It was the twenty-eighth day of the eleventh lunar month during the Qingfeng era.
Inside the woodshed of the Song family home in Tianshui Village.
“Beihai, Beishan, hurry and force the muting medicine down that little fool’s throat! While your elder brother Beichen and his family are away in town, put her in the coffin and quietly deliver her to Squire Liu’s residence!”
Old Madam Wu sat in a chair, her graying hair disheveled and her weathered face full of harsh lines. Her triangular eyes gleamed with malice as she directed her two sons to shove a young girl into a vermilion coffin.
Zhou Rong, the eldest daughter-in-law of the family, the wife of Song Beichen, rushed into the room. The moment she saw her daughter, Song Xiaoyu, being pinned down by her two brothers-in-law, tears streamed down her face.
“Mother! You can’t sell Xiaoyu! Her father is already trying to find a way to gather the compensation money for the Li family. We absolutely won’t drag the rest of the family down with us!”
Old Madam Wu snorted coldly. Rising from her seat, she lifted a foot and kicked Zhou Rong hard in the stomach.
“Easy for you to say! That’s twenty taels of silver! Your husband broke his leg while hunting in the mountains. The village doctor already said he’ll never stand properly again. He’s a cripple now! If we don’t sell this fool, where are we supposed to get the money to compensate the Li family?”
The force of the kick sent Zhou Rong crashing into the wall. Two clay jars shattered beside her as she fell. Her vision darkened, stars danced before her eyes, and she spat out a mouthful of fresh blood.
Standing by the doorway, the third branch’s daughter-in-law, Xiao Zou, dabbed at her lips with a handkerchief. She looked entirely detached from the situation as she spoke in a leisurely tone.
“Sister-in-law, your foolish daughter started all of this by hitting Li Erniu with a rock. Now the Li family is demanding twenty taels of silver for medical expenses. If we don’t pay, they’ll report the matter to the county yamen. Mother is arranging for Xiaoyu to marry into the Liu family as a ghost bride in exchange for fifty taels of silver. Not only will that cover the compensation, but there will even be money left for the family to survive the winter.
“Besides, my husband still needs to take the imperial examinations and bring honor to the Song family. We can’t allow a criminal niece to ruin his future.”
Old Madam Wu nodded vigorously.
“That’s right! My third son is destined to become a scholar-official. No one is allowed to get in the way of his future!”
Lying on the floor and struggling to breathe, Zhou Rong stared at Old Madam Wu with eyes filled with hatred.
“For years, Beichen risked his life hunting in the mountains. It’s not that our family doesn’t have twenty taels of silver. Mother, haven’t you secretly spent it all supporting brother Beishan? Must you really be so heartless toward our branch?”
“How dare a daughter-in-law point fingers at her mother-in-law? Have you no respect at all?”
Old Madam Wu slapped her viciously across the face.
The blow instantly left Zhou Rong’s cheek swollen and burning.
Everyone in the Song family knew that Old Madam Wu favored the third branch and constantly funneled money toward her educated youngest son. However, having the truth exposed in front of everyone was a direct challenge to her authority.
“Sister-in-law, get up first.”
Xiao Wang, wife of Song Beihai of the second branch, finally could not bear to watch any longer.
Ever since marrying into the Song family, she had known exactly how biased her mother-in-law was. The third son was treasured beyond reason simply because he could read and write.
Entering the woodshed, she helped Zhou Rong to her feet and cautiously tried to persuade Old Madam Wu.
“Mother, we can still find a way to gather the compensation money. Eldest Brother is currently in town receiving treatment for his leg. If you sell Xiaoyu without telling him, won’t he tear the house apart when he comes back?”
Old Madam Wu remained unmoved.
“If he dares make trouble, I’ll drive the entire first branch out of this house!”
At those words, Xiao Wang immediately fell silent.
Winter had already arrived, and the harvests had been poor for several years in a row. If not for Song Beichen’s hunting income, the Song family would have starved long ago. Now that he was crippled and unable to continue supporting the household, if the first branch were truly driven out, they would likely freeze or starve to death.
Song Xiaoyu felt a splitting headache.
The noise around her made it seem as though her brain were about to explode.
She had only just escaped from a massive zombie horde and was enjoying a peaceful nap. Yet somehow, a bunch of idiots had disturbed her rest.
After listening carefully and sorting through the memories that suddenly flooded her mind, she realized that the “little fool” everyone kept talking about was actually her.
Good heavens.
She did not even know how she had died, yet she had somehow transmigrated to this strange place.
A surge of irritation rose within her.
Opening her eyes, she sprang lightly out of the coffin.
“The fool’s awake! Since you’re up, swallow this muting medicine yourself. It cost a lot of silver. If you waste even a drop, you’ll answer for it!”
Old Madam Wu personally held out a yellow paper packet filled with white powder.
Sitting on the edge of the coffin, Song Xiaoyu narrowed her eyes. A cold smile spread across her face.
“If it’s such a precious thing, Grandmother, you should enjoy it yourself.”
Before anyone could react, she moved like lightning.
Grabbing Old Madam Wu by the hair, she forced most of the muting medicine straight down the old woman’s throat.
Everything happened so quickly that nobody had time to stop her.
“Ahhh! You little wretch! I’ll kill you! Cough! Cough! Cough!”
Old Madam Wu shrieked in fury while desperately trying to make herself vomit.
Song Beihai hurriedly grabbed a ladle and scooped water from a nearby jar so she could rinse her mouth.
Unfortunately, it was already too late.
Within moments, Old Madam Wu’s voice became hoarse and distorted.
Soon, she could not speak at all.
“Mother! How are you feeling?”
Song Beihai asked anxiously.
“Woo… woo… woo…”
Old Madam Wu clutched his arm tightly. Tears streamed down her face as she struggled desperately to speak.
No matter how hard she tried, not a single clear word came out.
“Mother! You mustn’t let anything happen to you!” Xiao Zou rushed forward, pretending to be distressed. “If that fool hadn’t disobeyed you, none of this would have happened!”
“Auntie Zou, you seem to enjoy talking an awful lot. Why don’t you have a taste of this wonderful medicine too?”
Song Xiaoyu smiled sweetly.
Yet in Xiao Zou’s eyes, that smile looked like the grin of a ghost.
“The fool has gone crazy! She’s completely crazy!”
Xiao Zou turned pale with fright and fled the woodshed in panic.
She was utterly confused.
The girl who used to remain silent even when beaten half to death suddenly seemed like an entirely different person.
“Brother Beishan, hurry and help me take Mother to the village doctor!”
Song Beihai quickly hoisted Old Madam Wu onto his back.
“Brother Beihai, you and sister-in-law Wang take Mother first. I’ll go call Father back from the fields.”
Song Beishan’s eyes flickered as he spoke.
The original plan had been to sell the fool to the Liu family. Now that everything had fallen apart, the promised fifty taels of silver might disappear. He needed Old Master Song to return and take charge.
Soon, Song Beihai and Xiao Wang left with Old Madam Wu to find the village doctor.
The couple from the third branch also hurried away.
Once everyone was gone, Song Xiaoyu dusted off her clothes.
After lying inside a coffin for so long, she was filthy from head to toe.
Walking over to Zhou Rong, she placed two fingers on her wrist to check her pulse.
The more she examined her, the darker her expression became.
“The lower abdomen suffered a severe impact. There’s internal damage to the intestines, causing serious abdominal pain. Treatment is needed immediately.”
“Xiaoyu… you… what happened to you?”
Zhou Rong’s heart pounded.
Her lips trembled as she stared at her daughter.
In the past, Xiaoyu could barely speak clearly. Yet now her eyes were bright and intelligent, and every word she spoke was coherent and logical.
“Mother, I had a strange dream.”
Song Xiaoyu lowered her voice mysteriously.
“In the dream, I entered a fairyland hidden within the clouds. There, I met an immortal elder with a long white beard. He said I possessed immense virtue accumulated over ten lifetimes and carried an extraordinary destiny. He told me I could no longer continue living in ignorance. Then he patted my head, and when I woke up, I had become like this.”
Ancient people believed deeply in immortals and divine intervention.
As expected, the explanation worked immediately.
Zhou Rong pulled her tightly into her arms.
Tears poured down her face.
“My Xiaoyu… my Xiaoyu is cured… she’s really cured…”
“Mother, stop crying for now.”
Like comforting a small child, Song Xiaoyu gently guided her.
“Let’s go back to our room first. Your injuries need treatment right away. We can’t delay any longer.”
Hand in hand, they returned to the first branch’s bedroom.
After entering, Zhou Rong removed her patched winter jacket.
Large dark bruises covered her pale skin.
Combined with the swollen cheek bearing a bright red handprint, the sight was shocking.
Even Song Xiaoyu found it difficult to look at.
Silently, she thought:
Give me a bottle of top-grade wound medicine.
The instant the thought crossed her mind, a small white porcelain bottle appeared in her hand.