“Master, it’s time to take your medicine.”
Wen Lan looked at the tall, powerfully built woman standing a short distance away. As usual, the woman placed a cup of warm water and a dose of medicine before her, then stood silently, watching her without saying a word.
The woman was tall and muscular, with neatly cropped black hair. Her sharp eyes remained fixed on Wen Lan, and a scar ran across the bridge of her nose, giving her an exceptionally fierce appearance. Whenever she stared at someone, the pressure she exuded was overwhelming. What made it even more surreal was the pair of full breasts on a body that otherwise looked exactly like a man’s, creating an absurd sense of gender reversal in Wen Lan’s mind.
Without betraying her thoughts, Wen Lan took a slow, deep breath. She turned her head slightly, no longer looking at the woman who looked so much like a man. Picking up the glass, she took a small sip of warm water, but did not touch the white pills beside it.
She did not dare take them. Who knew what kind of medicine this woman was trying to make her swallow?
It had already been seven days since she had transmigrated into the body of another Wen Lan, someone who shared not only her name, but also her appearance and voice. During those seven days, everything she had experienced made her feel as if she were trapped inside a dream.
First of all, this world itself was bizarre, with the natural order of men and women completely reversed. Most women were tall and strongly built. Aside from their breasts, there was almost nothing delicate or feminine about them. The few men in the mansion, on the other hand, were generally slender and fair-skinned. Wen Lan rarely saw them. Occasionally, during meals, she would glimpse one or two carrying food trays into the dining room. Once they finished serving the dishes, they would leave with light, graceful steps.
She had to admit that she had actually described a man’s footsteps as graceful.
The day she had finally worked up the courage to step outside her room, the strange world beyond had left her so stunned that it took an entire day before she managed to recover.
Then there was herself.
She had become much taller. A few days ago, after estimating her height in front of a mirror, she guessed she was now somewhere between 1.8 and 1.9 meters tall. She had never imagined that she would one day possess the height she once associated with an ideal man.
Glancing at the woman across from her, who was roughly the same height, Wen Lan calmly corrected herself.
No, not the height of an ideal man anymore.
The height of an ideal woman.
After taking another sip of warm water, Wen Lan saw that the woman was still standing stubbornly in front of her. She pushed the pills farther away, making her refusal perfectly clear. Until she figured out what illness this body supposedly had, she absolutely would not take any medication.
Leng Feng frowned deeply, making her already intimidating face appear even fiercer. Yet beneath that frightening expression was unmistakable concern. The Master had relapsed again over the past few days and refused to take her medicine. Young Master Lu had entrusted the Master to her care, and she had failed to look after her properly. The guilt weighed heavily on her.
Wen Lan silently watched the imposing woman before her.
Afraid of exposing herself, she had not spoken a single word during these past few days. Strangely enough, no one in the mansion found this unusual. That only made her more relieved, since it probably meant the original Wen Lan had also been a person of few words.
Unfortunately, this version of herself had left behind no memories at all.
Thankfully, the written language remained the same, and most aspects of the country’s culture and society closely resembled those of her previous world. After quietly observing for several days, Wen Lan concluded that this was most likely a parallel world built around a matriarchal society.
Even so, she had yet to step outside the enormous mansion, so she knew nothing about the outside world. For now, everything remained speculation.
She frowned almost imperceptibly.
She really was unlucky.
All she had done was drink a little alcohol before going to bed. After one night’s sleep, she had awakened in an entirely different world.
She sighed inwardly, but her face remained completely expressionless as she looked at the woman standing opposite her.
In the end, Leng Feng gave in.
She gathered up the pills and the glass. Although the Master had not taken her medicine over the past few days, she had also not suffered another delusional episode. Perhaps her condition was finally improving. Young Master Lu and the young miss would certainly be delighted to hear the news.
Watching the woman remove the medicine, Wen Lan quietly relaxed.
Once Leng Feng had left the room, she lightly climbed out of bed. Her bare feet sank into the thick white carpet, and she instinctively swayed for a moment, still unaccustomed to her suddenly increased height.
She slowly walked into the bathroom. After washing her face, she unconsciously stared at her reflection in the mirror.
The woman in the mirror looked slightly more mature than she had in her previous life. Her features were cool and refined, with pale brows, thin lips, and long black hair hanging loosely down her back. Her lightly colored lips made her complexion appear somewhat pale, yet her dark eyes were bright and clear, framed by thick, long eyelashes. Combined with her calm, expressionless face, she looked both detached and captivating.
Gazing at the familiar yet unfamiliar reflection, Wen Lan lowered her head once more to inspect the faint pink birthmark on the side of her waist. Her slender fingers slowly traced the slightly raised mark, and at last she found a small measure of reassurance.
She had possessed this birthmark ever since childhood.
She had never expected it to remain with her even after arriving in another world.
She let out a quiet breath.
The familiar birthmark convinced Wen Lan that she was not some wandering soul who had stolen another person’s body.
After spending a while in the bathroom, Wen Lan returned to the bedroom.
Her room was enormous, almost like a self-contained apartment. It had everything she could possibly need and felt completely isolated from the outside world.
As expected, she found a middle-aged man with a kind, gentle face waiting inside. He smiled warmly at her, completely unconcerned by her indifferent expression. The corners of his eyes crinkled even more deeply with the sincerity of his smile.
“Master, come and have breakfast.”
Wen Lan paused for a moment before slowly walking toward the dining table.
The table was laden with every kind of breakfast imaginable. She only chose foods that were familiar to her. For a while, the quiet room was filled with nothing but the faint sounds of chewing.
“Oh dear, Master, you have to eat the egg yolk. If you eat it, you’ll grow taller!”
Hearing the middle-aged man coaxing her with words better suited for a small child, Wen Lan twitched the corner of her mouth.
Just what illness did she have that required a middle-aged man to coax her into eating?
Despite his eager attempts to persuade her, Wen Lan remained unmoved and firmly refused. She instinctively felt that the original Wen Lan had disliked egg yolks as well, so in order to stay in character, there was no way she was going to eat one.
Sure enough…
“Ah, Master, you’re being naughty. If Young Master Lu were here, things would be much easier.” The middle-aged man continued to chatter, his eyes filled with simple, fatherly affection. It was obvious he wanted to get closer to Wen Lan, but for some reason, he never took that final step. After she finished eating, he quietly cleared away the dishes and left.
Wen Lan caught the words “Young Master Lu.”
She walked over to the enormous floor-to-ceiling window and gazed absentmindedly at the sea of misty pink roses spreading across the grounds below.
So… she was married?
Her husband… no, according to this world’s customs, her lawful husband had the surname Lu?
Wen Lan pressed a hand against her forehead as a dull ache suddenly spread through her mind. A suffocating heaviness welled up inside her chest, making it difficult to breathe. She immediately forced herself to stop thinking about it, and only after resting for quite a while did the discomfort finally ease.
After remaining in her room for a while longer, Wen Lan quietly turned the doorknob and stepped outside.
She wanted to look for her wedding photos with this “Young Master Lu.” During the previous few days, she had been so focused on familiarizing herself with the mansion and understanding the customs of this society that she had completely neglected to investigate the most important part of her identity.
Supporting herself on the spiral staircase, she descended slowly, her gaze naturally sweeping over the paintings on the walls and the framed pictures displayed on the shelves.
She was in no hurry.
To her surprise, she did not find a single portrait.
She stopped and stared blankly at a massive landscape oil painting before her.
Why?
Not only were there no wedding photos in this house, there was not even a single portrait of its owners. There was neither a picture of herself nor of Young Master Lu. It was as if someone had deliberately put them all away.
Her pale brows gradually drew together.
Over the past few days, she had learned a great deal about the structure of this society. In this world, men placed great importance on their marriage. Newly married husbands would usually display their favorite wedding photo in the most prominent place in the house, both as proof of their wife’s affection and as a symbol of their own status.
This distorted modern society still retained the feudal belief in one principal husband with multiple secondary consorts. A woman could only marry one lawful husband in her lifetime, but taking attendant husbands or keeping lovers outside the marriage was neither illegal nor uncommon.
Could it be that the original Wen Lan did not love this Young Master Lu?
Or perhaps they were husband and wife in name only, without a real marital relationship?
Lost in random speculation, Wen Lan continued walking while observing her surroundings.
Her steps came to a halt outside a room that looked completely different from the others.
She raised her head and looked at the pale blue door, which stood out sharply from the surrounding décor.
For some reason, her heart skipped a beat.
It felt as though something extremely important to her was hidden inside.
Without realizing it, she reached out and turned the doorknob.
Inside was a pale blue children’s room.
The room had been decorated warmly and lovingly, but Wen Lan quickly noticed that all the decorations on the study desk were either light gray or black.
She pursed her lips, feeling an uncomfortable tightness in her chest, and looked away.
Just as she closed the door, the middle-aged man who had served breakfast walked over. His Mandarin was imperfect and carried the distinct accent of the Wu dialect, but Wen Lan could still understand him perfectly.
“Master, are you missing the young miss? Just wait a little longer. She’ll be back in a few days.”
Wen Lan stared at the kind-faced, short middle-aged man in utter shock.
Her hand instinctively tightened around the doorknob.
At that moment, the turmoil inside her reached its peak.
Not only was she married…
She actually had a child?
Author’s Note:
Wen Lan really is the original owner of the body. The whole family loves her! That’s all I can reveal for now. If you’re enjoying the story, please add it to your collection. Love you all! (^︶^)