Qiu Ruikang was Mrs. Wang’s first biological grandson, so she hoped he would grow up healthy. Unfortunately, he was born with one leg shorter than the other. It wasn’t usually noticeable, but now, carrying Qiu Lixia on his back and walking in a hurry, his limp became obvious.
Since the groom was paralyzed and naturally couldn’t marry in person, his younger brother had come in his place. He wasn’t particularly invested in the proceedings and, following the matchmaker’s instructions, quickly took the bride away.
Grandfather Qiu Hanli was hard of hearing. When the incident happened earlier, he had been in the back courtyard and had no idea what had occurred. Now he was watching his granddaughter marry off with a beaming smile.
Once the wedding procession had gone far into the distance, Qiu Hanlu felt at ease. She casually grabbed a few meatballs from the large basin by the cook’s station and ate them, feeling her strength return. Then she grabbed a few more to bring to her younger brother, Qiu Ruifeng.
Seeing the meatballs in Qiu Hanlu’s hands, Qiu Ruifeng was startled and quickly pulled her aside to a place with no one around. “Second Sister, we can’t eat these. Grandmother will be angry if she sees.”
Qiu Hanlu smiled and said to Qiu Ruifeng, “We’re not servants, we’re not slaves. We eat when we should eat, drink when we should drink. With your sister here, things in this household are about to change.”
Though Qiu Ruifeng didn’t understand what his second sister meant, he suddenly felt a glimmer of hope. “Second Sister, you seem different somehow.”
Qiu Hanlu patted her younger brother’s head. “People all need to grow up. You should go eat some more. Today Grandmother and the others are all in a fluster, so you don’t need to be afraid of them. Eat and drink your fill, and if you can, grab a bit extra to hide away, in case Father and Mother can’t make it back in time for the feast.”
Qiu Ruifeng acknowledged this and went off to find food.
Qiu Hanlu stood in the courtyard, watching the lively yet unfamiliar scene, and suddenly felt a bit dazed. She also needed to find a quiet place to sort things out—how exactly had she gotten here? And how could she get back?
The banquet in the courtyard had just begun, and no one was paying attention to her. She slipped out the main gate and followed the path toward the river.
Before the transmigration, she had been an original art designer—quite the homebody who loved making gourmet food and posting it online. She was something of a well-known food blogger.
Last night, she had first uploaded a food video, then stayed up late drawing original art. She’d dozed off in a haze, and when she woke up, she had transmigrated.
Reaching the riverbank, she leaned against a tree and stared at the bare branches, wondering how she could get back.
Just then, a Light Portal suddenly appeared before Qiu Hanlu. Thinking this was her ticket back to the modern world, she quickly stepped through it.
But once inside, she was stunned. The space was vast and empty, with only six large iron doors on the opposite side. Counting from the left, the first door was labeled “Pharmacy,” the second “Library,” and the remaining four doors had no markings at all.
She walked to the pharmacy door, pulled it open, and went inside. The medicines were fully stocked. She wasn’t sure if she could return to the modern world, but if she couldn’t, she would genuinely need some emergency medicine to survive in ancient times.
So, following the signs on the medicine shelves, she found antibiotics for inflammation, as well as blood-clotting medicine—these two were lifesavers. After that, she grabbed some everyday medications, wrapped them in paper, and tucked them into her sleeve.
Once she had taken enough, she stepped back out and tried opening the library door, but it wouldn’t budge. She then tried the third door, the fourth, and all the way to the last one—none of them would open.
Turning around, she saw the Light Portal shrinking. She hurriedly ran out. There was no food or drink in there—was she supposed to survive on glucose alone? Better to get out first and figure things out later.
After exiting, she glanced around to make sure no one was nearby and felt relieved. She thought about trying again to see if she could open the Spatial Dimension’s door.
Just then, she heard footsteps behind her. She turned around and saw a man wearing a black cloak, a bamboo hat, and a black veil over his face, clutching a sword as he ran toward her. His shoulder was bleeding, blood staining his hand.
Qiu Hanlu wasn’t far from the man. She inwardly cursed her bad luck—she had no idea whether this person was good or bad. What if he killed her to silence her?
She immediately prepared herself in a fighting stance. Though the man had a sword, he was injured, so her chances of escaping were still fairly good.
The man glanced at Qiu Hanlu but said nothing and kept running forward. However, his injuries were indeed severe. When he reached Qiu Hanlu’s side, his foot stumbled, and he half-fell, kneeling on the ground and spitting out a mouthful of blood.
He used his sword to push himself back up, trying to continue running.
Qiu Hanlu looked at the man. He hadn’t harmed her, which showed he had some conscience. As a modern person who respected life, how could she just watch someone die and do nothing?
Qiu Hanlu called out to the man, “Wait a moment.”
Then she took out the blood-clotting medicine and antibiotics from her sleeve and held them out. “The red pill stops bleeding—don’t take more than two at a time. If the wound gets infected and causes a high fever, take the white ones, two at a time, twice a day.”
When the man didn’t take them, she placed the medicine on the ground and hurried back to the main road. She’d study the Spatial Dimension business tonight. For now, the best move was to get away from this dangerous man—who knew if his enemies would come chasing after him any moment?
Whether he took the medicine was up to him. After all, a man who lived on the edge of a blade like that wouldn’t easily trust anyone.
She hadn’t seen his face either, and he hadn’t shown any murderous intent toward her. She figured they’d never meet again, so she let the matter go.
She quickened her pace and headed home. The Qiu family courtyard was not small—a proper three-sided compound.
The main house had five rooms. Entering through the front door was the kitchen, with a stove on each side connecting to the east and west rooms. Cooking also heated the heated brick beds in the rooms, which was the standard layout for rural houses in the north.
The east room belonged to the elders. It was large and bright, and it was where they received guests. The west room belonged to Second Uncle Qiu Guangli’s family—that was where she had woken up this morning.
On either side of the main house were two side rooms, one for Little Uncle Qiu Guanggen and one for Second Brother Qiu Ruikang. Since both had reached marriageable age, they lived separately.
The east wing had two rooms, occupied by Third Uncle Qiu Guangqian and Fourth Uncle Qiu Guangshan’s families. However, Fourth Uncle’s wife had died in childbirth years ago, and he’d never been able to get over it. He’d left to wander and hadn’t returned in years.
The west wing was the small corner of the compound that belonged to Qiu Hanlu’s family.
The banquet didn’t require their small room, so it had nothing to do with her family.
Qiu Hanlu blended into the crowd, eating plenty and taking plenty. She knew the original owner had often gone hungry, and filling her stomach was the first priority.
Besides, her parents hadn’t eaten yet, so she needed to save some for them.
By noon, the banquet had broken up. After all, the Qiu family had suffered so much embarrassment—the hosts had no good mood or expression, and the guests felt awkward. A wedding celebration had turned out as somber as a funeral. Who would want to stay? So everyone left after eating.
Qiu Hanlu packed the food she’d brought back into a clean flour sack, placed it in a basket, and hid it on the roof beam. She told her younger brother to keep an eye on things so their parents wouldn’t worry if they came home and couldn’t find them.
Then she went out to walk the streets, wanting to learn more about the times. After all, the original owner hadn’t had much contact with the outside world, and she had very little information in her mind.
As she walked, Qiu Hanlu thought about her family members. Her parents and siblings had all been good to her, and the family was united—but they were being squeezed too hard by Mrs. Wang. They urgently needed to change their situation.
She didn’t know if she could return to the modern world, but staying wasn’t a bad thing either. After all, this body was only fifteen years old—what a great age! And she had family here. Staying wasn’t a loss.
Just as she was thinking about the Spatial Dimension and that injured man, a girl about her age ran toward her from across the street. She had a small, dark face, and when she smiled, her white teeth flashed.