“Mom…”
“Mom, wake up.”
Li Xingyue heard a soft, sweet voice.
“Whose child is this? How did they end up in my home?” she wondered. She clearly remembered that no one on her floor had children.
Feeling someone gently shaking her, Li Xingyue forced her eyes open and saw a little girl, about two or three years old, leaning over her.
The girl had big eyes, thick eyelashes, an oval face, and a delicate little nose…
Whose child was this pretty?
As Li Xingyue was thinking, the little girl called out softly, “Mother, you’re finally awake. Yan’er was so scared…”
“Waaah…”
Mother? What kind of address was that?
How could this child not even recognize her own mother? Li Xingyue complained inwardly.
Why did the bed feel so hard? And why was it cold under the quilt?
That wasn’t right.
Her eyes darted around. She wasn’t lying on her 1.8-meter Simmons mattress, nor was she in her tastefully decorated two-bedroom apartment.
Instead, she saw gray mud walls, low and crude. The roof was thatched with woven straw. The small room contained only one bed, a small shabby table by the head of it, and two red wooden chests with peeling paint in the corner.
Heavens—where was she?
A wave of dizziness hit her, and she clutched her head.
Memories that did not belong to her flashed through her mind. Soon, she received the original owner’s memories.
The original owner was also named Li Xingyue. When Li’s mother had finally given birth to her after much difficulty, and the baby’s cries filled the room, Li’s father—who had been waiting anxiously in the courtyard—looked up and saw a sky full of stars with a bright moon hanging high.
Though he wasn’t well-educated, he had a sudden inspiration and named his daughter Li Xingyue—“Star and Moon.”
This was a dynasty never mentioned in history textbooks, called the Great Ning Dynasty.
She was in Gu Family Village of Xinghua Town.
Li Xingyue had been married into the Gu family for four years. She had a three-year-old daughter named Gu Yanran.
The little girl who had just called her “Mother” was indeed the original owner’s daughter.
Moreover, the current Li Xingyue was also carrying another child—almost three months along.
She touched her still relatively flat belly and couldn’t help complaining inwardly.
Heavens! What kind of catastrophic opening was this?
That’s right—Li Xingyue had transmigrated.
But how did she, a 21st-century single woman who never planned to marry or have children, suddenly become someone’s mother?
Just then, the little girl’s soft voice, still tinged with tears, sounded again. “Mother, the doctor said you must take care of yourself. There’s a little sister in your belly.”
Li Xingyue nodded and gently stroked the little girl’s round head.
She had just tried to sit up when the child quickly reached out and pressed her back down. “Mother, the doctor said you must lie down and rest properly. You can’t get out of bed.”
Such a thoughtful little thing. Li Xingyue shifted slightly upward on the bed, but pain shot through her entire body.
“Hiss…” she gasped.
She was injured.
The original owner had been pushed down a hillside and rolled down. By the time the villagers rescued her, she was already unconscious.
That was how the current Li Xingyue had ended up here.
“Mother, does it hurt?” The little girl’s eyes were red with worry.
Such a smart, obedient, and pretty child. Li Xingyue felt a pang of tenderness and quickly comforted her. “Mother’s fine. Yan’er, don’t be afraid.”
Hmm. Being a mother for the first time didn’t feel so bad.
Yan’er nodded vigorously.
Just then, there came three knocks at the door—thump, thump, thump. After the third knock, the door was pushed open and a round head peeked in.
“Sister-in-law, you’re finally awake. You must be hungry. Drink the medicine first, then eat.”
This was her so-called younger sister-in-law, Gu Wan’er.
Li Xingyue nodded. “Alright.”
Gu Wan’er tugged gently at little Yan’er. “Yan’er, your mother’s awake now. Go out and eat.”
But Yan’er clung to the bed and refused to leave. “Auntie, I want to eat with Mother.”
“You child.” Gu Wan’er rubbed her little head.
She left and soon returned with a bowl of dark, murky medicine.
Li Xingyue could smell the bitterness from afar.
Gu Wan’er placed the chipped bowl on the small table, helped Li Xingyue sit up slowly, and handed her the bowl.
The temperature was just right. Summoning her courage, Li Xingyue gulped it down in one go.
It was unbearably bitter—but there was no choice. In this backward ancient era, in such poverty, being able to drink medicine was already a blessing.
She handed the chipped bowl back.
Gu Wan’er took it with a smile. “The doctor prescribed seven days of medicine. Once you finish it, your body should recover.”
Then she added, “Luckily the child is fine. Otherwise, when my elder brother comes back, who knows how we’d explain it to him?”
She left again and soon returned with two bowls—one large, one small—of wild vegetable and black flour porridge.
Placing them on the table, she said to Yanran with a smile, “Yan’er, you and your mother can eat together in here.”
Yan’er nodded. “Thank you, Auntie, for taking care of Mother. Auntie is the best!”
Gu Wan’er smiled and tapped her little head.
Their mother disliked her eldest daughter-in-law and Yan’er. She thought Yan’er was just a useless girl who would cost the family money.
The Gu family had only one son—the elder brother—and their mother blamed the sister-in-law for not giving birth to a boy. Yet the elder brother devoted himself wholeheartedly to his wife.
Their mother often called her sister-in-law a vixen behind her back, saying she had bewitched her son.
But Gu Wan’er felt her sister-in-law was not only beautiful but also gentle, and Yan’er was obedient and sweet.
Besides, every time her elder brother returned from outside, he would bring her gifts.
So she believed neither the sister-in-law nor Yan’er had done anything wrong, and she was willing to treat the mother and daughter kindly.
After Gu Wan’er left, Li Xingyue and Yan’er ate together.
Wild vegetables and black flour paste—this was something the original owner had eaten often. But looking at the chipped bowl half-filled with dark mush, Li Xingyue had no appetite.
She had just drunk a bowl of medicine and didn’t feel hungry at all.
She truly didn’t want to eat.
Seeing her hesitate, Yan’er said considerately, “Mother, the porridge isn’t hot anymore. Drink it quickly and lie down to rest.”
She nudged the large chipped bowl closer and, like a little adult, added, “Mother, the doctor said you need to nourish yourself. Eat something good. When Father comes back, he’ll definitely get you delicious food.”
As she spoke, the little girl swallowed her saliva.
Food is the staff of life. The original body was weak, and she was pregnant besides. It seemed she had to eat.
Li Xingyue had no intention of starving to death right after transmigrating. She picked up the broken bowl, ready to finish it in one gulp.
She knew wild vegetable porridge wouldn’t taste good—but she hadn’t expected it to be so rough on the throat. She couldn’t help coughing.
Not only were the wild vegetables harsh, the porridge was utterly bland—there wasn’t even any salt.
Then again, salt was said to be expensive in ancient times.
It seemed life in the ancient world wasn’t going to be easy after all.