Chapter 1

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Protagonist:

Song Miao

The early spring chill was sharp.

It had just passed Chen hour, the sun was completely covered by thick clouds, not a sliver showing, and the sky was gloomy.

In the second month of Jingcheng, the accumulated snow had just melted, then spring snow began to fall again, freezing the cries of cats and dogs by the roadside into weak whimpers.

Song Miao bent her waist, braving the snow to draw half a bucket of water from the well.

Snowflakes drifted into her collar, freezing her so she shivered.

She lowered her head to wash up, then saw that face appearing on the surface of the half-full water in the wooden bucket.

It was a girl in her early teens, her nose red from the cold, her face haggard, her eyes red and swollen.

Even so, this face was only the size of a palm, with delicate features, beauty hard to conceal.

So familiar.

Familiar yet strange.

Clearly her face, but it should not be her face.

This body was also named Song Miao; her birth mother died in difficult childbirth years ago, she originally had an elder brother who went north to study with his teacher last year, a group of over ten people encountered bandits in Hejian, and only two servant boys escaped back to report the death.

Her birth father was originally a son-in-law living with his wife's family, changed to the Song surname upon entering the door, and was called Song Dalang.

The Song family had an ancestral courtyard, with a food shop in front and living quarters behind, two sections and four rooms, not large, located just outside Zhuque Gate, at the very end of Suanzao Alley, but in Jingcheng where land was worth its weight in gold, it was still considered prosperous.

But after his wife and child died, Song Dalang, as a father, was like a caged bird that had flown into the woods; he neglected the food shop and squandered the family wealth like water, at first just eating, drinking, and carousing outside, later developing a gambling addiction; in just a year or two, things at home were pawned or sold, and the business plummeted.

In the first lunar month, in the middle of the night, he fell into the Bian River; by the time the river patrol soldiers broke the ice and fished him up, he was frozen stiff.

The Coroner examined the body and said it was death by accidental drowning.

Song Dalang was still lying in state when hoodlums, holding a house sale deed, blocked the spirit hall—it turned out he had gambled everything and sold the Song family's ancestral property at a low price, and the buyer took the opportunity to hire people to come collect the house.

The hoodlums made a big scene in the spirit hall; the original owner relied on the village head to mediate, and barely managed to get the deadline for collecting the house extended by one month.

But as soon as the hoodlums left, other creditors got the news, one after another following them to the door to demand payment.

There were also hired hands and shop assistants who, unable to get their wages, relying on being close at hand, took away all the tables, chairs, furniture, dried goods, and valuables in the shop to offset the debt.

The original owner had just turned fourteen before the New Year, raised since childhood like a pearl in the palm; because she originally had a brother, she did not need to support the household, and since childhood she had been betrothed; though the fiancé's family was somewhat down on their luck, that father-in-law was a private school teacher.

At this time, scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants were ranked, with scholars at the top; the Song family also felt that everything was inferior, only studying was high, not only sending their son to study, but also having their daughter learn some poetry, books, and needlework, hoping that in the future she could be looked upon favorably by her husband's family.

But after Song's Mother died, the fiancé's family began to show displeasure; when the news of the brother's misfortune came back, they even stopped visiting; and when they learned that Song Dalang had fallen into the water and the property had been seized for sale, they immediately came to the door to break off the engagement.

The original owner had not experienced much; in just two or three years, her birth mother, brother, and birth father died one after another; before she could catch her breath, she encountered the fiancé breaking off the engagement, which was no different from the sky falling; how could she bear it, that very night she sought a short end.

When she opened her eyes again, this "Song Miao" had become that "Song Miao" from Pingyang Mountain decades ago.

Same name, same surname, same face.

Now the memories and emotions of the two people merged in her mind; for a moment, Song Miao could not tell who she really was.

But whoever she was, to come back to life from death was extremely fortunate.

Being alive was truly wonderful.

Well water came up from underground, still carrying a bit of warmth; she finished washing up, and before she could dry the water droplets on her face, she heard a "bang bang bang" knocking at the door from outside, urgent and heavy, and someone called through the door in a hurried voice: "Miss Song Xiaoniangzi!"

Hurriedly twisting her hair into a bun with a wooden hairpin, Song Miao passed through the back courtyard and went to the front hall to open the door.

Standing outside the door were a man and a woman; the man looked quite old, with graying hair and beard, and a slightly hunched back; the woman was in her thirties or forties, broad-shouldered and thick-waisted, with her brow tightly furrowed.

As soon as they entered, the two looked around in unison.

Song Miao followed their gazes and looked around once.

The front had originally been a food shop, but now the hall was empty; most of the previous things had been moved away, leaving only dust marks on the floor from items left for a long time, two or three broken tables and chairs, and scattered trash.

At the doorway stood a stove, with some broken pots and basins on top, not even bowls except those with chips and cracks.

The two people's faces fell almost at once.

The old man turned his head, staring at Song Miao and said: "Miss Song Xiaoniangzi, you don't know me; I'm from the Cai Family Fish Stall; your father's debt from last year should be settled by now? A total of thirty-six strings and fifty-nine cash; I won't even take the odd cash, just give me thirty-six strings."

"Miss Song Xiaoniangzi, your family hasn't paid the meat money for a whole season; ninety-seven strings; my family runs a small business and can't afford delays." The woman followed up, also taking out an account book from her pocket.

The old man hurriedly took out a stack of goods slips from his sleeve, anxiously saying: "Settle mine first! Mine is here!"

Song Miao took the accounts from both their hands and flipped through a few pages.

The accounts were naturally genuine, without any error against her.

It was just a bit too urgent.

Nowadays, food shops generally have meat stalls that deliver to the door; after signing a contract, they settle accounts on time.

The Song family had originally agreed with these two families to settle every half year; calculating the time, there were at least two more months before the payment date.

But now that such a big thing had happened, who could sit still?

In fact, in the past few days, the people coming to demand payment had been endless; these two sums of money were nothing among them.

Song Miao closed the account book in her hand, looked up and said: "Owing for so long, I am truly sorry; I will definitely settle your accounts as soon as possible; but you have also seen that our home is like this now... could you do us a favor and extend the time a bit more?"

The old man immediately glared his eyes: "We small business people earn only hard-earned money all year round; my family is about to have no rice to cook; how can we extend the time—Miss Song Xiaoniangzi, I won't make things difficult for you, so don't make things difficult for me! Today this account, whether you live or die, you must settle it clearly!"

The woman also shouted loudly: "It's already been extended for several months; how much longer do you want to extend?"

As she spoke, she made a move to grab Song Miao's clothes, saying: "If you can't settle the account, let's go to the yamen to see the official; a debt must be repaid, it is only right and proper; we'll just see how the official judges for us!"

Song Miao did not retreat but advanced, stepping forward and extending her hand.

The woman did not expect her to react like this, and was stunned for a moment.

"Even if you see the official, my family cannot produce money." Song Miao took the woman's hand and sighed; "Besides, even if I were sold, how much money could you get?"

The other party was struck speechless.

Last year, floods struck the south; hundreds of thousands of refugees fled north, and to have rice to eat, selling sons and daughters was everywhere, with some even asking for nothing, only begging for a mouthful of rice for their own children.

Instead, the old man hesitated, staring at Song Miao's face for a long while, and said: "Isn't it said... that Wu Yuanwai of Chengdong agreed to repay your debt? Even if he won't, with your appearance, inside Xiaotianshui Alley there must surely be a rouge and powder tower willing to offer a high price."