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Not knowing whether she was dead or alive, Song Yuntang gasped for air and opened her eyes.
Before she could recover from the suffocating sensation, the sound of women talking drifted in from outside the window.
“Younger Sister-in-law, that young master from the Huang family taking a fancy to our Tang’er and asking her to become his concubine—that’s a blessing ordinary families couldn’t even dream of. You mustn’t go soft just because she’s making a fuss.”
“The Huang family is the wealthiest household for miles around. Once Tang’er enters their gates, with maidservants and old women serving her hand and foot, she’ll have risen in status to become a mistress of the house.” She patted the back of the woman beside her, speaking in a tone that feigned concern for Song Yuntang’s wellbeing. “If I, as her aunt, didn’t feel sorry for Tang’er, this marriage wouldn’t have landed on her head.”
Zhao Qiao’e sighed deeply in distress. “It’s not that I’m going soft-hearted. Second Sister-in-law, you saw it too. That girl’s been threatening to take her own life over this marriage. What if she really does something drastic?”
Their bond might not have been deep, but in the end, she had given birth to the girl herself.
Ma Zhaolan raised her eyebrows, clearly displeased.
“Families marrying off daughters make a scene all the time. Don’t they still go on to live just fine afterward?”
A shrewd glint flashed in her eyes, full of calculation. “Trust me on this—twelve taels of silver for the bride price! It’s a bad harvest year, and you’ve got the whole family’s livelihood to think about, haven’t you? Besides, hasn’t she always wanted to return to the good life she once had? What a perfect opportunity! Once she becomes Young Master Huang’s woman, she might just come around.”
If not for the eight taels of silver she would receive once the marriage was finalized, she wouldn’t even bother wasting words with Zhao-shi.
No backbone whatsoever—just a typical fence-sitter!
Inside the room, Song Yuntang, having snapped out of her initial shock, frowned deeply.
Something as absurd as transmigration… had actually happened to her?
In her previous life, she came from a prestigious family of physicians. Her Father was a professor at a medical university, and her Mother was a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner. Immersed in the world of medicine from a young age, she had memorized the Compendium of Materia Medica by the age of nine and, at ten, often accompanied her Mother to observe consultations.
When she was twelve, both her parents perished after falling from a cliff while searching for a rare medicinal herb in the mountains.
After recovering from the grief of losing her parents, she continued to immerse herself in the study of medicine.
At twenty-two, she graduated early from a combined undergraduate-to-doctorate program in clinical medicine. Due to her exceptional skills, she was specially appointed as an attending physician of traditional Chinese medicine at a leading hospital. She had just begun settling into her new role and was eagerly looking forward to her very first arranged date—only to transmigrate!
Before heading out, her colleague had shown her a photo—the guy was a sunny young man, well over six feet tall.
Who would’ve thought that on the way to the blind date, the car would suddenly swerve, crash through the guardrail, and plummet off a bridge…
Shaking her still-dizzy head, Song Yuntang tried to sort through the unfamiliar memories flooding her mind.
The original owner of this body had been named Lin Yuntang, a false heiress swapped at birth by the Lin family in town.
Sixteen years ago, Zhao Qiao’e had been working as an embroiderer at the Lin family’s tailor shop. One day, she fell while working and went into labor half a month early—coincidentally on the same day that Madam Lin gave birth. Due to a jealous concubine of Master Lin, Lin Yuntang and the Lin family’s true daughter, Lin Zhaozhao, were switched at birth out of spite.
Three years ago, the truth came to light. Lin Yuntang was sent back to the Song family and took on the surname Song, while Lin Zhaozhao was rightfully brought home to the Lin household.
In the eyes of both families, Lin Zhaozhao, who had grown up in the countryside, was obedient, kind, approachable, hardworking, and frugal. In contrast, Song Yuntang was proud and aloof, cold toward others, unwilling to do hard work, and sometimes even acted out unreasonably.
The only thing she might have that could rival Lin Zhaozhao… was the face on her neck.
The so-called Young Master Huang that Ma-shi kept talking about—the one who wanted to take her in as a concubine—was Huang Heyu, the only son of a wealthy landlord in the neighboring village. A few days ago, he happened to catch a glimpse of Song Yuntang and was instantly captivated by her beauty. Since then, he had been unable to forget her, and eventually sought out Song Yuntang’s Second Aunt-in-law, Ma Zhaolan, to act as a matchmaker.
Zhao Qiao’e was soft-hearted and easily swayed. With this year’s poor harvest, and Song Yuntang frequently seeking opportunities to get close to the Lin family, they merely assumed she was longing for the better days of the past. After discussing it with her husband, she quickly agreed to the proposal.
However, Song Yuntang had lived in the Lin household for thirteen years and had seen firsthand the overt and covert schemes among Lin Yuanwai’s concubines. She held deep disdain for the position of a concubine and would never agree to become one herself.
But because of the upbringing she had received—instilled with the notion that “marriage is dictated by parental orders and the word of the matchmaker”—she had never clearly voiced her objections.
Combined with the stifling life she’d led in recent years, a moment of despair had led her to hang herself from the roof beam.
Fortunately, Zhao Qiao’e had discovered her in time and rescued her, though she had been furious afterward.
As Song Yuntang sorted through her circumstances in her mind, she reaffirmed: becoming a concubine was absolutely out of the question.
Running away wasn’t a viable option either.
If she disappeared, her parents at home wouldn’t know whether she was dead or alive, and they would certainly stop paying the household tax on her behalf. A year without paying tax would lead to her household registration being revoked. And without registration, she’d be considered a lowborn—essentially a pariah. That would only put her in an even worse position.
Unless she cut ties with the family and moved her household registration elsewhere to establish her own residence, there was no way out—but that was easier said than done. Besides, while this family clearly favored Lin Zhaozhao, they hadn’t treated Song Yuntang, their biological daughter, particularly poorly—aside from this marriage arrangement.
Still, at this moment, she absolutely could not allow Ma-shi to keep feeding Zhao Qiao’e those honeyed lies.
Song Yuntang got out of bed, grabbed the broom by the door, and stormed outside, raining blows down on Ma Zhaolan without warning.
“You want me to be a concubine, and you have the nerve to say it’s for my own good? If being a concubine is such a great thing, why don’t you send your own daughter, Song Zhi Mei, in my place!”
Ma Zhaolan shrieked, covering her head as she fled in panic.
“You cursed girl, what are you doing?! I’m your aunt!”
Song Yuntang stabbed the broom into the ground and stared coldly at Ma Zhaolan, who had already been driven out of the Courtyard.
“If you want to be my elder, then act like one. It was because I treated you people too politely in the past that you thought I was easy to bully. If I ever hear you telling me to become a concubine again, I’ll beat you every single time I see you!”
Ma Zhaolan hadn’t expected Song Yuntang to suddenly go berserk. After all, the girl had always maintained the aloof airs of a Lin family Xiaojie, never stooping to their level.
Caught off guard by that cold, piercing voice, she couldn’t help but feel a flicker of dread.
“Hitting me won’t change anything! With that vixen face of yours, always attracting men wherever you go—Young Master Huang has his eyes on you now. Even if it wasn’t through me, he wouldn’t let it go so easily!”
“Are you still not leaving?!”
Song Yuntang lunged forward again. Ma Zhaolan, startled, turned and fled without looking back. Even when her figure had long vanished from sight, her shrill, venomous curses still echoed from a distance.
The neighbors who had been peeking out, pointing and whispering about Song Yuntang, all quickly ducked their heads back inside the moment Ma-shi ran off.
Zhao Qiao’e looked at Song Yuntang with surprise and a hint of scrutiny in her gaze.
“Tang’er, you shouldn’t have done that. She’s still your Aunt. Word of this will spread through the village, and it won’t be good for your reputation.”
Only then did Song Yuntang turn around, fixing her with a cold, distant look.
“In your eyes, haven’t I always been inferior to Lin Zhaozhao? Then why bother caring about something as meaningless as reputation?”
She flung the broom to the ground. Her voice was calm, emotionless.
“This is the last time I’ll say this—if you try to force me into becoming a concubine again, I will go to the village head and the clan elders to formally sever all ties with your family. Sixteen years ago, I was innocent in the mistake that was made. I didn’t steal Lin Zhaozhao’s place—it was never my choice. If we sever our ties, I will leave and go far, far away. I promise you’ll never see me again.”
Seeing that same cold, detached expression that was so familiar, Zhao Qiao’e was struck by the realization that her daughter hadn’t changed at all—she was still the same child she’d given birth to.
“Why bring up Zhaozhao again, out of nowhere?” she sighed. “I thought you were always longing for a better life, that maybe you’d be willing to marry Young Master Huang.”
“Then you’ve sorely misjudged me. I’d rather marry a starving farmer in the mountains than ever become Huang Heyu’s concubine!”
Even after making her stance perfectly clear, Song Yuntang’s tone remained indifferent.
“There’s no need for you to play on emotions with me. I know that in this household, I’ll never truly matter. I also don’t care anymore if you openly or secretly worry about Lin Zhaozhao’s well-being. If possible, I’d rather we part peacefully, on good terms.”
With that, she turned and went back to her room.
The female lead stays with the Song family in the early chapters, but eventually chooses to leave and live independently after losing hope.
She isn’t perfect—just like anyone else.
She’s not someone who blindly adores her younger brother, nor is she a self-sacrificing martyr for her family.