Yu County is located on the border of the Liang Kingdom.
In a room that wasn't particularly spacious, but was filled with the aroma of books.
Yu Luo suddenly opened her eyes.
Countless memories that did not belong to her came rushing back.
A name came to mind.
Yu Xinran.
Then came the faces.
A stern grandmother, a gentle mother, and a sister-in-law with a worried expression.
Finally, there was a young man's face that looked exactly like her own, except that he had a touch more heroic spirit between his brows.
Her twin brother, Yu An.
He was also the family's only hope, a scholar who passed the imperial examination at the young age of sixteen.
However, the last scene in her memory was of her younger brother lying on the hospital bed, barely breathing, before passing away.
Yu Xinran felt a sudden tightness in her chest.
It turns out, she traveled through time.
She transmigrated into the body of the eldest sister in an ancient family who had just lost her scholar.
Outside, suppressed sobs could be heard intermittently, carrying a sense of despair.
Outside the window, the scorching sun beat down on the earth, and even the air seemed to be distorted.
This world is similar to the ancient times she remembers, except that it is set in a fictional Liang Kingdom, and she has heard that there are some evil spirits running rampant there.
In this world ravaged by natural disasters, plagued by locusts, and burdened by exorbitant taxes, how can a group of defenseless women survive?
With just a few acres of parched land that's almost dried up?
In her memory, her sister-in-law's despair, her mother's grief, and her grandmother's numbness were as clear as if she had experienced them herself.
Yu Luo slowly sat up, feeling the scorching heat, yet a sense of déjà vu washed over her.
She lifted the thin blanket, put on her cloth shoes, and walked out of the room step by step.
Inside the main room, three women were weeping around an empty memorial tablet.
Hearing footsteps, they instinctively looked up.
"Xinran? Why did you get out of bed? You're not well, go back to bed."
The mother, Li, choked up as she spoke, her eyes red and swollen like peaches.
Yu Xinran did not answer, but simply walked quietly to them.
Amidst the puzzled gazes of the three, she raised her hand and slowly removed the veil that had been concealing her haggard face ever since her younger brother fell seriously ill.
A face identical to that of the deceased scholar Yu An, yet even more refined and ethereal, was exposed to the sweltering air.
Her eyes held no sorrow, no confusion, only unwavering determination.
"My younger brother is gone."
She began to speak, addressing a group of women in her family, and began to recount her story.
"I'll take care of this family!"
After he finished speaking, the room fell silent.
The first to react was her sister-in-law, Zhou Shi. She stood up abruptly, as if she had heard the funniest joke.
"Are you crazy, Xinran?!"
Her voice was sharp and hoarse.
"You're going to carry it? How are you going to carry it? You've never even touched a hoe before, how do you know how to do farm work?"
"Even if you can do some embroidery, how many copper coins can you earn? Is that enough for our whole family to eat, or enough to pay those deadly taxes?"
"Besides, all that's left in our family now are a bunch of widows and weak women. Don't you know what kind of people are outside? Without men to protect us, they'll pounce on us like wolves smelling blood and devour us until there's nothing left!"
The grandmother, who had been silent all along, slowly nodded at this moment, her cloudy eyes filled with agreement and deep despair.
Her mother, Li, was so anxious that she grabbed her hand.
"Xinran, stop messing around! We are a family of scholars, with an upright and honest reputation. Don't let your brother not find peace even in the afterlife!"
"If outsiders saw this, they would only see it as a huge joke!"
Despite her family's doubts and earnest pleas, Yu Xinran's expression remained unwavering.
She simply looked at them quietly and spoke clearly, word by word.
"Who said that our Yu family has no scholars left?"
These words were like a thunderclap, abruptly silencing the three women's cries.
A slight smile curved Yu Xinran's lips.
"My younger brother and I started our education together and studied together."
"The Master once told my father in private that if I were a boy, my talent would far surpass that of my younger brother."
Her gaze swept over her astonished mother and sister-in-law, finally settling on the memorial tablet.
"If my younger brother can achieve the academic success, I might be able to as well."
"If I can pass the imperial examinations, I'm afraid I'll be no worse than a mere scholar!"
She took a deep breath, her voice suddenly rising in pitch, carrying an indescribable air of authority.
"From this day forward, Yu Xinran will no longer exist in this world."
"I am Yu An!"
"This is the new pillar of our home!"
The words fell.
The entire room was deathly silent.
The hand that her mother, Li, reached out to her froze in mid-air.
The eldest sister-in-law, Zhou, stared wide-eyed, her jaw almost dropping to the ground, tears welling in her eyes.
The grandmother, who had seemed withered since her grandson's death, suddenly widened her eyes, which had been devoid of life for a long time.
He stared intently at his granddaughter, as if he were seeing her for the first time.
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