Episode 01
Transmigration
After the rain, Qingquan Village carried the chill of late autumn.
Gu Jiaoniang ran toward the village entrance, drenched in sweat.
“Young Master Qin! Young Master Qin!”
Thud!
Her foot slipped, and she crashed face-first into the muddy ground.
The carriage before her sped away in a cloud of dust, splattering her face with mud.
Laughter immediately erupted around her.
“Ha ha ha ha!”
Everyone in the village knew Gu Jiaoniang.
She was the village fool.
At home, she already had a husband—a crippled but honest man. Yet instead of paying attention to him, she constantly chased after Young Master Qin from town.
And who was Young Master Qin?
His father was a wealthy landowner, and he himself had passed the imperial examinations as a scholar. He was talented, well-born, and exceptionally handsome.
Why would someone like him ever spare a glance for a woman like Gu Jiaoniang?
“Look at the toad dreaming of eating swan meat!”
“Exactly! She should take a good look at herself first!”
“A worn-out shoe!”
“Ugly freak!”
“Little idiot!”
Gu Jiaoniang’s face reddened with anger.
Planting her hands on her hips, she glared at them.
“You… you’re not allowed to insult me!”
A child jumped out and stuck out his tongue.
“Bleh! Why not? Idiot! Idiot! Idiot! Ugly freak! Ugly freak! Ugly freak!”
Humiliated and furious, Gu Jiaoniang lunged at the child.
Unfortunately, she tripped over her own feet and tumbled directly into the water.
Beneath the freezing lake, the unconscious woman suddenly opened her eyes.
What was going on?
Wasn’t she supposed to be dead?
During her last mission, the aircraft she had been aboard had collided with an iceberg, ending in a catastrophic crash.
So why was she underwater?
Without hesitation, Gu Jiao began swimming toward the surface.
Yet something felt wrong.
Her body was weak, as though all her strength had vanished.
By the time she finally reached shore, she was nearly exhausted.
The villagers, who had been preparing to fish her body out with poles, stared in disbelief as she surfaced on her own.
After exchanging nervous glances, they scattered in all directions.
Gu Jiao lay on the cold grass, wiping water from her face.
Then she froze.
Her eyes fell upon her hands.
They were tiny.
The hands of a fourteen- or fifteen-year-old girl.
But she was twenty-eight years old.
As one of the most elite agents in her world—and a woman meticulous about her appearance—she knew exactly what her hands should look like.
These hands were covered in chilblains and cracks from cold weather.
Soon she discovered that not only had her hands changed.
Her clothes, her body, everything was different.
A bold possibility surfaced in her mind.
Slowly, she leaned over the water to inspect her reflection.
The sight nearly made her fall in.
What was all this gaudy mess?
She scooped up water and scrubbed away the cheap makeup coating her face.
To her horror, the result was even worse.
Her complexion was yellowish and sickly. She was painfully thin.
And stretching from her left cheek all the way to the corner of her eye was a large crimson birthmark.
In her previous life, a single pimple would have ruined her mood for three days.
Now she had inherited a face that could only be described as catastrophically ugly.
For a brief moment, Gu Jiao wanted to die all over again.
“More importantly… where is this place? And what dynasty is this?”
The moment the words left her mouth, a sharp pain pierced her head.
A flood of memories that did not belong to her surged into her mind.
Only then did she understand.
She had transmigrated.
This was a dynasty that had never existed in history.
The village was called Qingquan Village, located beneath Qingquan Mountain.
The original owner of this body was also named Gu Jiao.
She was the only child of the third branch of the Gu family.
Old Master Gu had once been a scholar and had passed the county-level examinations. Later, he became the village head of Qingquan Village, a position he had held for many years.
The village was poor.
The position carried little profit, but at least it kept the family from starving.
Old Master Gu had three sons and one married daughter.
The eldest son, Gu Changhai, had one son and one daughter.
The second son, Gu Changlu, had two sons.
Only the third branch struggled endlessly for children.
After many years, they finally had Gu Jiao.
Unfortunately, she was a girl.
An ugly girl.
A foolish girl.
According to village gossip, she was completely worthless.
No.
Even giving her away for free would be difficult.
Ever since her birth, her parents had never managed to have another child.
Rumors began spreading that Gu Jiao was cursed.
That she had stolen away the family’s fortune of sons.
At first, the Gu family ignored the gossip.
But after both of Gu Jiao’s parents died one after another, even they began believing that the child was unlucky.
Determined to rid themselves of the burden, the family tried desperately to marry her off.
The problem was simple.
No one wanted her.
Then one day, while wandering near the village entrance, Gu Jiao stumbled across a starving man who had collapsed from hunger.
She brought him home.
And somehow…
He became her husband.
While sorting through these memories, Gu Jiao walked toward a dilapidated hut on the western side of the village.
That shabby hut was now her home.
Halfway there, a sharp pain suddenly shot through the back of her head.
“Hiss—”
She touched the wound.
Her fingers came away covered in blood.
She had likely struck a rock underwater.
The bleeding was severe.
It needed treatment immediately.
Thinking this, she entered the courtyard.
Calling it a courtyard was generous.
It was little more than a patch of dirt surrounded by a crude fence.
The hut itself contained only two rooms besides the main hall.
The larger room on the eastern side belonged to her.
Even so…
It was still smaller than the walk-in closet she had owned in her previous life.
What a miserable transmigration.
Sighing inwardly, Gu Jiao pushed open the door.
The moment she crossed the threshold, her instincts flared.
Someone was inside.
A man.
Judging by his breathing, he was hiding directly behind the door and deliberately holding his breath.
A cold smile appeared on Gu Jiao’s lips.
Pretending not to notice, she casually stepped inside.
Bang!
She shut the door.
At the same instant, she spun around and seized the hidden figure, throwing him hard to the floor.
The man was larger than she had expected.
In her previous life, size would have meant nothing.
But her current body was weak and frail.
Using leverage rather than strength, she pinned him down with her entire weight.
With one hand, she ripped off her hair ribbon and bound his wrists.
With the other, she clamped down on his throat.
Her eyes turned icy.
“Talk. Who are you, and what are you doing in my room?”
The man froze.
Then anger flooded his face.
“Gu Jiao, have you gone mad? It’s me!”
They knew each other?
Even worse.
That meant this was a familiar face sneaking around in her room.
Rather than releasing him, Gu Jiao pressed down even harder.
The pressure nearly crushed his abdomen.
“You… get off me!”
His voice was cold and furious.
Gu Jiao merely scoffed.
In her entire life, she had been the one giving orders.
No one ordered her around.
Especially not inside her own room.
She raised her fist, ready to teach him a lesson.
At that moment, her elbow accidentally struck the window.
The shutter flew open.
Sunlight poured into the room.
The man’s face was illuminated.
Gu Jiao’s eyes widened instantly.
The stranger beneath her possessed a remarkably handsome face—refined, elegant, and strikingly beautiful.
For the first time since waking in this strange world…
Gu Jiao was genuinely stunned.
