“Young master, there’s a person on the riverbank!”
“Ugly girl, you’re lucky to have met me. Xiao Zhu, take her to the town clinic!”
On the riverbank, a servant boy named Xiao Zhu stood beside a handsome young master riding a tall horse. Shen Xixi only managed to open her eyes for a glance before fainting away.
As if in a dream,
a voice echoed in her mind: “Default loading Space System, progress loading 10%, 20%, 30%…”
When she woke again, her head spun dizzily as the memories of the original host flooded in. She had actually traveled through time.
The renowned medical master of a mercenary squad, Shen Xi, had transmigrated into a 12-year-old peasant girl named Shen Xixi.
“Xixi, how are you feeling? Does it still hurt? Where do you feel unwell? Tell Mother!”
Liu Taohua’s voice trembled with tears as she gently held her daughter’s hand, calling out to her.
“Mother… water…” Her voice was hoarse, her throat aching terribly. She had no idea how long it had been since she last drank water.
“Xing’an, quickly bring water for your little sister.”
“Little sister, Second Brother will be right there!” The young man’s voice carried a note of joy.
“It’s all my fault for letting a child like you go gather herbs. You fell off the cliff and nearly lost your life. Thankfully, kind-hearted people found and saved you. Wuwu!”
“Xing’an, add some brown sugar for your little sister. She lost so much blood; she needs proper nourishment!” Grandma Shen took out brown sugar from the cupboard.
“Thank you, Grandma!”
“Little sister, you were so lucky. There was a river beneath the cliff, and someone happened to pass by. It’s just a shame that by the time we found you in town, the benefactor had already left!” Shen Xing’an helped her sit up and carefully fed her.
In Shen Xixi’s mind, the image of the young man surfaced. Since he had saved her life, she would repay him if given the chance.
After drinking a bowl of brown sugar water, Shen Xixi finally felt alive again. In the sweltering heat of midsummer, her ice-cold body began to sense a trace of warmth.
“Still giving her brown sugar water? Pah! Why didn’t that jinx just die? Ever since she came to our family, there hasn’t been a single peaceful day!”
A discordant voice rang out.
“Aunt, how can you blame this on little sister?” Shen Wenxing’s expression darkened.
“Isn’t it true? In her first year, she spent so much money on medicine and medical treatment. The second year brought floods, the third year brought war, the fourth year brought snow disasters… This year, Dashan even broke his leg. This jinx, this worthless girl—only you all treat her like a treasure!”
Du Shi raised her voice, almost wishing those outside could hear.
“This cursed creature, why didn’t she just die? Now we have to spend money on her treatment. There are already two sickly people at home, and now another one. Oh heavens, is there no way for us to survive? Why is my fate so bitter!”
Her wails shook the sky, drawing passersby outside to gather around.
“Xixi is awake? This girl is filial too—she fell while gathering herbs for her father. Poor thing, with such a deep scar on her face, how will she ever marry in the future?”
“Yes, what a pity. She was such a pretty little girl before.”
“That Sister-in-law Shen must be suffering too. With three sick people in the family all at once, how will they manage their days?”
Some sympathized, while others felt it wasn’t worth it for a girl they had picked up. In times of famine, they couldn’t even take care of their own family, let alone someone they had found.
After chatting for a while, everyone gradually dispersed. There had been many such incidents lately, so there wasn’t much excitement to see.
Everyone was busy. As dusk approached and the heat subsided, people hurried to fetch water and irrigate the fields. The drought had caused the farmland to crack.
“Now she’s turned into an ugly monster, and we’ll have to keep feeding her at home. What a jinx, a worthless burden!”
I had originally thought of marrying this wretched girl off in a couple of years to get a dowry, but now she’s become so hideous.
She’s stuck in my hands now. Ugh, the more I think about her, the angrier I get.
“The brown sugar belongs to me, old woman! You’ve been grumbling about it for ages. If you want some, go ask your father-in-law for money to buy it!”
Grandma Feng of the Shen family, Feng Meixiang, was the daughter of a scholar’s family. She married Shen Zhiqiou, who had just passed the imperial examination to become a scholar. For the first two years, the couple lived in harmony. Shen Zhiqiou secured a position at the county office, and life was relatively smooth.
Ten years later, he brought home a mistress from a brothel, along with a pair of children. The couple argued about divorce, but at that time, Shen Zhiqiou’s parents were still alive and forbade it. In the end, the mistress entered the household as a concubine.