionless, will not fall in love with the male lead