The remnant soul of the frozen lake
cold.
Bone-chilling cold.
It was an extreme cold that penetrated the skin and flesh, reached the bone marrow, and even froze the soul.
Su Qingyue's consciousness sank in the darkness, as if trapped in the depths of an endless, icy sea. Her last memory was of a modern laboratory—the piercing alarm, the shattered petri dish, the splattered unknown liquid, and a violent wave of dizziness…
Then there's this place, with its chilling and suffocating atmosphere that can drive people crazy.
The instinct for survival overwhelmed all her chaotic thoughts. She struggled violently, and the icy, foul-smelling lake water instantly filled her mouth and nose, choking her and causing a burning pain in her lungs. Her hands and feet were already numb with cold, but she still struggled upwards with all her might.
"Splash—"
The sound of water breaking through the silence was particularly jarring. Su Qingyue greedily inhaled the cold but precious air, her vision blurred, and she could only barely make out that she was in an artificial lake covered with a thin layer of ice, surrounded by pavilions and towers with carved beams and painted rafters, covered in white snow, all in an antique style.
Where is this? A film set? Or... a retro-themed club?
Before she could sort out her thoughts, a heart-wrenching cry came from not far away:
"Miss! Miss, hold on! Someone help! Please save my young lady!"
A young girl wearing a light blue jacket and with her hair in two buns scrambled to the lakeside, her face pale and covered in tears and snot. She tried to reach out and pull Su Qingyue out of the water, but the distance was too great.
Su Qingyue's jaw trembled. With her last bit of strength, she dragged her almost frozen body and struggled to climb onto the lake shore. The icy air, upon contact with her soaked clothes, drew away even more heat, causing her to shiver uncontrollably, her lips turning purple.
"Miss...you...you're not dead? Thank goodness! Thank God!" The maid rushed over, took off her worn-out cotton coat, and hurriedly wrapped it around Su Qingyue, her tears flowing even more fiercely. "It's all Qingdai's fault for being useless. She couldn't stop Miss...and watched helplessly as she pushed you down..."
Young lady? Push her down?
A buzzing sound filled Su Qingyue's mind as countless unfamiliar fragments of memory surged into her brain like a burst dam—
The illegitimate daughter of the Prime Minister's family, sharing the same name Su Qingyue, lost her birth mother at a young age. Her father neglected her, and her stepmother mistreated her, subjecting her to constant bullying. Just now, by the lake, her elder sister, the legitimate daughter Su Qingxue, deliberately pushed her into the icy lake over a dispute about a hairpin… suffocating… despair…
She, the last descendant of an ancient medical family in the 21st century, and a top student at a leading medical school, actually... time-traveled?
And the game starts on hell difficulty—you've just been murdered!
"Heh..." A very soft, absurd laugh escaped her throat. What was this? A buy-one-get-one-free deal on an accidental death in a medical experiment? A mysterious gift package from time travel?
"Miss? What's wrong? Don't scare Qingdai!" The maid Qingdai was so frightened by the unprecedented coldness and mockery on her mistress's face that she forgot to cry.
Su Qingyue (from now on, she was herself) took a deep breath of the icy air, forcing herself to calm down. As a doctor, she knew that saving lives was the most important thing at this moment. If hypothermia worsened, even a miracle wouldn't save her.
She quickly checked herself and found that apart from being freezing cold, having some water in her lungs, and having some abrasions on her limbs, there were no fatal injuries. However, the original owner's body had been malnourished for a long time and had a very poor constitution, so it was inevitable that she would catch a cold after this incident.
"I...I'm fine," she said, her voice hoarse and dry, carrying a chill from the moisture. "Help me back." The most urgent thing was to get out of this open-air icebox, change out of her wet clothes, and keep warm.
However, trouble always follows.
"Oh, isn't this our third sister? What happened to you, all soaked to the bone? This is really...undignified."
A delicate, affected female voice, tinged with obvious schadenfreude, rang out.
Su Qingyue looked up and saw a young girl wearing a bright red felt cloak and adorned with jewels walking gracefully towards her, surrounded by a group of maids and servants. It was none other than her "good sister" from her memories—Su Qingxue.
She was beautiful, but at this moment a wicked smile was playing on her lips as her gaze swept over Su Qingyue's soaked and disheveled body with contempt.
Qingdai trembled with fright and instinctively stepped in front of Su Qingyue, her voice trembling, "Miss...Miss, the Third Miss just fell into the lake and needs to go back and change her clothes quickly..."
"Fell in?" Su Qingxue raised an eyebrow, interrupting her. "It was clearly her own accidental fall into the water. Why do you make it sound like someone pushed her? Qingdai, do you know what the punishment is for falsely accusing your mistress?"
The two burly women behind her immediately stepped forward, glaring fiercely at Qingdai.
Qingdai's face paled even more, and she shrank back, but stubbornly refused to move aside.
Su Qingyue watched this scene quietly, the pride of a modern soul within her ignited completely. She pushed away Qingdai, who was trying to protect her, and shakily straightened herself. Although she looked disheveled, her upright spine and cold eyes inexplicably put Su Qingxue under pressure.
“Sister,” Su Qingyue spoke, her voice not loud, but clearly reaching everyone’s ears, “When I fell into the water, I seemed to feel a sharp pain in the back of my neck, as if I had been hit by something hard. Now that I think about it, it wasn’t an accident, but rather… I was ambushed.”
As she spoke, she carefully observed Su Qingxue's expression. Sure enough, the other woman's eyes flickered with slight panic, but she quickly regained her composure.
"What nonsense are you spouting!" Su Qingxue rebuked, her voice sharp but her tone weak. "You're trying to blame someone else for your own carelessness? I think you've drunk too much lake water and your brain is fogged up! Guards, take the Third Miss back to her courtyard to 'rest properly.' She's not allowed to leave without my orders!"
Is this an attempt to lock her up and leave her to fend for herself?
Su Qingyue sneered inwardly. If it were the original Su Qingyue, she probably would have truly accepted her fate. Unfortunately, now her body houses a soul from the 21st century, proficient in both traditional Chinese and Western medicine.
Just as the two old women were about to step forward to arrest her, Su Qingyue suddenly raised her hand to her forehead, her body swayed, and her voice was weak yet precise:
"No need for you to worry, sister. But right now I'm feeling dizzy, short of breath, and my limbs are cold with bluish fingertips... These symptoms don't seem like simple drowning and catching a chill, but rather more like... signs of being poisoned by some kind of cold toxin."
She deliberately slowed her speech, making every word crystal clear.
Upon hearing the words "cold poison," Su Qingxue and the old woman behind her both subtly changed their expressions. The underhanded methods within this deep-seated mansion were an open secret, but once exposed, the nature of the situation changed.
"You...you're making false accusations!" Su Qingxue shrieked. "Who would poison you?"
"Oh?" Su Qingyue lowered her hand, a faint smile curving her dark purple lips. Her eyes were sharp as a scalpel, as if they could dissect a person's heart. "How did you know I was talking about 'poisoning'? I only mentioned 'signs of cold poison' just now. Perhaps you accidentally ate something? You seem very certain about it?"
The casual question was like a silent slap, leaving Su Qingxue speechless, her face flushing red and then pale. She was shocked to realize that her usually timid and easily bullied half-sister's eyes had become so intimidating. Her gaze seemed to pierce through her skin, peering into the darkest corners of her heart.
The air around them seemed to freeze. The servants held their breath, afraid to make a sound. This third young lady... seems different.
Under her all-knowing gaze, Su Qingxue felt a pang of guilt and her forced arrogance diminished. She stamped her foot, her voice laced with bravado, "You...you're talking nonsense! I'm not going to bother with a nuisance like you! Let's go!"
After saying that, as if afraid that Su Qingyue would say something else shocking, he hurriedly left with his people, his back view showing a bit of panic.
The threat has been temporarily averted.
Qingdai stared in disbelief at everything, unable to believe her eyes. Miss… Miss actually managed to subdue the arrogant and domineering young lady with just a few words?
“Miss… what you just said about the cold poison…” Qingdai’s voice was filled with lingering fear.
Su Qingyue breathed a sigh of relief. As her forced composure weakened, a wave of chill and weakness washed over her again. Leaning against Qingdai, she whispered, "I was just bluffing. Quick, help me back."
She was indeed deceiving Su Qingxue. Whether the original owner was poisoned before falling into the water is still unknown, but she was well-versed in pharmacology and knew that many symptoms could be artificially created or manipulated. In this cannibalistic inner court, showing weakness and resigning oneself only leads to death. Sometimes, taking the initiative and creating suspicion is the best way to protect oneself.
Qingdai seemed to understand, but looking at her mistress's pale face and determined eyes, she felt inexplicably at ease and supported her firmly, saying, "Miss, let's go home."
go home?
Su Qingyue wrapped the old cotton coat she was wearing tightly around her neck, still warm from Qingdai's body, and with the help of her maid, she stumbled and staggered toward the dilapidated little courtyard in her memory where the original owner had lived, a place comparable to a cold palace.
A cold wind swirled snowflakes, stinging her face. She glanced back at the icy lake and the direction Su Qingxue had gone.
In her eyes lay the coldness and resolve of Su Qingyue, a modern soul.
She remembered the humiliation and harm this body endured. She accepted this unexpected rebirth.
The road ahead is long and fraught with danger. But since God has given her a second life, she will never fade away silently in this secluded mansion like the original owner.
She wanted to live, and to live with dignity and freedom!
She will demand repayment of everything owed to her.
Let the first spark of this rebirth begin in the Prime Minister's residence.
---
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
