Chapter 15: Also One Who Was Reborn

A young man dressed in worn-out clothes followed behind Meng Qinghe.

"Qinghe, slow down a little. What's the rush?"

Chi Qinghe walked at the very front, her steps hurried, paying no attention at all to the man's calls behind her, simply walking forward on her own.

"Qinghe!" Chi Zhiqiu jogged a few steps forward and grabbed Meng Qinghe's wrist: "Qinghe, none of us have ever been to Jingcheng before. We'd better not wander around. What if we get separated?"

Chi Qinghe glanced at Chi Zhiqiu, a flicker of disdain crossing her eyes, but she concealed it extremely well: "Big Brother, this is my first time in Jingcheng too. I got a little overly excited."

Chi Ting Song stepped forward and tightened the bundle on his body. His gaze drifted toward an alley. Seeing him staring intently, Chi Zhiqiu couldn't help asking, "Father, what are you looking at?"

"N-nothing." Chi Ting Song said somewhat uneasily, "Can we really find that Divine Doctor He'er spoke of here? Your grandmother is still ill. We need to travel fast, otherwise we won't make it back in time for the harvest."

Hearing this, Chi Qinghe sneered inwardly.

Harvest?

This year was a year of locust plague. What harvest could there be?

Yes, Chi Qinghe was also someone who had been reborn.

After dying in the Cold Palace, she was reborn together with Chi Nan Yi.

After being reborn, she used her grandmother's illness as a pretext, lying that she had previously encountered a Divine Doctor who promised that she could seek him out in Jingcheng if she ever faced difficulties, and so she had Chi Ting Song and Chi Zhiqiu bring her to Jingcheng.

In truth, she wanted to find an opportunity to reunite with the Meng Family.

What Divine Doctor?

What medical treatment?

It was nothing but an excuse she made up offhand.

Chi Qinghe sneered inwardly: Once I reach the Minister's Residence and restore my identity, I will make all of you mud-legged peasants pay the price. And Chi Nan Yi, that wretch! This life, I must make her suffer properly.

"Father, it's been dry this year and there isn't much grain in the fields. If we can obtain medicine from the Divine Doctor to help Grandmother recover faster, it would be worth it even if we sacrifice the harvest." Chi Zhiqiu's words had barely fallen when he received a scolding from Chi Ting Song.

"What nonsense are you saying? We are farmers. How can we let the crops die in the fields?"

"Father, it's fine. Second Brother and Third Brother are still at home. If we can't make it back, they will definitely harvest." Chi Qinghe said with a smile: "Father, let's go find the Divine Doctor quickly!"

"Sigh, Jingcheng is so vast. Where are we supposed to find the Divine Doctor?"

Chi Qinghe's eyes darted about. She knew the location of the Minister's Residence: "Father, let's go take a look over there!"

Saying so, she took the lead and walked toward the direction of the Minister's Residence.

Chi Nan Yi and Meng Qingyue had just entered the residence when Chi Qinghe's figure appeared in an alley not far from the Minister's Residence.

"He'er, this... this mansion seems quite large. Could it be the Divine Doctor's residence?"

The Divine Doctor's residence? That was her home!

Just then, a sedan chair stopped outside the gate.

A man dressed in luxurious robes stepped down from the sedan chair.

"Master."

The servant at the gate hurriedly bowed.

This person was none other than her biological father, the current Grand Minister Meng Hui.

"Qinghe, is this the Divine Doctor you spoke of?"

Chi Qinghe brushed off Chi Zhiqiu's hand with some distaste. His dirty hands had soiled her clothes.

Chi Zhiqiu was taken aback. His sister had been like a completely different person lately. What on earth was going on?

"Is everything ready for tomorrow?" Meng Hui turned to look at the steward: "The matter of offering incense at Jingyue Temple must not have any mistakes."

"Rest assured, Master. Everything has been prepared properly."

Offering incense at Jingyue Temple?

Chi Qinghe's eyes lit up.

"Father, it's getting late. We should find a place to spend the night! After traveling for so long, I'm exhausted."

Chi Ting Song looked at her somewhat gaunt face and nodded: "When we passed by the city gate earlier, I saw an abandoned house outside. Let's rest there."

What?

In an abandoned house?

How could that work? How frightening!

But the thought that tomorrow she could return to the Minister's Residence and be her proper eldest young lady, she steeled herself and agreed.

Chi Nan Yi returned to her room, that familiar back figure flashing through her mind from time to time.

She was all too familiar with that person's back.

In the previous life, ever since Chi Qinghe returned to the Minister's Residence, Chi Nan Yi was reduced to her backdrop. Even when going out, she could only stand behind Chi Qinghe. From then on, before her was always Chi Qinghe's—no, Meng Qinghe's—back.

"If it really is her, why would she come to Jingcheng now? According to the trajectory of the previous life, the Chi Family only came to Jingcheng to take refuge after the locust plague had triggered a famine." Chi Nan Yi's brows furrowed tightly. A somewhat absurd thought surfaced in her mind.

"Could it be... she was also reborn?"

Her eyes flickered slightly. Yes, if even she could transmigrate and be reborn, it wasn't impossible for her to be reborn either!

If that were truly the case, then the preparations she had made these past days were truly wise.

Early the next morning, everyone in the Minister's Residence got up bright and early.

Chi Nan Yi and the other young ladies of the Meng Family rarely went out on ordinary days. This trip to Jingyue Temple was no different from an autumn outing for them.

Even though they would have to eat vegetarian meals at the temple, they were still very much looking forward to it.

After breakfast, everyone prepared to set off. Several horse carriages were parked outside the Minister's Residence. The ladies of the main household each had their own separate carriage, while the concubines and children of concubine origin crowded into a single carriage.

Chi Nan Yi was just about to board the carriage when suddenly, a woman dressed in coarse hemp cloth rushed out from an alley and knelt directly on the ground.

The instant she caught sight of that person from the corner of her eye, Chi Nan Yi felt the blood in her entire body freeze.

Meng Qinghe!

It really was her!

Chi Nan Yi gripped the carriage curtain, her knuckles whitening, a flash of harshness crossing her eyes.

"What's going on ahead?" Meng Hui frowned, asking, "What is that person's background?"

"They look like they came to beg for silver and grain." Jiang Clan said lightly, "Give them some silver and send them away." After speaking, she wanted to get straight into the carriage; Meng Qinghe saw this and felt a surge of anxiety. In her previous life, her mother had recognized her at a glance; in this life, without her mother, she feared she would be mistaken for a beggar and sent away.

"Madam!" Meng Qinghe cried anxiously, "Please, Madam, take pity and accept this lowly girl; I will do anything, willing to serve as a slave or maid by your side, please Madam, have mercy!"

Chi Nan Yi heard her say that, the corner of her mouth twitching slightly; Meng Qinghe seemed a bit smarter than in her previous life, at least knowing how to draw Jiang Clan's attention.

As expected, Jiang Clan turned her gaze toward her, looking at Meng Qinghe's face; Jiang Clan first froze, then quickly stepped toward Meng Qinghe.

Jiang Clan looked at that face which was seventy to eighty percent similar to her own, her voice trembling slightly: "Child, you… what is your name?"

These words were almost exactly the same as in her previous life; Meng Qinghe knew her mother had already recognized her.

"My name is Chi Qinghe."