Su Yu did not care in the least about her change in gender. To be able to live a second life was already a supreme blessing, and to be reborn as a human—was that not infinitely more fortunate than turning into a chicken, a duck, an ox, or a horse?
Yet, even as she pondered this, Su Yu could not help but marvel: which deity had protected her, and what had they seen in her that allowed her to return from the dead and be granted a chance at a fresh start?
First, she was given another lifetime; second, she was delivered from a male body and offered a second chance to pursue a more magnificent existence. Truly, it was like having three wishes fulfilled all at once!
Even though in her past life Su Yu had never believed in ghosts and gods, she now found herself silently thanking that higher, invisible dimension in her heart. Surely, ordinary ghosts and deities could not possess such mighty powers?
After musing a little while longer, Su Yu felt an irresistible wave of fatigue wash over her. Even a spiritually powerful mind could hardly govern such a fragile, newborn body; an infant still required plenty of sleep.
After rolling her eyes around a few times, Su Yu finally closed them peacefully and drifted off to dreamland.
As a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes, what was there to do besides eating and sleeping? With an infant's brain not yet fully developed, how could one possibly think deeply about things?
Yet that applied to ordinary infants; Su Yu was different. Her soul and body existed in a delicate state. While this vessel was indeed her own body, the soul within it had long since transcended the limits of the flesh.
Aside from fulfilling the nutritional needs of this tiny body every day, Su Yu found herself able to ponder for longer and longer periods. Were she not afraid of startling those around her with her abnormality, her daily routine could easily match that of an adult. But not daring to expose herself too much, Su Yu had no choice but to close her eyes every day and pretend to be sleeping, passing it off as resting her eyes.
The most awkward time of day for Su Yu was feeding time. Li Qingping would hold Su Yu in her arms to nurse her. For Su Yu, whose soul was already mature, it felt awkward beyond words. Fortunately, she was a baby now, and nursing was only natural—who would ever mock an infant for feeding?
And so, closing her eyes and hardening her heart, Su Yu thought: *Bottoms up!*
Besides this, another issue that needed solving was her bodily functions. Every time she needed to relieve herself, Su Yu had to cry out twice to attract the maids' attention. Although babies generally cared little about wetting the bed, Su Yu could not bear the thought of soiling her sheets; it was terribly uncomfortable.
She always called for a maid to help resolve her bodily needs, and as a result, she had never once wet the bed. This had long been a source of private praise among the maids: this young miss had shown herself to be an exceptionally well-behaved child from the very beginning. Apart from crying when she was first born, she had never been seen making a fuss for all this time; she knew when it was time to eat, and she had never even wet the bed, saving them the trouble of frequently washing quilts. Truly, she was a remarkably hassle-free child.
Ever since the young miss Su Yu was born, she had brought a touch of vitality to Su Liangchen’s estate. For Su Liangchen and his wife, who had braced themselves for the headaches of caring for a newborn, an infant who neither cried nor made a fuss saved them tenfold the trouble.
The only drawback was that the child was simply too well-behaved and too quiet, which made things rather dull. In her leisure time, Li Qingping often tried to play with the baby, but no matter how much she coaxed and teased, Su Yu remained completely unresponsive, and at times even managed to playfully provoke Li Qingping in return, leaving the mother feeling rather disappointed.
In fact, the second time Su Yu ever cried out since birth was when Su Liangchen startled her. It happened quite suddenly: while Li Qingping stood in front to catch Su Yu’s attention, Su Liangchen seized the opportunity to sneak behind her and pull a sudden funny face to scare her.
Before Su Yu could react—though her soul remained quite calm—her bodily instincts took over and she began to cry. After wailing a few times, a wave of awkwardness and annoyance washed over her. Hearing her parents' triumphant laughter, she secretly gnashed her teeth: *So they only had a child just to play with her? Is it really that funny?*
Still, on second thought, Su Yu being so quiet and still hardly fit an infant's instincts. If she weren't a little more lively, people might easily mistake her for having some sort of deficiency.
Infancy always passed in a flash. In the blink of an eye, Su Yu had been in this new world for a full year, and tomorrow was the day for her *zhuazhou* ceremony.
As her parents, Su Liangchen and Li Qingping had long since invited a host of relatives from the clan and close friends from around Guining City to witness the event.
Through a year of covert observation, Su Yu had mastered the language of this world completely. Now, she only needed to learn how to read the characters, and communication with others would be entirely without barrier.
Already a year old, Su Yu still felt a lingering resistance toward wearing split-crotch pants. She wasn't incapable of controlling herself—why should she have to endure such a humiliating childhood all over again?
Fortunately, girls always wore more layers than boys; otherwise, she feared her little parts would be exposed every time she took a couple of steps, which would have been even more humiliating.
"My young miss, come and try on this garment and see how it looks! Our young miss is carved from jade and molded from snow, a truly exquisite jade doll. Everyone loves her to pieces!"
Su Ling'er, the maid closest to Su Yu, was only sixteen this year. When she was first chosen to be Su Yu's personal attendant, Su Ling'er had expected to exhaust all her energy caring for this young miss. Never did she imagine that although Young Miss Su Yu was tender in years, she was remarkably sensible and a far cry from the difficult children she often heard about. While this made things wonderfully easy for Su Ling'er, it also made her grow all the more fond of this jade-like young miss.
"Mm-hm, Sister Ling'er."
Although Su Yu was capable of conversing fluently, she still minimized the length and frequency of her speech most of the time to avoid uttering anything inappropriate for her age.
Su Yu obediently let Su Ling'er dress her. Being so young, whatever pretty clothes she wore were hardly overly cumbersome, and within moments, she was slipped into a brand-new set of infant garments.
"Mmm, not bad at all. Tomorrow, the young miss will wear this outfit for her *zhuazhou* ceremony."
Su Ling'er pinched Su Yu’s plump little cheek, making Su Yu feel quite ill at ease and prompting her to twist her body and wiggle backward. Watching Su Yu’s bashful expression, Su Ling'er couldn't help laughing out loud. "How truly adorable."
The stars and moon revolved, and in the blink of an eye, the next day arrived. Today, the Su clan master's residence began preparations from early dawn. By sunrise, all manner of ingredients had been made ready, awaiting the arrival of the guests during the *si* hour to witness the *zhuazhou* ceremony, after which the banquet would commence at the *wu* hour.
Halfway through the *chen* hour, the invited guests arrived one after another. Steward Wan led a retinue of footmen in charge of receiving gifts. Once the guests were welcomed inside, Su Liangchen and Li Qingping engaged them in casual conversation.
In the main hall, a large red rug had already been spread across the floor, upon which were laid out all the various items needed for the *zhuazhou*. From gold, silver, and treasures, to pearls, jade, and jewelry; from poetry and classics to various kinds of weapons; along with garments and delicacies—everything one could possibly imagine was there. Had they been placed on tables, they certainly would not have fit, so they were simply laid out across the floor.