Chapter 1: Sisters' Double Rebirth

Huizhou Prefecture, She County.

At night, the streets and alleys are quiet, and you can occasionally hear a few dogs barking.

A group of officials suddenly broke into the Song family's home. The leading official claimed that the medicinal materials sold by the Song family to the Northwest Army were inferior and had resulted in deaths. They were ordered to search the family's home and investigate the crime.

"Oh no! There's a flood in the backyard!"

"Go put out the fire! The eldest and second young ladies are still in the house!"

"Rescue!"

The Song family was in chaos and there were cries everywhere.

An ordinary horse-drawn carriage came out of the alley next to the Song residence and hurried towards the city gate.

inside the carriage.

Song Jin hugged his half sister Song Xiu. Even though he was extremely frightened in his heart, his face remained calm.

The old man Qin who was driving the car said, "Miss, when you get to Qinjiagou, tell everyone that you are from the next county and both your parents are dead."

"Okay." Song Jin responded.

"I have discussed it with Master Song. The one the eldest girl is going to marry is my son Qin Mingsong. He is eighteen this year, has already passed the imperial examination, and is studying in the prefecture..."

Song Jin lifted a corner of the car curtain and could still see the fire above the Song residence in the distance.

According to the laws of the Great Xia Dynasty, crimes do not apply to daughters who marry out. Therefore, when the father saw that the Song family was in trouble and it happened that his old acquaintance, Old Man Qin, was staying at the Song family that night, he betrothed the two of them to the sons of the Qin family.

There are only two men of marriageable age in the Qin family.

One is Qin Mingsong, the youngest son of old man Qin, and the other is Qin Chi, the eldest grandson of the first house.

Song Jin was betrothed to Qin Mingsong by his father.

The concubine sister Song Xiu was only fourteen years old and was betrothed to Qin Chi.

After this disaster, the wealthy Song family was completely ruined.

Song Jin clenched the corner of her clothes. Although she was reborn, she was reborn too late and failed to resolve the Song family's predicament.

That’s all, take it one step at a time.

The journey from She County to Qinjiagou was more than eighty miles long, and even if the carriage continued on its way, it would take until the next day to reach Qinjia.

With the arrangement of Old Man Qin, Song Jin and Song Xiu moved into the same room.

The room was kept very clean.

There is an 80% new bed, a half-worn wardrobe and a square low table. In the corner there is a six-legged washbasin rack, on which are placed daily necessities such as personal toiletries.

In addition, there is a large bookshelf against the wall, which is filled with books, ranging from Three Character Classic, The Rules for Disciples to The Great Learning, The Analects of Confucius, The Doctrine of the Mean, The Book of Songs, Eight-part Essays, etc., most of which are related to the imperial examination.

The books and articles are neatly arranged without any damage, which shows how much the owner cherishes them.

According to her memory of her previous life, this should be Qin Chi's house.

It must be because Qin Chi has not returned yet, so Old Man Qin allowed her and her sisters to live here.

"Sister, do you want to live in this room?"

As soon as Song Xiu saw this small and simple room, she was disgusted. "I have never lived in such a poor place in my life."

"Children of farmers usually have to sleep in one room, so it's good enough if they can spare a single room." Song Jin was accustomed to his concubine's willfulness.

What's more, the situation is dire now. It is a blessing that the sisters are alive. How can they be picky about the living environment?

Song Xiu stopped talking, but when she secretly peeked at Song Jin, her eyes were full of malice.

In her previous life, she married Qin Chi and became a widow early; but in the second year after Song Jin got married, she became the wife of a juren.

At the age of seventeen, she married a poor scholar again. She had to eat coarse food every day and was tortured by her evil mother-in-law. Song Jin was lucky, as Qin Mingsong passed the imperial examination and became a Jinshi in just two years, enjoying great glory.

Later... she was deceived and taken to another place to become a secret prostitute! She lived a life worse than pigs and dogs, in darkness, and when she died, there was no one to collect her body!

Why could her elder sister marry the handsome and elegant Qin Mingsong? She even became an official's wife and lived a good life that everyone envied, while she could only marry a sickly man and became a widow early?

Why? !

Is it just because her sister was born a few years earlier than her and is also the legitimate daughter?
Before her death, Song Xiu was filled with resentment and deeply hated the injustice of heaven.

Unexpectedly, after death, people did not go to hell, but returned home. Just when the accident happened, they were on their way to the Qin family for the first time!
Song Xiu cried with joy, thinking that this was God's way of compensating her by letting her live again.

This time, she doesn't want to marry that sickly guy again.

She is going to marry her brother-in-law!

She will be an official’s wife in this life. She will have all the glory and good life.

"Sister, are you feeling better?"

Song Jin asked with concern as he spread out the bedding on the bed.

Song Xiu said in her usual indulgent tone, "It's much better now, sister. Do you really want to marry a peasant? Why doesn't dad find us someone from the city?"

"Sister, be careful with your words!"

Song Jin understood his father's approach. "Now you and I can't be picky. If you want to survive, you have to follow Dad's instructions."

"I can't argue with you." Song Xiu pouted unhappily, then suddenly her eyes rolled and she stood up and covered her stomach, "I'm going to the bathroom."

Without waiting for Song Jin to speak, Song Xiu ran out.

Song Jin hasn't slept a wink since the incident at home. He really doesn't have the energy to take care of his sister. Anyway, she is at the Qin family, so nothing serious should happen.

She sat on the edge of the bed, wanting to rest first. However, her mind could not help but think of her father, whose life or death was uncertain, and the Luban box he had hurriedly stuffed into her.

Song Jin stood up, picked up the bag, and found the Luban box. He had known how to operate the box since he was a child.

So, she opened it easily.

Inside the box were ten silver ingots, a stack of silver bills, household registration documents and a few pieces of jewellery.

Song Jin skillfully opened the bottom mechanism and found something hidden inside, a letter and a copy of "Song's Pharmacopoeia".

This "Song's Pharmacopoeia" is the foundation of the Song family's livelihood for generations, and it records the processing techniques of hundreds of medicinal materials.

Thanks to this, the Song family has been established in the capital for a hundred years. The medicinal materials they sell are always two or three points better than other medicinal materials on the market, and the price is reasonable, so they are highly sought after by doctors.

Song Jin opened the letter again.

The letter contained some instructions, asking her to memorize the contents of the pharmacopoeia and then burn it, making sure it did not fall into the hands of others. It also mentioned that the Song family was in trouble and that it was suspected that a noble in the capital had coveted the pharmacopoeia.

Finally, he told her to try her best to live and not let anyone plot against her...

The fatherly love and earnest teachings between the lines made Song Jin's eyes red with sadness.

The happiest and most beautiful time in her previous life was when she had her father's protection. But she was young and ignorant at that time, and she always complained that her father was too serious.

Only when you lose something do you realize its value, but when you want to take care of your parents, they are no longer around...

Just at this moment, the sound of footsteps was heard outside the door.

Song Jin wiped the tears from her face and hurriedly stuffed the letter and the book into her arms.

The door was pushed open.

Song Xiu carefully brought in a bowl of egg and brown sugar water and said attentively, "Sister, are you hungry? The kitchen has cooked egg and brown sugar water. It's still hot. I'll bring you a bowl right away. Come and fill your stomach first."

Song Jin was sure he was a little hungry, so he ate the sweet soup politely.

After a long while, Song Jin's face changed, and he thought to himself, "Sister, you——"

Before he could finish his sentence, he lost consciousness.

　The author solemnly declares: The historical dynasties in this article are fictitious, and readers should not delve into history.

　　In addition, this article involves knowledge about medicinal materials and processing, a few of which come from the Internet, and most of them come from "The Complete Guide to Chinese Medicine Processing", "Encyclopedia of Chinese Medicinal Materials", "Compendium of Authenticity Identification of Chinese Herbal Medicines", "Pharmacopoeia", etc.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)