Chapter 1: Transmigrating and Taking a Beating
"Slap, slap, slap!"
Accompanied by a series of crisp smacks, Jiang Qing was completely dazed by the blows. Her entire face swelled up at a speed visible to the naked eye, with five distinct fingerprint marks clearly displayed on both cheeks.
Though she still had no idea what was going on, it did not stop her from fighting back.
"Slap, slap, slap!" Jiang Qing casually returned three slaps to her attacker.
Damn it! What kind of useless body was this? Hitting someone had ended up hurting her own hands—what kind of nonsense was that?
While massaging her aching arms, Jiang Qing took the opportunity to size up the old woman before her.
She had seen it clearly just now: this was the person who had struck her. She looked to be in her forties or fifties, dressed in coarse cloth, with her hair slicked back shiny and black. Her gaze was fierce, her face covered in fleshy fat, and her limbs were thick—at first glance, she was clearly not someone to be trifled with.
Good grief, wasn't this an ancient version of Nanny Rong?
Huh? Period costume? A pavilion? Jiang Qing stood blankly for two seconds before realizing that she had transmigrated.
She just had no idea where she had landed or what her identity was.
"Ah... you little bitch... how... how dare you hit me..."
Caught completely off guard, Goodwife Liu was stunned by the blows. She had never imagined that this usually timid and cowardly wretch, who had always let her bully her at will, would actually dare to fight back and even strike her.
For Goodwife Liu, this was completely intolerable.
"You wretched girl, have you grown the guts of a bear and a leopard? How dare you hit me! See if I don't skin you alive today..."
Once Goodwife Liu recovered her wits, she blew her top completely. Like an enraged lioness, she randomly snatched up a stool from the floor and chased after Jiang Qing to beat her.
"You wretched girl, don't run..."
Blinking, Jiang Qing relied on her youth and smaller body to dodge the stool hurled by Goodwife Liu in just a couple of moves.
With a "thud," the stool crashed onto the bluestone floor and rolled over several times.
"You little bitch, you can dodge the first day of the new year, but you can't dodge the fifteenth! See if I don't sort you out today..."
Seeing that she had missed, Goodwife Liu grabbed a bamboo pole from the side and came chasing after Jiang Qing again.
Looking at the long bamboo pole in Goodwife Liu's hand, Jiang Qing felt her eyelids twitch in fright. If she took a few hits from that, would she even survive?
Her body reacted faster than her brain, and she darted far away in a flash. She hadn't even pushed herself this hard during sports day back in college.
"You little bitch, you're just as cheap as your mother! Did you think that by climbing into the head of the family's bed you could fly up the branch and become a phoenix? Pah! A bunch of cheap trash, not even caring whether the head of the family acknowledges you mother and daughter. Watch me beat you to death today..."
Cursing and swearing, Goodwife Liu charged forward with the bamboo pole.
Oh boy, this sentence had quite a bit of information packed into it. So the original owner was actually a young miss of the manor—just an unacknowledged one.
Being unacknowledged was one thing, but to be bullied by an old servant on top of that was truly wretched...
This courtyard was far too small, and the main gate was locked; Jiang Qing yanked on it a few times, but it wouldn't open. Seeing that she couldn't dodge, she simply reached out and grabbed the other end of the bamboo pole.
"You wretched girl, have you lost your mind? How dare you resist me, old woman—have you got a death wish? Let go right now!" Goodwife Liu glared at Jiang Qing and scolded.
"Let go so you can beat me? Just how stupid do you think I am..." Jiang Qing gave a hard tug, trying to pull the bamboo pole away, but found she couldn't budge it after pulling for a good while.
Instead, the old woman gave a sharp pull, and Jiang Qing instantly tumbled to the ground, taking a painful face-plant.
"Hahaha... You wretched girl, take a look at your own scrawny little body without an ounce of meat on it! You dare to challenge me? Pah..."
Jiang Qing's face flushed red with humiliation, and in her heart she couldn't help cursing that damned, useless body once again. Taking advantage of the moment the old woman threw her head back in laughter, she immediately snatched the bamboo pole from her hands.
This damned old woman—if a tiger doesn't roar, do they really think she's a sick cat?
Jiang Qing's anger was truly ignited now. Without a second thought, she grabbed the bamboo pole she had snatched back and rained blows down indiscriminately on Goodwife Liu's dumbfounded face.
"Ow... I'm done for... You wretched girl, stop right now... Ow... It hurts to death..."
Goodwife Liu dodged and wailed at the same time.
"You've gone completely mad... You cheap piece of trash, low-born wretch, just as cheap as your mother! Why didn't you just die like your mother instead of wasting food while you're alive..."
"Ow... It hurts this old woman to death! I'm definitely going to tell the mistress about what happened today and have her skin you alive, you little bitch..."
Ignoring her curses, Jiang Qing deliberately aimed for the old woman's tender spots, striking her blow after blow.
"You low-born thing, born of a mother but raised by none, you little bitch, you don't deserve the life of a young miss... Ow... Stop hitting me... If you hit me again, you're going to kill me..."
Turning a deaf ear, Jiang Qing brought the bamboo pole down on the old woman's body with a loud rattle, strike after strike. It sounded utterly satisfying...
It wasn't that she was being cruel; she had just noticed that the original owner's two arms were covered in blue and purple bruises, which made it obvious she hadn't been beaten lightly on ordinary days.
Jiang Qing figured there were likely more marks on her torso and elsewhere, and today she was just collecting some interest in advance.
"I'll beat you to death, you old hag! I am still the daughter of the head of the family, and even if I'm not acknowledged, I'm still of his bloodline. Does the head of the family know you bully me like this?"
Jiang Qing scolded as she beat her. Although she didn't know who the old woman was, judging by her dress and attire, she was undoubtedly a servant of the manor.
It wasn't that she looked down on servants, but she had zero affection for a servant who bullied her master. Even if she wasn't acknowledged, it couldn't erase the fact that she was the daughter of the head of the family.
Being bullied by a slave was going way too far. Getting her face slapped the moment she arrived meant Jiang Qing would be letting her off easy if she didn't beat her to death.
"Pah... So what if you're of the head of the family's bloodline? You're just good for nothing! If the head of the family could ever remember you, the sun would truly rise from the west."
Goodwife Liu felt somewhat guilty under the scolding. Naturally, she hadn't bullied the original owner any less on ordinary days, but thinking of how this girl couldn't cultivate, she instantly regained her confidence and retorted in time.
Good for nothing? Jiang Qing flew into a rage instantly. As an elite corporate workaholic, she had never been called good for nothing by anyone.
"You're the one who's good for nothing! Your damn family are all good for nothing! See if I don't beat you to death."
Jiang Qing struck even harder, causing the old woman to shriek in pain.
"Ow, dear... I'm dying, I'm dying... You wretched girl, stop right now, stop right now..." Goodwife Liu panted heavily, unable to tell whether she was exhausted from anger or exertion.
Jiang Qing was also afraid of beating someone to death. With the current situation unclear and lacking the original owner's memories, teaching her a lesson to this extent was quite enough.
At this thought, Jiang Qing paused the hand holding the bamboo pole, glared fiercely at Goodwife Liu opposite her, and said coldly, "Are you going to beat me in the future or not?"
"I won't beat you, I won't! My little ancestor, consider this old woman in the wrong, alright?" Goodwife Liu clutched the places where she had been hit and said hastily.
Jiang Qing didn't know whether this old woman had genuinely surrendered or was plotting something else in her heart, but it didn't matter. If the other party dared to bully her again in the future, Jiang Qing would make sure she learned why flowers are so red.
The reason Goodwife Liu surrendered and admitted fault wasn't because she was afraid of Jiang Qing; on one hand, she didn't want to exhaust herself further. On the other hand, she figured there was plenty of time ahead, and there would be plenty of time and opportunities to deal with this girl later on.
Since she couldn't get the upper hand right now, swallowing her pride to cut her losses wasn't a bad deal. Anyway, she was just a slave by nature, so there was no loss of face.
Jiang Qing knew nothing of Goodwife Liu's internal monologue. Seeing that the other party had surrendered, she didn't press the matter further. After tossing the bamboo pole aside, she randomly picked a room and went inside to rest.
After fighting for so long, she was quite tired—not to mention she had taken several hits from the old woman herself.
"Hiss... It hurts like hell... Damn old hag... She hits really hard." Jiang Qing rubbed the spot where she had been struck and couldn't help cursing.
Goodwife Liu paid no attention to what Jiang Qing was doing, but looking at the mess all over the courtyard, her head started throbbing. In the past, Jiang Qing used to clean all of this up.
Right now, this wretched girl had simply gone into the room to rest without a care in the world. Goodwife Liu had half a mind to flare up, but thinking of the girl's ferocious demeanor just moments ago, she felt a twinge of apprehension.
"What the hell is going on? Why did this wretched girl suddenly change her personality today? Could it be that she was possessed by some wandering ghost..."
Of course, Goodwife Liu was just casually muttering to herself. Although the cultivation world had tales of possession, who would bother possessing a little girl of unknown talent who couldn't even cultivate?
Goodwife Liu shook her head, casting those unrealistic thoughts out of her mind, and simply figured the girl had been bullied to her limit and thus developed the urge to fight back.
Jiang Qing knew nothing of Goodwife Liu's internal thoughts. She randomly entered a room, where the furnishings were extremely simple: aside from a bed and a large wooden chest, there was nothing else.
Next to the bed head, some folded clothes were neatly placed, similar to the ones she was wearing. She assumed this must be the original owner's room.
Realizing this was the original owner's room, Jiang Qing finally relaxed her entire body. She kicked off her shoes, pulled a quilt from the side to wrap around herself, and went straight to sleep.
As dawn broke, the morning light grew faint!
Jiang Qing slept all the way until early the next morning.
When she woke up, Jiang Qing's expression was somewhat dazed. Last night, she had dreamed of a young girl, experiencing bits and pieces of the girl's life from childhood onward. She knew those were the memories of the original owner.