Lu Yao swayed as she got to her feet. Closing her eyes, she silently willed herself into her space.
In an instant, she vanished from where she stood.
When she opened her eyes again, she found herself surrounded by the familiar environment of her laboratory.
It seemed Heaven hadn’t treated her too badly after all—it had actually brought her laboratory along with her.
She silently prayed:
Heavens above, I wrongly blamed you just now. Please don’t hold it against me!
After mentally apologizing a few times, Lu Yao began inspecting her lab.
In her previous life, whenever she wasn’t out on missions, she spent most of her time here. She had been the only daughter of a renowned medical family.
Her family had wanted her to become a doctor, but she had insisted on applying to a military academy and becoming a military physician instead.
In the end, she had died heroically at a young age. She couldn’t imagine how devastated her family must have been when they received the news.
Lu Yao shook her head hard, forcing away the sadness.
After taking a tour of the laboratory, she discovered that everything had come with her exactly as it was before. Excitement surged through her heart.
Since she had spent half of every year in the laboratory, the institute had assigned her a private three-story building.
The first floor served as her living quarters.
The second floor housed the laboratory itself.
The third floor was used for storage.
Only the building had come with her; the surrounding courtyard had not. Fortunately, the courtyard had been barren anyway. Lu Yao usually purchased all her supplies herself, so the first floor contained an enormous refrigerator stocked with every kind of food and drink imaginable.
There were also dozens of bags of rice, flour, and various grains stored inside.
As for fruits and vegetables, there was no shortage of those either.
After making a complete tour of the space, Lu Yao sat down contentedly on the sofa. Using a mirror, she cleaned her wounds, bandaged them simply, and then left the space.
Before leaving, she took out a flashlight.
It was military-grade—durable enough to withstand heavy impacts and capable of providing illumination for long periods.
Holding the flashlight, Lu Yao followed the memories in her mind as she made her way back.
As she walked, she organized the information she knew about this era.
This dynasty did not exist in the history she knew. It was called the Eastern Xin Kingdom.
The reign title was Yongqing, and the current year was the third year of Yongqing.
The new emperor had only recently ascended the throne, yet he was already facing a grim situation: famine ravaged the northern regions, while barbarian tribes frequently harassed the borders.
The country was beset by troubles both within and without.
But after experiencing betrayal by the teammate she had trusted most in her previous life, Lu Yao had made up her mind.
In this life, she would trust no one.
She would never again place her back in another person’s hands.
As for the nation’s circumstances, all she could do was silently pray.
This time, she intended to live exactly as she pleased.
With that thought, her steps became noticeably lighter.
Before long, she arrived at the foot of the mountain.
Songyang Village lay nestled beneath this mountain range.
Dawn was fast approaching.
Following the directions in her memories, Lu Yao headed toward the makeshift grass shelter where they were temporarily staying.
It was early winter.
Although snow had yet to fall, the dry, biting cold penetrated straight through people’s collars.
Pulling her thin padded jacket tighter around herself, Lu Yao quickened her pace.
When she was still about a hundred meters from the shelter, a heart-wrenching cry suddenly reached her ears.
“Please don’t sell my little brother and sister! They’re still so young—they won’t fetch much money! Please let them go!”
The voice of a young boy, hoarse from crying, echoed through the dawn.
Lu Yao immediately switched off the flashlight and broke into a run.
The sky was bright enough now to see clearly within a hundred meters, so the distance disappeared in moments.
She saw an elderly woman dressed in gray clothing covered in patch upon patch.
The woman was struggling with a small child.
The little boy lay sprawled on the ground, desperately dragging himself backward while tightly clinging to the old woman’s ankle.
His palm-sized face was flushed crimson from screaming, and traces of blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.
The old woman had her back to Lu Yao.
One hand continuously slapped the boy while the other held a little girl in her arms.
Terrified, the little girl wailed loudly.
Her grape-like eyes were filled with fear as she stared at the old woman, while her tiny milky-white hands desperately tugged at the woman’s dry hair.
The old woman winced in pain.
Turning her head to glare at the child, a flash of viciousness crossed her eyes.
Then, without warning, she raised the little girl high above her head and hurled her toward the ground.
Lu Yao nearly lost her soul from fright.
With a burst of speed, she lunged forward.
Barely managing to catch the little girl, she immediately rolled across the ground to absorb the impact before rising steadily to her feet.
The little boy who had been grappling with the old woman was completely stunned.
He had watched helplessly as his sister was about to be smashed into the ground.
He never expected a figure to suddenly dive in and catch her.
Once he recognized who it was, he scrambled to his feet and rushed over.
Snatching the little girl from Lu Yao’s arms, he hugged her tightly to his chest like a mother hen protecting her chicks.
At the same time, he stared at Lu Yao with wary eyes.
Just then, a faint rustling came from the pile of straw nearby.
Lu Yao turned her head and discovered yet another child.
This one appeared badly injured.
Blood flowed from a wound on his head, streaming down his cheeks.
His large, misty eyes blinked timidly as he looked at her.
Lu Yao’s heart nearly melted.
What kind of beast would lay hands on children like this?
The beast in question was standing right in front of her, glaring sideways at her.
Only now did Lu Yao take a proper look at the old woman.
The moment she did, she recognized her.
It was none other than the original owner’s cheap mother-in-law—Old Madam Song.
Lu Yao examined her carefully.
High cheekbones.
Sunken cheeks.
A sharp, narrow chin.
Triangular eyes that slanted upward.
Thin lips.
Every feature screamed mean and malicious.
Old Madam Song had also been startled by Lu Yao’s sudden appearance.
Earlier, in a fit of anger, she had taken her frustration out on the little girl.
The moment she let go, she regretted it.
That child represented money, after all.
But seeing Lu Yao rescue the girl only made her fury explode.
One hand on her hip and the other pointing at Lu Yao, she immediately began cursing.
“You little slut! Didn’t you run off with some wild man? How dare you come back? Your husband hasn’t even been dead long, and you couldn’t wait to find another man and run away! I’ll report you to the village chief and have you drowned in a pig cage! You—”
Before she could finish, a piercing pain shot through her finger.
Her finger instantly drooped uselessly.
Not far away, Lu Yao stood lazily with a smile on her lips.
“Still cursing?” she asked pleasantly.
“Why did you stop? Didn’t your mother teach you that pointing at people while talking is rude?”
Realizing what Lu Yao had done, Old Madam Song let out a shrill howl and collapsed onto the ground.
Clutching her injured finger, she cried dramatically while shouting:
“Murder! Somebody help! My daughter-in-law is trying to kill me! She’s an immoral woman who ran away with another man before my son’s body was even cold! Now she wants to silence me forever! Come judge for yourselves!”
Lu Yao dug a finger into her ear.
The old hag was simply too noisy.
Without hesitation, she removed one of the woman’s worn-out shoes and stuffed it directly into her mouth.
Old Madam Song had been howling with her mouth wide open.
Suddenly silenced, she nearly choked.
Her face turned bright red.
When she finally realized what had happened, she yanked the shoe out and gulped down a huge breath.
Unfortunately, the stench from the shoe nearly knocked her unconscious.
She immediately bent over and retched violently.
Seeing that peace had finally been restored, Lu Yao slowly crouched down before her.
Looking down from above, she smiled.
Yet her eyes were ice-cold.
“What are you doing here?”
“Shouldn’t you be sleeping at this hour?”
“Since when did you become so hardworking?”
Old Madam Song felt as though she were about to vomit up her gallbladder.
Lifting her head, she glared at Lu Yao with venomous hatred.
“If I hadn’t come, how would I know you ran away with another man?”
“You think being driven out means you’re no longer part of the Song family?”
“Let me tell you—since you’ve come back, I’ll sell you too!”
Only then did Lu Yao understand.
The old woman had come to sell the children.
A cold laugh echoed in her heart.
What a wonderful plan the old hag had devised.
She turned to look at the three children behind her.
They were huddled together, trembling, doing their best to make themselves invisible.
The sight tightened something in her chest.
She offered them a gentle smile before turning back.
Unfortunately, what Lu Yao considered a comforting smile only frightened the children even more.
Looking at Old Madam Song again, Lu Yao smiled with perfect virtue and grace.
“Mother, if you want to sell me, I have nothing to say. After all, your son did buy me back then.”
“But selling your own grandchildren?”
“Can your conscience really bear it?”
“Aren’t you afraid of retribution?”
Old Madam Song spat viciously.
“My grandchildren?”
“Those little burdens?”
“Getting two taels of silver for them would already be a loss! My second son spent more than that raising them!”
“And you aren’t any better!”
“Since you’ve conveniently returned, I’ll sell all of you together. It’ll save food too!”
Lu Yao was sprayed across the face with saliva.
Disgusted, she wiped it off with her sleeve.
She had to admit that Old Madam Song possessed remarkable talent for insulting people.
But Lu Yao wasn’t about to indulge her.
“On what grounds can you sell me?”
“Am I property belonging to your family?”
“Are the children property?”
“You think you can sell people just because you feel like it?”
“Do you have no regard for the law?”
Old Madam Song apparently felt that sitting on the ground put her at a disadvantage.
She scrambled to her feet and pointed angrily at Lu Yao.
“My son bought you! That makes you our property!”
“You’re not even as valuable as our household belongings!”
“At least our belongings are useful!”
“You’re useless and waste food!”
A faint smile lingered at the corner of Lu Yao’s mouth.
“Truth doesn’t need a loud voice.”
“In that case, show me the bill of sale.”
“If you don’t have one, then I have no relationship with your family.”
“After all, your son and I never even had a marriage certificate.”
Old Madam Song instantly fell silent.
Only then did she remember that detail.
But things had already escalated this far.
At this point, she could only continue making trouble without reason.