Chapter 2: The Unfavored Eldest Daughter

"Young Miss, you’ve finally returned! You had Xin'er worried to death!"

Having just followed the fragmented memories in her mind back to her own quarters in the Feng residence, she was greeted by the voice of her maid, Xin'er, thick with tears and deep concern.

"Young Miss, didn't you go to offer incense with the Second Young Miss? The Second Young Miss returned ages ago, but no matter how long I waited, I couldn't see you! Young Miss, what on earth happened to you? How did you end up in such a disheveled state? If I had known this would happen, I would have insisted on going with you, no matter what! Wuu wuu..." Xin'er sobbed uncontrollably.

Feng Qingcheng sighed inwardly. She didn't know where to begin explaining the things that had happened to her, and she was even more worried that saying too much would lead to mistakes. She comforted Xin'er, "Don't cry, Xin'er. See? I’ve returned, haven't I?"

"Young Miss, you don't know how worried I was! The Second Madam sent word that if you returned, you were to go to the front hall immediately! It looks like the Second Madam has thought of some new way to cause trouble for you again!" Xin'er’s eyes were brimming with tears of anxiety.

Growing up, she had followed her mistress through countless hardships caused by the Second Madam and the Second Young Miss. If it weren't for the fact that her mistress was the legitimate daughter, they might have been persecuted until not even their bones remained.

"I understand. Don't worry. Go and prepare some water for me to wash my face and get some breakfast. Once I’ve eaten, I’ll go and meet them!"

After dismissing Xin'er, Feng Qingcheng sat down and looked at herself in the bronze mirror. She couldn't help but frown slightly, lamenting in her heart that the heavens really knew how to play cruel tricks on people.

After the incident with the aphrodisiac and that absurd encounter with a powerful man, Feng Qingcheng had pieced together from the chaotic memories in her mind that she was in an era on a continent called Lingkong.

The Lingkong Continent was divided into four, with four nations of equal strength: the Lingyue Kingdom, the Lingri Kingdom, the Lingxiao Kingdom, and the Lingque Kingdom. The nation she was currently in was the Lingyue Kingdom.

People on the Lingkong Continent placed great importance on status and the distinctions between men and women. Feng Qingcheng was originally the legitimate daughter of the Prime Minister, Feng Tiande, and her family was wealthy and influential. However, her mother had passed away when she was very young. Although her father doted on her, her life had undergone a cataclysmic change after the concubines, Madam Lin and Madam Feng, married into the Feng residence.

As for her, the legitimate daughter of the Feng family, she was known throughout the capital as a "useless, ugly woman" who shared the same name as the Feng family's two beauties—an object of universal disgust.

In the entire Feng residence, Xin'er was likely the only one who was truly sincere toward her.

Feng Qingcheng felt a deep sense of lament. This body was clearly that of a young girl in her prime, yet there was a red birthmark on her left cheek that turned a face that could have been stunning into the "ugly" face it was now. Coupled with the scar from hitting a pillar last night, it was truly repulsive to look at.

However, the shimmering brilliance in Feng Qingcheng’s eyes could not be hidden. She wiped the red birthmark with her hand, examining it carefully in the mirror, and realization dawned on her.

In her previous life, Feng Qingcheng had been a top-tier physician. After careful observation, she realized that the mark on her face was not a birthmark at all, but the result of chronic poisoning! Linking this to the inexplicable aphrodisiac she had been drugged with last night, Feng Qingcheng knew clearly that someone had been trying to murder her all along.

The poison was not a problem; with her skills as a genius physician, nothing could stump her. However, this would have to be done slowly. She had just transmigrated, there was much to do, and the road ahead was long.

...

"Young Miss, please wash your face and eat." Xin'er’s voice interrupted Feng Qingcheng’s thoughts. Feng Qingcheng nodded, washed her face as instructed, and sat at the table. But when Xin'er lifted the lid covering the food, a fire ignited in her heart.

This was hardly food for a young lady of a noble house. It was thin, watery soup without a drop of oil, and there wasn't even a white steamed bun—only a nearly moldy cornmeal bun. Heavens, was there no limit to how much they could bully someone?

"Young Miss, what’s wrong?" Xin'er asked cautiously, watching Feng Qingcheng sit there without touching her chopsticks. She didn't know why, but ever since her mistress returned, she felt something was different, though she couldn't put her finger on it.

"Xin'er, is this the kind of food I’ve always been eating?" Feng Qingcheng asked quietly, though the impending storm in her voice was obvious.

"Yes, Young Miss." Xin'er nodded. She had always wanted to help improve her mistress's life, but she was only a servant; there were some things she was powerless to change.

"And you? What do you eat?" Feng Qingcheng asked. Even without an answer, she already knew—one look at Xin'er’s sallow, emaciated appearance was enough.

"Xin'er... Xin'er is fine." Xin'er bit her lip, fighting back tears. Her mistress had never asked about these things before—not because she didn't care, but because she had been powerless to do anything.

"Come, Xin'er. We’re going to the front hall." Feng Qingcheng swept the food off the table onto the floor and pulled Xin'er toward the door. Seeing the resolute expression on Feng Qingcheng’s face, Xin'er followed her out involuntarily. Her mistress was indeed different from before, but she liked this suddenly fearless mistress even more.

Before they even reached the front hall, Feng Qingcheng heard Feng Qingqing badmouthing her inside: "Father, I already told you, Qingcheng is not at home. She didn't return all night last night; who knows what kind of shameful things she was doing outside."