Ancheng Xia Mansion, Qinghe Courtyard.
Having just woken up, Xia Qinghe lay with her eyes half-closed, being fed thin congee by her maidservant, while in truth she was reviewing the memories in her mind.
Xia Shimei stood nearby, anxious and uneasy, fearing this might be a final flicker of life before death.
Lin Wanying, born of the prestigious Lin clan of Xunyang, was the original body's mother.
Ever since marrying Xia Shimei, she rarely mentioned her natal family. Xia Qinghe had only overheard a few fragments from the servants.
All she knew was that the Lin family was a prominent local clan. After Xia Shimei married Lin Wanying, with the Lin family's financial backing, he quickly established himself in the capital, became a disciple of Grand Scholar Liu Shifang, was personally selected by Emperor Cheng as Tanhua—third-place scholar in the imperial examination—and later requested to be posted to Ancheng as county magistrate.
As for the details behind all this, no one knew clearly. Everyone said Lin Wanying was fortunate to have married a handsome, talented Tanhua with both looks and brilliance, a promising future. But what outsiders didn't know was that after giving birth to her, Lin Wanying became even more silent about her natal family, spending her days in melancholy, wasting away on a sickbed, and half a year ago, her body failed and she passed away with regret.
Xia Qinghe reviewed the original owner's background in her mind and had reason to suspect that the original owner's father was a textbook Chen Shimei—a heartless man who abandoned his wife. Only the kind-hearted Lin Wanying thought she'd found a treasure. This familiar trope was truly one of life's great joys: rise in rank, get rich, and the wife dies! If she guessed correctly, the next step would probably be a promotion!
After finishing her meal, the physician took her pulse again, sighing that she was deeply blessed to have turned danger into safety, and prescribed some warming, nourishing remedies.
Xia Shimei personally escorted the physician out, and only then did the room grow quiet.
Her body had broken out in a sweat, sticky and uncomfortable. Xia Qinghe knew she couldn't bathe yet and had to endure it. Her eyelids were heavy too, so she drifted back into a dazed sleep.
When she opened her eyes again, the room had darkened, with only a small lamp glowing in the corner.
"Miss, you're awake? Would you like some food?" Danxin, who had been keeping a sharp watch by the bedside, finally relaxed her tense expression when she saw her open her eyes.
"Danxin, you've been watching over me this whole time?"
Danxin nodded, her eyes reddening. Thinking of how her young miss had nearly followed the madam to the afterlife, she dared not be careless. "If the madam could see you safe and sound, she would rest easy in heaven."
Perhaps it was the original owner's emotions, but Xia Qinghe felt a tightness in her chest. "Where's Nanny Lin? I want to bathe."
"Nanny Lin has gone out. Miss, please have some food first. Once you have some strength, we can only do a simple wipe-down. The fever has just broken, and your body is still weak—you mustn't bathe, or you might catch a chill again." Danxin saw her low spirits and quickly set aside her grief. She poured a cup of water, steadied herself, and helped her drink, then ordered the maidservants to heat water and bring food.
Cuilü fetched a bowl of plain noodles from the small kitchen—fine, delicate noodles topped with fresh green scallions. The sight of it instantly whetted Xia Qinghe's appetite, and she devoured the entire bowl, noodles and broth alike, in one go.
After eating, she broke into a light sweat and felt comfortable all over. After resting a while to digest, the maidservants finally helped her wash up.
Clean and refreshed, she lay in bed. Danxin told her to rest well and withdrew with the others to the outer room, instructing her to call out if she needed anything.
Xia Qinghe looked at her small frame and sighed inwardly. Since Lin Wanying's death, her once chubby little face had grown thin enough to break one's heart. Her genes were good, though—she could imagine she'd grow up to be a beauty.
Mrs. Lin was ordinarily dignified and generous, a typical gentle and graceful woman, and she was no less impressive in teaching her daughter. From childhood, she taught her etiquette, poetry, and books—truly worthy of being a refined lady raised by a family with deep heritage.
Driven by the imagination of a modern doctor's soul, Xia Qinghe felt that her father was hiding something deeply and was definitely not as simple as he appeared on the surface. She carefully recalled the original host's mother's illness in her mind, and indeed found a trace of suspicion.
Although a woman's body tends to become depleted after childbirth, Mrs. Lin's illness before her death did not seem like a woman's disease. Moreover, if the couple had been harmonious, Mrs. Lin would not have been gloomy all day, nor would she have refused to help her natal family. There must be some hidden story behind this.
The attendants by her side were all brought from Mrs. Lin's natal family, absolutely reliable and loyal. After Mrs. Lin's death, the one who benefited the most was Xia Shimei. According to Mama Lin, the second wife who had just entered the household came from a family where someone was a high official. Although she was a concubine's daughter who had always been raised in the old home in Ancheng, one could tell from the dowry given that she was also favored.
Just as she was thinking this, a very familiar "ding" sounded in her mind, and Xia Qinghe was immediately delighted—this was the sound of the little sprite from her laboratory in the other world!
With a probe of her consciousness, sure enough, her laboratory had also crossed over with her. This was a solid golden finger!
The laboratory from the other world did not occupy much space. It was just built on an empty spot in a military research institute—a two-story small Western-style building. The first floor was the work area, with a workshop, pharmacy, operating room, archives, and warehouse; the second floor was where she lived, with a living room, kitchen, study, and bedroom. It had been specially approved for her exclusive use by the military institute's leadership. There was no help for it—who told her to be the most brilliant genius medical doctor in the entire military region! She had been hailed as a child prodigy since childhood, but was frail and sickly. She had sought medical treatment from many sources and lamented the suffering of illness, so she resolved to devote herself to medicine. At eighteen, she was exceptionally admitted by the military and stayed at the military research institute for several years.
Now what had crossed over with her was that two-story small building, surrounded by a vast expanse of white. Xia Qinghe did not go inside to explore; having this laboratory was already enough.
"Master, you're back!" The little sprite robot saw her and happily spun in circles.
The little sprite was her experimental system and surgical assistant. The research institute had a mature system, and the entire military institute had only three such little sprite robots. It was only half the height of an ordinary person, with retractable arms and multifunctional instrument arms. It could not only assist in academic research, but also assist in some precision surgeries, and could even independently perform some simple surgical operations.
Xia Qinghe had the little sprite do a full-body scan on her. Aside from weakness after just recovering from a serious illness, everything else was very healthy. She was currently growing, so after checking the facilities on the first floor, she decisively went to the second floor, comfortably took a constant-temperature bath, opened the double-door large refrigerator, and found the food usually stored was fully stocked and all there. Haha, this was simply wonderful!
Fortunately, their military research institute was deep in the mountains and could not be supplied at all times, so when supplies were due, they were always ample. Vegetables, fruits, meat, and drinks were all available, and in the warehouse downstairs there were also quite a lot of firewood, rice, oil, and salt, as well as some military-supplied special items.
Xia Qinghe took a bottle of milk. To her surprise, another bottle appeared out of thin air in its original place. After repeated experiments, she discovered that everything in her space reappeared immediately after being taken away. Could this be the charm of parallel time and space?
Then she undoubtedly had a treasure trove in ancient times that provided endless food and drink and could even make money! This cheat ability was just too incredible! It was simply a sure win!
After eating and drinking her fill in the space and resting for a while, Xia Qinghe came out. The main reason was that she was currently young and had just recovered from illness. Outside, there were maids and old women keeping watch at night. If the bed was too quiet, she was afraid of being discovered.
Touching the Sumeru bead on her neck, Xia Qinghe fell into deep thought. She knew the Buddhist allusion from the scriptures: "Sumeru hides a mustard seed, and a mustard seed contains Sumeru." Could it be that she and the space traveled through time because of this bead? However, she had just tried it too. When this bead was taken off, the space still remained. She just did not know what relationship there might be between the two.
Danxin had already told her the whole story about this Sumeru bead and warned her that she must never lose it. As for that Master Huiru, should she meet him if there was a chance?