Chapter 2 Five Years

  Just after a autumn rain, the air is filled with a fresh scent, a crystal dew drop on the green lotus leaf rolls around, shaking along with the trembling lotus leaf, but it never falls off.

  That's what they call the White Lotus Dew, right? She retracted her gaze and picked up another lotus pod, opening it from the middle and shaking out the green lotus seeds into a bamboo basket. After checking that all the lotus pods she had harvested in the morning were done, Zhen Shi Niang casually picked up a lotus seed and skillfully pressed it against the blade of her knife, lightly rolling it to cut open the shell, and a white lotus kernel fell onto her palm.

  The extracted lotus seeds were placed on a tray, and Zhen Shiniang put the lotus seeds in her mouth, slightly sweet, with a hint of fragrance.

  It turns out that lotus seeds can be eaten raw.

  She is a northerner, and her university was also in the north. She had never had the chance to see such a lotus pond with green water and red flowers. She remembered learning a poem in school that said:

  The thatched roof is low and small, the creek above has lush green grass. The Wu dialect sounds sweet and pleasant in my drunken state, whose white-haired old couple is this? The eldest son is hoeing beans by the east creek, the second son is weaving a chicken coop. I love the youngest son the most, who is lying on his back at the head of the creek, peeling lotus roots.

  She was attracted by the naughty appearance of the little boy sleeping on the lotus pod in the poem, and at that time she thought, can this lotus pod really produce lotus seeds for children to eat as a snack?

  She really can't imagine it.

  The lotus seeds in her memory were all hard, and they had to be soaked in water to cook the fragrant sweet lotus seed porridge. Now she finally saw the scenery of Jiangnan, finally tasted the sweetness of the lotus seeds, and finally had something to show off to her classmates...

  She couldn't help but sigh at this thought.

  What's the use of thinking about these things now?

  It's been five years since she came here, and she has tried every possible way, but still can't return to her world.

  Even if you see the scenery of Jiangnan, even if you are in the environment of small bridges and flowing water, what's the use?

  This is no longer the space she was familiar with, that world.

  Zhen Shining let out another soft sigh.

  "Mother, mother..." Two little boys wearing the same clothes and looking exactly alike ran over, one after the other. The boy in front was holding a long, flesh-colored worm with his two small hands, "Look, earthworm! I dug up an earthworm... Autumn Chrysanthemum sister said this is an earthworm!"

  Qiu Ju was a personal maid of Zhen Shi Niang, originally an orphan. Two years ago, she fainted from hunger at the gate of her ancestral home and was rescued by Xi Que. At that time, she couldn't even support herself, let alone take in a maid. The original intention was to send her away after she woke up, but Qiu Ju was really pitiful. Thinking that sending her out would be another death, and it wouldn't make a difference for Zhen Shi Niang to feed one more person, especially since Xi Que had just gotten married, so she stayed by her side. The little maid was clever and diligent, and very much pleased Zhen Shi Niang.

  "Wen Ge is really awesome." Seeing them, Zhen Shi Niang couldn't help but smile sincerely. She put down the knife in her hand and stretched out to hug her son who had rushed over, her eyes falling on the earthworm in his hand, and she immediately got goosebumps all over her body.

  To be honest, she was really afraid of these itchy things, but didn't want to kill her son's enthusiasm. She sidled up to her son and, seemingly unintentionally, dodged the thing called a "ground dragon" in his hand, and then discreetly brushed it off onto the ground. "...Does Brother Wen know what this 'ground dragon' is used for?"

  "I know, I know!" Very dissatisfied that her mother was monopolized by her brother, the little boy who ran over also suddenly pounced into Zhen Shiniang's arms, raising his left hand high, "Sister Qiujie said she can feed the chicken!"

  "This earthworm is also called a red wiggler, and not only can it be fed to chickens, but it can also be used in medicine..." Although she didn't like earthworms, as an outstanding graduate of the medical school and the chief physician of a top hospital, Zhen Shiniang was quite familiar with these medicinal creatures, and she explained them clearly to her son.

  These two children were gifts given by heaven to her.

  Five years ago, on the first day she came to this world, while still in a daze, she experienced her notorious husband's sharp tongue. She had never discovered that he was a man whose tongue was as venomous as the legendary Sixth Aunt. Just when she lamented her bad luck for inexplicably transmigrating and encountering such a husband, making her future life predictably miserable, she heard her sharp-tongued husband utter a sentence that sent her to this place. His tone had an air of "we'll never meet again in this lifetime," which was like music to her ears; she let out a long sigh...

  But who would have thought that this good situation wouldn't last long. After coming here for only a few days, she discovered that the body she had inherited was actually pregnant for over two months.

  When she first discovered that she was pregnant, she also planned to give the child away to her father-in-law as soon as it was born. To be honest, at that time, she had no feelings for the child in her belly. She didn't know how two such vicious people could still do that kind of thing together. Nor did she know whether she was happy or sad when he sprinkled his seeds in her belly, whether she was willing or forced.

  However, after experiencing the hardships and sufferings of ten months of pregnancy and one morning of childbirth, she couldn't bear to part with these two children as soon as they were born. Especially when she saw them staring at her with their small black eyes, she vowed that she absolutely could not let Wen Ge and Wu Ge follow in the footsteps of their poisonous-tongued old father!

  Does he have any broad-mindedness of a man at all?

  "Miss, why are you sitting on the wet ground again!" Qiuju grabbed the clothes of Wengong and Wugong and chased after them, "......it just rained, the ground is very damp." As she spoke, she pulled Wengong and Wugong over, "Wengong, Wugong be good...mother's body isn't well, don't always bother mother..." Turning around to help Zhen Shiniang up, "Miss, quickly go back to the house and rest, these chores will be done by Xu mama when she returns."

  Xu Mama is the wet nurse of Wen Ge and Wu Ge.

  Zhen Shining was only thirteen years old when she became pregnant with twins. By modern standards, her body had not yet fully developed, and to make matters worse, she had almost died once before. After giving birth, she suffered from severe postpartum hemorrhage and nearly lost her life again. Fortunately, she was saved, but her health remained fragile, and she couldn't even take care of the children herself, so she had no choice but to hire a wet nurse.

  Xu's mother's younger brother from her hometown got married, and he asked for leave three days ago to go into the city. Autumn Chrysanthemum had no choice but to temporarily take over as a small nurse, leaving behind a big mess in the backyard.

  "...On a day like today when the sun is warm, it's easy to catch a chill." Seeing Qiu Ju's shocked expression, Zhen Shiniang shook her head and smiled, helping her up.

  Having sat for just a moment, she felt her legs go numb and soft. Zhen Shiniang couldn't help but curse under her breath: "This damned old society!" How could they let a girl get married at the age of eleven?

  Eleven years old!

  Placed in modern times, she was still a spoiled student in her mother's womb, but the original owner of this body had already become someone else's wife.

  She even suspects whether what the magpie said is true or not.

  Is she really the legitimate daughter of Zhen Shangshu who committed treason?

  Why did they marry her off at just eleven years old, could her mother bear it?

  It's been five years since she came here, and she has some understanding of this era. Although people in this era marry early, most girls don't get married until they are thirteen or older, unless they are child brides. According to rumors, the original owner of her body got married when Zhen Shangshu was at the height of his power, and his influence was overwhelming.