Chapter 11: Life is Like a Dream

The fourth point is that the diary records almost every major event that happened in the family; although they were only brief mentions, they were recorded.

This included Feng Qiu'en taking a wife, the birth of Feng Buji, the deaths of Feng Qiu'en and his wife, and even the return of Aunt Wang and Banxia...

The only thing not recorded was the act of bringing the original owner home.

Feng Chuchen was certainly not looking for clues about the original owner's biological family; she was purely curious.

She also thought that perhaps her Great Aunt was afraid the original owner would be saddened if she saw the diary...

These diaries were not burned before she left, so they must have been left for future generations to read—or more precisely, left for the original owner. Inside were her last wishes, as well as the experiences of her life.

Feng Chuchen walked to the high side table to offer three sticks of incense to the memorial tablet, then, with a heavy heart, carried the "Life Incense," the small bronze burner, and a few books into her own room, before locking the kang cabinet, the chest, and the door to the east room.

Tomorrow, she would call for Banxia to help her move the chest containing the diaries into her room.

Starting tomorrow, she would study medical books and journals diligently, striving to become a doctor as soon as possible.

She took out a notebook bound with string that her Great Aunt had not yet used, sat at the table, ground the ink, and picked up a brush to write four large characters on the center of the cover: *Life is Like a Dream.*

The name was somewhat pessimistic and aimless, but it reflected her current state of mind.

Her past life was like a dream, and upon waking, she had arrived here.

The handwriting was that of the original owner—small regular script, as beautiful, lively, and elegant as her Great Aunt’s. It felt as though one could fall in love with the person who wrote them just by falling in love with the calligraphy.

Possessing the memories of two lives had this one advantage: she could take the best of both.

In the future, she too would follow her Great Aunt’s example and record fragments of life, medical insights, and difficult cases here.

She opened the cover and wrote on the first page

*The fifteenth day of the seventh month, the nineteenth year of Jianzhang. Autumn colors by the eastern fence, wild chrysanthemums in bloom.*

*I suddenly awoke from a void, and after thinking for a long time, I remembered that I am Feng Chuchen.*

*Feng Chuchen of the Great Yan Dynasty.*

Feng Chuchen stopped her brush. She felt wretched that she could only use these two ambiguous sentences to record the passing of one life and the birth of another.

She turned to the second page and wrote

*The twenty-first day of the seventh month, the nineteenth year of Jianzhang. The sound of frogs, the fragrance of rice blossoms.*

*After reading Great Aunt’s journals, my face was covered in tears.*

*I hereby swear to inherit Great Aunt’s mantle, master medical skills, cure Buji, and raise him to adulthood. I will also open a medical clinic so that women and children may suffer less.*

*I hope this life is a good dream, leaving no regrets, no sorrow.*

*From now on, no matter where I live, I will fill the courtyard with flowers and plants. Pushing open a small window to see a garden full of spring—this is what I want to see, and what Great Aunt wanted to see...*

These were the words Feng Chuchen could openly write on paper.

There were others she could not.

It is said that those who have been to the crematorium have new insights into life. She had experienced life and death once, but facing her Great Aunt’s journals, the frail Buji, the greedy clansmen, and the lingering regrets of her past life, she could not simply let everything go...

She made up her mind: in this life, she would refuse to be coerced, refuse to persist when it was unnecessary, rest when she was truly tired, and selectively take shortcuts when they appeared...

First, she would plan for herself and her younger brother, ensuring that amidst her struggles, she would have leisure time to enjoy life.

In her past life, her only goal had been to spite that couple and surpass their son, to vent her anger for her deceased mother.

She was diligent and hardworking, demanding perfection of herself to an almost severe degree. She even calculated the time spent on dating, striving to be the perfect granddaughter to gain her grandfather’s love and the core medical knowledge of the Shui family.

She had achieved all of these things.

Her medical skills and her grandfather’s love had always kept that father and son under her thumb, leaving that family of three furious yet helpless.

But her life ended at thirty-four.

She had not yet possessed the husband and happy little family she wanted, nor had she reached the life of a courtyard, a pot of tea, and a good book she had planned for retirement before she died in a car accident.

Diligence had not failed her, but she had lost to fate.

What pained her liver even more was that she hadn't settled her estate, leaving it all to that family of three.

Even though she had arrived in this world and had let go of many things from her past life—such as the grandmother who favored her grandson, the punchable brat, the ex-boyfriend who dumped her, the classmate who stole her thesis...

She still harbored nothing but hatred for that couple.

Thinking of her grandfather and mother, she picked up her brush again to sketch two portraits on the paper.

Afraid of being discovered, she only drew the outlines of their faces and a bit of their bangs.

These were the two people she loved most in her past life.

Although Feng Chuchen had never seen her mother in person, her mother had left behind many photos and videos from when she was pregnant. In the videos, her mother spoke of her infinite love for her daughter...

Yet, her mother jumped to her death two months after giving birth to her.

Those videos and photos accompanied her through childhood and adolescence; whenever she was sad or lonely, she would take them out to watch and listen.

Her mother was incredibly beautiful, with features somewhat similar to her own in both this life and the last. But their temperaments were completely different; her mother’s beauty was as gentle as water...

Three months after her mother died, her father brought another woman home.

It was only later that she learned her mother had jumped because of her father’s infidelity, which had driven her into depression...

Discarding the trivial matters in her mind, Feng Chuchen sat cross-legged on the bed, practiced breathing exercises for two quarters of an hour, then blew out the oil lamp and lay down.

She began to think about her future arrangements again.

What she needed to do now was earn lots of money, leave Baima Village, and raise Buji safely...

A pack of wolves crouching at the door, waiting for an opportunity to pounce, was always unsettling.

Once she had money, she would rent a shop to open a medical clinic; this was her ultimate goal in this life.

It would allow her to earn money to support her family, inherit her Great Aunt’s dying wish, and do her part for the women and children of this era.

But it couldn't be opened immediately.

Opening a medical clinic in ancient times was no easy task. First, she needed a "medical license," which meant she had to pass the Imperial Medical Academy’s examination.

Only as a formal doctor could she open a clinic.

For now, she would continue to follow Aunt Wang to observe births.

If a mother or child needed saving, she could intervene. If an infant was dying and she could light the "Life Incense," she would perform the Yin Spirit Needling.

In this way, she could earn more money and quickly build a reputation.

She was not as great as her Great Aunt; she could not let people take advantage of her like that.

It cost three *guan* of money to make one stick of "Life Incense," and after performing the Yin Spirit Needling, she had to consume ginseng and other tonics, which cost at least another *guan*.

With a cost of four *guan*, plus her exquisite and unique technique—which even the imperial court valued at eighty taels of silver—why should she accept a mere one or two *guan*?

The "Heart-Saving Pill" sold at Dechun Hall cost two taels of silver per pill, and the "Golden Descending Pill" at Qianjin Hall cost one tael. If those who couldn't afford it died in front of the counter, they wouldn't give it away for free.

As the name suggests, the Heart-Saving Pill was for heart disease, and the Descending Pill was for high blood pressure.

Here, high blood pressure was called "Yang Hyperactivity Disease."

Traditional Chinese medicine in this era seemed more advanced than in her past life; not only were there relatively simple surgical procedures, but there were also some highly effective medicines.

Of course, Feng Chuchen didn't expect to become wealthy through medicine; after all, one had to have medical ethics...

She thought again of her Great Aunt being reported to the Ministry of Rites.

Although the official commendation hadn't arrived yet, judging by what Warden Niu had said, it should be fine.

*Thank you to "Meng Hui Mo Gan Shan" for the tip, and thank you all for your monthly tickets and recommendation votes... I wrote a few things about my past life, these things are not written in vain...*

(End of chapter)