Bai Laoda, the original host’s father, was especially overjoyed.
Although he deeply loved his wife and daughter, as a man of purely ancient mindset, he still secretly yearned for a son in his heart.
Even the original host happily prepared to welcome her little brother’s arrival.
Their wish was indeed granted—Madam Bai carried the child for ten months and successfully gave birth to a boy.
But before their joy could settle, Madam Bai suffered a massive hemorrhage. Despite all efforts to save her, she could not be revived.
A joyous occasion turned into a funeral, and Bai Laoda fell into despondency as a result.
Though he had obtained the son he dreamed of, he lost his beloved wife in the process.
From then on, Bai Laoda became mentally distracted, and a year later, he was killed by bandits while traveling as an armed escort.
He left behind Bai Nianqing and an infant in swaddling clothes.
After Bai Laoda’s death, Bai Nianqing and her younger brother were left with no one to rely on, and the family’s wealth fell into the hands of Bai Laoda’s parents and his two younger brothers.
In the following years, Bai Nianqing and her brother lived under others’ roofs—their life wasn’t terribly bad, but it was far from good.
Although their grandparents cared for them, the others were also their children and grandchildren, and they cared for them just the same.
Bai Nianqing had no choice but to carefully protect her brother on her own.
Somehow, she managed to raise her brother to where he is now.
The original host originally had a fiancé, arranged by Bai Laoda while he was still alive—the son of the escort leader.
The two had known each other since childhood and could be considered childhood sweethearts.
However, as they grew older, the fiancé ended up getting involved with her cousin.
The original host was naturally indignant, but she couldn’t stand against her second uncle’s entire family alone.
Moreover, the man’s family was happy to see this happen. Unable to resist, the original host had no choice but to let them change the marriage arrangement.
Indeed, the marriage with the Shen family originally belonged to the original host’s cousin.
Although the Shen family was wealthier than the escort leader’s family, Shen Wenhe was merely a son of a concubine—virtually invisible within the Shen family.
The marriage with the Shen family had been sought by Second Uncle Bai himself; after all, even as a son of a concubine, Shen Wenhe was still a son of the Shen family.
And the Shen family was the best match Second Uncle Bai could hope to secure.
Later, however, the courier company flourished, and the escort leader’s daughter became a concubine in the prefect’s residence, reportedly quite favored.
The escort leader took advantage of this momentum and opened two more courier companies elsewhere.
So when Second Uncle Bai learned that his daughter had gotten involved with Bai Nianqing’s fiancé, he supported it.
As for Madam Shen, she didn’t care at all who married into the family—in fact, Bai Nianqing, who had no parents, was even better.
Thus, after discussions among the families, they unhesitatingly switched the marriage.
No one cared at all about Bai Nianqing or Shen Wenhe’s feelings.
The only condition the original host agreed to for the marriage swap was to bring her younger brother with her when she married.
Her second and third uncles had long wanted to get rid of the two burdens, so of course, they agreed without a second thought.
Her grandparents wanted to keep Bai Nianqing’s brother, but their two sons strongly opposed it. They were old and knew that even if they managed to keep their grandson, they wouldn’t be able to protect him for long.
In the end, they had no choice but to agree to let Bai Nianqing bring her brother along when she married.
As for why she fainted—it really was because of what Shen Wenxi said about the Shen family planning to drive them out.
The original host, a timid young girl, had thought that marrying into the Shen family would allow her to live a peaceful life.
Never thought she’d be driven out right after getting married. Furious and anxious, coupled with exhaustion from the wedding preparations, she fainted in the heat of the moment.
Unexpectedly, when she woke again, a different soul now inhabited this body.
She didn’t know whether the original owner had transmigrated to modern times or simply died.
But Bai Nianqing couldn’t concern herself with that anymore. Since she was here now, this would be her body from now on.
Still, having taken over someone else’s body, she resolved to properly raise the original owner’s younger brother.
She’d ensure he received an education, and eventually arrange a marriage and children for him.
Bai Nianqing silently vowed: “Rest assured, I’ll raise your brother as my own blood. I’ll see him married with children, so your father’s lineage won’t end here.”
Perhaps the brother had been the original owner’s lingering concern. After making this mental promise, Bai Nianqing felt as if a heavy stone had been lifted from her chest, leaving her remarkably lighthearted.
It seemed the original soul had been unwilling to depart, worried about her brother, but now with Bai Nianqing’s pledge, could finally move on.
Though it felt like much time had passed, only a few minutes had actually gone by.
Having sorted out her situation, Bai Nianqing now had the presence of mind to observe the groom before her.
Seeing her gaze, Shen Wenhe immediately straightened his posture.
Admittedly, Shen Wenhe was quite handsome – refined and scholarly in appearance. With a pair of glasses, he’d perfectly embody the “cultured scoundrel” type.
Some might not fancy this style, but Bai Nianqing did. This was exactly her preferred type of man.
Shen Wenhe happened to align perfectly with her aesthetic preferences.
“You…”
“Wife, you…”
Just as Bai Nianqing began to speak, Shen Wenhe simultaneously started.
Their words collided in the air.
“You first,” Shen Wenhe said with a smile.
“No, you go ahead,” Bai Nianqing replied, having forgotten what she meant to say after his interruption.
Seeing her defer to him, Shen Wenhe decided to voice the question he’d been impatient to ask – whether she was the girl from his dreams.
“Then I’ll speak first. Wife, how did you come to be here? Or were you originally from this world?” Shen Wenhe went straight to the point.
“What? What do you mean?” Bai Nianqing’s heart skipped a beat. How did he know she wasn’t from this world?
“I’ve been dreaming these past few days. There was a girl in my dreams… I watched her grieving her grandmother’s death, saw her purchasing various supplies…” Shen Wenhe recounted everything from his dreams.
Bai Nianqing was astonished by this revelation. She immediately recognized he was describing events from right before her transmigration.
She never imagined that while she’d been dreaming of ancient times, Shen Wenhe had been dreaming of her.
Could they be destined by fate?
“You really dreamed of me?” Bai Nianqing asked in amazement.
“Yes, I did. This means we’re fated – even heaven wants us together,” Shen Wenhe said delightedly.
“Then you know about my Dimension too?” Bai Nianqing asked her most pressing question.
“Yes, I know. I saw you storing things in it with my own eyes in the dream,” Shen Wenhe admitted honestly.
Relieved that Shen Wenhe even knew about the Dimension, Bai Nianqing decided to share her own dream experiences with him.
“Refugees? You actually dreamed about becoming refugees?” Shen Wenhe exclaimed, rising to his feet in shock.
“Well, it’s precisely because I suddenly acquired a Dimension and kept dreaming of people fleeing famine for several consecutive days that I prepared the supplies,” said Bai Nianqing.