Chapter One

  It's midsummer, not like the fresh green of early spring. I know that good days have just begun, so it's bright and lively. The green in front of me is heavy, perhaps because I know that the splendor has reached its peak, and future days will only decline. Just like my mood now. It's already the tenth day of ancient times, but I still feel like this is a dream, waiting for me to wake up and still have a pile of financial reports waiting for myself, not in Kangxi 43 years; Still a 25-year-old single white-collar worker, not this less-than-14-year-old Manchu girl.

  Ten days ago, I fell off the ladder when changing light bulbs and woke up in the bed of the original owner of this body. According to the maid, I fell from the stairs on the attic floor and was unconscious for a day and night. As for my "condition" after waking up with amnesia, the doctor said it was due to excessive fright, and that I would recover slowly with good care.

  "Second Miss, let's go back. Although it's already past noon, the heat here is most poisonous at this time, and you haven't fully recovered yet!" My sister's maid, Qiaohui, advised from the side. "Alright! Sister's scripture should also be finished." I replied, turning around.

  My current name is Ma Er Tai. Ruo Xi. And the elder sister of this Bai De is called Ma Er Tai. Ruo Lan, who was a concubine of Prince Yi, Yunxi, a relatively famous prince in Qing dynasty history. However, at that time, Prince Yi had not yet been granted the title of king and was only known as Eighth Brother.

  My sister's personality can be described as gentle and virtuous, but also weak and uncompetitive. She spends half of her day chanting scriptures every day. I guess she must not be favored, at least in the ten days I've been here, I've never heard Eighth Brother come to visit. However, from these ten days, it's clear that she treats this younger sister extremely well, taking care of everything from food and clothing to tiny details, fearing that I might not be comfortable. I sighed inwardly, thinking that if I couldn't return, then in this time and space, only she could be relied upon. But thinking about Eighth Brother's future fate, I felt that this reliance was also unreliable. However, that's a matter for many years later, and can't be considered now.

  When I returned to the house, my sister was already there. She was sitting at the table eating snacks and when she saw me come in, she said with a hint of annoyance, "You're not afraid of getting heatstroke?" I sat down beside her and smiled, saying, "What's so precious about that? Besides, after going out for a walk, I actually feel like my body isn't as heavy as it was the past few days." She looked at my face and said, "Your complexion does look better, but the weather is really bad right now, don't go out again at this time." I casually responded with an "I know".

  Dongyun brought over a basin and knelt down to help me wash my hands. I smiled secretly, thinking that she knew what was going on, but whether or not she would do it again next time remained to be seen. Qiaohui took a towel to dry my hands, then picked up some amber-colored ointment and applied it to my skin, the fragrance sweet and pleasant, though I had no idea what it was made of.

  I was just about to pick out a few pastries to eat when I suddenly felt strange, looked up and saw my sister staring at me. My heart skipped a beat as I looked back at her with questioning eyes. She then burst out laughing, "You used to be such a tomboy, never taking mom's words to heart, but after falling down and getting hurt, you've become so gentle and well-behaved!" I let out a sigh of relief and lowered my head to look at the pastries while smiling and asking, "Could it be that sister wants me to always be a tomboy?" My sister picked up a piece of my favorite osmanthus cake and handed it to me, "In half a year, you'll have to go participate in the selection for imperial consorts, you should start having some decorum. You can't keep being so wild and reckless!"

  A piece of Fa Hong Jiao got stuck in my throat, and I started coughing loudly. My sister quickly handed me a glass of water, and Qiao Hui helped me pat my back. I took several sips of water before I finally caught my breath. My sister laughed and said, "You just said you had manners, but look at the way you're acting! No one is competing with you!" As I wiped my mouth, I thought to myself about what to do next.

  Tell her I'm not your sister, Ruo Xi? Definitely not! After a hundred twists and turns in my mind, I still couldn't come up with a plan. I could only comfort myself by thinking that there's still half a year left. In the end, I casually asked my sister, "I remember you mentioning last time that Ama is stationed in the northwest, but I only arrived here three months ago. Is it because of the selection of ladies-in-waiting that Ama sent me over?" "Yes! Ama said that your mother passed away early and you wouldn't listen to Aunt's words, so she thought you'd be more likely to listen to me, so she sent you over for me to teach you some discipline."

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  These days, I've been eating breakfast and then going for a walk, and after dinner, I go for another walk. This is the only exercise method I can think of right now. Although it's simple, the effect is quite good, and I'm starting to feel like this body is my own, unlike the first few days when I woke up feeling weak all the time.

  Also, with words, clever and wise, led me to the attic where Zhen Ruoxi fell, standing on the top floor, several times I had the urge to jump down, maybe when I opened my eyes again, I would return to modern times. But what I fear more is that if I didn't return to modern times, but instead fell and became disabled or a fool, and deep in my subconscious, I vaguely understood that the possibility of the latter might be greater, after all, how could such things happen so easily time and time again? Wouldn't history have been messed up long ago? Let nature take its course!

  Qiao Hui accompanied me to stroll around the big circle, and both of us were a bit tired. Behind the fake mountain, there was a slightly flat stone, Qiao Hui spread out a handkerchief for me to sit down, and I pulled her to sit beside me. The sun had just set, and the stone was still warm, with a gentle breeze blowing on my face, carrying a hint of coolness, making it especially comfortable.

  I tilted my head back, gazing up at the sky above me. The color of the sky gradually darkened, with blue giving way to a deep shade that was still crystal clear. It seemed so low that I felt as if I could reach out and touch it. I thought to myself that this was indeed the sky of ancient times. When I was studying in Beijing, the only other time I saw a similar sky was on Mount Ling.

  I was lost in thought when I heard Qiao Hui say, "Second Miss, you really have changed!", a phrase my sister has been saying for the past few days. At first, I felt tense, but now I'm not too bothered about it. I looked up at the sky and asked, "What's changed?" "You used to be so restless, always talking and moving around. Father said you were like a 'wild mare'! Before your fall, you would often advise Master to recite fewer scriptures, and we were relieved that someone was finally advising him. But now you don't mention it anymore." I turned my head to look at Qiao Hui, but she lowered her head as soon as our eyes met.

  I thought for a moment, "Sister is doing well now." Qiaohui lowered her head and said in a trembling voice, "Doing well? It's been five years, others who came later have already had theirs!" I didn't know how to explain it to her. Should I tell her that Eighth Brother will have a miserable future, and the closer we get, the more painful it will be? Sighing, I said, "Staying away from those things might not be bad for Sister after all. Sister's mood is calm and content now. I don't see what's wrong." Qiaohui looked up at me with a glance, as if to see if I was speaking sincerely. She turned her head and said, "But the people in the mansion..." I interrupted her, saying, "Look up at the sky, look at how beautiful it is. You'll forget all those unhappy things." She seemed taken aback, slowly looked up at the sky, then back at me, wanting to say something else. I tilted my head back and stared at the sky without moving. In the end, she swallowed her words and also gazed blankly at the sky with me.

  Suddenly, a burst of laughter came from the side of the fake mountain, and two people turned out. The one in front was slightly shorter and a bit fat, laughing at the one behind him: "This little girl is interesting! A 13 or 14-year-old girl, how can she talk like someone who has experienced the world, so mature for her age!" Clever Hui took a look at the newcomers and immediately stood up to greet them, "Ninth Brother, Tenth Brother, good fortune!" Since arriving here, I hadn't seen any outsiders, and I was momentarily stunned. After seeing Clever Hui finish greeting them, I suddenly reacted and also hastily bowed to greet them. In my heart, however, I couldn't help but feel anxious about what he had just said. I had forgotten that my current age is 13, not 25!

  The one in front who was smiling didn't say a word, only stroking his chin as he sized me up. I thought to myself that this must be the tenth brother. The one standing off to the side with an exceptionally straight posture should be the ninth brother. The ninth brother said calmly, "Get up!" Chuhui and I immediately stood up. In my heart, I was thinking that it turned out that the first people I met were the legendary foolish and venomous ones. On the other hand, I was pondering which sentence from before wasn't suitable, whether I had said anything disrespectful, and even if they had heard it, it shouldn't be a big deal, right?

  The tenth brother smiled and asked, "Are you from the Ma family?" I said, "Yes!" He seemed to want to say something else, but the ninth brother urged, "Let's go, the eighth brother is still waiting for us!" The tenth brother patted his head and hastily walked past us, shouting loudly, "Right! I got caught up in the excitement and forgot about the important thing! Let's go, let's go, let's go." After they left, I looked at their backs, thinking about the tenth brother's expression earlier, and sighed, "The ancients were not deceiving me," he really did look a bit like a country bumpkin. I couldn't help but laugh, just as my smile was spreading across my face, it met the tenth brother's turned-around face, and suddenly felt a bit awkward.

  As we walked back, Qiao Hui didn't say a word, I don't know if it was because she was still scared from earlier or if she was dissatisfied with me. I was also thinking about what happened earlier, if my poor knowledge of history is true, then the Tenth Brother's intestines wouldn't have many twists and turns, he would definitely tell the Eighth Brother about what just happened. As for how the Eighth Brother would react, I had no idea, but I thought it would be best to warn my sister first, not that anything big would happen, but it's always good to be prepared. Having made up my mind, we were almost there, so I slowed down my pace and said: "I always hope you're doing well, sister, don't worry!" After saying that, I didn't pay attention to Qiao Hui's reaction and quickly entered the house.

  My sister was lying on her side on the couch, and Xiaoyu was kneeling on the footstool massaging her legs. I made a gesture for silence and sat down in the chair directly across from my sister. If this were modern times, there would probably be a whole battalion of people chasing after my sister. Her chin is pointed, and I see that she's especially lovely, with skin as fine and smooth as jade, looking even more radiant under the lamp light.

  Sister opened her eyes, saw me staring at her, and let the maid help her up. She leaned against the pillow and sat up straight, smiling and asking, "You're even quieter now, you didn't say a word when you came back, what's so good to look at?" I also smiled and said, "If sister doesn't look good, then there aren't many people who do." The maid brought water for sister, and I saw her take two light sips before handing it back to the maid and closing her eyes again. I calmly said, "I ran into Ninth Brother and Tenth Brother in the garden just now." Sister waited a while, seeing that I didn't continue, opened her eyes and looked at me, then told the maid beside her, "You all go down and prepare the bathing things for Miss." The maids all retreated. I stood up, walked over to her side, sat down, and told her everything that had happened that night. Sister listened but didn't say a word, just stared blankly at the beautiful screen beside her. After a while, she sighed and said, "Little sister, you've really grown up!" She tidied up my messy hair by my ear, looked at me warmly, and said, "You don't look like a thirteen-year-old little girl anymore, but rather like one who's suddenly grown ten years older." I thought to myself, indeed I have!