Song Li’s mouth was dry, and her throat felt like it was on fire.
She really wanted something to drink.
But there was no way she would drink anything given to her by the heroine.
In the original novel, the heroine was afraid the mysterious man would kill Song Li. Thinking she was helping her, she secretly drugged Song Li two more times.
By the time the Song family arrived at Charity Hall, Song Li’s whole body was burning with fever. She was nearly dead.
No matter how people called her, she would not wake up.
Forget getting off the heated bed—she never even got to meet the Song family.
Because of the heroine’s plan, Song Li never saw the Song family from beginning to end.
Likewise, the Song family never even knew she existed.
Song Li let out a few sleepy groans, closed her eyes, and pretended to stay asleep.
No matter how much Zhaodi shook her, she refused to wake up.
Zhaodi touched her forehead.
It was still burning hot.
She guessed the fever had made Song Li confused.
After all, she was only a ten-year-old child.
Zhaodi didn’t think she was pretending.
She also didn’t want to make too much noise and wake everyone else.
So she temporarily gave up trying to force the medicine into Song Li.
Song Li’s head felt heavy.
Not long after closing her eyes, she fell asleep again.
…
The next morning, while the room was still dimly lit, Mama Liu suddenly pushed the door open.
A gust of cold wind rushed inside.
All the girls woke up from the cold.
They quickly got dressed and climbed off the bed.
“Important guests are coming today. All of you will come with me to greet them. Hurry up and clean yourselves.”
To Mama Liu, raising these children was like raising pigs to be sold.
And they were the piglets in her pen.
No one dared disobey her.
Everyone quietly did as they were told.
Zhaodi was secretly delighted.
She knew the Song family had arrived.
She washed and dressed herself with extra care.
But when she looked at the sleepy Song Li beside her, she still couldn’t relax.
After quickly finishing her own grooming, she reheated the medicine.
“Song Li, I told you to drink this last night, but you slept like a dead pig. You’re awake now. Hurry and drink it.”
Song Li was combing her hair.
The original owner of this body was still young.
No one had ever taught her how to take care of herself, so her hair was full of knots.
As she painfully untangled it, she gritted her teeth and said,
“Zhaodi, I feel much better now. I don’t need medicine anymore.”
Zhaodi held the bowl in front of her and looked at her sadly.
“I stayed up all night making this.”
Song Li looked at the dark black medicine and felt uneasy.
What cold medicine needs to be boiled all night?
Is this really medicine?
“Zhaodi, whenever I catch a cold, I never take medicine. I’ll recover within seven days anyway. But since you worked so hard to make it, I’ll definitely drink all of it.”
Seeing a smile appear on Zhaodi’s face, she continued,
“But I didn’t eat dinner last night. My stomach is empty, and it hurts. Let me eat something first, then I’ll drink the medicine.”
Zhaodi lowered her eyes and thought for a moment.
“Mama Liu definitely won’t let us eat breakfast because she doesn’t want to keep the guests waiting. I secretly saved half a steamed bun. I’ll get it for you now.”
“Okay.”
Song Li didn’t refuse.
She was truly starving.
Her stomach hurt from hunger.
Zhaodi took out a small cloth bundle from under her pillow.
Inside was half a steamed bun that had been flattened into a hard cake.
Song Li was speechless.
Do I really have to eat this?
Seeing the bun already in her mouth, she gritted her teeth and took a small bite.
Fortunately, Zhaodi was a clean person.
The bun didn’t smell like hair oil.
She held it with both hands and slowly ate it.
Zhaodi watched anxiously.
“Song Li! Hurry up and eat!”
Song Li patted her chest.
“I haven’t had any water since yesterday afternoon. Dry bread is hard to swallow.”
Zhaodi resisted the urge to roll her eyes.
She quickly ran to the kitchen and came back with a bowl of hot water.
Song Li slowly sipped the hot water while eating the bun.
She felt much better.
By the time the older girls had finished getting ready, she had also finished eating.
“Alright! Girls, cheer up! Line up and come with me to greet the guests.”
Mama Liu mainly sold the older girls.
So everyone followed their schedule.
Zhaodi still held the bowl of medicine, waiting for a chance.
Hearing Mama Liu’s order, she became anxious.
“Quick! Song Li! Drink it all in one gulp!”
Song Li reached out to take the bowl.
But one of the younger girls behind her accidentally pushed her forward.
The children naturally lined up into formation.
Zhaodi wanted to follow and continue feeding her the medicine.
But she saw Mama Liu glaring at her while shaking a bamboo stick.
She didn’t dare cause trouble.
She could only put the bowl down and quietly follow the line.
Their room had both a front door and a back door.
The front led to the main courtyard.
The back opened toward the river, making it convenient for washing clothes and gathering firewood.
Now Mama Liu led them out through the front door.
After passing two buildings, they would reach the main hall.
Seeing that she had no chance to make Song Li drink the medicine, Zhaodi became more and more anxious.
It felt as if fate itself had decided that Song Li would reunite with her family.
No matter how carefully Zhaodi planned, she could never force herself into that place.
For the first time…
She regretted her decision.
She regretted stopping the mysterious man from killing Song Li.
Why was I so kind?
Why did I save her?
Zhaodi bit her lip.
This was a mistake.
And also a lesson.
Whether today’s plan succeeded or failed, she would never make the same mistake again.
Just then, as they passed the first building, she caught the familiar smell of medicine.
It was the mysterious man’s scent.
Hope rose in her heart.
She quietly looked around.
Finally, she spotted him on the roof.
He wore a gray outfit, a gray headscarf, and a gray cloth covering his face.
His body blended perfectly with the gray roof tiles.
Zhaodi narrowed her eyes and secretly made a throat-cutting gesture toward him.
The mysterious man had already noticed that Song Li was still in the group.
It was obvious that Zhaodi had failed.
He shot her a cold look.
Zhaodi shrank back, lowered her head, and hurried forward.
The mysterious man didn’t bother blaming her.
With a flick of his wrist, he threw a small stone toward Song Li’s head.
He wasn’t planning to kill her now.
That would attract too much attention.
He only wanted to knock her unconscious so she couldn’t ruin the plan.
Confidently, he turned away and silently counted in his heart.
Three…
Two…
One.
This was his habit.
After counting down, he always enjoyed hearing the sound of his target collapsing.
But this time…
After reaching one…
There was no sound at all.
He immediately turned back.
To his surprise, Song Li was weaving left and right as she walked, like she was making zigzags.
The mysterious man was speechless.
How does a little girl know such strange dodging moves?
Zhaodi reacted quickly.
She hurried over to support Song Li and whispered,
“Why are you walking all crooked? Let me help you.”
As she pretended to fix her hair, she secretly made another signal to the mysterious man.
Song Li acted as if she noticed nothing.
She weakly leaned against Zhaodi’s shoulder.
“Zhaodi… I’m dizzy… Let me drink the medicine.”
Zhaodi was speechless.
She wanted nothing more than to slap Song Li twice.
I held the bowl and begged you to drink it, but you refused.
Now you want it? Too late!
Go drink Meng Po’s soup instead!
(Meng Po is the guardian of the afterlife in Chinese folklore. Her soup makes the dead forget their past lives.)
The mysterious man saw that Zhaodi had stabilized Song Li.
He immediately jumped onto the roof of the second building and found another good position.
A small stone spun rapidly between his fingers.
Then he shot it straight toward Song Li’s head.
This time, he didn’t blink.
He wanted to watch Song Li fall with his own eyes.
But just as the stone was about to hit…
Song Li’s legs suddenly gave out.
Thump!
She dropped to her knees.
Zhaodi was pulled down with her.
The stone flew right over both of their heads.
It hit neither of them.
“Zhaodi… I have no strength left. I can’t walk anymore.”
Song Li held onto Zhaodi’s arm.
Cold sweat covered her body.
Damn.
Is this really so dangerous?
If I hadn’t noticed that mysterious man too, my head would have been smashed open by now.
Zhaodi stared at the stone that had bounced off the wall.
Her eyes turned red.
She’s obviously so weak.
Why is she so hard to kill?
After failing twice in a row, the mysterious man became furious.
He prepared to make one final attack.
Just then…
The door of the front hall opened.
Song Hailan walked out.
The mysterious man immediately hid himself.
Although Song Hailan was young, he was highly skilled in martial arts.
The mysterious man had no choice but to retreat for now.
At the same time, Zhaodi noticed that the smell of medicine had disappeared.
A feeling of helplessness filled her heart.
She had always believed she was extremely clever.
Yet she still couldn’t escape fate.
Are some things simply never meant to belong to me?
But very quickly, she calmed herself.
Her eyes became determined once again.
The mysterious man had said she looked seventy percent like Madam Song.
She also possessed the knowledge of a modern person.
She was educated, gentle, graceful, and refined.
Even though she had grown up poor, she carried herself with elegance.
No matter how anyone looked at her, she didn’t seem like an ordinary girl.
As for Song Li…
Her hair looked like a bird’s nest.
Her clothes and body were filthy.
At first glance, she looked like a little beggar.
How could she possibly compete with me?