A Mortal's Love Across the Northern Song Dynasty

Chapter 1 Rebirth

"The Earth has nurtured humankind for thousands of years. Since the Industrial Revolution in 1750, a delicate relationship has developed between the Earth and humanity. Initially, the Earth tolerated it, but then, slowly, slowly, it grew angry. 1990 was a pivotal year. From 1990 to 2009, the Earth and humanity engaged in a completely different kind of struggle. On June 16, 2009, a torrential downpour plunged Beijing into darkness during the day, leading people to believe a total solar eclipse had occurred. On a midsummer night in Chongqing in 2009, lightning struck over 11,400 times, equivalent to 18.3 times per minute, or once every 3 seconds. That night, the people of Chongqing didn't sleep a wink..." I watched the program on TV. Could the Mayan prophecy be true? Was humanity really going to be destroyed in 2012? Watching the news on TV and online, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, wildfires, prolonged droughts, massive floods, and mudslides occur frequently around the world. Many people are discussing how to make the most of what may be humanity's last remaining time. Some choose to spend as much time as possible with their family and friends, some choose to strive to achieve their dreams, and some choose to spend money recklessly to enjoy life. And what did I choose? I chose a Caribbean vacation to celebrate my 25th birthday. I gritted my teeth and used my savings of over five years—30,000 RMB—to book a luxurious 7-day Caribbean tour. I applied for annual leave from my company and set off for my dream vacation destination at the end of April 2010. And today, I stand on this beautiful coastline. The Caribbean Sea is the world's largest inland sea, named after an indigenous tribe, representing "brave" or "upright people." Here, the azure sea and sky are bright with sunshine, and the sea is as clear as crystal, like a paradise on earth. These past two days I've visited the dense mangrove forests surrounding the lagoon and bay, the coconut groves along the coast, and tasted the most authentic seafood. Although I'm a little tired, I'm very satisfied, so it's clear that the money was well spent. Right now I'm sitting in a seaside restaurant enjoying a fresh lobster, which is thicker than my arm. The meat is white and tender, and the satisfaction from taking a bite comes from the bottom of my heart. At this moment, I feel that life is truly wonderful! Suddenly, the floor trembled slightly. The word "earthquake" flashed through my mind, my heart tightened, and my mind went blank for a moment. When I came to my senses, I realized that the expected situation had not occurred, and I breathed a sigh of relief. I must have been too nervous. I guess I was too influenced by the news and disaster movies. How could such a thing happen to me? This was my first time traveling abroad, and I had spent all my savings. I had never won the lottery before, and I had never won any prizes on service industry receipts. It seemed impossible. Just as I was about to continue enjoying my lobster feast, the floor shook more violently, and the restaurant chandelier swayed back and forth above my head, in danger of falling at any moment.

"Tsunami!" "Tsunami!" "Tsunami!" "It's a tsunami!" "Help!" "Run for your life!" Chaos erupted in the restaurant. The rumbling of the earth, the screams of terror, and the shattering of glass echoed in my ears. I looked out the window, my head stiff with fear. The towering waves crashed towards us, just like in a Hollywood movie. The walls of water were so high, so wide, so terrifying. They blocked out the sun, darkening the sky. It was like the enormous mouth of a monster, about to swallow us whole. I wanted to run, but I couldn't move. My feet felt nailed to the floor, beyond my control. The powerful surge of the water shattered the floor-to-ceiling windows and engulfed me instantly. At that moment, only one thought filled my mind: "I don't want to die!" "The young master has arrived!" When I first saw Cheng Zhuri, I was utterly awestruck. He wore a moon-white silk robe, with a matching belt adorned with a lustrous jade buckle. He had a full forehead, a high nose, red lips, and white teeth. His most striking feature was his pair of phoenix eyes, bright and piercing, with upturned and long corners. However, his lips were slightly thin; according to the elders, such people were somewhat "cold-hearted." His hair was tied up with a white jade hairpin. He truly looked like someone who had stepped out of a painting. I was mesmerized by his stunning appearance. It turned out that there really were people like Xiaolongnu, otherworldly and ethereal, in this world! It wasn't until Xiaohe quietly tugged at my sleeve that I snapped out of my reverie. "Son greets Father and Mother," he said, walking to the center of the main hall to greet his beautiful aunt and uncle. Uncle nodded. "Get up." Aunt's eyes were slightly red. "Come here quickly so I can see you!" she said, touching his face and shoulders. "You've lost weight, and you're a bit darker." "I haven't lost weight. I can eat and sleep well. Let me take a closer look, Mother." Aunt wiped her eyes and said, "That's good! That's good! Go see your cousin quickly; she's suffered so much!"

He nodded and walked towards me. "I heard as soon as I got back that my cousin was quite ill while Uncle Qi and I were out collecting debts. Is she much better now?" "Yes, she's all better. Thank you so much for your concern, cousin!" I stammered a little. This is my biggest flaw—I get nervous when I see handsome guys. He was not only handsome but also had an amazing presence! He nodded at me and then stood behind my beautiful aunt. His name was Cheng Zhuri, 15 years old, the eldest son of the Cheng family, my uncle's pride, and the next heir to the Cheng family. He not only had to study the Four Books and Five Classics, as well as music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, but also had to learn how to manage the money exchange and rice shop from my uncle and Steward Qi. He was very busy every day, getting up earlier than the chickens and going to bed later than the dogs. It seems that this rich second-generation has a tough life. At this moment, the beautiful concubine looked at me and said, "Xiaoxiao, you were sick a few days ago. When everyone heard about it, they all wanted to visit you. I saw that you were not well and needed to rest more, so I sent them all away. Now that you are much better, go and thank the Second Madam and the Third Madam!" "Yes!" After thanking the Second Madam and the others in turn, I followed the whole family to the front hall for lunch.

Chapter Two of the main text: The Ritual

And I was the "Little One" they were talking about. When I awoke from the tsunami disaster, I found myself on an ancient, ornately carved bed. Everything around me—the blankets, the furniture, the doors and windows—was in an ancient style. Just as I was wondering if I was dreaming, I suddenly realized my body wasn't familiar; it was that of a thin, frail little girl, about eight years old. Her clothes were also like those in ancient dramas. "Why am I not myself? Was I subjected to some kind of horrific human experimentation like in Hollywood movies? What's going on?" "Ah!" I screamed in terror, attracting three people who rushed in. "Who are you? Where am I?" What was happening? "Are you out of your mind?!" one of the older women said to the others. It must be a dream. I closed my eyes and bit my finger hard. Then I opened them. They were still there. I slapped myself hard. The environment hadn't changed. Could this be real?! As the people opposite me stared in disbelief, I was about to slap them again when two of them rushed up. One grabbed my hand, and the other grabbed my foot. One of them shouted, "Miss Biao is having delusions! Go tell the Madam!"

"Who are you? What have you done to my body? Let me go! Help! Help!" I shouted, trying to push them away, but I was too weak to break free. While I was struggling fiercely with the two women, I heard footsteps outside. It sounded like more people were coming. Panic gripped me, and I became even more aggressive, biting the arm of the woman holding my hands. "Ah!" The woman loosened her grip, and as I tried to get up, a sharp pain shot through my back, and I lost consciousness.

When I woke up, I was bound hand and foot and placed on the bed. Numerous talismans were pasted around the bed, and an incense table stood opposite it. A man who looked like a Taoist priest was holding a sword, muttering to himself, waving it here and there. He then walked to my bedside, took out a talisman from his sleeve, and slapped it onto my forehead with a "smack." What was he doing? This seemed like superstition. Just as I came to my senses, I saw him return to the incense table, grab a handful of ash from the incense burner, sprinkle it into a bowl, and then hand it to an older woman. Oh, that older woman was the one I had bitten so hard earlier! The ash water was then forcibly poured into my mouth. What did this taste like? It was disgusting! Would I get sick from drinking it?! "What era are we living in? They're still practicing this outdated feudal superstition, and using me, a college student with higher education, as an experiment!" Just as I was about to unleash a torrent of abuse, a beautiful, slightly tearful female voice, like the clinking of jade, rang in my ears. "Taoist Master, how is it now?" Looking in the direction of the voice, I saw a beautiful woman with exquisite features, probably around my age, slender and with a tiny waist. Her large, round eyes were so bright, and tears streamed down her face. A beauty is a beauty; even her crying was beautiful, like a pear blossom in the rain, or a cicada's cry on an autumn branch. "Drinking this bowl of talisman water should cure it. If the delusions return, I'll have to pour dog's blood on it. If that doesn't work, I'll have to go back and ask my senior brother for help." Pour dog's blood on it?! I immediately shut my mouth. The beautiful woman walked to the bedside, untied the ropes binding me, sat down, picked me up, and stroked my face, saying, "My poor child, you must get better soon!" She's my mother?! How can she be so young and well-maintained? It's so warm to be held by such a beauty. She has a faint, pleasant fragrance that smells wonderful, and her skin is so smooth and supple. I couldn't resist reaching out to touch her face. She looked at me with delight, and I was startled. Beauty can indeed lead to trouble, so I could only say, "Don't cry!" "My child, have you woken up? Do you recognize anyone?" the beauty asked, staring into my eyes.

I looked at her, thought for a moment, and realized that if I said I didn't recognize her, I'd definitely be attacked with lies; if I said I did, a few more questions would surely expose my lie. So I nodded and said, "I'm sorry to have worried you, Mother. I'm completely healed!" Her expression froze, her eyes filled with suspicion. "Why are you calling me 'Madam'? Are you not fully healed?" the older woman whispered to the Taoist priest performing the ritual.

"Ah! Not my mother? Then why are you calling me 'son'?!" Quickly thinking, he said to the beauty, "I mean, in my heart you are as dear as my mother. Seeing you so worried about me makes me very uneasy! Seeing you cry makes my heart ache!" As he finished speaking, his head gradually lowered, afraid of being exposed for acting insincerely, he quickly added, "My head just hurts so much, I want to get some sleep." He even feigned pain, touching his temple. The beauty immediately said, "Qin Ma, quickly tell Xiao He to prepare clean clothes for Miss to change into, so she can rest well. Then take Master Zhang to the accounting office to collect five taels of silver as a reward!" "Yes, Madam!" "Thank you, Madam!" the Taoist priest replied happily.

Chapter Three: The Test

After the maid named Xiaohe helped me wash up, seeing that it was just the two of us in the room, she tried to speak, "Xiaohe, what's wrong with me? I don't remember much about what happened these past few days." "A couple of days ago, Miss caught a cold while playing the zither outside the pavilion. I thought she would get better after taking medicine and resting more, but she had a fever for three days and it wouldn't go down. She kept calling for her mother and talking nonsense, which worried the madam. The master was so angry that he locked me in the woodshed for two days. When I came out, I heard from Qin Ma that Miss woke up and didn't recognize anyone! It's all my fault for not taking good care of Miss!" Xiaohe said cautiously.

I don't know if the master punished Xiaohe out of concern for me or because he felt sorry for the madam, but whatever the reason, it's in my best interest. I looked at Xiaohe, rubbing my temples with a slightly confused expression, "I feel very dizzy and lightheaded right now, and I don't remember much from before!" Xiaohe exclaimed in surprise, "What should I do? Miss Biao is the last bloodline of the Wen family, the apple of the madam's eye! If anything happens to Miss Biao, the master will definitely break my legs!" As she spoke, she started to cry. "Don't cry, tell me quickly, tell me more, maybe you'll remember. I won't tell anyone else, so Master won't punish you!" Xiaohe was a young maid and didn't know much. After sobbing and stammering, she told me a lot, and I roughly understood that the beautiful woman was "my" aunt, the matriarch of the family, with a high status. Master Cheng, who was "my" uncle, doted on her. She and her sister had a very good relationship since childhood. The aunt married a wealthy merchant and became the eldest daughter-in-law, while her sister married a poor scholar against the family's wishes and lived a very poor life. Presumably because of this, her sister's only daughter had a particularly poor constitution and was often sick. When she was eight years old, a great flood struck her hometown, and all her family members perished except for her. So the aunt took her in and raised her, and Xiaohe served her by her side from then on, for two years now. "Can I read and write?" I continued to ask. “Miss Biao’s health isn’t good. The Madam instructed that the most important thing is to get her health back on track. Miss Biao has been learning some needlework, zither, and guqin, and occasionally practices calligraphy. The Madam said that it doesn’t matter if Miss Biao doesn’t like studying; a woman’s virtue lies in her lack of talent. However, she must write her name well, so Miss Biao writes her name the most every day.” “Then show me the characters I practice!” Xiaohe walked to the bookshelf, took a stack of papers from a shelf, and came to me. “Miss Biao’s name is written the best. Even the eldest young master said it’s well written.” 'Wen Xiaoxiao'. So this little girl’s name is Wen Xiaoxiao. What kind of name is that? “Xiaoxiao”, I’ll still be called Xiaoxiao when I’m old. Isn’t my father a scholar? Why did he give me this name? “Does Miss Biao remember now?” Xiaohe asked expectantly. "It would be a miracle if I remembered. I'm not Wen Xiaoxiao," I replied, "It looks familiar. I think I remember some things. I'm tired now and want to sleep. You can go down now and don't come in without my permission." "Yes!" Xiaohe said, helping me lie down, tucking me in, turning around and leaving the room, gently closing the door behind her.

I feel like I've been transported back to ancient times because of the tsunami. I don't know which dynasty this is. Could it be that the real me is dead? My parents must be heartbroken. My soul is now in the body of this Wen Xiaoxiao. I'm thinking about what to do next. I drifted off to sleep in a daze.

For several days, she didn't leave her room, only telling Xiaohe to tell her aunt that she wanted to rest more. She even ate in her room, all to figure out how to deal with the situation. She analyzed her strengths and weaknesses and concluded that the most important thing was to play the role of Wen Xiaoxiao well. If she were discovered to be an imposter, she would be doomed. Being splashed with dog blood was a minor matter; if she were kicked out, how would she survive? She was a university graduate with excellent grades, practically a scholar-official in this area. Her major was Chinese Language and Literature, and she had studied Chu Ci, Han Fu, Tang poetry, Song Ci, Yuan Qu, and Ming and Qing novels. I've passed, but compared to the ancients, I have absolutely no confidence that I can beat them. I have passed the CET-4 (College English Test Band 4), having spent a lot of time on English in college, so my spoken English is quite good. Unfortunately, it's useless here. To put it another way, even if I were full of literary talent, I'm still a woman. Women in ancient times had very low status; I've never heard of them being allowed to work outside the home. And I'm still just a child; being kicked out would definitely mean starving to death. Right now, I have a strong wish that I'm in the Tang Dynasty, where women had a higher status and the requirements for women weren't so strict. On the fourth day after I arrived at my new home, my beautiful aunt came to see me again. As soon as she entered the room, I hurriedly said, "Xiaoxiao greets Aunt, I'm so sorry to have worried you!" My beautiful aunt looked worried. "You're finally much better, but your complexion is still not good. Fortunately, you're alright. If anything had happened to you, how could I face your deceased mother and my poor sister!" As she spoke, tears fell again.

Oh dear, she's crying again after only a few words. She reached out and wiped away her tears, then thought for a moment and said, "Xiaoxiao will definitely take good care of herself and won't worry Auntie. When I grow up, I'll take good care of you. But every time Auntie cries, Xiaoxiao feels heartache. If Auntie doesn't want Xiaoxiao to feel heartache, then please don't cry anymore!" The beautiful aunt nodded. "My child has grown up and knows how to care for others. Qin Ma, bring out Miss Cousin's lunch!"

I glanced at the table and, sure enough, it was all vegetarian dishes again. "I want to eat poached chicken, I want to eat braised duck feet with chestnuts, I want to eat steamed fish, I don't want to eat vegetarian dishes!" Of course, this was just what I was thinking. Wen Xiaoxiao especially liked vegetarian dishes. If her lifestyle changed too much all of a sudden, people would notice something was wrong. I couldn't cause any trouble. I endured it, I endured it, I endured it again.

Chapter Four: The First Gathering (Revised)

Today was my first time having a meal with the Cheng family. My uncle has one wife and two concubines, and they have three sons and three daughters. The eldest son, Zhu Ri, the youngest son, Zhu Xing, and the eldest daughter, Zhu Qin, are all the biological children of the beautiful concubine. The second son, Zhu Yue, is the child of the second wife. The third wife only gave birth to two daughters, the second daughter, Zhu Qi, and the third daughter, Zhu Shu. The whole family is full of beauties and handsome men! Zhu Ri, Zhu Xing, and Zhu Qin look about six or seven parts like the beautiful concubine, and they all have the standard phoenix eyes of the Cheng family. It should be said that all the children of the Cheng family have eyes like my uncle, as if they were produced under standardized procedures. Although the second and third wives are also beauties, the second wife has a slightly cold temperament, and the third wife is a bit thinner. Compared to the beautiful concubine, they are a notch below. Thinking that the beautiful concubine is already 31 years old and has given birth to three children, yet she still maintains herself so well, I am truly amazed! I don't even know what I look like now. I've been living in fear these past few days and haven't had a chance to take

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