Chapter 1
“Xia Qingqing, get out here! Do you think that just because you fell into the water, Prince Jin will jump in to save your worthless life? Dream on! Have you looked at your own identity? Bah!”

“Miss, you can’t go in. Sixth Miss has caught a cold; don’t catch her illness!”

“Smack!”

A loud slap landed on a little maid’s face outside the room.

“Damn you, get out of my way! How dare you block my path? Let that little wench stop playing dead and drag her out!”

“Wuwuwuwu”

The sounds of curses and cries echoed into a shabby little room.

“My head hurts!”

Xia Qingqing felt a rush of information flooding into her mind.

She forced herself to accept this information, and soon, the pain subsided. She opened her eyes.

She was lying on a cold kang, with a small kang table beside her. A ray of sunlight filtered through the gaps in the wall, and there was a wardrobe with peeling red paint and a table in the room—nothing else.

Xia Qingqing shook her head and sat up, looking at herself. She was wearing thin, tattered clothes, and the cold wind seeped through the cracks in the room, cutting into her like a knife.

She had crossed over!

If it weren’t for the cold wind waking her up, she would have thought she was on the set of a historical drama.

She had been a doctor in a special forces unit from the Blue Dragon KIngdom, following the troops to carry out a mission in the jungle, but ended up being shot in the heart by the enemy and fell into the icy, bone-chilling river.

Unexpectedly, her soul had crossed over into the body of a girl with the same name.

The memories in her mind reminded her that this was the Great Hua Dynasty, a dynasty never recorded in history books.

The previous owner of this body had lived a miserable life.

Her biological father, Xia Jinxing, was a deputy minister of the Ministry of Revenue, a third-rank official.

Xia Qingqing lived in the Xia mansion like a pig or a dog.

Her biological mother was the daughter of a scholar, and Xia Jinxing, a poor scholar, had set his sights on her mother, promising to return and marry her once he achieved success!

He was supported by her maternal grandfather’s family, who provided for his education and living expenses. After passing the imperial examination, he immediately climbed the social ladder and became a favored son-in-law of a high-ranking official.

He married the daughter of the high-ranking official, had sons and daughters, and even took a concubine, living a happy life with his beautiful wife and concubines.

Her mother waited for him to return, year after year.

After many years of waiting, it was a kind-hearted person from the town who went to the capital for business and returned to inform them that Xia Jinxing had become a high official in the capital.

Her grandfather traveled through mountains and rivers to the capital to find this heartless man.

Her grandfather died on the way.

With the help of the kind-hearted person, her mother arrived in the capital and found him.

He was afraid her mother would expose him as an ungrateful man, so he deceived her, taking her to a small courtyard, saying he was also helpless, and forcibly took advantage of her.

Her mother had tried to escape several times but was always stopped by the old women her father had hired. In the end, because her mother was pregnant with her, she had to give up resisting. After giving birth to her, she lived with her in the small courtyard until she was fourteen, but ultimately succumbed to a cold.

Her biological father took her back to the Xia mansion and revealed her background. Madam Yan was so furious that she ground her teeth, but she could not drive her out of the house.

If her political enemies discovered this and reported him for being heartless, it would be a disaster for him, as the previous dynasty had executed a heartless man named Chen Shimei. Her father dared not expose himself; otherwise, it would be a huge problem!

Instead, he raised her in the mansion, treating her as the Sixth Miss, assigning her a little maid of similar age with no background, giving her discarded clothes that the madam and other young ladies no longer wore, and serving her leftover food from the kitchen. They arranged for her to live in the most remote, shabby little courtyard.

Seeing how her master treated her with such disregard, the others followed suit, mocking her, spitting at her, and feeding her dog food.

This was still considered good; sometimes they would deliberately forget about her, letting her and the maid go hungry and cold. The original owner had cautiously tried to please them every day, but all she received in return was more twisted humiliation.

The former Xia Qingqing was weak and had only her indifferent biological father to rely on. As a weak woman, she could hardly survive outside and could only swallow her pride and endure.

Madam Yan and the others, seeing that she was somewhat pretty, planned to find her a middle-aged man or a widower among their acquaintances to marry her off as a concubine when she turned fifteen.

Last night, she and the maid, Xiao Suo, were neglected by the others. It was cold, and they could hardly bear the hunger, so they secretly went to the front courtyard to find something to eat!

Fortunately, there was a banquet being held in the mansion to entertain Prince Jin and other guests, with tables full of various delicacies. She and Xiao Suo were drooling with hunger.

But they could only watch.

They sat by the lotus pond and saw the fat koi swimming in the water. So, she jumped in to catch a koi, intending to bring one back to her little courtyard to roast and eat.

Who would have thought that she would accidentally slip in the lotus pond? Not knowing how to swim, she panicked and flailed in the water. Xiao Suo saw this and immediately shouted for help.

This alarmed the guests at the banquet, and Prince Jin happened to be passing by, preparing to jump in to save her.

Fortunately, Madam Yan reacted quickly and ordered two strong old women to jump into the water and pull her out.

The other three young ladies, seeing Xia Qingqing suddenly emerge, were furious. They believed she had deliberately run out to attract Prince Jin’s attention, trying to climb the social ladder, and they wouldn’t let her succeed!

Thinking of this, Xia Qingqing sighed repeatedly.

Since she had crossed over, she would replace the original owner and live her life well. Life and death were insignificant; she would fight back!

“Little wench, why are you dawdling? Get out here!”

The old woman beside Miss Xia Jinlan kicked the door open and strode in arrogantly.

“Wang Pozi, you… don’t harm the Sixth Miss!”

Xiao Suo rushed in, extending her arms to block in front of Xia Qingqing.

In the past, these old women had been sent by the madams and young ladies, and when they entered the room, they would find any excuse to violently bully the Sixth Miss. The Sixth Miss could only curl up in a corner, holding her head, allowing them to kick and beat her.

After they vented their anger, they would naturally leave.

“Get out of the way! She stole the pearl necklace that Miss lost in the garden. Miss sent me in to get it back! If she doesn’t hand it over, I’ll kill her!”

Wang Pozi grinned savagely, wiped her mouth, and flexed her wrists.

Xiao Suo turned to tightly hug Xia Qingqing, turning her back to Wang Pozi so she wouldn’t see the Sixth Miss.

Xia Qingqing whispered to Xiao Suo, “You go outside and close the door. I’ll handle her alone!”

Xia Qingqing was pale and thin from being in the water and catching a cold, her body weak, but she had already spotted a small kang table. She could use it to smash Wang Pozi’s head.

“Miss, I’ll stay and help you. Even if it means getting beaten to death, Xiao Suo will follow you!”

“No, leave now!”

Wang Pozi’s robust figure was already closing in. The blood vessels in Xia Qingqing’s body surged with adrenaline. She abruptly pushed Xiao Suo away and swiftly grabbed the small table, smashing it down on Wang Pozi’s head.

“Wang Pozi, if you’ve got the guts, come and take it yourself!”

Dazed by the blow, Wang Pozi stumbled back a few steps, clutching her head.

She stared at Xia Qingqing in disbelief as fresh blood trickled down her forehead.

The Xia Qingqing who used to endure insults and beatings had suddenly changed today—she had even fought back?!

Even Xiao Suo, standing to the side, was stunned!

Blood dripped into Wang Pozi’s eyes, but as she came to her senses, the cold, piercing light in Xia Qingqing’s eyes made her tremble all over.

It was as if she had seen a grim reaper coming to claim her life. With a terrified scream, Wang Pozi bolted from the room.

“The wretched girl is a murderer!” she shrieked.

Xia Qingqing stood up, rolled her neck, and muttered, “I need to take good care of my body and grow stronger. If I were in better shape, I’d have knocked her down with just one hit!”