Chapter 3: Small Blue and White Porcelain Vase

Soon, two servants arrived outside the room bringing a white-haired physician. To avoid gossip, the two servants waited outside, allowing the physician to enter alone.

Upon entering, the old physician was momentarily surprised to see Dong'er lying on the floor, but he then walked around her to reach Ji Ruoling's bedside.

"Miss, excuse me, I need to examine your wounds," the old physician said to Ji Ruoling as he placed his medical chest on the table.

"Alright." Ji Ruoling generously allowed him to examine her. The person Ji Yi had summoned shouldn't be a problem; at least, that was what she thought.

After the examination, the old physician shook his head and exclaimed in astonishment, "These injuries are truly severe. There are signs of fractures in both feet, and two ribs are broken. Furthermore... there are whip marks and fall injuries, both of which show signs of inflammation. It is very dangerous."

The fact that she hadn't died could only be described as being incredibly lucky. "Moreover, your pulse is weak. It is... malnutrition; your constitution is also poor."

The old physician looked at Ji Ruoling in surprise, then fell silent, merely taking gauze and a jar of medicine from his chest to help bandage her wounds.

He then took out a small blue-and-white porcelain bottle and said to her, "I have kept this medicine for a long time and was reluctant to use it. If it weren't for Head of House Ji's kindness to me, and if your life weren't so tough, I wouldn't have given it to you. One pill a day, and you should recover quickly."

He carefully placed the porcelain bottle into Ji Ruoling's hand, then took out several other small bottles, instructing her on how to take the medicine.

As the old physician prepared to leave, the two servants outside were also heading off to request silver from the accountant for him.

However, Ji Ruoling called out to them, "You two, could you do me a small favor? Please carry the maid in this room out. Move her anywhere, just splash some water on her to wake her up."

The two servants hesitated for a moment before quickly entering the room to carry Dong'er away, showing no hesitation.

The room fell silent once more. Ji Ruoling looked at her heavily bandaged legs, a cold glint flashing in her eyes, feeling extremely displeased.

"Third Sister, these whip wounds, bruises, burns, and fractures—I will definitely pay you back for them twofold. Rest assured!" As she spoke, Ji Ruoling gritted her teeth. If the physician hadn't helped her today, she might not have lived much longer.

In addition to the new injuries, there were several old scars: whip marks, burns, and frostbite. Her "lovely" Third Sister would have to pay for all of them.

From the original host's memories, she learned everything this body had endured.

Since childhood, she had been driven to live in this room, which was barely twenty square meters in size. To make matters worse, certain so-called siblings loved to come and bully her, and her Third Sister, Ji Qianxue, was the most "diligent" of them all, coming to "disturb" her almost every day.

This time was even more hateful, as she had even beaten the original host to death.

She felt great sympathy for this Ji Ruoling and felt indignation toward their behavior.

Thinking of this, a wave of discomfort rose from deep within her heart. It seemed the owner of this body was also feeling anger and resentment, yet was utterly helpless.

"Don't worry, I will avenge you," Ji Ruoling whispered to herself, the discomfort in her heart gradually receding and vanishing.

Lying on the bed, Ji Ruoling pondered how to move forward.

She had finally managed to graduate from junior high, only to be struck by a meteorite and transmigrate.

But transmigrating wasn't so bad; at least she wouldn't have to see those annoying people anymore, and she wouldn't be sad anymore.

Time flew by, and the sky soon grew dark. A gust of wind blew past, causing the dilapidated doors and windows to creak.

Then, the sound of footsteps seemed to approach, followed by a knock on the door. "Miss, this is your supper for tonight. This servant will bring it in for you."

Before Ji Ruoling could even answer, the maid outside opened the door and walked in, carrying a three-tiered food carrier.

She placed the carrier on the table and opened each tier one by one.

Only after finishing did she realize in shock, "Oh, I'm sorry, Miss! I forgot the chopsticks. I'll go get them for you right away."

The maid hurried out again, leaving Ji Ruoling alone with the fragrant food.

Ji Ruoling hadn't eaten anything since she transmigrated, and she didn't know if the original host had eaten this morning, but her stomach was already letting out "gurgling" protests.

With fractures in her leg, she couldn't get out of bed, and her hands hurt too. Although the table wasn't far, she couldn't reach it.

To have fragrant food right before the eyes of someone who had been hungry for a long time, yet be unable to eat it—what an agonizing ordeal.

She didn't know if that maid was truly careless or doing it on purpose, but fifteen minutes had passed and she still hadn't returned. Did it really take that long to grab a pair of chopsticks?

She forced herself not to look at or think about the food on the table, but the sensation was simply too hard to bear.

Perhaps hearing Ji Ruoling's inner thoughts, the little maid went to get the chopsticks finally returned.

The next day, Ji Ruoling woke up to a series of knocks. Her eyes were bleary, and it took several minutes for her to emerge from her slumber.

However, the person outside seemed to have lost patience. The force of the knocking increased, and the already dilapidated wooden door let out an overburdened "creak."

"Stop knocking, the door is going to—" Oh no.

*Bang!*

The broken wooden door fell to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.

As the dust drifted down, Ji Ruoling couldn't help but cover her face with her hand.

"Uh, that... Sixth Miss, the Master sent me to invite you to breakfast. He also said... he said there are guests." Yesterday's maid, Xiao He, still held her hand in a knocking posture, standing frozen at the doorway.

Xiao He's right hand was raised high; her not-so-wide sleeve had slipped to her upper arm, revealing a stretch of snow-white skin.

Clearly, she had been startled as well.

After standing dazed for two minutes, she hurriedly lowered her hand, straightened her sleeve, and clasped her hands together, looking at Ji Ruoling with an embarrassed expression.

...

In Ji Yi's courtyard, several dishes and two bowls of white congee were laid out on a beautiful stone table.

Two people sat beside it.

One was Ji Yi, dressed in grey robes, and the other was a young man dressed in white robes.

Ji Yi was eating breakfast with a calm expression, while the young man frowned slightly, a faint trace of impatience on his face.

"Uncle, has she still not arrived?" Hou Mochen's fingers tapped on the table, his urgency undisguised.

Ji Yi did not appear nervous at all, nor was he displeased by Hou Mochen's impatience. He simply picked up a piece of food with his chopsticks and ate a mouthful of congee unhurriedly.

"Young people are always so rushed. Ruoling is injured, so she is sleeping a bit late to get proper rest. Besides, when you arrived, the Ji family's breakfast hadn't even been prepared yet."

The implication was: It's not that she is too slow, it's that you arrived too early.

"And so?"

"And so, she needs to wash up and change her clothes before she can come. Should I have someone serve you another bowl of congee? It seems you haven't had breakfast either."

"No need." His main purpose for coming today was to discuss breaking the engagement. Just yesterday, someone had told him that the Sixth Miss of the Ji family—Ji Ruoling, who was betrothed to him since childhood—had died.

So, he had come today in high spirits to cancel the engagement, only to learn the news that Ji Ruoling was not actually dead.

His heart felt like a tiny flame that had been doused by a large bucket of cold water, but since he was already here, he intended to make things clear today.

He had no intention of marrying Ji Ruoling; they had never even met!