Chapter 4: Bullied to This Extent

The original owner's maternal grandfather was a native of Lady Qingping County, renowned throughout Emperor Tianqi as a sage of the apricot grove.

In her past life, Jun Jun Zijin had trained in both Chinese and Western medicine; as a graduate student at a medical college and a distinguished military physician, finding some medicinal herbs was truly a trivial matter.

The original owner's memories flooded before her eyes: on the estate, Nurse Liu ruled with an iron fist, behaving arrogantly and without scruple, mistreating the servants harshly.

Since she belonged to the First Lady, everyone on the estate feared her, daring to be angry but not to speak out.

Who wouldn't be utterly annoyed by a mad dog biting at them all day? Dealing with such a fool wasn't difficult, but since she had just arrived, she would let the mad dog run wild for a few more days first.

The original owner's memories continued to surge forth; during the six years the Second Young Lady Jun spent on the estate, Nurse Liu had never given her a good time.

In the first two years, she only occasionally tripped her up, not daring to beat or scold her openly, but later, seeing that Minister Jun paid no attention to this second daughter, she became brazen in her abuse, ordering her to do this and that, withholding food until tasks were finished, and even whipping her.

She was, after all, the legitimate daughter of a Minister's household; how could a mere servant dare to bully her to such an extent!

Just yesterday, the original owner saw Ah Fang, a maid of the First Lady, sneaking onto the estate; since Ah Fang had rushed there overnight, something major must be afoot, so she quietly followed.

Terrified at heart, she didn't dare get too close, so she couldn't hear their conversation clearly, catching only fragmented words here and there.

"... Prime Minister's manor... Eldest Young Lady... coming-of-age ceremony... accounts..."

"Rest assured... that little slut... this month's..."

Then she saw Nurse Liu hand Ah Fang a package of something.

The original owner dared not linger further and quietly slipped away.

Today, she had lost her life.

She had been standing on a stone by the pond's edge; by the time she felt the stone shifting, it was already too late.

But how could a perfectly good stone shift? This matter was surely not so simple...

Just wait; she would deal with every single person who harmed her one by one. They thought they could harm her and walk away scot-free? No door to that! No window either!

Nurse Liu, the First Lady, all those who harmed her—not one of them would escape!

Now that she had inherited the original owner's body, she would certainly avenge her; however, now was not yet the time for direct confrontation.

The rear mountain was all too familiar to the Second Young Lady of the Jun family, who climbed it daily to gather firewood, and she soon found the medicinal herbs she needed.

Having gathered some firewood, they prepared to return.

Suddenly, at the entrance of the canyon, Jun Jun Zijin spotted a peculiar plant that stood in stark contrast to the lush greenery surrounding it.

Astonishingly, the entire plant bore not a single leaf, with only one stem stretching out stubbornly.

She approached in delight; yes, this was it, yet in the original owner's memories, which included some knowledge of pharmacology, there was no information about it—could it be that in this era, its value remained undiscovered? An irrepressible joy instantly bloomed on Jun Jun Zijin's face.

Jun Jun Zijin squatted down gently, inserting her fingers into the soil and loosening the earth around it bit by bit, every movement executed with extreme care.

Finally, Jun Jun Zijin successfully excavated the entire plant, complete with the soil clinging to its roots.

Throughout the process, she relied on no one else's hands; every step and every detail was accomplished by her own effort.

At this moment, Xiao He, who had been silent until now, bit her lip and said:

"Second Young Lady, we truly cannot return just like this; after we defied Nurse Wu just now, she certainly won't let us off."

Jun Jun Zijin paused in her steps, feeling both amused and helpless:

"You silly girl, have we ever had a single good day in the past?"

Xiao He shook her head, biting her pale lips as if making up her mind, then pulled several copper coins from her bosom:

"Second Young Lady, these are a few copper coins I saved up on the estate; though they aren't worth much, you... you can use them to buy some food. You... you should escape."

Xiao He's voice was low, yet unusually firm.

A warm surge welled up in Jun Jun Zijin's heart, and her gaze softened:

"Xiao He, I appreciate your kindness, but if I flee, you will surely be implicated, and wouldn't my leaving simply benefit those villains?"

Xiao He's eyes turned red, words catching in her throat.

Jun Jun Zijin carefully wrapped the plant and tucked it into Xiao He's arms:

"Take this back to the estate first; it will be of great use later."