Chapter 1

Yin Xiaoman had a dream.

In the dream, she repeatedly witnessed the life of a woman who shared the same name as her.

This made her feel very strange.

She clearly remembered that she had already died.

She had died after enduring eighteen years of hardship, finally surviving until the day the new emperor ascended the throne and granted an amnesty. It was on the day she was released from the palace.

Yin Xiaoman couldn’t understand why, after death, she would still have dreams.

She wanted to ask, but before she could, the scene suddenly shifted, and the woman jumped off a cliff.

Yin Xiaoman was caught off guard and instinctively reached out to pull her back—

And then, she woke up.

She sat up.

Only then did she realize that she was in a dilapidated old house.

The thin cotton mattress on the earthen bed made her back ache.

Her gaze swept across the room, and she saw only a few pieces of furniture, most of the paint already worn off. The paper on the window was yellowed and brittle, and a feeling of decay lingered in the air.

She couldn’t help but furrow her brow.

Ever since she became the Head Maid of the Imperial Kitchen, it had been years since she had lived in such a rundown place.

Could it be that the woman had preferred death over staying in such poverty?

Suddenly, a small sound broke Yin Xiaoman’s thoughts.

She turned her head in the direction of the sound and froze in place.

“Third Princess?!” She cried out in surprise.

On the other side of the bed, a little girl was curled up.

She was about two or three years old, thin and small, with a sharp chin, large eyes, and pale skin. She was unmistakably the Third Princess, the one whom the late emperor had once cherished the most!

Yin Xiaoman quickly scrambled over to the bed.

“Third Princess…”

“Mother.”

The girl shrank back into the corner in fear as she saw Yin Xiaoman approaching, trembling all over. A layer of mist slowly covered her dark eyes. “I won’t do it again, Erniu won’t do it again.”

Yin Xiaoman was stunned at the words.

She glanced at the half-eaten sweet potato that the girl had dropped on the ground and finally realized that she was no longer in the Daming Dynasty.

The girl in front of her was no longer the Third Princess, but the stepdaughter that the original Yin Xiaoman had brought back from her in-laws when the family split—

Shen Erniu.

Yin Xiaoman couldn’t help but reach out and rub the yellowish hair of Erniu.

She then took a deep breath, holding it in, and absorbed all the memories of the original Yin Xiaoman.

The Yin Xiaoman of this world had also led a difficult life.

She had fled with her parents from a famine when she was young and arrived in Shuanggui Village. There were no relatives in the village.

Because her parents only had her and no brothers, their family became well-known in the village as one that would end with no heirs.

Usually, life was fine; she was the sole recipient of her parents’ affection and had never suffered. She even managed to graduate from high school, becoming the only high school student in the village.

If it weren’t for the bad times, with the school being closed, her parents had even planned to support her through university.

But the good days didn’t last long.

At the beginning of the year, her mother passed away suddenly. Within two months, her father was bedridden with illness.

Fearing that Yin Xiaoman wouldn’t be able to take care of herself, before he died, her father desperately asked the village Party secretary for help, urging him to find her a match. He arranged for her to marry Shen Qingyun, a widower who had just returned to visit his family.

At that time, Shen Qingyun had recently lost his wife. Working in the military, he couldn’t take care of his children on his own, so he had to send his two children back to his parents’ home during his leave.

Since he had kept his marriage and children a secret from his family, bringing the two children back caused a great disturbance in the Shen family, making things extremely difficult for him.

When it was heard that the Yin family was willing to marry their only daughter to him and help care for his children, seeking only a place to stay, Shen Qingyun agreed without hesitation.

Yin Xiaoman’s father held on until he saw their marriage certificate, obtained from the commune, confirming that his daughter had a place to rely on before he passed away with a smile.

But he could never have imagined that less than six months after his death, his only daughter would be forced to split from the Shen family and move back to her own old house.

Not only did she return alone, but she also brought with her Shen Qingyun’s two children.

If Yin Xiaoman’s father had known, he would probably have jumped out of his grave in anger.

In fact, it wasn’t entirely Shen Qingyun’s fault.

Although he was eager to return to the military, he hadn’t treated Yin Xiaoman unfairly.

Not only did he give her a dowry of thirty yuan, but he secretly gave her an additional twenty yuan to help with her father’s funeral expenses.

But the problem lay in the twenty yuan…

Yin Xiaoman rubbed her forehead, realizing that she had returned to the winter of 1964, shortly after the woman had separated from the Shen family.

“Big Bao, why are you the one out collecting firewood again? Where’s your stepmother? Still not up?”

“Oh dear, this poor thing, out in the cold weather.”

“I tell you, Big Bao, don’t count on your stepmother. Just take your sister back to your grandmother’s house. At least they’ll have something to eat, and you won’t starve. With her delicate appearance, if you rely on her, she might die of hunger in the house and no one would know.”

——

Outside, a group of people had gathered at some point, loudly discussing something. From the noise, it was clear they were making sure that Yin Xiaoman, lying on the bed, could hear their words.

The original Yin Xiaoman wasn’t well-liked in the village.

Yin Xiaoman furrowed her brow, silently reflecting on this.

After a moment of thought, she decided to get off the bed and gently extended her hand toward Erniu, saying softly, “Brother’s back. Let’s go out and see.”

Just seeing the little girl’s face made Yin Xiaoman think of the late Third Princess, and a wave of sadness washed over her. It was so overwhelming that she couldn’t control the urge to be kind to her.

But clearly, the original Yin Xiaoman had not been close to this girl.

When Erniu saw her reaching to hold her, she instinctively tensed up, leaning back away from her.

Her body clearly resisted, but she didn’t dare say anything. Her pale little face was filled with fear.

Yin Xiaoman paused, pulling back her hand.

She turned around, took the thin quilt she had covered herself with earlier, and draped it over the girl.

Then, she smiled at her reassuringly before walking out by herself.

As soon as she stepped out of the main room, she heard the courtyard gate creak open, and a small, skinny boy about five or six years old came in carrying a bundle of dry firewood taller than him.

When he saw her, the boy paused for a moment, his steps halting briefly, then hurried toward the kitchen.

He quickly unloaded the firewood and, after a bit of fussing around inside, came out holding a coarse ceramic bowl covered with a clean white cloth, walking over to present it to Yin Xiaoman.

As if afraid she wouldn’t understand, he pushed it closer to her, his eyes filled with nervousness and unease.

Yin Xiaoman lifted the white cloth and looked inside the bowl. It contained two rough, grainy flatbreads.

The flatbreads were still slightly warm, suggesting they had just been steamed.

She looked at the sun rising in the east, and after a long silence, Yin Xiaoman finally asked, “Did you steam these?”

The boy nodded, then quickly lowered his gaze, his hands instinctively balling into fists inside the sleeves of his cotton coat.

Yin Xiaoman searched hard in her mind for the memories that remained.

After a long time, she only found a faint impression.

It seemed that during the time just after the family split, the original Yin Xiaoman had been in a bad mood, and she had vented her frustration on the two children.

Not only did she neglect their basic needs, but she also frequently scolded and berated them, resenting them for being a burden on her life.

The two children, having just entered a new environment, were already nervous and frightened. With their stepmother yelling at them every day, they became even more anxious and fearful.

Big Bao, being older and more thoughtful, was afraid that his stepmother would throw them away for being dumb, so he pushed himself to work hard, learn how to cook, and carefully try to please the original Yin Xiaoman.

Just like today, without asking, one could tell that the child must have gotten up before dawn.

He had steamed the flatbreads first, then immediately gone up the mountain to chop firewood.

Seeing how flustered he looked, it was likely that he hadn’t dared to eat breakfast.

“Go wash your hands.”

Yin Xiaoman looked at Big Bao with a complex expression. After giving the order, she took the bowl and returned to the inner room.

She first tidied up the bed, set the table, and then brought Erniu over, breaking a small piece of the flatbread and gently placing it in her mouth. “Eat.”

As soon as Erniu saw the flatbread, her eyes brightened.

This time, she didn’t refuse. Instead, she opened her mouth wide like a little bird begging for food, her face full of joy.

“Thank you, Mother.”

After finishing the bite, the little girl flashed a timid smile at Yin Xiaoman, speaking in a soft, childlike voice.

The expression was so heartwarming that it stirred an indescribable feeling inside.

“Eat slowly.”

Yin Xiaoman reached out to ruffle her hair, then broke another piece of flatbread and handed it to Erniu.

Afterward, she waved at Big Bao, who had just entered the room and was standing by the bed with a look of surprise on his face. “Come up and eat.”

Then, she added another instruction: “Watch over your sister. Don’t let her drop crumbs on the bed.”

Hearing her command, Big Bao seemed to relax, nodding firmly. He placed the things he was holding on the table and quickly climbed onto the bed.

It was only then that Yin Xiaoman noticed he had been holding a small bowl, inside which was a very dark and coarse grain bun.

It was clearly the food he had prepared for himself.

Yin Xiaoman parted her lips but didn’t speak, merely casting one more glance at the bun.

Having worked in the Imperial Kitchen for many years, she had seen and tasted a wide variety of food.

But this… she couldn’t even tell what it was made of.

Its rough texture and the faint sour taste it emitted made her lose her appetite just from looking at it.

A child this small had to eat this every day? No wonder he hadn’t survived past seven years old.

She reached out, took the dark bun, and then placed another coarse grain flatbread in Big Bao’s hand. “Eat this.”

Before Big Bao could refuse, she took a bite of the dark bun herself.

Instantly, a bitter and sour taste quickly filled her entire mouth, nearly making her spit it out.

Out of the corner of her eye, Yin Xiaoman saw Big Bao watching her with a worried expression. She had no choice but to brace herself and quickly chew the bun, swallowing it down.

Instantly, she felt a sharp, burning pain in her throat, as though something had scraped it. Tears almost welled up in her eyes.

Seeing her struggle, Big Bao reached out and patted his sister.

Erniu, who had been eating happily, looked up at her brother, who gestured at her, and nodded.

She then turned to Yin Xiaoman and translated, “Mother, Brother says you should eat the flatbread.”

After a brief moment of hesitation, Erniu didn’t listen to her brother but instead handed over the small half-piece of flatbread that she had already bitten into, now crumbled and messy.

As the Head Maid of the Imperial Kitchen, Yin Xiaoman had never lacked for food over the years. She had lived a life full of delicacies, tasting rare and exotic dishes, even having a first taste at royal feasts.

But now, looking at the coarse grain bun in her hand, and then at the mixed grain flatbreads handed to her by the two children, a wave of despair surged within her.

How could life have become this poor?

Where exactly had she been sent to? When would this kind of life ever end?