Chapter 1: Waking Up After Falling Into Water

"Someone! Come quickly! Someone has drowned!"

A terrified cry for help rang out at a remote estate in Emperor Tianqi.

Jun Jun Zijin's eyes seemed glued shut; she could not open them no matter how hard she tried.

She felt soaked all over, as if just pulled from the water; a breeze blew past, making her feel cold.

She did not know what had happened; she remembered today was the weekend, the sky was clear, fallen leaves were swirling, and the air was filled with gold; she was camping at Mount Yunling Mountain with her husband and daughter.

Her husband and daughter were fishing while she lay in a hammock, comfortably basking in the warm sun, feeling the silver ginkgo leaves dance in the sky, the thick carpet of golden leaves on the ground, the warm sun, the autumn wind, the falling leaves, the silhouettes of father and daughter, and the flock of wild geese that had just flown overhead... a perfect autumn symphony.

She had not relaxed like this in a long time; besides being the chief surgeon at a military hospital, she also helped her husband manage their company in her spare time.

She squinted slightly, watching the heartwarming scene of father and daughter; Jun Jun Zijin felt very satisfied with her current happy little life; the warm sunlight fell on Jun Jun Zijin's delicate face, and she unknowingly closed her eyes...

The chaotic sounds around her gradually became clear.

"It's the Second Young Lady!" someone exclaimed in shock.

"Go quickly and fetch Nurse Liu!" someone ran toward the distance.

"The Second Young Lady is truly pitiful; she has been sent here for six years; does the manor intend for her to stay here for the rest of her life...?"

"Stop talking, quickly see if Nurse Liu has arrived!"

Jun Jun Zijin felt that only her ears seemed to be functioning normally all over her body.

Almost a quarter-hour passed before Nurse Liu finally arrived in front of her.

"Nurse Liu, she is after all the legitimate Young Lady of the Minister Manor; if she drowns, what shall we do? Please, save her!" a voice filled with fear said weakly.

Another sharp voice rang out:

"What do you know? An unfavored Second Young Lady, and a useless one at that, her status is not even as high as a maid serving the Eldest Young Lady."

"Besides, for these six years, her father, the Grand Minister in our Emperor Tianqi, has paid her no attention whatsoever."

"The mountains are high and the waters are far; who can control so much? I say, who dares to meddle in others' business!"

The noisy sounds around gradually turned into hushed whispers.

Who is Nurse Liu? Where is Emperor Tianqi? What are the Minister Manor and the First Lady? I was just basking in the sun and taking a nap; how did I become an unfavored, useless Young Lady?

Jun Jun Zijin wanted to bang her head, which felt full of paste, but she discovered she could not exert even a shred of strength.

She calmed herself down and carefully filtered through the information she had just received.

No, no, no; who is related to whom is not the point; the most important thing is that someone does not want her to survive.

Did she transmigrate? Impossible! The moment this thought arose, Jun Jun Zijin, who had received higher education, rejected it; she must figure out exactly what was happening.

Jun Jun Zijin exerted all her strength to move her fingers; she succeeded.

She moved her eyeballs while keeping her eyes closed, slowly opened them, coughed up a few mouthfuls of water containing an unknown number of microorganisms, sat up, and looked around uncertainly:

In the pond spanning several hundred meters, lush green lotus leaves grew thick, large lotus flowers were about to bloom, a few scattered seed pods were visible, and the distant trees were filled with the chirping of cicadas...

Jun Jun Zijin spat in her heart, "What a waste of such fine scenery"; she had no heart to appreciate it; just a moment ago she was basking in the late autumn sun watching fallen leaves; how could there be a pond full of lotus flowers in June?

She confirmed that she had indeed undergone a cliché transmigration! Heaven does not play games like this.

Jun Jun Zijin cursed inwardly; when others transmigrate, they become Empresses or Imperial Concubines; why does it have to be like this when it is her turn?

She immediately checked if she had brought a spatial dimension or anything like that; apart from a set of tattered clothes, there was nothing.

Damn! Jun Jun Zijin swore; when others transmigrate, they get at least some benefits; is she the only one born of a stepmother? She has nothing?

Cursing heaven and earth is useless; since she has already set foot on this land, she must take it step by step; life must continue, and she must live it well.

She must first find a way to save her life and look for an opportunity to return to her original timeline; her husband and daughter are waiting for her there; Jun Jun Zijin's eyes, which were already stinging, felt even more sore and swollen.

Jun Jun Zijin immediately adjusted her chaotic thoughts; at this moment, a memory that did not belong to her flashed instantly through her mind:

The Kingdom of Emperor Tianqi, Jun Jun Zijin, fourteen years old this year; her mother died when she was six.

Less than half a year later, the concubine Wu was elevated to the position of principal wife; soon after, the grandmother who was the only one to love her after her mother's death fell ill and could not rise from bed; from then on, Jun Jun Zijin became a pitiful child with a dead mother and an unloving father.

At the age of eight, during a banquet, Jun Jun Zijin was framed by her stepmother Wu and the Eldest Young Lady Jun Jun Yiyi, and was banished to this remote estate in a poor, backward countryside.

In this estate, Nurse Liu held absolute power; from then on, Jun Jun Zijin lived a life of being ordered around by servants, wearing clothes that barely covered her body, and eating food that barely filled her stomach.

Today, she was sent by Nurse Liu to the pondside to pick lotus leaves, slipped, fell into the pond, and lost her life...

In a brief instant, Jun Jun Zijin managed to sort out the general situation.

Jun Jun Zijin stopped her thoughts; she must deal with the immediate situation first; she must quickly change out of her wet clothes; novels all say that in ancient times, even a simple cold could be fatal; this malnourished, weak body probably could not withstand it.

She glanced indifferently at the crowd before her, whose expressions varied; relying on her memory, she reached out her hand toward one of them, "Xiao He, help me up."

With Xiao He's support, Jun Jun Zijin's steps were slow, yet they revealed an unyielding determination that brooked no argument.

Her gaze, compared to the confusion and powerlessness of before, now held a few more points of sharpness and resolve.