1
The Great Zhou Dynasty, the 24th year of the Yonghe reign. Spring was in full swing, with bright sunshine and warm breeze.
Nanyang Marquis’s Mansion, Peony Garden.
Tang Cheng stared at the bowl of dark, murky liquid in her hands, her nose filled with its unpleasant medicinal scent. She made no move to drink it.
Seeing the Fourth Miss completely still, the maidservant Shanhu grew slightly uneasy. She urged her hurriedly.
“Miss, please drink it quickly. I went to great trouble to get this medicine for you.”
Having just arrived and taken over a body the original owner had given up on, Tang Cheng was still beside a stranger. Without having had time to absorb the original owner’s memories and before understanding the situation, she wasn’t about to drink anything randomly. She glanced at the young woman in green who was urging her to drink.
“You go out first.”
Shanhu was stunned, her eyes full of disbelief.
“Miss…”
“Out!”
Tang Cheng didn’t know who this woman was, but since she called her “Miss,” she was likely a servant of some sort. So, Tang Cheng immediately dismissed her.
Shanhu’s face altered between pale and livid. Clearly, she hadn’t expected that the maidservant her mistress trusted the most would be sent away by the mistress herself. She bit her lip, staring at the blue-and-white porcelain bowl in her mistress’s hands. She wished she could force the medicine down her mistress’s throat herself, but she didn’t dare. If she angered this miss, she would suffer too.
The miss was not someone to be trifled with. Seeing the slight anger on her mistress’s face, Shanhu reluctantly bowed her head, acknowledged the order, and withdrew.
Alone in the room, Tang Cheng first surveyed the furnishings. She noticed that everything was made of vintage wooden furniture—exquisite and grand. Sensing no immediate danger, she closed her eyes. The original owner’s memories surfaced.
Fifteen minutes later, having integrated the original owner’s memories, Tang Cheng finally understood the era and her situation. She had apparently traveled back in time to a legendary, ancient feudal era where technology had not yet emerged.
There was no convenient technology, but all women could bear children, and there was no such thing as a “fertility value.”
Tang Cheng stared in shock at the dark, murky liquid in her hands with her beautiful almond-shaped eyes. Recalling the original owner’s decision and her unhesitating attitude toward extinguishing the tiny life in her womb, a surge of anger suddenly rose on her delicate, pretty face.
Without hesitation, she walked to the window and poured the medicine out.
Just as she emptied the bowl, a maidservant in green rushed in. She happened to see the empty porcelain bowl in Tang Cheng’s hand, and a look of despair crossed her face. Miss, Miss had actually drunk the abortifacient.
Damn Shanhu!
Taking advantage of her lapse in attention, she had secretly helped Miss obtain the abortifacient and deliberately sent her away.
“Miss, Miss, did you drink that bowl of medicine?”
The maidservant Zhenzhu, her face full of anxiety, wanted to confirm. Her voice was slightly breathless, and fine beads of sweat dotted the tip of her nose, clearly from rushing over.
Tang Cheng’s expression softened slightly when she saw the newcomer. She knew that this pretty woman in green was named Zhenzhu, a trusted aide of her father, the marquis. However, the original owner had never liked this senior maidservant who often tried to advise her, trusting instead Shanhu, who only knew how to fawn and please, and whose mind was restless and ill-intentioned.
“No, I poured it out.”
Tang Cheng thought of the original owner’s attempt to secretly abort the child, and anger flickered across her brow. She herself had a natural fertility value of zero, no possibility of bearing children her entire life, and she desperately wanted a baby of her own. The original owner possessed the fertility she had always dreamed of, yet she didn’t cherish it and wanted to abort the child.
Thank goodness she had arrived.
This was a feudal dynasty without technology. People here had extremely short lifespans, nothing like the longevity of interstellar humans. The original owner was a marquis’s daughter, just like herself—born into a powerful and wealthy family, equally pampered. The only difference was that her background was much inferior; she was a concubine’s daughter. But Tang Cheng didn’t mind.
It was good enough to be alive.
Even better to have gained a baby unexpectedly.
Tang Cheng forcefully suppressed the urge to curl up the corners of her mouth, but the joy in her brows and the corners of her eyes was impossible to hide.
Having lived for twenty-four years, she finally had a baby of her own.
Zhenzhu was stunned at first, then burst into wild joy. After a moment, she asked cautiously, “Miss, does this mean you’ve decided to keep the child in your belly?”
Tang Cheng hummed in agreement as if it were only natural. Her hand unconsciously touched her completely flat abdomen. She was going to have a baby too. The corners of her mouth curled up uncontrollably.
“Zhenzhu, I’ve come around now. Fourth Prince doesn’t like me, so why should I keep foolishly liking him? Actually, marrying Young Lord Wen wouldn’t be so bad either.”
In her heart, though, she thought: As long as I have my baby and good food, who cares about Fourth Prince or Young Lord Wen? Wait— Young Lord Wen is the baby’s father, so I do need to care about him.
The baby needs a complete family.
Hearing her mistress say this, Zhenzhu finally felt completely relieved and nearly wept with joy. “Wonderful! Miss, it’s truly wonderful that you can think this way.”
“Young Lord Wen is a good man. You won’t regret your choice!”
Young Lord Wen had difficulty producing heirs. For Miss to have conceived the Young Lord’s child during that accident was an extraordinary stroke of good fortune. Perhaps the child in Miss’s belly would be the Young Lord’s only offspring, with a chance to inherit the title in the future.
That was far more practical than becoming a concubine to Fourth Prince.
Tang Cheng nodded in agreement. The original owner’s biological mother had been the most beloved woman of the Marquis of Nanyang, the true love of his heart. As a result, the original owner, though merely a concubine’s daughter, was even more pampered than the legitimate young lady. This had fostered her proud and ambitious nature, as she was determined to marry into the imperial family, dreaming of one day rising above others.
Tang Cheng herself was also a proud daughter of a noble family. Even though her fertility value was zero and she might never marry, she had never considered becoming someone’s concubine.
Actually, marrying Young Lord Wen as his wife was quite a good prospect.
The Duke of Zhen was highly regarded by the emperor and held great power. But in the original owner’s view, no matter how powerful the Duke of Zhen’s residence was, they were still subjects, incomparable to the noble imperial family. The original owner couldn’t swallow that pride. Relying on the Marquis of Nanyang’s doting favor, she caused trouble endlessly, attempting to abort the child so she could marry Fourth Prince—like a moth flying into the flame.
“Zhenzhu, I’m hungry. Go to the kitchen and get me something to eat.”
Thinking of her wonderful future with a child and good food, Tang Cheng showed a pleased smile and gave the order in a lighthearted tone. She touched her belly, where a little one resided, and felt incredibly lucky.
If her family knew that she had survived the spaceship explosion by traveling through time and space, and had luckily gained a baby of her own, they would probably be very happy for her.
Zhenzhu immediately accepted the order and left. At that moment, the maidservant Shanhu walked in hesitantly. She glanced at the empty porcelain bowl in Zhenzhu’s hand, a hint of hidden delight flashing at the corner of her eyes.
“Miss… did you drink that bowl of medicine?”
Zhenzhu, who hadn’t left yet, shot Shanhu a fierce glare. Miss had just abandoned the idea of drinking the abortifacient. She couldn’t let Shanhu, with her slick tongue, undo everything.
She watched her mistress nervously.
Tang Cheng glanced at Shanhu, the one who had instigated the original owner to abort the child. “I’m not drinking it. I’ve decided to give birth to this child.”
Shanhu had a pretty, fair face and lively eyes. Her glib tongue knew exactly how to please the original owner, making her the original owner’s favorite maidservant. Unlike Zhenzhu, who was sent by the Marquis of Nanyang, Shanhu was someone the original owner had bought herself.
Tang Cheng didn’t like her.
This maidservant named Shanhu was clearly not a settled person.
Shanhu was horrified and grew anxious. “Miss, you absolutely cannot keep this child. If Fourth Prince finds out, you’ll lose all hope.”
In reality, the news had already spread far and wide. Shanhu was taking advantage of the fact that the Marquis of Nanyang had confined Tang Cheng to the courtyard and kept her uninformed, using this to deceive her.
Zhenzhu, standing nearby, scolded loudly, “Shanhu, how much longer are you going to deceive Miss? News of Miss’s pregnancy has long been spread by others. How could Fourth Prince not know? Miss is now Young Lord Wen’s fiancée, and the child she carries is Young Lord Wen’s. You keep bringing up Fourth Prince again and again, urging Miss to abort the child—you clearly have ill intentions.”
If not for the child in her belly, Miss, as a concubine’s daughter, could only marry into the Duke of Zhen’s household as a concubine. But because of the child, the Duke of Zhen and his wife had relented after the Marquis’s efforts, agreeing to welcome Miss as the legitimate wife.
This was an enormous stroke of good fortune.
Shanhu saw the expressionless face of Miss and felt a sudden shock in her heart. She quickly tried to defend herself, “Zhenzhu, I’m doing this for Miss’s own good. Miss clearly likes Fourth Prince, yet she became pregnant with Young Lord Wen’s child. As long as the child remains, Miss and Fourth Prince can never be together.”
Zhenzhu grew frantic. “Miss, you know very well how Fourth Prince treats you. You absolutely cannot listen to Shanhu and abort the child.”
Tang Cheng listened to Shanhu, who couldn’t seem to stop talking about the original owner’s beloved Fourth Prince and the child in her belly, all in an effort to persuade her to abort. She really was relentless.
“Silence! Stop arguing, both of you. I have already decided to keep this child. Zhenzhu, let me know when Father returns home later.”
Zhenzhu was overjoyed and quickly nodded. “Yes, Miss. Rest assured.”
Shanhu wanted to say something, but was silenced by a fierce glare from Tang Cheng. The words on her lips died in her throat. She felt secretly anxious, wondering what kind of spell Zhenzhu had cast on Miss that she had decided to keep Young Lord Wen’s child.
“You may both leave now.”
Tang Cheng waved her hand. She glanced at Shanhu, who kept looking back every few steps, and furrowed her brow. Once the Marquis of Nanyang returned to the residence, she would definitely inform him and have him sell Shanhu off as a servant.
She trusted that with the Marquis’s intervention, the threat of Shanhu would be completely eliminated.
The original owner had been so flattered by Shanhu’s praise that she treated her as a trusted confidante. But Tang Cheng was no fool like the original owner. How could she not see Shanhu’s ill intentions? In this ancient era where men were revered above women and imperial power was supreme, a woman’s reputation and virtue were extremely important. The original owner had a very bad reputation—willful and capricious, unlearned, constantly causing trouble… Tang Cheng didn’t care much about that.
It was still better than compromising and humbling oneself.
But Shanhu, as the original owner’s most trusted maidservant, had repeatedly urged her to abort the child—her intentions were utterly despicable!
A restless maidservant who constantly schemed against her mistress—Tang Cheng had no intention of keeping her around.
Tang Cheng felt that she didn’t need to gather evidence to have Shanhu, a mere little maidservant, sold off. It was only natural for a master to sell a servant.
Her doting father, the marquis, would surely support her.
Tang Cheng stroked her abdomen. A handsome, jade-like face surfaced in her mind. She was extremely satisfied with the genes of her baby’s father. As for Fourth Prince, whom the original owner had been obsessed with…
He was an insignificant person, already forgotten by Tang Cheng.
Half an hour later, Zhenzhu, beaming, led several maidservants as they properly brought in the hot meal. They arranged everything neatly—exquisite dishes, delicious pastries, fragrant aromas filling the air.
“Miss, please begin your meal.”
Truly worthy of the most pampered Fourth Miss of the marquis’s residence. Every dish was fine and delicious. Even though her reputation was now ruined, her name tarnished, and she was pregnant out of wedlock, her status in the Nanyang Marquis’s mansion had not wavered in the slightest.
Her father, the marquis, absolutely doted on Tang Cheng.
Tang Cheng was very satisfied with the original owner’s favored position. She herself had been the apple of her parents’ and brothers’ eyes and couldn’t bear the slightest injustice.
Tang Cheng happily enjoyed the food, drinking the hot and incredibly flavorful fish soup. The original owner’s life was no different from her own life before.
Her quality of life hadn’t declined.
Tang Cheng was quite pleased.
In fact, when Tang Cheng had arrived in this body, the original owner hadn’t disappeared. After Tang Cheng had read her memories, the original owner had eagerly rushed off to be reborn, wanting to be reincarnated into Tang Cheng’s world. Tang Cheng couldn’t forget the disgusted remark the original owner had left behind before leaving.
“This body is dirty. I don’t want it anymore. If you want it, you can have it. It doesn’t matter if you don’t take it either—I’m not keeping it anyway.”
She didn’t care at all about the life or death of the baby in her belly, nor about her doting father, the marquis.
Tang Cheng truly couldn’t understand the original owner’s choice. If the original owner hadn’t left, Tang Cheng wouldn’t have been able to return to her original world and would have truly died. But the original owner didn’t want to return to her own body. So, after the original owner left, Tang Cheng happily stayed to take over the mess she had left behind and give birth to the child in her belly.
After enjoying her meal, Tang Cheng let out a satisfied sigh.
Staying was definitely the right decision. The corners of Tang Cheng’s mouth couldn’t help but curl up.
**