Chapter 1
Sitting on the bus, observing the young people these days, I saw they were all either holding cell phones, e-readers, or large-screen MP3 players. They were either reading novels or watching movies or other forms of entertainment. Qi Xiaoman was one of them. Having just been admitted to the literature department of a university, Qi Xiaoman was on her way to school, holding her phone and reading the most popular fan fiction on a certain website this year.
Qi Xiaoman laughed as she read, completely oblivious to the scenery outside the window. She was reading fan fiction of "Princess Pearl," though "Princess Pearl" wasn't entirely accurate; it was more like fan fiction based on Qiong Yao's film and television adaptations. Some authors had added the New Moon and Plum Blossom characters to "Princess Pearl," while others had incorporated "One Curtain of Dreams." Qi Xiaoman treated all these novels as farces. After finishing one, she sighed. This Xia Ziwei was utterly shameless! How had her mother raised her? How come she herself had laughed and cried along with the characters in "Princess Pearl" back then, but now, after reading a few anti-grandmother books, everything had been turned upside down?
Qi Xiaoman was disdainful of time travel, but she couldn't help but fantasize. If she were to travel into the world of "Princess Pearl," she would definitely go and be a passerby, watching the spectacle unfold. She wouldn't want to be an empress, a grand empress, or Emperor Qianlong—those people were too tragic, being tormented by a bunch of idiots. She'd just have popcorn—no, sachima (a type of Chinese pastry). Back then, there was no popcorn, so she'd have sachima, drink her best milk tea, and watch the farce. Of course, wishes are beautiful, but reality is cruel. How could Qi Xiaoman so easily become just a passerby?
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Qi Xiaoman blinked. She was just on a bus, so how come she was lying on a couch now? Damn, it was an antique-style couch.
"Miss, you're finally awake! I'll go call Madam right away." A little maid ran out. Qi Xiaoman rubbed her temples, carefully sat up, and looked around. Well, the things here gave off an ancient feel. Qi Xiaoman carefully got off the bed, touching this and that. What were all these things? Reason told Qi Xiaoman that this couldn't be a movie set, because movie sets wouldn't be set up so meticulously. Standing in front of the bronze mirror, Qi Xiaoman looked at herself in the mirror. She seemed to be only eleven or twelve years old. There was no doubt that she had indeed transmigrated. As for where she had transmigrated to, she didn't know yet.
"Why are you up, Miss? Lie down quickly, Madam will be here soon."
"Wait, who are you? Why are you calling me Miss?"
"Miss, this servant is Baozhu! Miss's Baozhu!"
Baozhu, oh dear, could she be a rich man's daughter who was sold into slavery by the rich man's concubine? Years later, the rich man discovers that he has a daughter, sends his godson to find her, and after finding her, marries her off to his godson?
"What's wrong, Miss? Please don't frighten Baozhu!" The little girl knelt down in front of Qi Xiaoman. "Did Baozhu do something wrong? Please tell me, Miss, and Baozhu will definitely change. Please don't frighten Baozhu."
Qi Xiaoman's lips twitched. "Baozhu, you said your name is Baozhu?" Qi Xiaoman knew that there was no concept of equality in ancient times. If she were to say anything about equality, it would make the servant look down on the master and easily ride on the master's head.
"This servant's name is Baozhu. My name was given to me by Madam. Don't you remember any of this, Miss?" Baozhu looked at Qi Xiaoman cautiously, her voice filled with fear.
"Who is the lady? And who am I?"
"Miss is the eldest daughter of the Xia family!"
"Come here, Baozhu, tell me, I can't remember anything."
"Miss, this servant will go and fetch a doctor to check your pulse." Baozhu, her face filled with panic and her voice trembling with tears, tried to run out. Her young mistress was so scary now. She used to be so gentle and weak. How could she suddenly become so strange? Could she be possessed by a demon?
"Tell me about what happened before you go, it won't make a difference if you wait an hour." In ancient times, the hour (時辰) was used as a unit of time.
“This servant…” Baozhu glanced up at Qi Xiaoman and saw that Qi Xiaoman was staring at her. Baozhu immediately lowered her head and began to speak in a rapid-fire manner.
Qi Xiaoman grew increasingly agitated as she listened. She had actually transmigrated into the body of Xia Yuhe's daughter, Xia Qiangwei, who also had a younger sister named Xia Ziwei. She and Xia Ziwei were born on the same day, month, and year—meaning they were twins. After hearing Baozhu's explanation, Qi Xiaoman completely fainted. She had actually transmigrated into the world of Huanzhu…
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