Su Man’s emotions remained remarkably calm. To her, Sheng Xiao’s involvement in her life had been far too brief, and the memories he had left her with were hardly pleasant ones.
She could raise this child on her own, but she couldn’t stand by and watch Yang Xixi steal her life and live happily in her place!
To the Yang family, the greatest advantage they had gained in their previous life—and the one thing they had been most proud of—was the marriage Yang Xixi had secured. Their daughter had become a commanding officer’s wife and lived a life of glory and luxury for most of her life.
But in this life, Su Man would absolutely not let that happen again. Every member of the Yang family would pay the price for what they had done.
Xu Jianguo had also found out something else.
Sheng Xiao was currently stationed with the Southwest Military Region. He had originally returned to the capital this time to visit his family and finalize his relationship with Yang Xixi.
Unexpectedly, an urgent order had come down from the military region. He didn’t have time to hold the wedding ceremony, so he had to return ahead of schedule, leaving Yang Xixi behind with the Sheng family.
Yang Xixi had thrown a fit and insisted on going with him. She even said that if Sheng Xiao wouldn’t let her go, she would apply directly to the commanding officers herself. The Sheng family had been driven to desperation by her tantrums and had no choice but to send her there.
Their engagement would be arranged there as well.
Su Man understood exactly what Yang Xixi was thinking. She was afraid that if she stayed behind in the Sheng household while Sheng Xiao was stationed so far away, something might happen—or the marriage might be delayed for several years. If that happened, wouldn’t the good life that was already within her grasp slip away?
The sooner the two of them got married, the better. Once everything was officially settled, she would have nothing left to worry about.
Xu Jianguo had heard from an old comrade-in-arms that the Sheng family had quite a few reservations about this future daughter-in-law. But Sheng Xiao had chosen her himself, so there wasn’t much they could say.
After thinking for a moment, Su Man spoke.
“Uncle, I want to ask you for a favor. Could you arrange for me to go there too? I want to see for myself how Sheng Xiao treats her before I decide what to do.”
Xu Jianguo instinctively refused and tried to dissuade her.
“Manman, it’s not that your uncle doesn’t want to help you. You’re pregnant, and that place is so far away from me. If anything happens to you, how am I supposed to face your mother?”
“Uncle, I know you’re doing this for my sake, but I have to handle this myself. The fewer people who know about it, the better. As long as Yang Xixi is living my life in my place, I’ll never have peace!”
Xu Jianguo looked at Su Man’s stubborn expression and seemed to see his little sister from years ago. She had always been like this—once she made up her mind about something, she would see it through no matter what.
What else could he do?
Just as he had done back then, the only thing he could do was support them.
Xu Jianguo nodded helplessly, then suddenly remembered something.
He returned to his room and brought out a wooden sandalwood box, handing it to Su Man.
Su Man accepted it curiously. When she opened it, she found a beautiful jade pendant inside.
“Uncle, this is…”
Xu Jianguo explained.
“This is your grandmother’s heirloom jade pendant. It’s passed down only to the women in the family, never the men. Back then, it was supposed to be passed on to your mother, but your mother said your grandmother should keep it for the time being. Unfortunately, she never got another chance…”
“Even when your grandmother was on her deathbed, she kept talking about this jade pendant, and about your mother!”
Thinking of his younger sister, who had died so young, Xu Jianguo felt as though the grief were making it difficult to breathe. But he quickly concealed his emotions.
“Now I’m giving it to you. I suppose it’s simply returning to its rightful owner.”
Su Man had never heard her mother mention this jade pendant. Yet the moment she saw it, she felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity, perhaps because it carried the memories of a loved one.
She spoke solemnly.
“Uncle, don’t worry. I’ll take good care of it!”
Xu Jianguo nodded and turned away to arrange an identity for Su Man.
After thinking for a moment, Su Man found a red cord, threaded it through the jade pendant, and wore it close to her body.
She silently prayed in her heart.
“Grandma, Mom, don’t worry. In this life, I’ll make sure to live well.”
Early the next morning, when Su Man woke up, she discovered that her uncle had already gone out. Perhaps it was because of the pregnancy, but she had recently noticed that she was becoming increasingly sleepy.
After breakfast, Su Man carried all the dishes into the kitchen. She failed to notice a small puddle of water by the doorway, slipped, and fell, sending the bowls flying with her.
A cut opened across one of her fingers, and blood immediately began to seep out. She instinctively shielded her stomach. Fortunately, she didn’t seem to have suffered any serious injuries.
Only the jade pendant had slipped out from beneath her clothes.
She stood up and was about to tuck the pendant back under her clothes before tending to the wound on her hand.
Unexpectedly, a drop of blood landed directly on the surface of the jade pendant.
The pendant quickly absorbed it.
Suddenly, Su Man felt dizzy. When she opened her eyes again, she found herself in a completely unfamiliar space.
Since it was a family heirloom, she figured it probably wouldn’t be dangerous.
Su Man curiously examined her surroundings. The land in front of her was flat and neatly divided into plots, as though something had been planted in each one.
She stepped closer and took a look.
They were medicinal herbs!
Her mother had been a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner. Years ago, an epidemic had broken out in a village, and her mother and father had gone there without hesitation to treat the patients. Unfortunately, they both contracted the disease and eventually died there.
Su Man had grown up surrounded by traditional medicine. Although she had never formally studied it, she recognized quite a few medicinal herbs.
She carefully examined them one by one, and the more she looked, the more excited she became.
Ginseng! Snow lotus! Dendrobium officinale! …
There were also many other medicinal herbs whose names she couldn’t even identify!
And every single one was of exceptional quality. Some even appeared to be hundreds of years old!
Any one of these things would probably cause a frenzy if it were taken outside and put up for sale.
Suppressing her excitement, Su Man continued walking forward.
Suddenly, she noticed a large black stone ahead.
Even more strangely, there was a basin-sized depression in the center of the stone, as though someone had deliberately carved it out.
It was filled with an entire basin of incredibly clear water.
An idea struck Su Man. She cautiously dipped a little of the water onto her wound.
At first, she felt a faint coolness spread across the injury.
Then something miraculous happened.
The wound began healing at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Su Man then walked toward a small house nearby. When she pushed open the door, she discovered that it was filled with neatly organized medical books, all categorized by subject.
Su Man was overjoyed.
With this space at her disposal, not only could she protect herself better, she could also learn more medical knowledge.
In her previous life, she had secretly dreamed of studying medicine. But in the Yang family, even having enough food to eat had been a luxury. How could they possibly have allowed her to study medicine?
The only thing she didn’t know was how to enter and leave this place.
Unexpectedly, the moment she thought about leaving, her body flashed—and she was back in the kitchen.
She experimented several times and discovered that she could enter and leave the space freely simply by thinking about it.
She could even bring things from the outside world into the space.
Su Man hurriedly put all her important belongings into the space.
When she picked up the jade pendant and examined it more closely, she discovered something strange.
The jade pendant, which had originally been entirely emerald green, had somehow lost its color.
It had turned completely white.