At twenty-nine, Shi An was a corporate drone, her life an endless cycle of overtime. After yet another shift that lasted until three in the morning, she had gone home and collapsed into bed. When she woke up, she found herself transported to a dynasty absent from any history book, lying in the arms of a man, draped in a robe far too large for her frame.
The man was holding her so tightly she could barely catch her breath. She coughed, forcing her eyes open. It looked to be late in the day, much like the time she would normally clock out of work.
Watching over her were a young man and woman. Standing behind them were a girl and two boys, clearly their children. Their expressions were weary and frantic, as if they were fleeing for their lives.
The young man had refined features and wore the tattered robes of a scholar; despite his hardships, he still possessed a scholarly air. The young woman was dark-skinned and thin, her face etched with tiny cracks from exposure, yet her delicate features hinted that she had once been a beauty.
The girl beside them bore a striking resemblance to the woman, though she was even thinner and darker, her malnourished state enough to stir pity in anyone’s heart. The two boys looked like tiny, dark monkeys, their eyes large and round—so large that their gaunt faces seemed unable to hold them, as if those eyes might tumble out at any moment. The innocence and confusion in their gazes left one worried for their future.
The woman cried out, "Husband, Xiaoya is awake! She’s still alive!"
"Yes, Xiaoya is still alive. Thank goodness, thank goodness..."
The two boys crowded around, shouting, "Little Sister, Little Sister is awake..."
The girl wiped away her tears, sobbing, "Xiaoya is alive, thank goodness... If I hadn't been away from home, this never would have..."
The noisy clamor of the family brought a sudden, vibrant life to the desolate hillside.Ignoring whatever the others were saying, Shi An tried hard to adapt to her current situation. She began to examine her own body, and hearing those children call her "little sister," she knew she must be quite young. Yet she had not expected to be *this* small. Seeing how short her fingers and arms were, she guessed she was only around four years old.
The physical condition of this little toddler was truly wretched; her arms looked as though they would snap with the slightest exertion. At that moment, her stomach was rumbling, making her suspect that the original owner of this body had literally starved to death. Combined with the thinness of her clothes, the cold wind made her shiver.
Exerting herself to the limit, she asked, "Who are you all...?"
"Little sister, how can you not remember us?" The younger boy burst into tears, sobbing as he spoke, "I am your Second Older Brother! And what about Mom, Dad, Older Sister, and Older Brother—don't you recognize any of us? Mom, Dad, Little Sister is still very sick, please save her..."
The woman spoke in a gentle voice, "Xiaoya, don't be afraid, we are taking you..." Before she could finish, Shi An could hold on no longer and fainted.
Panic set in as everyone cried out in alarm once more. Fortunately, the man remained calm and said, "Let's hurry into the city to find a doctor, quickly..." He scooped up Shi An in his arms and strode away, the others following closely behind.
The younger child tripped and fell after only a few steps. Although the older girl gave him a hand, he made no fuss; instead, he said, "Sister, I'm fine... Let's catch up with Mom and Dad quickly, so we don't delay Little Sister seeing the doctor."
Even though his face was smeared with dirt, a happy smile beamed across it.
The older girl bore a look of worry between her brows, but she smiled back at him cheerfully, took his hand, and hurried to keep up.The family finally managed to enter the city just before the gates were closed and headed straight for a physician's home, though the doctor had already retired for the evening.
After taking her pulse, the physician said sternly, "The little girl isn't sick. If you truly care about her, feed her something. She is on the verge of starvation. You come looking for me—do I owe you money?"
The man said, shamed, "We wouldn't dare, we wouldn't dare. I... thank you, Doctor. I will take the child back now."
"Wait a moment," the physician said, stopping him. He called into the house, "Bring out half a bowl of porridge."
A voice grumbled from inside, "You stubborn old man, we are nearly starving ourselves, and you want to give away our porridge..." Though she complained, she walked out with half a bowl of porridge and placed it into the woman's hands.
She added, "That's all there is, don't just stare at it..."
Seeing her attitude, the physician scolded, "Hold your tongue and get back inside." Then he turned to the man and said, "Feed the porridge to the child. Once she wakes up, the whole family must leave immediately."
"Thank you, Doctor," the family chorused. The physician nodded, satisfied. Though the family was poor, they still possessed a degree of decency; he would consider this a good deed done.
The man and woman worked together to spoon the porridge into Shi An. After two spoonfuls, she actually began to smack her lips. Indeed, Shi An was simply hungry; she had fainted from starvation.
The other children saw the porridge in their parents' hands and secretly wiped drool from their mouths. They had only eaten a small piece of dough each since noon. However, they knew this was their sister's life-saving sustenance, and they were sensible enough not to fight over it. They didn't even make a sound, waiting quietly for their parents to finish feeding their sister.
Strangely enough, after finishing the half-bowl of porridge, Shi An woke up. The man picked her up, called out a thank you to the house, and led his family to the place where he and his son usually stayed.
It was, in fact, a small room near the front gate of the academy. The space was so cramped that once the family was inside, there was barely room to move.
"Everyone will have to make do here tonight," the man said. "Tomorrow, I will ask the Dean and see if we can find a way forward."
"Husband, will you be... by the Dean?"
"It will be fine. Life must go on. Everyone, rest now." He turned to his daughter. "Daya, you take your younger siblings and sleep on the bed. My wife will have to rest beside me for the night."
"Husband, go sleep on the bed. You have to teach tomorrow, you can't..."
"That's right, Father, you sleep..."
"It’s fine, it’s fine. No more arguing. Go to sleep quickly; if we wake the others, we might get thrown out."
Once the man finished speaking, the room fell silent. Since waking up, Shi An had not spoken a word, instead secretly observing everyone. However, from their brief conversation, she had gained almost no useful information. The bed was small and there were too many people; she was squeezed into the very corner. Exhausted and still hungry, she quickly drifted back to sleep.
She began to dream, and in her dreams, she saw everything that had happened to her in this world. The family she was with was surnamed Su, commoners from Sujiadian Village.
Though they were commoners, they had lived a decent life. Their eldest son had studied hard and entered the civil service; having passed the imperial examinations some time ago, he had remained in the Capital to serve as an official. The rest of the family still worked the land back home while also providing support to their relative in the Capital.