Shen Yiyi rushed out of the latrine.
After taking a few large strides to get far away, she yanked the leaves stuffed in her nostrils and greedily breathed in the fresh air.
Honestly, transmigrating as some imperial consort or young lady is one thing, but to my senior sisters who transmigrated into poor country folk, how on earth did you manage to adapt so quickly to this kind of miserable environment!
Shen Yiyi felt that even if she were given an incredibly powerful cheat, she wouldn’t be able to hold up the persona of a “blessed farm girl.” Just based on that dry latrine teeming with terrifying little creatures, she wished she could just die and go back.
Taking advantage of the empty backyard, she began to mutter hopefully under her breath again:
“System?”
“Main God?”
“Golden Finger?”
“Old Grandpa?”
“Home Planet?”
“Dad!”
“…The Fool that doesn’t belong to this world?”
Whatever entity you are, I’m begging you!
Please come out and make a sound!
…
Of course, there was no reaction at all.
Thinking back carefully, this little girl didn’t have any ancestral trinkets she’d worn since childhood, hadn’t flipped through any peculiar books, and hadn’t had any chance encounters with great masters, Daoist priests, beggars, animals, mysterious hunters, great heroes, or injured handsome men…
If I had to transmigrate, did it have to be this stingy? Not giving me anything at all?
This transmigration of mine is a failure, I didn’t even get a cheat!
Bad review!
Still unwilling to give up, she raised her hand and fumbled and poked at the air. Alright, no panel popped up either.
Shen Yiyi waved away the buzzing flies, let out a long sigh, and completely deflated.
She walked back with a dejected face. Just as she reached the back of the house, she heard her maternal cousin-uncle Hu Sicai’s voice: “Once this kinship is acknowledged, Yuan Jie’er will be the young lady of an official’s family. Her cousins might even get a little something out of it.”
Shen Yiyi quickly crouched down and moved under the window to eavesdrop silently.
“A few scraps that fall through the cracks from a wealthy family are enough to live on for a month. If Yuan Jie’er catches Master Shen’s eye, our family might even get to stay in the city. I’m her one and only, bona fide maternal cousin-uncle!”
Her aunt, Niu Shi, chimed in with delight, “Yuan Jie’er looks like her mother. Second Sister-in-law was a real beauty, so the girl is bound to be the same. Master Shen will definitely like her!”
“Sigh, what was Second Sister-in-law thinking? Giving up the life of a concubine wearing gold and silver, only to run off with a traveling merchant at a time like this—”
“Shut up! I told you not to mention this again!”
“What! I can’t even talk about a woman from your Hu family! Your second cousin was someone’s concubine to begin with. After being let go, she was first with Master Shen, and now she’s with, mmmph—”
“Ah! You damn hag, you dare bite me!”
“Serves you right for covering my mouth! What are you raising your hand for? You want to hit me? Go on, hit me! Come on!”
“Fine, I’m scared of you, keep your voice down! You said it yourself, she was meant to be a concubine. Now she’s had a moment of folly, actually valuing a lover more than silver.”
“I don’t believe that someone used to fine food and wine can eat chaff and wild greens with some poor wretch! In a few days, she’ll regret it and come running back, and she’ll need us to cover for her.”
“In your dreams! Why should she! Running off with her own paramour—”
“Shh! Shh! Quieter!” Hu Sicai turned his head and listened. Hearing no movement from outside, he finally removed his hand from Niu Shi’s mouth. “If she can come back and be a concubine, isn’t that better than marrying some poor peddler?”
Niu Shi slapped Hu Sicai’s hand away. “I don’t care who she marries! When that bitch was with Master Shen before, I never saw her help out our family!”
“Hmph, if I cover for her this time, it won’t be up to her whether she’s willing or not!”
“Huh?—Ah! Th-then should we go look for her again?”
“If I could find her, I would have already! Those traveling merchants all have travel permits ready. With the few days that have passed, they’re long gone from Qingzhou Prefecture. Where am I supposed to find her!”
“Let me tell you, shut your damn mouth and stop shouting. If word of this gets out, what’s the use even if she does come back!”
“I got to know Lu Laogou, who guards the Shen Mansion, at the gambling den—”
“The gambling den?!” Niu Shi shrieked, pouncing on him. “You good-for-nothing, you went gambling again!”
“Let go of me, you damn shrew! I didn’t lose money this time!” Hu Sicai dodged. “I was just trying to get some information. I even treated Lu Laogou to drinks, a top-notch meal—”
Niu Shi interjected, her heart aching, “You treated him to drinks? How much did that cost!”
“Shut up and let me finish!” Hu Sicai, annoyed, roared before lowering his voice again. “Master Shen is coming to Anyang this time after finishing the mourning period in his hometown. I heard he’s here to deal with his farmlands here and won’t be staying long.”
“You have to claim your father early! Miss this and you’ll miss out!”
“Also, we have to keep this golden goose in our hands on our good side. We’ve taken care of her for a few days, after all. That’s a favor she has to remember!”
Hearing these last few sentences, Niu Shi’s eyes darted away guiltily.
Hu Sicai didn’t notice her, continuing on his own tangent enthusiastically, “Have Hutou get closer to Yuan Jie’er. Kids are forgetful. In the future, when she’s living in a deep courtyard mansion, we can’t have her forget everything in a few years. That would be a waste of such a good opportunity.”
“Oh, oh, I know.” Niu Shi seemed particularly obedient. “Then, you go call the kids back. We should get on the road as soon as we finish eating, right?”
“Who knows where they’ve run off to play again,” Hu Sicai grumbled as he left the courtyard.
Crouching in the weeds under the window, Shen Yiyi cupped her chin in her hands and stared blankly at the sky.
Last night, she had woken up to find she had suddenly become a little girl, lying on an earthen kang in a dilapidated room.
As a veteran of old-school web novels, Shen Yiyi quickly guessed that it was her turn to transmigrate.
A child’s memories were not continuous, leaving her with only scattered fragments.
She had lived with her mother in a small courtyard since she was little and had rarely gone out.
Recently, after her mother left on a long journey, a matron was playing with her in the courtyard when she fell and never got up again. Then, she was sent by the old guard, Wang, to the home of her maternal cousin-uncle in the countryside, whom she had never met.
At first, her uncle and aunt were very attentive.
But a few days ago, her uncle went into town. He had intended to use the excuse of raising a child to extort a good sum of money while her mother was away, but all he got was a letter.
After returning, he cursed up a storm, saying the original owner’s mother had eloped with someone and run off, even selling the house.
Not only did they fail to get any benefits, but they were also stuck with a money-losing burden. The cousin-uncle and his wife completely lost it.
All the clothes she brought were taken, and she was forced to do laundry, gather firewood, fetch water, and cook, with not a moment’s rest.
The little girl, who had never done these things, was frequently scolded. Although she hadn’t been beaten yet, her meals were withheld, and she was starved for two whole meals.
Starving and terrified, she fell ill and couldn’t get up.
Finally, amidst her aunt’s curses of “little bitch, just like her mother” and “money-losing burden faking sickness,” the little girl ran a fever for three days and, like a small flower, quietly withered away.
Her uncle and aunt had been cursing and raving for several days, until the so-called father of the original owner, that Master Shen, appeared.
He was a rich man!
Their anger turned to joy, and it seemed the couple planned to take her into the county town in a little while to seek refuge with her biological father, whom she had never met.
Shen Yiyi was already at a loss for words to describe this bizarre family.
First, the original owner’s mother. What was she thinking, playing “running away with a bun in the oven” in ancient times! Having a baby without the ex-boyfriend even knowing—sister, you were way ahead of your time, you know that!
If you’re going to remarry, then remarry, but if you don’t want to bring a child along, then send the kid to her father first!
Whether he believed it or not, you should have at least explained it face-to-face, right?
You just ran off, leaving only a letter. There are no paternity tests in this era. It’s a six or seven-year-old matter. You think you can successfully be acknowledged by the family with just this inanimate object? Did you think your name was Xia Yuhe?
And then there was her cousin-uncle and his wife. Their confidence in successfully claiming a father was baffling. They were already planning their life of riches after latching onto this golden thigh.
If it were that easy, why don’t you go to the capital and pull off something big? Wouldn’t becoming an imperial relative in one step be even better?
Shen Yiyi let out a long sigh. Fine, she’d just treat it as a trip to town for some window shopping. Hopefully, the Shen family would be good-tempered and would only shoo away, not beat, people who showed up trying to pull a scam.
She stood up, straightened her clothes, and then walked inside with heavy steps.
Returning to the room, she was greeted by her aunt Niu Shi’s long-unseen smiling face. “Oh, Yuan Jie’er is up! Da Ya, Yuan Jie’er likes to be clean. Hurry and take your sister to wash up.”
Breakfast was already set out in the main room.
Shen Yiyi walked to the empty spot between Da Ya and Niu Shi. The moment she sat down, the stool, with one leg shorter than the other three, tilted forward, nearly throwing out her back.
The others had already started eating impatiently, the room filled with loud smacking sounds.
Shen Yiyi, who had no appetite whatsoever, looked at the breakfast in front of her: a chipped coarse pottery bowl filled with soup, with a few specks of oil floating on top; and a piece of flatbread made of unknown ingredients, dark and with faint hints of yellow and green.
She carefully brought her lips to a relatively intact part of the bowl’s rim and took a sip. It was fishy with a hint of foulness. Using the mismatched chopsticks, she fished around in the bowl and found a few pieces of meat that looked very tough.
Having just transmigrated, Shen Yiyi’s need for protein wasn’t that strong yet. But this family was so poor, and wasting food, especially meat, was something she didn’t want to experience Niu Shi’s method of child-rearing over.
Just as she was hesitating over whether she had to force herself to swallow it, she heard her cousin-uncle Hu Sicai speak while smacking his lips, “Yuan Jie’er, eat up. Your aunt specially went to get this meat this morning.”
“Aiyo, Yuan Jie’er, you’ve gotten so thin after being sick! My heart truly aches! But your uncle is useless and our family is poor, where would we get the money to nurse you back to health? As your aunt, I had no choice but to trade some of the things you brought—”
Niu Shi’s triangular eyes darted around, glancing at Hu Sicai, then at Shen Yiyi. Seeing no reaction from her, the smile on her face grew wider as she continued to ramble, “Hurry and eat, this is specially to nurse you back to health! It cost more than ten large coins!”
Hu Sicai caught the hidden meaning in Niu Shi’s words, shot her a glare, and changed the subject, “Which family slaughtered a pig?”
“Zhang Mutou’s family at the village entrance. Didn’t their old sow get swine fever? It died of illness the day before yesterday. It’s only just become autumn, the pig hadn’t even fattened up yet, so they got a lot less meat. Old Woman Zhang cursed Zhang Mutou’s family out. Haha, that old hag…”
Shen Yiyi paid no attention to the village gossip that followed. Her focus was entirely on the origin of this pork.
An old sow, had swine fever, died of illness.
Died of illness…
Thankfully, she had only taken one sip. Staring blankly at the bowl of pork soup, Shen Yiyi, who had been bombarded by biochemical weapons all morning, felt her stomach churn violently once again.
Author’s Note:
This newbie hereby swears to never drop this story. I will strive not to get sick, not to chase dramas, not to travel, and to persist in daily updates without wavering!
To all the darlings passing by, please add this to your collection [Pleading Puppy]
Next up is “Is the Empress Playing God Again Today?”, please add it to your collection~~
After a workplace elite transmigrates to ancient Rome, she uses her suitcase to pretend to be a divinely favored one, reorganizes the Roman Empire’s workplace, and hooks up with a wolf-pup, face-blind emperor along the way.
“Let us welcome the favored child of the Goddess of Wisdom, the High Priestess of Apollo, the divinely favored of Pluto, the envoy of Mercury, the protector of women and children, the planner of New Rome, the first woman of the Empire…”
Tang Shuangshuang: Why are so many people being introduced? You’re saying these are all my titles? Oh, then it’s fine!