“Father, Mother, how much longer are you going to stay so blind!”
“If that Xu Xiucai truly cared for Little Sister, how could he keep using her over and over? Even a fool could see it—why are you still so confused!”
“If Xu Xiucai really wanted to marry Little Sister, he would have come to propose long ago. Little Sister is only three months away from her coming-of-age ceremony, isn’t she?”
“How much longer must we keep throwing ourselves at him? She’s not the only girl in this family—what about the reputations of the other girls?”
“And now you even want to use Fourth Sister to exchange for a bride price, just to support Xu Xiucai’s future imperial exams?”
“What about my Fusheng? He’s already seven. You promised earlier this year that you’d send him to school.”
“Is it not enough to sacrifice Fourth Sister’s entire happiness? Now you want to ruin my son’s life too?”
A woman’s tearful, resentful voice echoed through the room. Old scholar Yu Hongwen sighed, while his wife, Madame Fan, wiped her tears beside him.
The woman’s husband looked at her, wanting to speak but holding back. Everyone else remained silent.
In the west room, a young girl lay on the bed, a white cloth wrapped around her head, stained with blood.
As the sound of crying and arguing continued to reach her ears, she frowned, a sharp pain throbbing in her head. Instinctively, she reached up to touch it.
“Hiss…” It hurt so much.
Yu Banxia opened her eyes, and a flood of memories rushed into her mind, leaving her stunned.
Was this idiot really her past life?
Before her rebirth, Yu Banxia was born into a family of traditional Chinese medicine practitioners. She had heard that one of her ancestors was a remarkable figure who left behind a treasure, though no one knew exactly what it was.
Not long ago, she had accidentally uncovered the secret of that family heirloom.
It turned out to be the jade pendant her great-grandmother had given her as a child. By chance, her blood had stained it, unlocking a long-sealed secret.
It turned out her ancestor was a cultivator who had later ascended to immortality.
Before leaving, he had passed down the spatial artifact that had accompanied him throughout his life, hoping that a descendant of the family would one day become a cultivator.
Yet for so many years, no one had been able to open it.
After activating the Space, under the guidance of the artifact spirit inside, she drank the Spirit Spring Water but failed to awaken a spiritual root and become a new cultivator.
However, she unexpectedly gained the ability to control plants. Before her rebirth, at just 29 years old, she had already become a nationally renowned master of traditional Chinese medicine—only to die in a car accident.
The artifact spirit, Xiao Bai, told her that her past life had also ended in an accidental death and that it could help her return to that life to continue living. Then everything went black, and she found herself here.
But Xiao Bai hadn’t told her that her past life was this idiotic.
Her past self was also named Yu Banxia, a resident of Anping Village in Yunshan Town, Southern Jin.
As the youngest girl in the family, she had been pampered since childhood, growing up not only lazy and gluttonous but also overly ambitious.
She had taken a liking to Xu Xiucai from the neighboring village, constantly throwing herself at him in the hope that he would marry her.
In reality, Xu Xiucai had never intended to marry her—he only wanted to take advantage of her for his own gain. This time, he had complained to her about lacking the funds to travel for the imperial exams.
The fool had come home to demand money. Over the past two years, anything of value in the household had been taken by her and given to Xu Xiucai.
With the family barely scraping by, where was the money? So she had threatened to kill herself, trying to force her fourth sister to become the concubine of the nearly fifty-year-old Squire Qian in town, in exchange for a bride price to give to Xu Xiucai.
In the end, she had taken the act too far and actually killed herself.
And so, she had arrived here.”What a sin!” Yu Banxia sighed, rubbing her forehead.
In her previous life, she had not only been foolish but also a hopeless admirer. With such rough skin and a weight over 130 pounds, no normal person would have been interested in her, right?
“Xiao Bai?” Yu Banxia called out for Xiao Bai, but there was no response at all.
Focusing her senses, she realized that her Space had followed her here. Opening her hand, a strand of Wood Elemental Power, as fine as a hair, gathered in her palm.
Good, her Wood Elemental Power had also come with her.
But why couldn’t she open her Space or contact Xiao Bai? Yu Banxia was clever and quickly understood that Xiao Bai bringing her back to her previous life likely wasn’t an easy feat.
Anping Village was nestled against the mountains. Although her third brother had a leg disability, it didn’t hinder his ability to walk, and he often went into the mountains to hunt. She could ask him to take her into the mountains to search for wild ginseng and other resources. That should provide enough spiritual energy to reopen her Space.
For now, she needed to reassure her family.
She struggled to get up, her head still feeling dizzy. She checked her own pulse—this body, abused by her previous self, was truly no better than a worn-out rag. It would need careful nurturing.
Once the dizziness subsided, she slowly made her way to the main hall.
“I won’t marry him, and I won’t throw myself at him anymore, sister-in-law. From now on, I’ll behave properly, make sure our family lives well, and try to send Huzi to school this year.”
“Father should also resume his studies and take the imperial exams.” Yu Banxia suddenly appeared and spoke these words.
Wu Zhuxiang was unimpressed. Anyone could make grand promises.
“Sister-in-law, once I marry Xu Xiucai and he passes the imperial exams, he’ll surely support our family.”
Those words still echoed in her ears, and now she was talking about making the family’s life better?
Yu Banyue also looked at her younger sister, her expression complicated, but she genuinely cared for her.
“Xiaxia, why are you up? Doctor Zhao said you need to rest properly.” Yu Banyue still got up and walked over to her sister, helping her sit down.
“Fourth sister, I’m sorry for before. I was too immature, forcing you to marry that wretched old man, Squire Qian, as a concubine.”
“It’s alright. As you said, I have to marry someone anyway. If becoming Squire Qian’s concubine can improve our family’s situation, I’m willing to do it.”
Hearing Yu Banyue’s words, Yu Banxia felt even more guilty. All of this was the mess her previous self had created.
“Fourth sister, listen to me. We won’t go through with this marriage, really. I’ll handle the matter with Squire Qian’s family.” Yu Banxia said earnestly.
“You handle it? How are you going to handle it?” Wu Zhuxiang spoke up again, dissatisfied.
That was the wealthiest family in town. They had already agreed, and in another month, they would come to take her away. How could their poor family stand up to someone like Squire Qian?
“If it weren’t for Grandfather’s mourning period not being over yet, your fourth sister would already be part of that household.” Wu Zhuxiang retorted again, still displeased.
“Enough!” Yu Mangui, seeing his wife’s relentless complaints, couldn’t help but scold her.
Wu Zhuxiang glared at her husband, then sat down with her youngest daughter in her arms, sulking.
Yu Banxia opened her mouth to speak but sighed in the end. Words were useless now. Since she was here, she would definitely make sure her family lived a better life.
“Father, Mother, could you let the children go outside for a while?” Yu Banxia asked weakly.
Yu Hongwen thought for a moment and nodded. Wu Zhuxiang was so angry she almost spoke up again, but in the end, she shooed the children out to play in the yard.
Then she returned to the main hall and closed the door. She wanted to see what else her sister-in-law had to say.”Father, Mother, I nearly died this time, and I even took a trip to the Gate of Hell.”
“The judge told me that I owed Xu Xiucai from my past life, and now that debt is settled. From now on, I will never be so foolish again.”
“Also, while I was in the Ghost Realm, the judge gave me a small gift. Look.”
Yu Banxia opened her hand, revealing a yellow bean. As she activated her Wood Elemental Power, the bean sprouted green shoots at a visible rate.
Her face grew increasingly pale, and sweat covered her forehead. Before fainting, she said earnestly, “I will make sure everyone lives a good life!”
With that, she fell unconscious.