Chapter 001 The Beginning of the Crossing
Xu Zhenying began to have all kinds of strange dreams.
Sometimes she dreamed that she was a chemical worker, washing bottles and preparing reagents in the laboratory every day; Old Man Xu called her, and on the other end of the phone he was yelling and scolding her for not informing him that she had resigned from the civil service system. He only found out about this from the leader of her former unit.
Old man Xu's voice was as loud as a bell, and he scolded her on the phone for a full hour, his voice echoing throughout the laboratory.
Even her doctoral boss came in and jokingly said, "Oh... is your secret exposed? This trial isn't even over yet. Is Director Xu planning to arrest you and have you tried by a military court?"
Xu Zhenying was scolded to the point of bloodshed, but he still had the energy to joke: "It's a good thing I didn't join the army, otherwise he would really arrest me and put me on trial."
The scene changes, and the corridor is deep and the albizzia julibrissin flowers are in full bloom.
In the courtyard building with octagonal flying arches, there are winding paths leading to secluded places, and several cheerful figures pass by.
She saw several little girls in gorgeous clothes hiding behind a curtain with another little girl. Several people were pointing and talking in low voices at the young man behind the curtain. The girl was pushed forward, her face flushed with shame, but she couldn't help but look.
"Look, that's the one from the Zheng family. He looks very tall and straight. I heard he's a scholar, quite remarkable."
"Why did his family come to arrange a marriage so early?"
"It is said that a fortune teller has predicted his fate, and the sooner he gets engaged, the more successful he will be. Otherwise, how could our sixth sister have the chance to marry—"
"I didn't expect that among all of us sisters, Xiaoliu would be the first to find a husband."
Several girls laughed, and the little girl stamped her feet, feeling extremely embarrassed. "I...I...I'm going back first. If Second Aunt finds out that we were peeking, she will definitely not forgive us."
"What are you afraid of? Just be careful not to be discovered by her, okay?"
The girl was so anxious that she quickly refused, "Then...then...how can I do this? This is not good..."
From the distant outer space, it seemed as if she could hear Old Man Xu's gruff voice calling her home for dinner. She was about to follow him home when she was stopped by an old woman in coarse linen clothes. "Sixth Miss, hurry up! The old lady has been waiting for you for a long time—"
But she heard her own voice answering, "Yes, I'll be right there. I'm sorry to have kept Grandma waiting."
Her whole body was burning hot, and her body was sometimes heavy and sometimes light, as if she was floating on the sea, or like a feather slowly falling.
It seems to be raining.
A woman's loving and sad voice came from the distant outer space, calling out "Ying'er" with sobs.
Who is Ying'er?
Why does it look so familiar?
Xu Zhenying was puzzled, and vaguely seemed to recall the face of a little girl. The girl had very pale skin and was frail, with a pair of distinct black and white eyes, two small buns hanging down by her ears, and two dimples on her lips when she smiled.
Despite her young age, she held herself very high, spoke softly, and was very organized. She was a bit introverted, and when the sisters were laughing and playing, she would always hide in the back, and would just smile and shake her head when asked anything.
She recalled the familiar woman's voice, which sounded a little sad. "My daughter Ying'er is so charming and refined. I'm really worried she'll be bullied when she gets married. Fortunately, the young man from the Zheng family seems to be a refined man, and he has the title of a scholar. I think even if he gains power in the future, he won't dare bully my daughter."
Who is speaking?
Xu Zhenying opened his eyes with difficulty from the nightmare, only to see the tearful face.
She was in a trance and thought that it was not raining, but the woman's tears.
Memories naturally flooded into my mind.
She then remembered that she had traveled through time.
She had been in a daze for the past two days and thought she was in a dream. It was not until this moment, when memories that did not belong to her rushed into her mind, that she was truly certain that she had traveled through time.
The original owner was named Xu Qingying, who had just turned thirteen this year. She came from a rural farming and scholarly family. Her ancestors had a modest fortune, but their lives were only slightly better than those of peasants working in the fields. It wasn't until many years ago when her second uncle passed the imperial examination and became an official in the imperial court that her family's fortunes improved.
Xu Qingying was a typical daughter of a minor official, not even an official's daughter. After all, her second uncle was the official, and her father was at most a merchant.
At this moment, the second uncle had caused some trouble in the court, and the entire Xu family was thrown into prison overnight.
Just the day before yesterday, the Zheng family, to which she was engaged, sent someone to say that the marriage was cancelled, but considering the friendship between the two families, they were still willing to let her enter as a concubine.
The original owner was so ashamed and angry that he vomited blood that night. In addition, everyone was busy with their own affairs, so he died quietly.
The last scene she remembered was the bright light in the laboratory, as bright as day.
She realized later that there had been an explosion in the laboratory.
When a colleague was doing a COD concentration experiment, the concentrated sulfuric acid in the digester seemed to be heated for too long. She had previously reminded her colleague to pay attention to the heating temperature and duration.
She was talking to Old Man Xu on the phone at the time and was distracted for a moment and forgot to confirm.
It was probably for this reason that she entered Xu Qingying's body.
Although Xu Zhenying was lucky enough to survive, he now faced a hellish situation when he opened his eyes.
Judging from the situation, Second Uncle is probably dead.
The whole family was either beheaded, exiled, or enslaved.
Xu Zhenying's heart sank.
She's dead...what should Old Man Xu do?
Xu Zhenying and her father had a close relationship since childhood. When Xu Zhenying was still in the army, despite the heavy training, he tried his best to fulfill his responsibilities as a father. Later, seeing that both she and her mother were in poor health, he gave up his dream of becoming a special forces soldier, retired early, and returned to take care of the family.
Xu's mother died of breast cancer when she was in high school. Since then, she and Old Man Xu have depended on each other for survival. Although the father and daughter would argue until their faces turned red and their necks were thick, after all, he was her only relative in the world, so how could she not miss him?
If I had known that I would die young, I would have listened to Old Man Xu and joined the army. At least that would have made up for Old Man Xu's regret.
If she had known, she wouldn't have done it to him every time.
Now, Old Man Xu is the only one left in the world.
"Ying'er, my dear daughter, why are you crying? It hurts so much." The woman hugged her, and when she saw Xu Zhenying crying, she cried even harder.
Xu Zhenying felt a soft head in her arms. Her younger sister, Xu Meixiao, carefully held her in her chubby little arms, her eyes red as a little rabbit. "Sister, I'm so glad you woke up. Auntie was so mean, she said you were dying..."
Miao said angrily, "Amei, don't listen to your aunt's nonsense. The next time you hear such words, go and complain to Grandma!"
Xu Meixiao raised her chubby little hands and said, "Amei knows. Amei will complain."
Xu Zhenying was a little confused, but he immediately recognized the original owner's relatives.
Miao, her mother, was the daughter of an old scholar in the countryside. She was gentle and hardworking.
Xu Huiming, the original owner's eldest brother, was fifteen years old. He passed the examination for becoming a student and was also a gentle person.
Xu Meixiao, the original owner's younger sister, just turned six years old. She was a delicate and pretty girl that everyone loved.
Having so many relatives around all of a sudden made Xu Zhenying, who had always been a loner, feel a little uncomfortable.
Seeing that she was still a little dazed, Xu Huiming couldn't help but worry.
After all, vomiting blood is no small matter.
"Mother, this isn't a solution. If nothing else, let's have the jailer find a doctor..." Xu Qingying's eldest brother, Xu Huiming, also had a worried look on his face. But then he thought about his current situation and said angrily, "Second uncle, this is not the same situation as it was then. How could those bastards who only care about people listen to us? They're dying to trample on us. Now, if we ask them to do something, we'll have to pay them a few taels of silver."
Xu's mother was obviously afraid that the jailer would hear her complaint, so she whispered, "Son, don't talk nonsense! You know we are no longer the same as we were before, don't get yourself into trouble!"
"Mom, brother, don't worry, I'm fine." Xu Zhenying supported himself and sat up, feeling a little dizzy. He felt pain in his chest as soon as he said these two sentences.
Xu Meixiao quickly and sensibly let go of her hand and sat aside, watching her obediently.
The little Loli is so cute, I really want to pinch her.
But when I raised my hand, I had no strength left, and I couldn't bring myself to let it drop.
The family quickly helped her sit up.
Aunt Huang Cui'e glanced at her, patted her chest and exclaimed, "Sixth girl finally woke up. It was a close call. Looking at your face last night, I thought you were going to be pissed off to death by that Zheng family kid... Who knew you'd be so lucky..."
Xu's grandmother, Huang, hadn't eaten or drunk anything in days. The pampered old lady had lost her energy and spirit, and even her scolding lacked the authority of the past. "What's with the death? As an elder, do you even know how to speak? Are you hoping for Qing's death?"
Huang immediately retreated like a tortoise, and humbly said, "Mother, I'm just concerned about Qing. You know I haven't been educated much, and I can't speak like my younger siblings. I deserve a beating!"
Grandmother Xu glared at her in dissatisfaction, regretting that she had made her own sister her own sister's in-law in order to help her family. Her sister had been a troublemaker when she was young, so how could she teach her to be a good person?
The Xu family has been rich in recent years, and she has turned a blind eye to the daughter-in-law of the eldest family who likes to steal and take advantage of the family.
Now that the Xu family is in trouble, the old lady is jumping around like a monkey, becoming more and more annoying.
"That Zheng family kid is such a piece of shit! He seemed like a decent gentleman when we were in school together. But now that our Xu family is in trouble, he can't wait to step on us. How despicable!"
The sound belonged to Xu Huiming. He spat twice and gritted his teeth.
When Xu Zhenying heard what they said, the image of the young man from the Zheng family immediately appeared in his mind.
He is a fair and shy man. He is quiet, calm and seems to be honest and reliable.
Although the two families had frequent interactions, the Great Zhou Dynasty had strict controls on women, and the original owner had limited communication with him, except for giving him a handkerchief after they got engaged.
The most they had ever met was during the Qiqiao Festival one year. He blushed slightly and gave her a rabbit lantern. The two of them exchanged a few words in the dim light.
She still remembered that the young man from the Zheng family had a nice voice and there was a faint light in the depths of his eyes when he looked at her, but she had no further impression of him.
I don't know why the original owner was so deeply in love with him, but she was so angry about taking a concubine that she vomited blood and died.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
