Li Zhiyue rubbed her eyes.

She closed them and opened again, but everything before her remained unchanged.

The redwood bed with its intricate latticework, the carved begonia-patterned table, and the riot of colorful flowers outside the window.

Damn it, where is this?

She had gone to sleep right after eating her late-night snack last night. Shouldn’t she be in her own home?

Who was playing a prank on her?

While Li Zhiyue was confused, a person suddenly rushed in with tears like pear blossoms in the rain.

“Yue’er, you’re finally awake!”

At that moment, a flood of memories poured into Li Zhiyue’s mind.

…

…

She actually… had transmigrated into a book!

Good news: she had become the eldest daughter of a prestigious marquis family, healthy and well-fed.

Bad news: according to the story, the marquis family would soon fall from grace, the entire family reduced to begging, later having their home confiscated and being exiled.

A tragic fate indeed.

Li Zhiyue froze.

“Yue’er, do you feel unwell anywhere?”

The person held her with concern, urging the maids outside to quickly fetch a doctor.

Li Zhiyue hurriedly said, “I’m fine.”

The person before her was the original body’s mother, Lady Bai Ruzhu of the Xiangyang Marquis household.

Bai Ruzhu had once been known as the most beautiful woman in the capital when young; now over thirty, her charm had not diminished.

The marquis family had only one son per generation for eight generations, and Bai Ruzhu had a son and then a daughter — naturally, the daughter was spoiled rotten.

The original body was known in the capital as a prodigal daughter who squandered money like water.

Her grandfather was an old rake, her father a useless man, and her elder brother a debauched heir; the three men combined could not earn a single tael of silver.

They lived off ancestral wealth, plus the mistress of the house managed poorly… So the family fortune quickly declined.

The decline of the marquis family was one thing.

The real problem was that they soon committed some crime and were exiled by the imperial court.

The original body was a delicate young lady who could not withstand such hardship and died on the way before even leaving the capital.

Li Zhiyue swallowed hard and hesitantly asked, “How old am I now?”

Bai Ruzhu smiled, “You just had your coming-of-age ceremony last month. Have you already forgotten?”

Li Zhiyue breathed a sigh of relief.

The family’s exile happened when the original body was seventeen.

There were still two years to go — no need to panic yet.

“By the way, Yue’er,” Bai Ruzhu said, “why did you suddenly faint?”

Li Zhiyue gathered her memories.

The original body had choked on some dessert and fainted, and when she woke up, the consciousness inside had changed to hers.

Her brow immediately furrowed.

She recalled that something important had happened on this day.

“Mother, where is Father?” Li Zhiyue pretended to feel wronged, “I fainted, why hasn’t Father come to see me?”

Bai Ruzhu comforted her, “Your father doesn’t even know you’re sick yet. Once he returns from the court, he will come to see you.”

As soon as she finished speaking, a servant outside came to deliver a message: “Madam, the Marquis has gone to Osmanthus Alley and won’t return for lunch.”

At the mention of Osmanthus Alley, Li Zhiyue immediately sat up straighter.

Years ago, when her father left the capital on official business, he was ambushed by bandits but saved by a heroic man who died in the process, entrusting his wife and children to the Xiangyang Marquis household.

The Marquis family was extremely benevolent to orphans and widows.

They bought a residence, set up a shop, and gave money.

However, the widow Zhen had ulterior motives — she wanted to climb into the original owner’s father’s bed.

It must have been on this very day that she succeeded and became the concubine of the Marquis family.

Bai Ruzhu couldn’t compete with the scheming widow.

Within three months of her arrival, Bai Ruzhu was so tormented she fell ill and died on a cold autumn night.

Li Zhiyue definitely didn’t want to lose her mother right after arriving.

She turned to the servant, “Why did Father go to Osmanthus Alley? Is something urgent?”

The servant bowed and replied, “It seems the Widow Zhen’s youngest son is ill.”

Li Zhiyue deliberately said, “If the child is sick, why not call my mother? It looks like someone was just waiting outside the Marquis household for my father.”

Bai Ruzhu frowned.

Now that she thought about it, something did seem off.

Whenever something happened to Zhen, she never came to the mistress but always sought out the Marquis.

Li Zhiyue stood up, “The Lu family has saved our Marquis family’s life; Mother, we must go visit them.”

Bai Ruzhu tried to stop her, “You’re still weak. I’ll go.”

But Li Zhiyue had already stepped outside.

She lifted the door curtain.

Just as she stepped over the threshold, a wave of heat hit her face.

It was so hot she staggered backward.

Outside, the blazing sun hung high like a fireball roasting the earth. It was midsummer — the hottest time of the year.

She hadn’t felt the heat before because the room contained dozens of ice basins, keeping the temperature inside at about twenty-six or twenty-seven degrees, almost like modern air conditioning, while outside it was over thirty-five degrees.

“Outside is hot; we’ll take sedan chairs.”

Bai Ruzhu ordered, and immediately two sedan chairs were brought over.

When the curtains were lifted, a rush of cool air came out — even these sedan chairs contained ice blocks.

Li Zhiyue silently sat inside.

Before the family fell from grace, she might as well enjoy the good life.

After leaving the mansion, it took about the time of one tea serving to reach Osmanthus Alley.

The sedan stopped at the gate of a quaint little courtyard.

This was prime real estate at the foot of the capital’s city — even some officials from poor backgrounds couldn’t afford to buy homes and had to rent, yet the Marquis family had spent three thousand taels of silver to buy this courtyard for Widow Zhen.

Three thousand taels was roughly equivalent to about two million RMB today.

A servant stood outside the courtyard gate. Seeing his mistress and young lady approaching, he hurriedly said, “The Marquis is inside. I’ll go inform him.”

Li Zhiyue smiled, “We’re family; no need to notify him.”

She pushed open the gate.

Just a few steps inside, she heard a man’s voice.

She immediately relaxed, just in time.

Bai Ruzhu couldn’t help but say, “There isn’t a single servant here. Widow Zhen’s life seems too lonely. I’ll have someone send two maids here.”

Li Zhiyue: “…”

The other woman was constantly scheming how to get into your husband’s bed, and you worry she lives too lonely?

No wonder — heaven is fair: granting beauty always takes away the brain.

Turning a corridor corner, the voices came clearer.

Li Zhiyue saw two people in the west wing — her “stepfather” Li Suifeng and the widowed Zhen — sitting at a small round table, talking.

Zhen’s eyes were like silk, full of coquettish charm.

A single man and a widow — the atmosphere seemed about to reach a certain level…