Chapter 1: New Arrival
Bianjing, Northern Song Dynasty
It was the dead of winter, with a cold wind blowing. In Chen Xiaoniang's courtyard in the northwest corner of the Shanyang Earl's Mansion, the grass and trees were withered and thick snow was piled on the ground.

The oil paper on the lattice windows rustled in the wind, and the candlelight in the house flickered.

Chen Xiaoniang took the list of the fourth girl's dowry and checked it carefully over and over again. Mother Zhang, who was serving her, came closer with some snacks.

"Mrs. Chen, please have some snacks first. You only ate a few bites of dinner. It's not too late to discuss the dowry later."

Chen Xiaoniang's pretty face looked even more charming and graceful under the candlelight. Her brows were slightly furrowed and her face was full of worry.

"Mother Zhang, please put the snacks on the table. The items on this list, plus the little savings I have, only total 50,000 strings of cash. Not to mention the shops and land, the fourth girl doesn't even have a decent set of head ornaments. I'm afraid she won't be able to hold her head high in front of her sisters-in-law in the future."

She was in low spirits, as if shrouded in a haze. Since ancient times, dowry has been the confidence of a woman in her husband's family. She only had the fourth girl as her own flesh and blood, so how could she not worry about her.

Mother Zhang was loyal to Chen Xiaoniang, and was naturally indignant when she heard this.

"When Yuanniang got married, she had five hundred acres of top-quality farmland, more than two hundred thousand strings of silver, and countless antiques and paintings. Our fourth daughter is also a legitimate mistress in the mansion. Aren't you afraid of being blamed by the eldest lady for treating her so harshly?"

Chen Xiaoniang was a quiet and quiet person. Apart from paying her respects to the eldest lady, she spent the whole day in the courtyard, either studying medical books or taking the pulse and treating the servants. She seldom competed with others for attention.

She rubbed her temples with her willow-like fingers, thinking clearly and sharply:
"Don't talk nonsense, Madam Zhang. Yuanniang's dowry was generous because it was paid for by the eldest lady herself. The uncle has no right to ask about her dowry. It's all my fault that I was born in a low family and couldn't give the fourth lady more."

Mother Zhang didn't think so. She looked regretful and sighed:
"With my ability, if I were not trapped in this deep mansion, I would not be able to earn much dowry."

Chen Xiaoniang smiled bitterly, with endless words in her heart, but she could only remain silent.

She comes from a family with a long history of medical studies. She started out by learning medicine from her grandfather and has a gifted photographic memory. She is the only one who has mastered the family's inherited health-preserving techniques and has developed a sense of qi.

At the age of seven or eight, he dressed as a boy and went to the clinic to take pulses and ask questions. At the age of thirteen or fourteen, his fame grew and attracted the attention of the eldest lady, who took him into the earl's house by force. His good days came to an abrupt end and he no longer had freedom.

Chen Xiaoniang felt suffocated as she recalled the past. She stood up, pushed open the window and looked out. She saw heavy snow falling in the yard. The thick snow on the ground rolled in the wind, making a rustling sound. She murmured:
"I don't know when the snow will stop. I'm afraid it will ruin the fourth girl's good day."

The man who arranged the marriage for the fourth young lady was the governor of Yingchang Prefecture, Gu Zhizhou. Although he was a second wife and eight years older than her, he was already a superior choice in terms of status.

This marriage was arranged by the Lord himself, and many people in the mansion were very angry about it. However, Chen Xiaoniang did not want to cause trouble, so she always behaved herself and kept a low profile.

Mother Zhang hurried over to her and reached out to close the window.

"Don't be surprised, little girl. The snow will stop in two or three days at most. Our fourth girl is blessed and will not be affected."

Before the window closed, Chen Xiaoniang looked towards the Fourth Girl's Courtyard as usual, but she saw flames rising into the sky there, and she was horrified.

"Why is there a fire? Could there be a fire? Quickly...quickly go to the Fourth Girl's Courtyard."

Chen Xiaoniang was in a state of panic and ran very fast. Mother Zhang hurriedly picked up her cloak and followed behind her.

The two of them walked out of the yard, stepping on the snow, only to see the servants in the mansion running away in all directions and cries for help coming from the fourth lady's courtyard.

Chen Xiaoniang's face turned pale and she looked for the fourth girl in panic.

After searching for a while without any results, he grabbed the fourth girl's nurse and asked with glaring eyes: "Where is the fourth girl? Has she come out? Where is the fourth girl?"

The nurse was so frightened that she was shaking like a sieve, trembling and saying:
"The fourth young lady... fell asleep, and the maids and servants couldn't wake her up no matter how hard they tried..."

Hearing that the Fourth Young Lady was still inside, Chen Xiaoniang was terrified and staggered towards the burning house. She had no time to care about what excuses these sneaky old women made.

Mother Zhang stepped forward in panic to stop them.

Chen Xiaoniang was incredibly strong. She pushed her to the ground and continued to rush in with a fearless attitude...

The cries and screams of the surrounding slaves mixed together, making the listeners shudder.

The fire was still raging like a raging fire dragon. The fourth girl's bedroom was shrouded in thick smoke and flames, and the air was filled with pungent smells of smoke and burnt food.

Chen Xiaoniang coughed violently and her chest was choking. She covered her mouth and nose and moved forward with difficulty. Finally, through the smoke, she saw the fourth girl lying unconscious on the bed.

"Fourth Miss... Fourth Miss... please wake up..." She didn't care about the spreading fire, and rushed to the Fourth Miss's bed, crying bitterly.

Seeing that the fourth girl didn't react, Chen Xiaoniang gritted her teeth and dragged her out. However, the fire was like crazy, raging everywhere with the cold wind, making it difficult to move. The beams on the roof finally couldn't withstand it and fell down violently...

Thick smoke rose into the sky, and the Fourth Girl's Courtyard instantly turned into a sea of ​​fire, devouring everything wantonly...

The fourth girl could feel an intense burning sensation on her skin, as if she was being roasted in a steamer.

She could hear the noise in her ears and her girl's call, but her eyelids felt as heavy as a thousand pounds and she couldn't open them.

Until the intense pain came, the dazzling vortex swallowed her up, and she completely lost consciousness...

She didn't know how much time had passed. When she heard the familiar voice again, she opened her eyes with difficulty. What she saw was Chen Xiaoniang's frightened face. She asked with a trembling voice, like a taut string:

"Fourth Miss... is that you?" The Chen Xiaoniang in front of him was pale and bloodless. She was wearing a light blue robe with most of her calves exposed. Her waist-length hair was casually draped. Although she was beautiful, she looked very weird.

The fourth girl's head was like a ball of paste, her thoughts were in a mess, and she said weakly: "Little girl, where is this...?"

She raised her wrists to rub her temples to relieve the discomfort, but found that her arms were empty, with only two thin straps hanging on her shoulders. Looking at her naked appearance, the blood drained from her face and she felt terrified.

Chen Xiaoniang quickly hugged her to comfort her. No matter how cold and aloof she was, she was still a young girl at heart. "Don't be afraid, my child. We are not in the mansion. We have survived a disaster and traveled through time and space. This is a new world thousands of years after the Song Dynasty..."

Chen Xiaoniang's words made the fourth girl stunned. She looked up at the furnishings in the room that she had never seen before. Although she found it unbelievable, she was sure that Chen Xiaoniang would not lie to her.

When they were at the Shanyang Marquis's Mansion, out of fear of the eldest lady, the mother and daughter were not very close in front of outsiders, but once they entered the house and closed the door, they could talk about anything.

Chen Xiaoniang looked at her daughter's expression and whispered softly, "Don't you have any memory of this body?"

The fourth girl looked at the young lady and said bluntly: "My mind is blank. Apart from some discomfort in my chest, I have no other memory. Young lady, will we be exposed?"

The fourth girl once heard her father say in casual conversation that there was an old man in a village who had been dead for three days and then came back to life. The elders of the tribe suspected that he was a wandering ghost and ordered him to be burned to death and his bones to be scattered. The story was so horrifying that she still remembered it clearly.

No matter which dynasty it is, no one will welcome aliens. Their situation is no different from resurrecting a dead body. If they reveal their flaws, their end will be miserable.

Chen Xiaoniang did not show any fear after hearing her daughter's words. She was usually quiet, gentle and obedient in the mansion, but in fact she was very opinionated.

She was in no hurry to speak, but raised her hand and placed her warm fingertips on her daughter's pulse.

The fourth girl was originally very nervous, but when she saw her so calm, she also calmed down.

Chen Xiaoniang felt the pulse carefully, and after a moment she said: "No one can expose us. Your pulse is weak and your chest is full of reverse qi, which is a symptom of extreme weakness of the internal organs..."

Her gentle tone carried a unique kind of tranquility and peace. Upon hearing this, the fourth girl felt another layer of worry in her heart. She had just been reborn, how could there be anything wrong with her body?

"My dear, will I die again?"

Chen Xiaoniang retracted her finger and said calmly, "You won't die as long as I'm here. It's just that your heart energy is weak and your pulse energy is also weak. You can practice the health preservation method and boil a few more doses of medicine and you will be fine."

The fourth girl then let out a breath of air, and she had nothing to fear as long as the young girl was with her.

Although Chen Xiaoniang has all the memories of her original body, certain obsessions are still lingering, and there are two competing consciousnesses in her brain. Fortunately, she is mentally strong and can suppress them.

She took the fourth girl to the bathroom and brought her to stand in front of the mirror. Looking at the mother and daughter in the mirror, their faces were the same as before. The fourth girl was shocked and said, "Mother, could this be our next life?"

Chen Xiaoniang smiled when she heard this. She touched the fourth girl's face with a distressed and restrained look, and explained softly:
"From the remaining memories of this body of mine, I understand that we are still mother and daughter in this life. This new world is a monogamous world, and there is no such thing as concubines or illegitimate children. You are the only daughter of the father of this body and I."

Suddenly, light burst out from the fourth girl's eyes, like stars in the deep night, bright and twinkling.

Ever since she was old enough to understand, her status as a concubine's daughter has been like a mountain, constantly bending her back. Her academic performance could not be better than her elder sister, her appearance could not catch the eye of the eldest lady, and her words and deeds could not go wrong in the slightest. She could only conceal her inner thoughts with a calm and aloof attitude.

The fourth girl couldn't tell what she felt, but her eyes were slightly moist. She turned her head nonchalantly and said in a dry voice:

"Mom, are we the only ones in this family? Where is my original father?"

Chen Xiaoniang looked somewhat helpless and said softly:
"The man of this house is a very famous movie star. The couple got married at a young age and have had many conflicts in recent years. He hasn't been home for a long time. He is also a responsible man. Although he is not home, he gives money to the family every month. My mother and I have no worries in life."

The fourth girl felt slightly disappointed when she heard this. She ignored this inexplicable emotion and looked at the flesh on her face in the mirror. She wondered, "My face has been thin since I was fifteen. How come it's plump again now?"

Chen Xiaoniang smiled slightly, revealing the dimples on her face.

"That's because you are only thirteen years old in this body, and you have just entered junior high school. Here, both boys and girls have to study. As long as you have the ability, you can continue to study further."

The fourth girl's eyes widened in surprise. Her heart was pounding with excitement, and the corners of her lips unconsciously turned up, revealing the same dimples as Chen Xiaoniang's, which was very adorable.

She calmed down and asked, "What is my name now?"

Chen Xiaoniang said softly, "What a coincidence! Our names have not changed. Just remember that the father of this body is called Yu Yuan. He is our only relative, so we should change our names as soon as possible. If you are afraid of being discovered, let's start over in another place."

Chen Xiaoniang's maiden name is Chen Ruogu, and the fourth girl's name is Yu Huaixi. Chen Ruogu has the memory of her original body to rely on, and her daughter is by her side, so she is not afraid of living in any city.

Yu Huaixi also agreed with this suggestion. She said calmly: "Then... how do we address our parents?"

Chen Ruogu felt that her daughter's personality became more cheerful as she grew older. She said softly, "Everyone here calls you mom and dad, so you'll get used to it."

Although Yu Huaixi knew nothing about the surrounding environment, she accepted it well. She looked into the distance with deep eyes and whispered:

"Thanks to God's mercy, we will live a good life in the future..."

　My dears, the new book is out~~ Please collect it, recommend it, and do whatever you want~~

　　(End of this chapter)