In short, the scene before us was festive and joyful, with laughter and chatter filling the hall, elegant figures in flowing robes and fragrant hair, an indescribable air of wealth and elegance, and an abundance of gold and jade.
Incense burns in precious cauldrons, flowers adorn jade vases, and nectar from the Purple Palace and Jade Pool flows freely. A scene of singing and dancing fills the air, brimming with joy.
Compared to the bustling front hall, the back courtyard of the general's mansion was much quieter, as if it had been forgotten.
It was a small courtyard with three main rooms and a side room at the back, surrounded by a bamboo fence. Some vegetables were planted in front of the courtyard. At this moment, the whole courtyard was quiet. Compared with the lively scene in front, it looked very shabby and desolate.
Behind the courtyard is a magnificent river, the famous West City River. The Jiang residence is located on the banks of the West City River. Although the location is somewhat remote, Jiang Batian believes it is a feng shui treasure land for the Jiang family, so he did not even accept the mansion bestowed by the emperor and has been living here ever since.
The riverbank is right next to the Jiang family's backyard, and some green bamboos are planted along the bank, rustling in the wind.
Deep in the bamboo shade, there is a small bamboo bridge. A person is sitting on the bridge, with his legs exposed and his trousers rolled up. He is splashing his feet in the water, having a great time, without a trace of sorrow or resentment. His hands occasionally dart around in the water.
Moonlight filtered through the lush green bamboo leaves, casting dappled patterns on her body.
Her plump body, sitting on the wooden bridge, looked like a fleshy dumpling. Her chubby face had snow-white skin, slender eyebrows, and bright, expressive eyes. Although not large, they were exceptionally expressive. Her red lips were vibrant. In fact, each feature was beautiful on its own, but when placed together, her plumpness caused her to lose her original charm.
She was none other than Jiang Hailing, the third young lady of the Jiang family who was not favored.
No one knew that this Jiang Hailing was not the same Jiang Hailing. Three years ago, the real Jiang Hailing was beaten by the servants of the Jiang family. She hit the back of her head on the corner of the wall, bled a lot, and died. But the soul of Jiang Hailing, a surgeon from the modern era, transmigrated and became the third young lady of the Jiang family.
Three years ago, Jiang Hailing was a surgeon at Bincheng Hospital, someone who spent her days dealing with scalpels, disinfectants, and injured patients. One day, she suddenly decided to take a vacation. And so, she accepted her best friend's invitation to join their archaeological team to excavate an ancient tomb.
She simply touched a stone bracelet carved on the wall because it looked novel and unique. Who knew that it would cause the earth to shake and the tomb to collapse? The stone bracelet came to life and landed on her arm. In her last moments of consciousness, she saw a complete stone wall with a few words written on it: "Seven-Star Glazed Bracelet, with blood as its soul and love as its protection, guarding my love for all eternity."
Then she fell into darkness, her soul transmigrated in a spectacular fashion, and when she woke up, she had become Jiang Hailing, the daughter of Jiang Batian, the powerful general who held great military power in the Great Zhou Dynasty.
She accepted that she was dressed up, but who could tell her why she was dressed like this? Other people dressed up as princesses or imperial concubines, each one beautiful and born with the potential to be a vixen. But she was dressed up as an unloved concubine's daughter and a fat woman. No matter how you looked at her, she was just a lump of flesh. Although it couldn't be described as a terrible sight, it wasn't much better.
Since we're here, we might as well make the best of it. Who told me to have such a strong mentality? So what if I'm dressed as a concubine's daughter? So what if I'm fat? I'll just lose weight!
But why did she not lose a single pound after three years of dieting, and even gain weight instead? Thinking about these three years makes her want to cry. Was it easy for her?
She runs 3,000 meters every morning, eats less than a cat at each meal, and exercises excessively every day, either squatting in a horse stance or walking on plum blossom stakes, but she hasn't lost a single pound. Apart from her muscles becoming slightly more toned, she can't see any results.
After three years, she accepted her fate and stopped worrying about being fat or thin. Being fat was fine; there was nothing wrong with it. Yang Guifei was also fat, yet she was still one of the Four Beauties who went down in history. If her sister had lived in the Tang Dynasty, she might have been a beauty herself. It was just a different dynasty. So now she no longer worried about these things and ate and slept well every day.
Now she's worried about something else: she's transmigrated, but has her best friend and confidante Mu Bing transmigrated as well? Where did she end up? If she finds her, she just wants to beat her up and yell, "Why the hell did you make me go on this archaeological trip with you?"
Chapter 003 Grab your weapons and fight!
Deep in the bamboo shade, dappled moonlight bathed Hailing, who was lost in thought, her eyes slightly closed, looking content and at ease.
Suddenly, footsteps and heavy breathing came from behind. Before the person got close, he called out anxiously.
"Miss, Miss, something terrible has happened! The Second Miss has brought people here to cause trouble for Madam."
The girl who spoke was named Rouge, her personal maid. She had nothing to do with the Jiang family and was rescued by her two years ago. Therefore, this girl was absolutely loyal and would not have any scheming or plotting.
However, upon hearing Rouge's voice, Hailing's expression changed. The "madam" Rouge spoke of was her mother, whom she had traveled to ancient times with. This woman had a deep bond with her, and for the past three years, the two had lived together, relying on each other for survival. Therefore, in Hailing's heart, she was her own mother.
"Walk."
Hailin nimbly got up, put on the sandals she had made herself, and grabbed Yanzhi's hand as they ran back.
Don't let her size fool you; when she runs, even the skinny Rouge can't keep up. This is all thanks to three years of training.
"I didn't expect the manor to be so lively today. They haven't forgotten to come and cause trouble? How annoying."
Hai Ling spoke with annoyance, a flash of dark light in her eyes, followed by a cold smile on her lips. She wanted to see how this second young lady of the Jiang family would cause them trouble this time.
The two ran back to the courtyard one after the other, and before they even got close, they could hear voices reaching their ears.
"Second Miss, look at this dilapidated courtyard, and it's called Qinfang Courtyard."
“This used to be a dumping ground for junk and miscellaneous items in the general’s mansion. How about calling it the Junkyard or the General Storeyard? What do you think?”
A burst of laughter erupted, followed by an arrogant and domineering voice: "Someone, take this sign down for me."
"Yes, we picked them, we picked them."
Some people chimed in, hurriedly moving chairs, preparing to climb up and remove the doorplate.
The sign on the gate was written by Hailing idly. It was just a simple wooden board with three characters "Qinfang Courtyard" written in thick ink, meant as a joke. Who knew that such a simple little thing would arouse the anger of Jiang Feiyu, the second young lady of the Jiang family, who ordered the maid she brought to take down the sign.
At the gate of the small courtyard, Jiang's least favored concubine, Hai Ling's mother, protested against anyone trying to take down the nameplate her daughter had written, and blocked the servants from doing so.
"What are you doing? This is something Ling'er painstakingly wrote down. You're not allowed to pick it. If anyone picks it, I'll fight you!"
Unexpectedly, the usually gentle Fourth Madam dared to protest. All the servants stopped what they were doing and stared at the Fourth Madam in front of the door with gloating expressions. Then they all looked at the Second Miss, Jiang Feiyu.
"Second Miss, what do you think?"
"Du Caiyue, you're getting bolder and bolder?"
Jiang Feiyu's mocking voice rang out, and her words immediately drew laughter from the young maids. At this moment, Hailing had already run to the front of the courtyard. Upon hearing their insults towards her mother, she turned pale and coldly shouted, "Shut up!"
Two figures stood in front of the door, one after the other, protecting the Fourth Madam, Du Caiyue. As soon as Du Caiyue saw her daughter appear, she smiled happily: "Ling'er."
"Mother, don't be afraid. I'm here. I'd like to see who dares to take down this sign!"
Hai Ling didn't turn around. Her dark eyes shone brightly in the moonlight, standing like a small iron tower in front of the courtyard gate. Her imposing presence, though not angry, intimidated the maids around Jiang Feiyu so much that they dared not touch the sign hanging on the lintel.
Actually, it doesn't matter whether the sign is removed or not. Even if it is removed, it's not a big deal. However, Jiang Feiyu is so disrespectful to her mother, so there's no need for her to be nice to her. Her previous tolerance has not changed this nominal second sister. On the contrary, she has become more and more unreasonable. So why should she be polite to them anymore?
Jiang Hailing died under the orders of this Miss Jiang, so it's fair to say that this woman and she were enemies.
"Jiang Feiyu, didn't your mother teach you to be polite? How could you be so disrespectful to your elders?"