"No, don't go, Nannan, stay..."
Pei Ying suddenly opened her eyes, gasping for breath, her gaze unfocused and not fixed on any particular point.
She had had another nightmare.
A week ago, her daughter Qiao Ling had gone out with her classmates to the library, only to encounter an out-of-control truck on the way. The three people in the ride-hailing car died instantly.
Four years earlier, her husband had passed away from illness, and half her world had collapsed. Then, a week ago, her daughter was gone too—Pei Ying's entire world turned gray.
Every night, she would dream. In her dreams, another version of herself would smile warmly and remind her daughter to come home early for dinner. Her Nannan would flash a sweet smile, wrap her arms around her, agree happily, and then pout, saying she wanted braised pork ribs for dinner.
Pei Ying would stand there, desperately trying to stop her daughter from leaving, but her outstretched hands would pass right through her body, unable to hold her back.
She would float behind, watching her daughter walk out the door, meet her classmates at the entrance of their neighborhood, and get into that ride-hailing car—the same one that would later be crushed beyond recognition in the collision.
Her Nannan would never come home again.
......
"Madam?! Oh, thank heavens, Madam, you're finally awake! Please wait a moment—this servant will go inform the young mistress at once!"
A voice spoke beside her, unfamiliar. Pei Ying turned her head with difficulty and caught only a glimpse of a retreating figure in a ruqun skirt, swiftly disappearing behind two painted screens.
Pei Ying blinked slowly, belatedly realizing she was in a very strange place.
She seemed to be lying on a low bed—much lower than modern beds, barely half the height. A wooden hook hung with bed curtains stood at the side, and in front of her were two intricately carved screens. Further ahead, she could vaguely make out a wooden side table.
The room had an antique charm, as if it were a film set or a studio designed for period dramas.
How had she gotten here?
Last night, she had taken her sleeping pills as usual and gone to bed...
Before Pei Ying could make sense of it, hurried footsteps sounded outside.
"Mother! Mother, you're finally awake! You scared me to death! Doctor Chen said if you didn’t wake up today, you might not... And Father sent word that bandits have been raiding nearby, so we mustn’t leave the estate. If you abandoned me, I wouldn’t want to live either!"
Before Pei Ying could react, a petite figure threw herself onto the bed, weeping so hard that her tears soaked her clothes.
It was a girl of fifteen or sixteen, bright-eyed and lovely, her delicate features striking even with her eyes red from crying.
Pei Ying froze as if struck by lightning, staring at the girl. "Lingling?!"
Meng Ling'er immediately responded, only to have her wrist seized. The beautiful woman on the bed struggled to sit up, but after days of high fever, she had no strength left. Seeing this, Meng Ling'er leaned in closer. "Mother, I'm right here."
Tears instantly welled up in Pei Ying’s eyes. With all her might, she pulled her daughter into her arms. "Nannan, don’t leave, don’t leave Mama..."
Meng Ling'er rested her head against the soft swell of her mother’s bosom, inhaling the comforting scent of her, her cheeks flushing slightly. "Don’t worry, Mother. I won’t go anywhere."
The maid Shui Su, assuming Pei Ying was distressed about the unrest outside, chimed in reassuringly, "Madam, please set your mind at ease. The bandits outside the city are nothing but a disorganized rabble. Our Governor of Jizhou has always prioritized border defenses—the garrison will surely repel them."
Pei Ying didn’t hear a single word Shui Su said.
She held Meng Ling'er tightly. The girl in her arms was warm and soft—no longer cold and stiff in a morgue.
Even if this was just a dream, at least she could hold her daughter again.
"Mother, I won’t go anywhere. I’ll stay right here with you."
"Young Mistress, this servant will fetch Doctor Chen."
"Go quickly!"
It took Pei Ying the time it took to drink a cup of tea to calm down slightly. She had cried, and yet her beloved daughter was still here—visible, tangible. The surroundings hadn’t changed either. Pei Ying glanced around but saw no cameras or underworld envoys dressed as Ox-Head and Horse-Face.
Where was she?
Before she could figure it out, Shui Su returned with someone at the door. "Madam, Doctor Chen is here."
"Please, come in." Meng Ling'er hurried to greet him.
In these times, strict separation between men and women wasn’t heavily enforced, especially not for skilled physicians. Doctor Chen entered carrying a bamboo case.
After observing her complexion and checking her pulse, Doctor Chen first congratulated Meng Ling'er.
Then, after finishing his examination, he said, "Magistrate’s Lady, there’s no need to worry. Waking up means you’ve passed the most critical stage. I’ll prescribe some medicine—take it as directed, and you’ll recover fully."
"Thank you for your trouble." Pei Ying leaned against the headboard.
Her voice was soft, like the gentle flow of a spring stream in Jiangnan, soothing just to hear.
Doctor Chen couldn’t help but glance at her again. As a physician, distinctions between men and women mattered little to him—all were human, all fell ill, and all could perish from disease.
But he had to admit, the Magistrate’s Lady was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Her hair was black as lacquer, her skin like snow, and her eyes carried the tender affection of the water towns. Yet her figure was like a peony in full bloom—radiant and breathtaking. Even in illness, the Magistrate’s Lady dazzled, her presence illuminating the room.
After leaving the prescription, Doctor Chen was respectfully escorted out by Shui Su.
A short while later, Shui Su returned with a bowl of millet congee. "Madam, you haven’t eaten in a day and night. Have some congee to settle your stomach."
Meng Ling'er took the bowl. "Mother, let me feed you."
Pei Ying sipped slowly, pausing now and then to look at her daughter.
The girl before her was the spitting image of Lingling, though she seemed slightly older—perhaps fifteen.
Her Lingling had only been thirteen at the time of the accident.
"Mother?" Meng Ling'er asked, puzzled by the odd look in her mother’s eyes.
Pei Ying quickly responded.
Meng Ling'er scooped another spoonful of congee. "Mother, eat up and get better soon. I can’t stand Aunt’s smug face."
Pei Ying’s eyes flickered with confusion.
Meng Ling'er misunderstood. "Ah, I know, I know. I won’t say another word."
Once the bowl was empty, Pei Ying suddenly felt exhausted. "Nannan, stay with Mama... stay with Mother for a while."
Meng Ling'er agreed happily.
Since she was eight, she hadn’t been allowed to sleep with her mother. Her father had insisted that children should keep their distance from their parents as they grew older—what nonsense! It was just an excuse for him to monopolize Mother’s attention.
Delighted, she climbed onto the bed, wrapping her arms around her mother’s slender waist and pressing close to her soft warmth. She had only meant to lie there for a bit, but before she knew it, she had fallen asleep alongside Pei Ying.
With her daughter beside her, Pei Ying slept soundly.
It took Pei Ying a day to accept the fact that she had traveled through time.
The concept of time travel wasn’t hard to accept. After her husband and daughter had passed away, all she had left in the modern world were a few relatives on her in-laws’ side and a handful of friends. The only regrets were not properly saying goodbye to her friends and not resigning from her teaching position.
Oh, and the flowers on her balcony...
But with her daughter here, everything else was worth it.
"Madam?"
Pei Ying snapped out of her thoughts. "Hmm?"
Shui Su lowered her eyes: "The Old Madam requests your presence."
Meng Ling'er, sitting beside her, pouted at these words. "How could Grandmother be like this? Mother's illness has only just improved—how can she risk exposure to the wind? She clearly doesn’t care for Mother at all, her favoritism knows no bounds..." The last part was muttered so softly that Pei Ying couldn’t catch it.
Pei Ying rose from the couch.
Since waking yesterday, she had been carefully probing for information. Apart from being a few years younger, the original owner of this body was identical to her in every way—even the red birthmark on her chest was in the same spot—as if she were her counterpart from another world.
Whether it was because the maidservant trusted her too much or because her daughter remained naive and unreserved, Pei Ying had managed to extract details effortlessly.
Her darling daughter was no longer "Qiao Ling" but "Meng Ling'er." Her husband was no longer "Qiao Wen," a doctor at the hospital, but "Meng Ducang," the county magistrate of Beichuan County.
She and her magistrate husband had been childhood sweethearts. She married him at sixteen, and a year later, Meng Ling'er was born. Their marriage had been blissful, thick as honey.
Meng Ducang had lost his father young. He and his younger brother, Meng Huawei, were raised single-handedly by their mother, Lady Liu, before both married and entered official service.
Initially, Lady Liu had approved of Meng Ducang’s marriage to Pei Ying, so her impression of her couldn’t have been too poor. But as Pei Ying’s merchant family declined and she bore only a daughter without producing a son afterward, Lady Liu gradually began to find fault with her at every turn.
"Emperors favor their eldest sons, commoners dote on their youngest." Lady Liu was no exception—she adored Meng Huawei, who now served as a Xing Cao official, and treasured the two sons born to the second branch as if they were her very eyes.
In an era where official promotions still heavily relied on filial piety and integrity, Pei Ying’s life in the Meng household wasn’t as glamorous as outsiders might assume. That said, it wasn’t unbearable either.
The Meng residence was a two-courtyard quadrangle. The eastern wing housed the main branch, the western wing the second branch, while the central rear quarters belonged to Lady Liu.
The moment Pei Ying stepped inside, she heard laughter—only for it to cease abruptly when she, Meng Ling'er, and Shui Su entered.
Lady Liu sat at the head of the room. The elderly woman wore her hair in a high bun adorned with gold and jade. Perhaps due to the hardships of her youth, her wrinkles were deep, and when she wasn’t smiling, her lips turned downward, her sharp eyes gleaming with an intimidating light.
Beside Lady Liu sat a round-faced woman—Yun Chunlan, the wife of the second branch. She appeared to be in her thirties, dressed in a green cross-collar ruqun. Her hair was simply styled, but the gold hairpins and swaying ornaments were exquisite, and the gold-inlaid jade necklace around her neck was particularly eye-catching.
Yun Chunlan smiled warmly. "Sister-in-law, in your absence these past few days, Mother has missed your care terribly. Truly, no one attends to her as deftly as you—I’m far too clumsy in comparison."
Pei Ying lowered her gaze and performed a respectful bow toward the head of the room. "Greetings, Mother."
Meng Ling'er followed suit. "Greetings, Grandmother."
Silence hung in the air.
Pei Ying straightened after her bow and spoke softly, "Might I ask why Mother summoned me?"
The elderly woman before her was unfamiliar—not the mother-in-law from her past life. Having gleaned some details from her daughter and Shui Su, Pei Ying had no intention of treating her with the same reverence.
Lady Liu frowned but did not invite them to sit, leaving them standing as she regarded Pei Ying with disdain. "As the eldest daughter-in-law and the wife of a county magistrate, you ought to be diligent and set an example. How can it be that while your husband toils outside, you sleep until midday even after recovering from illness?"
Meng Ling'er immediately pouted. "Grandmother, Mother was seriously ill! Doctor Chen even said that if she hadn’t woken yesterday, her life would have been in danger. By the grace of the Bodhisattva, she pulled through, but she’s still taking medicine today!"
Pei Ying watched her daughter, who looked like a tiny, bristling hen defending her, and warmth flooded her heart.
Her precious child!
"How dare you! I am speaking to your mother—since when does a grandchild interrupt their elders?" Lady Liu slammed her hand on the armrest of her wooden chair. "Eldest daughter-in-law, how have you raised Ling'er to be so disrespectful?"
In these times, where official appointments prized filial piety above all, the accusation of "disrespecting elders" could ruin a man’s career. Even for a girl, a tarnished reputation would severely hinder future marriage prospects.
Pei Ying’s delicate brows knitted together as she prepared to retort—but just then, a loyal servant rushed into the courtyard in a panic.
"Old Madam! First Madam! Second Madam! Disaster has struck—" The servant’s face was as pale as paper, his breath ragged, whether from exhaustion or terror.
Already displeased, Lady Liu scowled at his disheveled appearance and snapped, "What is this unseemly behavior? Have you forgotten all decorum? If so, report to Steward Sun and request a transfer to the estate—lest you embarrass us before important guests someday!"
The servant ignored the scolding and blurted, "The bandits are fierce—they’ve slaughtered most of the garrison and breached the city walls! Beichuan County is about to fall! The magistrate orders all masters to flee to Fanxiang Commandery at once. He stressed the urgency—do not waste time packing valuables!"
Fanxiang Commandery lay south of Beichuan County, a major administrative region in Ji Province.
The occupants of the courtyard paled instantly.
Lady Liu shot to her feet, aghast. "How can this be? Those bandits are mere rabble—how could they overpower Ji Province’s trained soldiers? Are you certain this isn’t a trick?"
The servant shook his head frantically. "Old Madam, the magistrate’s orders were clear. If I’m lying, may lightning strike me dead! There’s no time to delay—please prepare immediately. We depart shortly!"
Seeing his genuine terror, Lady Liu’s heart turned to ice. "Where is the magistrate? Why isn’t he returning to escort us?"
The servant knelt. "The magistrate has vowed to stand with Beichuan County to the end."
Lady Liu staggered, clutching her forehead in horror. Yun Chunlan, standing closest, hurried to steady her.
"Understood. You may go." Yun Chunlan then turned to Pei Ying. "Sister-in-law, gather your belongings quickly. We’ll assemble in the front courtyard in half an hour to depart by carriage."
The sudden crisis left Pei Ying reeling.
Beichuan County was on the verge of collapse. Once the bandits entered, slaughter and pillaging were inevitable—this place was no longer safe. She had only just found her daughter; she couldn’t die before spending more time with her.
Nodding, Pei Ying took Meng Ling'er’s hand and hurried back to the eastern wing. None of them noticed the icy glare Yun Chunlan directed at their retreating figures.
Pei Ying was meticulous about time. Yun Chunlan had said half an hour—she dared not delay, even finishing slightly early.
But when she led Meng Ling'er and Shui Su to the front courtyard, her blood ran cold.
The courtyard was deserted. There was no carriage in sight.
The side gate stood open, the draft whistling through. Apart from the three of them, the entire compound was empty. The realization struck Pei Ying like a blow.
Lady Liu and Yun Chunlan had abandoned them.
Dizziness washed over her. In that moment, she could almost hear the bandits’ war cries as they stormed the fallen city.
