“It’s fine, but at least give an answer. Why are you shaking? We won’t do anything to you,” I said, laughing roguishly. Tai Bai shook even more; “We won’t do anything” likely meant his immortal head would roll if he said no.
“So, have you thought about it?” My knuckles cracked ominously. “Fine, fine, whatever you want!” Tai Bai shed pure immortal tears.
“I want someone from that era, with power, who loves me completely, is stunningly beautiful, has unparalleled martial arts, and many beautiful men!” I listed my conditions, ensuring nothing was missed, then nodded at Tai Bai, “These are the conditions for now… I’ll add more later. Stay in touch.”
Tai Bai, covering his handkerchief, cried: If such a perfect place existed, he’d have gone long ago, instead of being bullied here. “Remember! Or else!”
I looked around; reincarnation seems to be just jumping down… I gritted my teeth, closed my eyes, and pretended to be a diver. Whoosh—only the sound of wind remained.
“Oh, master, master, it’s great! The young miss is awake!” When I opened my eyes, I heard an auntie’s voice. “Good, good, it’s fine, it’s fine,” came an uncle’s slightly trembling voice.
Curious, I looked around and discovered—I was wrapped in a cotton blanket. What is this? A large sausage? I’ll bite it! “Haha, the young miss must be hungry, time for milk!” the auntie said.
“Wah——” This face is so big! Did I fall into the land of giants? Black lines—— “Wah wah wah——” Let me out!!
Huh? What sound? I immediately stopped screaming, and that annoying “wah” sound stopped too. “Wah?” Dizzy, it was actually my own voice. I tried to raise my little hand to check if I had turned into a baby but realized I couldn’t move at all. Damn, the bones of a newborn… are totally insufficient for movement.
“Child… is the child okay…” A very weak voice asked. “Jing’er, it’s fine, the child is doing great. Look, how cute!” I was transferred from one embrace to another. Damn, the large sausage is back! Turns out it’s the uncle’s finger.
Depressed. Ah, I won’t be their child, right? I quickly checked my parents’ appearance. The biology teacher repeatedly emphasized: genes are important!
Is this my father? No way… He’s clearly a forty-year-old man! However, I can see his youthful appearance.
Now, looking at my mother—oh my! A beauty, absolutely! Even though she looks weak and haggard after childbirth, it doesn’t affect her stunning demeanor at all. I may not recite the Ode to the Goddess Luoshen, but I know my mother is more beautiful, gentler, and more charming than any female I’ve seen.
Her pale face from childbirth, with slightly wrinkled eyebrows relaxing upon seeing me, reveals an expression of surprise and joy. Her eyes, misty like autumn water, match her delicate upturned nose and pale cherry lips, sketching the soft appearance of a beauty from a painting.
“This girl will definitely be a stunning little seductress when she grows up—look at how she’s drooling!” Dad teases me, his tone filled with affection.
“I just saw her not making a sound… I thought she…” Mom still seems shaken.
“Yes, I thought the young miss had stopped breathing. Didn’t expect… truly blessed by Buddha!” the aunty chimed in.
Huh? Did I just walk back from the gates of hell? I replay the previous events in my mind. Can you blame me? Falling from the ninety-ninth heaven would scare anyone unconscious!
I try to burrow my little face into the swaddling clothes but find I can’t move. My shyness is exposed under everyone’s gaze.
“Wow, master, madam, look, the young miss’s face is so red!” an insensitive aunt teases me. I, Flower Xiaoxin, want to cry!
“Husband, give our daughter a name?” my gentle mother asks while hugging me.
“Hmm… call her Shi Tuaner? Round and round, happy and complete.”
Before she finishes, I start crying. “Wow—” Why am I so unlucky? First, I was killed by white poop, then drowned in a cesspit, and now I’m reborn with the surname Shi! I’m actually called Shi Tuaner!
“Daughter doesn’t like this name?” At least my father is a bit smart!
“Then— how about Shi Nuobi? We can call you Nuoer later.” This father’s ideas are terrible! I was Kitty before, and now a dog?
“Wow—” Change it!
“Then— Shi Piaoluo? How about that?” Dad starts sweating.
I’m speechless… Can you imagine “Shi” floating?
“Oh, it seems the daughter likes this name. Let’s call her Shi Piaoluo.” Dad settles it decisively. Let this name accompany me for life. Cry!
Struggling to reach the bookshelf, I extended my small hand and fiddled with a row of books. They belonged to Mom, filled with topics like astronomy, geography, arts, and poetry.
It seems my father is reserved too, hiding the main stories beneath serious books.
“Ah—found her, found her, the young lady is in the study!” A maidservant’s cry startled me, causing my hand to slip.
In a panic, I instinctively grabbed whatever I could—
“Bang”
“Wah—” How painful! I actually grabbed a book! So unlucky!
“Don’t cry, my darling… Don’t cry, it breaks the wet nurse’s heart…” Is this how you comfort someone? If it were a lover, it might feel romantic, but from a middle-aged aunty, it feels awkward.
I stopped crying, dry heaving.
“Wah—Young Lady—” The aunty screamed upon seeing the book in my hand, her excitement surpassing Columbus’s when he made his discovery.
“Young Lady truly likes poetry collections! Wonderful, she will definitely be a talented woman!” Maidservant Xiao Yi chimed in, “Quick, go tell the master and madam!” Then Xiao Yi disappeared in a flash.
In the following days, the streets and alleys of the imperial city buzzed about the Xiang Mansion’s prodigious young lady, said to be more beautiful than an immortal and more talented than the finest courtesan. Her temperament was described as gentle, elegant, and wise.
You might wonder why this six-month-old garnered such attention. The quick response would be: Lord Xiang’s charm surely attracted many young ladies and masters.
Unbeknownst to me, I had already made quite a name for myself at six months old.
[013] Meeting a Handsome Boy
While I was unaware of the talk outside, I busied myself in the courtyard.
Look, I’m pushing a small stool and running around. Now almost one year old, my developing bones feel the strain of standing too long, and I would plop down.
Falling once or twice is manageable, but twenty or thirty times daily would surely ruin my cute little bottom within a month.
Thus, my father customized a small stool for me, with fur-covered legs and a small bell hanging every three inches, perfectly suited for me to push around the Xiang Mansion.
And the maidservants could always find me by following the jingling bell sounds.
I stopped running and switched to crawling.
In the flower bushes, large patches of peonies were blooming brilliantly.
A little head suddenly popped out, topped with a peony and a few spring grasses.
Across the flower bushes, a black-clad young boy danced with a sword, the motion like a dragon—imposing and magnificent, sometimes fast, sometimes slow.
Though only around ten years old, his face showed maturity and determination beyond his years.
Cold lines outlined a cruel and tenacious face, sword-like eyebrows glimmering with cold light, and thin lips slightly pursed, giving him an air of proud solitude.
Even in a black, old linen garment, his innate presence was undiminished. With the cold, gleaming sword in hand, he exuded an icy and wild aura.
This boy is extraordinary, I thought.
Just as I was about to rush forward, a sudden sense of inferiority washed over me. The trauma from my previous life was too deep; even in reincarnation, that sense of inadequacy couldn’t be erased quickly.
Mom’s sake, what am I thinking? I’m a beautiful woman in this life!
“What am I afraid of!” I shouted, ready to attack the handsome boy.
