When Cui Shu Ruo opened her eyes again, what greeted her was a pomegranate-red curtain.
Cui Shu Ruo struggled to sit up. As soon as she propped herself up on her arms, a wave of dizziness and pain washed over her head. So weak was she that even this simple movement made her sway.
Nevertheless, she forced herself to look around, taking in her surroundings. There was a redwood dressing table intricately carved with crabapple blossoms, topped with a gleaming bronze mirror. A cushion lay on the floor, and a screen embroidered with a reclining plum blossom scene blocked the view from outside.
Seeing the antique furnishings in the room, Cui Shu Ruo realized that everything before had not been a dream—she had truly traveled through time.
After narrowly escaping death and barely avoiding the fate of becoming a two-legged sheep, she still hadn’t inherited the original owner’s memories…
She didn’t know the dynasty, nor did she remember her family.
This time-traveling difficulty was a bit too high.
If not for the inappropriate timing, she would have wanted to scream at the heavens.
Cui Shu Ruo didn’t have much time to dwell on her sorrow, because the sharp reminder from before she lost consciousness echoed in her mind once again.
“Lifespan less than three hours!”
“Warning! Lifespan less than three hours!”
Cui Shu Ruo was someone with a Crow’s Mouth, so she deeply believed in bizarre systems and mystical existences.
Faced with the warning in her mind, she firmly believed that she might truly have less than three hours left to live.
So, after starting in hell, she wasn’t going to live much longer either?
In her previous life, she may not have been an overly compassionate saint, but she was law-abiding, often gave up her seat on the bus to the elderly and children, and even died trying to save someone. How could she still suffer so much after traveling through time?
As Cui Shu Ruo grew increasingly agitated, the sharp warning in her mind continued relentlessly. Coupled with the dull pain all over her body and a head that felt like it was about to explode, she let out a weak but sinister laugh. “What’s the point of just warning me how long I have left? Either tell me the solution or shut up. If you keep blabbering, if you’re a System or some kind of program, be careful of getting stuck in a bug forever.”
Cui Shu Ruo’s warning proved far more effective than the sharp reminder in her mind. As soon as she finished speaking, the voice that had seemed intent on looping three hundred times in her head abruptly stopped.
It seemed that even if it was a System, it had a strong will to survive.
Perhaps intimidated by Cui Shu Ruo’s earlier threat, not only did the warning cease, but a panel smoothly appeared in her mind, displaying various attributes and information about her current body.
【Name: Cui Shu Ruo
Gender: Female
Age: 13 (You can act young~)
Lifespan: Less than three hours (Severe warning!!! Note: Misusing the Crow’s Mouth could lead to an even quicker death. Please refrain from attacking the System’s existence randomly (T_T))
Stamina: 9 (Darling, you can’t even jog fifty meters~)
Combat Power: 12 (Even a seven-year-old child is stronger than you~)
Merit Points: 0 (Sweetie, Merit Points can be exchanged for lifespan. Please do your best!)
Hint: If you want to survive, you’ll need to work hard at doing good deeds!】
Cui Shu Ruo, “…”
Although she felt somewhat relieved knowing she could survive, she couldn’t shake the feeling that the System in her mind was both cowardly and prone to stirring up trouble…
As Cui Shu Ruo was lost in her complicated thoughts, faint but deliberately light footsteps approached from outside, growing closer and closer.
However, the owner of those footsteps did not push the door open as she had expected. Instead, they stopped at the entrance. Cui Shu Ruo heard the person deliberately lowering their voice as they bowed in greeting.
So it was a young woman.
Yet her greeting was not met with permission to rise. Instead, a middle-aged man with a rough, deep voice scolded her, "Wretched servant! The Lord ordered you to watch over the young noblewoman inside. How dare you leave without permission? Where have you been slacking off?"
"This servant would never dare!" Along with these words came the sound of a heavy thud as she knelt.
The maid seemed utterly terrified, yet she was careful not to wake the person inside, so she lowered her voice and hurriedly explained, "Please understand, Manager Wu. This servant saw the young noblewoman sweating on her forehead earlier, so I went to fetch hot water. I was not being lazy or neglectful."
"You wretched servant, how dare you talk back! Is this how you serve as a slave? It seems you won’t need to eat today, with that sharp tongue of yours."
"…Yes." After a brief silence, the maid’s voice sounded slightly dejected, but she still lowered her head and accepted Manager Wu’s punishment.
Cui Shu Ruo lay on the canopy bed, propping herself up with her wrist, listening clearly to the commotion outside.
She had thought the matter was over, but unexpectedly, something else seemed to happen outside. The manager suddenly asked, "Wait, what is that on your skirt?"
Through the doors and windows, it was somewhat unclear, but it was certain that the maid was sobbing and pleading for mercy.
Under normal circumstances, Cui Shu Ruo should not have intervened. After all, she still didn’t fully understand the situation here. But now, she had less than three hours of lifespan left…
Having made up her mind, Cui Shu Ruo covered her mouth and coughed twice, muffling the sound. Due to the argument outside, the two did not hear her.
She pushed aside the soft quilt covering her and struggled to get out of bed. Each step felt as if she were walking on broken tiles, the pain piercing and unbearable.
Cui Shu Ruo endured the pain and continued forward, but she asked in her mind, "Is the pain in my body related to having too little lifespan?"
A dialogue box suddenly appeared beneath the display panel that showed her various attributes.
【Darling, yes, it is~】
【Moreover, overusing your Crow’s Mouth can also lead to backlash. We hope you’ll do more good deeds~】
Cui Shu Ruo keenly sensed another meaning in its words—that doing more good deeds could not only extend her lifespan but also reduce the side effects of using the Crow’s Mouth!
A faint smile appeared on her pale, weak face, her eyes narrowing slightly with the expression as she said meaningfully, "Oh, I see."
Then, she continued asking in her mind, "I still don’t know your name, or perhaps your code name?"
【Darling, you can call me Tongtong~】
"Tongtong?" Cui Shu Ruo repeated.
But these three words undoubtedly touched a nerve with the System. It seemed on the verge of breaking down, enlarging the font and adding a rainbow-colored glow effect.
【Darling, my full name is the Defeat the Bad Guys · Do a Thousand Good Deeds a Day · One in a Million · Guide the Host to the Peak of Life Cultivation System!】
As this sentence was fully displayed, small fireworks went off on the attribute panel.
Cui Shu Ruo…
After a long silence, Cui Shu Ruo gracefully and promptly changed her address, "Alright, Tongtong."
By then, she had also struggled to reach the door, tightly gripping the carved window lattice, half-leaning against it to support herself.
Cui Shu Ruo struggled to steady herself, and what came into view was a middle-aged man wearing a silk robe with auspicious brocade patterns lifting his foot clad in a black leather boot to kick a maid holding a copper basin.
The maid wore a green square-collar top, a snow-white half-arm over it, and a dark skirt below. The lake-green ribbons hanging from her coiled hair seemed to sense her lowly status, swaying weakly as she was kicked and fell to the ground.
"You wretched maid! Daring to enter the bedroom with such filthy things!" Steward Hu sternly rebuked, his plump, full face filled with disgust.
The maid's top and skirt were splashed with water from the copper basin, but she ignored tidying up, hurriedly bowing and prostrating herself on the ground. "I… I didn't know today would… Please forgive me, steward!"
Steward Hu was about to punish her further when Cui Shu Ruo suddenly coughed, successfully drawing both their attention.
Cui Shu Ruo covered her mouth as she coughed. Her face was pale as paper, yet she showed no panic at strangers, instead offering a weak, light smile, her brows furrowed like willow in the wind. "Are you the master here?"
She looked at Steward Hu, her tone kind and innocent, as if truly believing so.
This question froze the previously stern Steward Hu like stone, silencing him. He realized something, beads of sweat densely forming on his forehead.
Fortunately, Steward Hu had decades of experience and some sense. He lowered his hands before his chest, bowing and bending with a chuckle. "Young noblewoman, you humble me greatly. My master is the Shìzǐ of Dingbei Wangfu, the Ningyuan General of the Youzhou Army, Wei Cheng Huai!"
"Dingbei Wangfu," "Wei Cheng Huai"—these two terms echoed in Cui Shu Ruo's mind. She was a science student, not strong in history, but she still had impressions of some figures recorded in history.
After the Seven Hu Rebellions, the world contended. The Regional Inspector of Bingzhou and Duke Qi, Zhao Yifang, forced the former dynasty's emperor to abdicate to him, establishing Da Qi (Great Qi).
His third son, Zhao Weiheng, killed his brothers to seize the throne, later diligently governing to create a prosperous era, establishing the Thirteen Founding Generals. Among them, two received exceptional favor, buried to the left and right of Zhao Weiheng's mausoleum.
The one buried to the left of the imperial mausoleum was precisely the former Shìzǐ of Dingbei Wangfu, later one of Da Qi's Thirteen Founding Generals, Duke Ding, Wei Cheng Huai.
According to historical records, he had handsome features, imposing presence, and unparalleled bravery.
And unofficial histories ranked him among the top five heroes and outstanding figures of the realm, with illustrious stature. There were even tales that one year during the emperor's sacrifice to heaven, he stood out conspicuously among the military officers, handsome and fair-skinned unlike sun-exposed generals, yet not frail like civil officials, truly standing out like a crane among chickens.
In just a few breaths, Cui Shu Ruo recalled the unofficial history snippets she had casually skimmed from marketing accounts, but none of that mattered. What mattered was, if this Wei Cheng Huai was indeed the Wei Cheng Huai from history, it at least meant she knew the general direction of future events.
It also meant the words she spoke to Wei Cheng Huai before fainting could be better accounted for.
Cui Shu Ruo stared blankly, already forming a plan in her heart.
She snapped back to reality; the immediate matter remained unresolved.
"So that's the case. Before I came out, I heard your…" Cui Shu Ruo covered her lips as if startled, seeming to realize she spoke wrongly, hurriedly adding, "Truly, I have offended."
Steward Hu could still bully and intimidate a maid like Yan Rong, fierce and menacing, but now he encountered someone rescued by the Shìzǐ. Even if her identity was unknown, she was still a guest. Moreover, judging by the dress she wore then, she was clearly a young noblewoman from a noble family.
Moreover, he was not even a commoner but of lowly status, which naturally made him feel inferior.
Not to mention the implied meaning in Cui Shu Ruo's words earlier—wasn't she pointing out that he had overstepped his bounds?
For a servant, if such words were heard by the master, it would likely lead to a bad outcome. No one likes an overly ambitious servant; no matter what, they are merely of lowly status, equivalent to pigs or sheep.
Steward Hu's expression shifted, and he now lowered his head, cupping his hands in a respectful bow as he hastily explained, "How dare I take your words as such, young noblewoman? I am of lowly status—how could I possibly offend? It is my fault for disturbing your rest."
Cui Shu Ruo had already achieved her goal. Since she was temporarily residing in another's estate, it was best not to offend those within. With a gentle, orchid-like smile, she replied, "How could that be? You jest. I happened to be awake at the time."
Her tone was light and rather charming, effortlessly smoothing over the matter.
Steward Hu also cooperated with a forced chuckle, subtly wiping the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve.
At Cui Shu Ruo's hint, the maidservant stood up as well, but she remained with her head bowed and eyes lowered, carefully holding the copper basin behind Cui Shu Ruo.
And once the maidservant was safe and sound, the familiar System prompt echoed in Cui Shu Ruo's mind.
[Ding, Merit Points +3]