In the tranquil village, wisps of cooking smoke drifted into the sky as the rosy glow of sunset scattered across the horizon. The scent of fresh grass lingered in the air, while catkins floated gently on the breeze.
Beneath the shifting light of the sun and moon, a young woman crouched by the roadside, carefully digging up medicinal herbs.
She wore a simple blue robe, her hair pinned up with a plain wooden hairpin. Unadorned and modest, she sat beside a gray donkey that kept her company. Together, they formed a scene so peaceful and picturesque that no one would have the heart to disturb it.
Suddenly—
The stubborn donkey, having eaten its fill, lashed out with its hind legs.
The next moment, Ye Yunmian took a direct hit to the head and pitched face-first onto the ground.
After a short while, she wobbled back to her feet with several blades of grass sticking out of her hair, her head throbbing painfully.
“Where is this?”
Rubbing her temples, Ye Yunmian frowned.
Something wasn’t right.
She clearly remembered awakening to the truth of the story and discovering that all her brothers were destined to become cannon fodder. Determined to change their fates, she had immediately set out for the capital…
She thought back carefully.
It seemed that, on the way back to the capital, she had encountered a group of bandits.
After dealing with them and leaving their hideout, a sudden thunderstorm had startled her horse. Then, somehow, she had fallen off a cliff.
And yet, she hadn’t died?
She really was lucky.
Looking down at her familiar hands, she found nothing unusual. There wasn’t a single wound on her body, and at her feet sat a basket filled with medicinal herbs.
It seemed someone had rescued her and cared for her for quite some time—even her injuries had fully healed.
But she couldn’t remember anything that had happened during her recovery.
Still, she couldn’t afford to dwell on it now.
The most important thing was getting back to the capital.
A few days earlier, she had suddenly awakened memories of the original plot and discovered that she wasn’t merely someone who had transmigrated into another world from birth—she had transmigrated into a novel.
The novel’s heroine was named Lin Mianmian.
She was the only daughter in her family and a bringer of good fortune. She had six older brothers who doted on her endlessly.
The Lin family had once been officials, but over the years their fortunes had declined. By Lin Mianmian’s generation, they had fallen into poverty and lived in a village outside the capital.
Yet Lin Mianmian was blessed with extraordinary luck.
As a child, she happened to meet the male lead and several young masters from influential families in the capital, somehow becoming close friends with them.
With the help of these powerful connections, the Lin family started a small business. Step by step, her brothers either passed the imperial examinations or pursued military careers, eventually restoring the family’s status among the nobility.
In the end, Lin Mianmian married the prince who was the novel’s male lead, became his princess consort, and ultimately rose to become empress. The two shared a lifelong, devoted love—one husband, one wife.
However, hidden beneath this seemingly perfect story were countless villains.
And she was the younger sister of one of the villainous supporting characters.
Only, in the original story, this younger sister had died young instead of being raised on the frontier.
It was only recently that Ye Yunmian learned her eldest brother and youngest brother would be driven, step by step, into becoming unforgivable villains because of the male and female leads—ultimately losing their lives.
Ye Yunmian had met the heroine, Lin Mianmian, before.
When Ye Yunmian was young, her father died in battle. After giving birth to her youngest brother, her mother fell ill from grief and passed away not long afterward.
As the Ye family held the funeral rites, Lin Mianmian came to pay her respects.
Because of distant family ties between her ancestors and Ye Yunmian’s step-grandmother, the male lead had brought Lin Mianmian along to the Ye residence.
At the time, the entire Ye household was shrouded in mourning and chaos.
For some reason, Lin Mianmian sought Ye Yunmian out specifically. When she learned that they both shared the name “Mianmian,” she became unusually enthusiastic.
But Ye Yunmian had just lost both parents and wanted nothing to do with a girl her own age.
She turned to leave.
Unexpectedly, Lin Mianmian suddenly lost her footing and fell into the water—dragging Ye Yunmian down with her.
Ye Yunmian had been kneeling in front of her parents’ coffins for hours and had no strength left to resist.
After falling into the water, she nearly lost her life.
Only by desperately struggling back to shore did she avoid dying young, just as the original plot had intended.
But after the incident, she fell seriously ill.
When she recovered, her maternal uncle insisted on taking her with him to the frontier.
She remained there for twelve years.
During those years, her eldest brother and youngest brother treated her well and often sent her gifts.
Now that she knew their tragic fates, how could she possibly stand by and do nothing?
What she hadn’t expected was to encounter an accident on her way back.
She had no idea how long she had spent recovering in this place.
She only hoped she hadn’t delayed things for too long.
At that moment, Ye Yunmian looked around.
The surrounding houses belonged to an ordinary village. Just then, a friendly-looking woman happened to pass by and smiled warmly at her.
“You know me?”
Ye Yunmian froze for a moment before asking politely.
Confusion flashed through the woman’s eyes, but she immediately nodded.
“Of course, Doctor Ye. How could I forget you? If it weren’t for your help, my son would have died from his illness long ago. But just now, I saw from a distance that… your donkey kicked you? Are you feeling all right? Should I call someone?”
Doctor Ye?
Something really was strange today.
“No need. I have something important to do…”
As she spoke, Ye Yunmian touched her neck and felt a familiar object.
She quickly pulled it free.
The jade pendant she had worn since childhood fell into her hand.
The quality of the jade and the craftsmanship were exquisite, though it had been cracked years ago. Since it was a keepsake left behind by her parents, she had never been willing to part with it.
She searched herself.
Aside from the pendant, she possessed nothing of value.
“Auntie, could I trouble you with something? Please give this to the family who took care of me and tell them I had urgent business and had to leave first. If I have the chance in the future, I’ll return to thank them properly.”
As she spoke, Ye Yunmian pressed the jade pendant into the woman’s hands.
The pendant held great sentimental value, but she couldn’t simply accept such kindness without repayment.
She was a good judge of character.
The woman’s honest eyes and respectful attitude convinced her that, considering the family had already saved her life, they would not keep the pendant for themselves—especially since they couldn’t know whether she might someday return.
The woman looked even more confused.
“You mean for Teacher Pei and the children?”
“Yes. Since they took care of me, this should serve as my token of thanks. As for the donkey… I’ll borrow it for now and return it in the future.”
Even with its cracks, the jade pendant was worth a considerable sum, so she felt no guilt about borrowing the donkey.
According to proper etiquette, she should personally thank her benefactors.
But she knew that villagers were simple and kind-hearted. If they learned she intended to travel alone to the capital, they would surely worry about her.
Even if they didn’t insist on accompanying her, they would likely press money and supplies upon her.
That would only burden her benefactors further.
So she decided to keep things simple for now and repay them properly once she had the means to do so.
Anxious to continue her journey, Ye Yunmian mounted the donkey and rode away without another word.
Though puzzled, the woman dared not stop her.
Doctor Ye was highly respected throughout the village.
After a moment’s hesitation, she hurried toward the Pei residence.
Once outside the village, Ye Yunmian headed straight for the main road, urging the donkey forward without stopping for even a moment.
Meanwhile, back in the village, inside a small courtyard—
A man stood frozen in place, clutching Ye Yunmian’s jade pendant with a complicated expression.
Beside him stood three little children.
The moment they learned that both Ye Yunmian and the donkey had disappeared, it was as if the sky had fallen.
They burst into tears.
“Waaah—!”
“Mother abandoned us!”