Chapter 2: The Past of the Original Owner

Xia Qingfeng lay on the kang, her eyes staring blankly at the gray plastered ceiling. Her mind was replaying the scenes from her dream, and she couldn’t help but sigh, feeling that the original owner’s life had been truly pitiful.

The original owner, also named Xia Qingfeng, had been adopted by a minor official’s family at the age of 19. She was obedient, sensible, and loved dearly by her foster parents. When she was 15, she caught the eye of Xu Jingchen, the eldest son of the Marquis of Xiping’s family. Though it was a marriage of higher status, she was brought into the family with much fanfare as the legitimate wife. Her foster parents had spared no expense and had given her a generous dowry.

At first, life after the marriage went smoothly. Although the mistress of the house was strict, the couple had a harmonious relationship. Soon, she became pregnant, and everything seemed to be progressing well. However, fate took a turn after she gave birth to a daughter.

The day after the birth, a maid from her foster parents’ house hurriedly arrived at the Marquis’ residence, bringing the news that her foster parents had been implicated in a corruption case due to their superiors and would be sent to Youzhou as exiles.

The original owner, frantic with worry, dragged her weak body to ask Xu Jingchen for help, hoping he could find a way to save them. Xu Jingchen agreed on the surface but pretended to be in a difficult situation, claiming that handling such matters required a large sum of money and, as a concubine’s son, he didn’t have much money to offer. Desperate, the original owner handed over most of her dowry to him.

But soon, the news came that her parents were indeed exiled to Youzhou. The original owner was both angry and helpless, so she went to question Xu Jingchen. He feigned sincerity, claiming he had tried to intervene and had even spent a considerable amount of his own money, but because of his low status, he couldn’t save her parents.

Powerless, the original owner, still thinking of her parents, instructed her personal maid to secretly sell off some of her remaining dowry and send the silver notes to her parents.

To her surprise, Xu Jingchen found out and stormed into the courtyard. Without saying a word, he slapped her several times, calling her a fool. The very next day, he returned with a pregnant woman—this woman appeared to be at least six or seven months pregnant. She was Xu Jingchen’s concubine, and he claimed that he was bringing her into the residence for the safety of their unborn child.

The weak-willed original owner didn’t dare show any dissatisfaction, silently weeping on her own. Her health also worsened during her postpartum confinement.

Not long after, the concubine gave birth to a son, and Xu Jingchen was overjoyed, quickly elevating her to the status of a favored concubine.

As for the original owner, with her dowry nearly depleted and Xu Jingchen now neglecting her, life for her and her daughter became increasingly difficult. The concubine, who now had the upper hand due to the son, became arrogant, and the original owner saw the concubine wearing the very jewelry from her dowry. It was then that she realized Xu Jingchen had never tried to help her parents at all; instead, he had taken her dowry for himself. Enraged, the original owner and her husband had a final confrontation.

Xu Jingchen no longer bothered to hide his intentions. Over the next two years, he brought in several new concubines, and the backyard became a chaotic mess. Xia Qingfeng and her daughter were often targeted by the concubines, nearly losing their lives multiple times, but Xu Jingchen remained indifferent. Meanwhile, the mistress of the house enjoyed watching the chaos in the backyard and completely ignored them.

Powerless, and in order to save her own life, the original owner, with the help of her personal maid, changed clothes and fled the Marquis’ residence with her child.

At that moment, Xia Qingfeng couldn’t help but remember the resolute look in the maid’s eyes when they parted. The maid’s name was Cui Liu, a truly loyal servant. Xia Qingfeng sincerely wished she could live a good life.

Continuing with the original owner’s story: after escaping the Marquis’ residence, the original owner dared not stay in the capital. She fled south, selling off all the jewelry she had left, buying coarse cloth clothes, and dirtying both herself and her child’s faces to avoid recognition. She planned to flee to a village in the south, where she would lie low for a while. At first, she had intended to go north to search for her foster parents, but she realized that Xu Jingchen would likely expect that, so she decided to first make a clean escape and think of a new plan.

At this point, the original owner was truly a refugee. She had only a few coins left, and for the rest of the journey, she relied on begging to survive. Life for the poor in ancient times was hard, and begging wasn’t easy. Whenever she managed to collect some food, she gave it all to her child.

Eventually, she ended up in Yong’an Village, partly because she had collapsed from hunger at the village entrance. It was Aunt Li, who lived next door, who saved her. Most of the villagers were kind-hearted. Seeing that she was a widowed mother with a young child, they took pity on her and asked the village head to arrange for her to stay in a vacant, dilapidated house.

The original owner knew how to embroider, and her needlework was quite fine. She took up embroidery work in the nearby town, managing to make a meager living. She was relatively content with this peaceful life, at least free from having to constantly watch out for the concubines in the Marquis’ household. She planned to save up some money and, when her child grew older, head to Youzhou to find her foster parents.

But fate, it seemed, was not kind, and even this humble life wouldn’t let her live in peace.

In a neighboring village, there was a man named Li Erlai. He was truly a scoundrel—lazy and addicted to gambling. One day, after losing all his money at a gambling den, he came out dejected and, by chance, ran into the original owner on her way to the fabric shop.

The original owner was beautiful, and naturally, she caught Li Erlai’s eye. He followed her to the fabric shop and saw her exchange money with the shopkeeper. Immediately, a thought crossed his mind: a woman with money and looks? How could he not take advantage of this opportunity?

So, he followed the original owner back to Yong’an Village. For the next two days, he secretly observed her, even eavesdropping on the villagers’ conversations. He learned that she was a widow with only a three-year-old daughter. This made him bolder. He decided to rob her of her money and then take advantage of her before selling both mother and daughter for a good price. With that, he’d have enough money to continue gambling!

And so, one dark, windy night (the same night as the previous one), Li Erlai quietly made his way to the dilapidated house. It was easy for him to scale the wall and enter the original owner’s bedroom.

The house was run-down, and there was no place to hide valuables. It didn’t take long for Li Erlai to find the money. As he moved toward the original owner with ill intentions, the child suddenly cried loudly, waking the original owner.

The original owner, frightened and panicked, cried out for help. Hearing the noise outside, Li Erlai sensed something was wrong, grabbed the silver, and fled.

By the time the neighbors arrived, Li Erlai had already disappeared. Aunt Li, who lived next door, asked what had happened. In order to protect her reputation, the original owner only said she had had a nightmare.

After thanking her neighbors and waiting for everyone to leave, the original owner sat on the kang, shaken and terrified. All the money had been taken. When would she ever be able to find her parents? Were they even still alive? Thinking of the danger that could strike at any moment, her mind finally broke. This had to be the last straw that broke the camel’s back.

The next day, in a state of despair, the original owner gathered herself and her child and jumped into the river, ending it all—only to find that Xia Qingfeng had now taken her place.

Xia Qingfeng raised her hand and couldn’t help but marvel. “What young hands! I never expected to be young again… Since I’ve come here, I’ll live for you, and I’ll take care of the little one. I’ll also try my best to find your foster parents. Even though I don’t know if I’ll succeed, I’ll give it my all. Sigh… I wonder how my own baby is doing now.” Thinking back to the smell of gasoline she had caught before losing consciousness, she feared that both of them might not have fared well in that accident. She couldn’t help but wonder: *Did we both travel to another world?*

While Xia Qingfeng was lost in thought, she suddenly felt a gaze on her from beside her. Turning her head, she saw that the little girl, who had been unconscious just moments ago, was now standing on the kang. She was hugging her arms and frowning, looking at Xia Qingfeng with a sharp, scrutinizing gaze. Yes, *scrutinizing*—just like a strict school principal.