La luna brilla intensamente sobre las montañas desiertas y las flores llenan el cielo

Capítulo 1

1. The Third Madam of the Dragon Palace, who has lost her memory...

Before reading this article, please make sure you understand one thing: this is not a time-travel story.

With this understanding, you can now continue reading.

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As consciousness slowly crept into her mind, she awoke, her head throbbing with pain and her ears ringing. She struggled to open her eyes; the dim moonlight was blinding, but her vision was blurry. She seemed to be lying on cold ground; she moved her fingers and touched cold water and damp earth, smelling the scent of grass. She seemed to be by a river in the wilderness.

She gasped for breath, a sharp pain shooting through her head. She instinctively raised her hand to touch it, but found her arm heavy. It took her a while to finally reach for her head, her hand damp with what looked like blood.

She froze, what was wrong with her?

A man ran up to her, anxiously asking, "How are you? Are you alright?"

She couldn't answer. The pain had drained her strength, and she seemed to still be bleeding from her head. She blinked hard, trying to see the man in front of her, but could only make out a blurry outline.

The man seemed impatient to wait for her to regain her senses. He dragged her to the shore, reached into her clothes and rummaged around, shouting, "Where's your stuff?"

Things? What things?

She could hear a sound coming from afar, but her ears were ringing and she couldn't hear it. The man who was rummaging through her body, however, heard it, because he quickly stood up, turned around and ran away.

Soon, a group of people arrived at her side, making a racket. They were holding torches and shouting loudly. The torches were so bright that they blinded her, but she could still hear what they were saying. "She's here! We found her! We found her..."

Have they found her? Who's looking for her?

Her head was throbbing so badly she couldn't process what was happening, and then she sank back into darkness.

When she opened her eyes again, she saw a dark blue lacquered bed ceiling. She moved and found herself covered with a soft blanket, lying on the bed. Her head seemed to be less painful. She reached out and touched it, finding a bandage wrapped around her head. She carefully and slowly turned her head, looking around the room.

In the center of the room stood a round table with only a round wooden tray, a teapot, and four cups placed upside down on it. Under the table were four chairs, one of which had been pulled off the table, indicating someone had been sitting there previously. The fact that the chair hadn't been removed suggested that person would return soon, and the absence of tea on the table suggested that person was likely a servant.

A small square table stood by the window in the room, on which a bronze mirror, comb, rouge box, and jewelry box were neatly arranged. Against the wall was a large cabinet, on top of which were some of the young lady's odds and ends. It was clear at a glance that this was a young lady's boudoir.

The furniture and decorations were quite tasteful, suggesting a well-off family. However, the house was cold and quiet, with few items, leading her to guess that the owner was not favored. Footsteps sounded outside, and for some reason, she quickly closed her eyes. In that instant, she memorized the positions of the objects inside the house, as well as the doors and windows. She subtly moved, testing her stamina.

All of this happened in a flash, almost unconsciously. Her mind was a little foggy, as if something was wrong. But she couldn't figure out what it was for the moment.

A maidservant entered with light, quick steps. She recognized her voice; the maidservant didn't know martial arts. She cautiously opened her eyes and saw the maidservant's face—she didn't recognize her. But at that moment, she finally realized something was wrong: she had absolutely no memories of the maidservant.

The maid was standing by the bed. Seeing that the woman on the bed had her eyes open, she said, "Madam is awake."

"Madam? So this maid knows her?" The woman on the bed hummed in acknowledgment, but was startled by her own hoarse voice. What was wrong with her? How long had she been lying there?

The maid was quick-witted; seeing this, she poured water and reached out to support the woman's head as she fed her. The woman racked her brains, but her mind remained blank. She simply endured the headache and sat up. She observed the maid's expression; it was neither warm nor cold, yet it seemed as if the maid knew her well. She watched her silently, pondering what was going on.

The maid put down the cup, turned around and met her eyes. She said, "Madam is injured, you should rest for a while longer."

Injured? The woman on the bed tried hard to recall, but unfortunately, she had no recollection of how she got injured. In fact, she had no memory of anyone or anything, including herself.

In this situation, wouldn't asking "Who am I?" be a bit frightening? It's better to choose a safer question, so she asked, "I'm awake, aren't you going to tell someone?"

These words seemed to surprise the maid. She paused for a moment, then replied, "Second Master is busy right now and won't be coming. Steward Tie went out to run errands for him. The doctor said that Madam hit her head, and medicine has been applied. She will get better if she rests more and takes her medicine on time."

"You mean the doctor said everything's fine, so everyone thinks it's okay not to come and see him, is that right?" The maid was taken aback, seemingly unsure how to answer.

The woman on the bed racked her brains trying to recall the names of Second Master and Steward Tie, but couldn't remember anything. She still couldn't figure out who she was. Since she couldn't hide it any longer, she simply asked, "What's your name?"

The maid frowned as expected: "Has Madam lost her senses? This servant is Xiaoqing."

"Oh, it's Xiaoqing." She then asked, "And who am I?"

Xiaoqing opened her mouth in surprise and stammered, "Madam, has your brain been damaged and you don't remember anything?"

"Yes, it was damaged in the crash," she answered frankly and earnestly.

Xiaoqing was stunned for a moment, then took a step back and said, "Madam, please don't think of such a stupid idea. Second Master is already angry. If you continue to play dumb, he will punish you severely."

"Madam, Second Master?" The woman on the bed thought for a moment, then spoke her mind: "You call me Madam, but you keep referring to me as Second Master, so is he my husband?"

This time, the maid wasn't just surprised, she was terrified. She turned and rushed out the door, shouting, "Someone come quick! Someone come quick! Go get Doctor Chen... Go get Doctor Chen quickly..."

The amnesiac woman was left alone in the room, sitting on the bed. She touched the bandage on her head and muttered to herself, "Okay, now I know he's not my husband. Did you have to react so strongly?"

She waited for quite a while, but Doctor Chen didn't arrive. Instead, an old woman entered, accompanied by four or five maids, barging in with an overbearing manner. The word "barging" was indeed due to her overwhelming presence.

"I heard that Madam had an accident, so I came here specifically to see her." Her gaze was sharp, and when she didn't speak, her thin lips were tightly pursed, making her look quite stern.

"Thank you for your concern. May I ask who you are?" Although the old woman was neatly dressed, she couldn't hide the weariness of her journey; she must have just returned. Why would she rush to see me as soon as she got back? I wonder what our relationship is?

"Hmph, you really have forgotten everything? I am Granny Yu." The old woman gave him a look that said, "You're pretending to be stupid," but still answered, "I am the head nanny of this mansion."

The maid had just mentioned Steward Tie, and now this head steward has arrived; it seems this must be a large mansion. The woman sitting on the bed touched her head again and asked, "Then who am I?"

“Your name is Feng Ning, and you are the wife of my third master.” Granny Yu frowned.

"Third Master?" No wonder the maid ran so fast; she mistook her second uncle for her husband. That was indeed a bit too outrageous.

"Are you trying to tell me, Madam, that you remember nothing?"

Feng Ning didn't answer, but continued to ask, "Where is this?"

Granny Yu coldly replied, "The Dragon Mansion in the capital."

Feng Ning asked again, "What's wrong with me?"

“You hit your head.” Granny Yu sneered, “You’ve been knocked silly from that one bump. How could Madam have come up with such a thing?”