"Mother! This older sister hasn't woken up yet. Could it be that she fell into the sea and drowned?"
"Pah! My dear girl, don't talk nonsense!"
"Young Master Ruan, why don't we pray to the Goddess Mazu? People by the sea believe in the Goddess Mazu; she's very efficacious!"
"Yes! If we kowtow in the direction of Mazu, as long as we are sincere, perhaps the young lady can come back to life."
......
My chest felt tight and uncomfortable, as if I were still underwater.
Ruan Meng's consciousness separated from her body. She remembered that before she lost consciousness, she was moving the operating room to perform surgery on her comrade when suddenly the alarm sounded—the harbor garrison had been attacked...
Then, my consciousness drifted into this body.
A memory that didn't belong to her forcefully squeezed into her mind. This body shared the same name as her, Ruan Meng, the youngest daughter of Ruan Mingyuan, the former Imperial Censor of the Zhou Dynasty.
The reason he was called "former" is because he had already passed away, and his blood splattered on the spot when he struck a pillar in the Golden Palace.
This is an alternate history, where a new emperor has just ascended the throne and is massacring his former officials.
The Ruan family was raided and exiled, but because of the censor's reputation for integrity, no relatives or collateral branches were harmed.
After the original owner's father went to court, his sister-in-law dismissed the servants. Even though the steward, maids, and guards were determined to follow her to the death, the original owner's elder brother patiently persuaded her to leave.
The four siblings and their sister-in-law were exiled, a truly hellish start.
My elder brother is frail and sickly. He suffered from high fever and fell into a coma several times along the way. Fortunately, my sister-in-law took good care of him, which helped him barely hold on.
My second brother is timid as a mouse and careless. When he encounters snakes, rats, insects and ants on the road, he jumps around in fright and terrifies people. If it weren't for the fact that the exiles were of good character, he would have been beaten eight hundred times over!
Third Brother is impulsive and short-tempered; if it weren't for the kind-hearted and good-tempered escort, the grass on his grave would be as tall as a person!
Original owner...
That's incredible! He's an idiot!
The mother died in childbirth, and the original owner's prolonged stay in the womb affected his intelligence; he was supposed to be fourteen years old, but had the mental capacity of a five or six-year-old child...
On the three-thousand-mile exile journey, even healthy convicts could hardly survive, but the eldest sister-in-law, with her two brothers, took care of the original owner all the way, even when her eldest brother was unconscious several times.
Unfortunately, when the escorting officers were leading the convicts across the strait, the waves were too high, and the original owner and several other exiles were blown into the sea. The eldest brother was still unconscious, and the second and third brothers bravely jumped into the sea, but alas, they were just one step too late...
The original owner of this body has already passed away, and it seems that Ruan Meng has also died in her original world.
In her previous life, Ruan Meng had lost all her family. Now that she has taken over the original owner's body and has such good family, she will definitely take good care of them for the original owner.
Having just absorbed the original owner's memories, several voices pierced my eardrums.
"Meng'er! Meng'er..."
A few drops of cool liquid landed on my face.
Ruan Meng felt that her body was somewhat weak and frail when she hugged herself.
Then, I was pulled into another warm embrace.
"Mengmeng! You can't die! Look at your second brother!"
As his body tilted, someone forcefully turned his shoulder.
"Little sister! Wake up, little sister! Wake up!"
Ruan Meng felt like her heart was about to be shaken out. She slowly opened her eyes, spat out a puddle of water, and sprayed it onto a handsome face.
Ruan Zheng wiped his face, unable to hide his joy.
Then, three more smiling faces came into view, some crying tears of joy.
Using the original owner's memories, Ruan Meng recognized them as her eldest brother, eldest sister-in-law, and second brother.
Seeing that Ruan Meng had regained consciousness, several people nearby were weeping bitterly, their bodies pressed against the ship's railing...
Their clothes were dry.
"That's great!"
"Yes! The Goddess Mazu has appeared!"
......
The prisoners on the ship cheered, but the escort officer looked solemn and his smile froze as he looked out.
The South Island is visible in the distance, but as far as the eye can see, it is desolate.
Through the original owner's memories and the conversations between the escorts and the convicts along the way, Ruan Meng learned that the South Island and the modern city of Hainan were similar in geographical location.
During the Zhou Dynasty, it was also the most desolate place, with damp and miasma along the way. It was the place where the emperor could deal with criminals he wanted to kill but could not openly execute.
Of those exiled, only one or two out of ten survived.
Even with the mutual assistance among the exiled prisoners and the kindness of the escorts, half of them still died on this trip.
The Ruan siblings survived not only because of the elder sister-in-law's strength and virtue, but also because of the bundles prepared by her family when they saw her off.
Because of the exile, even if the escorts were bribed, they were not allowed to bring too many supplies.
Besides the loose silver for expenses, there were two small bundles filled with the eldest brother's usual medicines, including special medicines for insect repellent, snake bite prevention, and high fever treatment. They all came in very handy.
"Mother! I'm scared!"
Ruan Meng recognized the voice as that of the little girl who had thought she was dead when she was unconscious.
The little girl huddled behind her mother, staring at the surging sea with a look of fear on her face.
The remaining convicts, ragged and emaciated, gazed at the vast sea and the gray land, their hearts filled with despair.
Ruan Meng turned her head and observed the expressions of her three older brothers and sister-in-law.
Although his eyes were unsettled, his expression remained calm.
The eldest sister-in-law didn't care or worry about what the island was like. She lowered her head and gently squeezed her eldest brother's collar, worried that he would catch a cold from the sea breeze.
Mu Ning smiled and looked towards Nandao Island, her eyes shining brightly.
A land of miasma and death?
Hmph! In her previous life, she grew up on an island and knew everything about seafood. After joining the army, she studied both traditional Chinese and Western medicine and was skilled in both martial arts and medicine. Even if you left her on a deserted island, she could still manage to build a three-bedroom mansion!
Moreover, this is the South Island, which has long been inhabited...
A skilled player doesn't mind having a bad hand; they can easily pull off a winning hand!
Ruan Meng was already looking forward to it. With the beachcombing and sea fishing skills she had honed in her previous life, she was going to take over the entire ocean!
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