Dilapidated. Shabby. Utterly, completely shabby.
This was an old house in a state of utter disrepair. It was clearly already late autumn, yet the windows—which were battered beyond recognition—lacked even window paper. The north wind howled in from outside, making the already cold room even more frigid.
Faint sunlight shone in from the window, allowing one to barely make out the appearance of the room. It was small and low. Near the wall opposite the door sat a bed frame assembled from bricks and wooden planks. The entire room felt damp, and the air was permeated with a faint musty odor.
On that thing barely worthy of being called a bed lay a young girl of about ten, curled up tight. Her eyes were tightly shut, her thin, emaciated little face a sickly yellow, yet her cheeks bore an unusual flush. Her forehead was covered in dense beads of sweat, and her dry, yellowed hair clung to her brow.
A quilt, washed until it had turned white and its original color was unrecognizable, was draped over the little girl. "Ugh... cold... so cold..." the little girl muttered unconsciously, her teeth chattering incessantly with a constant "clack-clack-clack."
She was clearly drenched in sweat, yet she kept crying out that she was cold. It seemed she was gravely ill!
With a creak, the worn-out door was slowly pushed open. Light footsteps followed as a blue figure entered from outside. "Lan girl... Lan girl..." A gentle voice softly sounded beside the little girl's ear.
The person who entered was a middle-aged woman wearing an old blue robe covered in patches. Her lower body was clad in a skirt of the same color, cinched at the waist by a dark sash. Her hair was pinned up in a simple bun with a wooden hairpin. Uh... clearly the attire of an ancient woman.
The woman walked to the bedside and sat down. Her thin, rough, slightly dark face still bore traces of tears. Looking at the little girl lying in bed, her nose stung, and she couldn't hold back her tears as they streamed down: "Lan girl... wuwu... it's all because your mother is useless, wuwu... letting Mother's Lan girl suffer." The woman gripped the girl's tiny hand, which was nearly all bone, and sobbed uncontrollably.
"Ugh... so... so noisy." Probably because the woman was crying too loudly, she accidentally woke the little girl. The girl spoke in a daze, unconsciously, while straining to open her eyes.
"Lan girl, you're awake." The woman's face was full of pleasant surprise. She pulled a clean, white-washed handkerchief from her bosom and gently wiped the sweat from the girl's forehead. "Lan girl, lie down obediently. Mother will go make you something good to eat right now. Be good!" As soon as she finished speaking, the woman left like a gust of wind.
What the woman who had just left didn't know was that the little girl lying in bed was no longer her Lan girl. The body now housed a soul from a thousand years later—Li Menglan, someone who shared the exact same name as her Lan girl.
Her head hurt so much... Where was this place? Li Menglan, who had just opened her eyes, was still not quite clear-headed. She... she had merely had a couple more drinks at the company's anniversary celebration. How... how did opening her eyes reveal such a godforsaken place? Li Menglan was dumbfounded. Damn it! Could anyone tell her what on earth had happened?
Li Menglan laboriously raised her hand, only to find that her entire body felt as though it had been run over by a car. There was only one sensation—pain. Her head felt like it was going to explode. Not only that—her mouth was parched, and her throat was both painful and itchy.
Also... also this hand... thin and small, clearly the arm of a child. Suddenly, Li Menglan trembled uncontrollably all over. This had to be a dream... yes... she must be dreaming. Sleep... once she slept and woke up, everything would be fine. Li Menglan thought like an ostrich.
She immediately decided to bury her head under the covers and sleep again. However... when Li Menglan closed her eyes, many new memories surfaced in her mind. Although they were only fragmented segments, Li Menglan was certain that these were the original memories of this body—the memories of that little girl who shared her name.
Whether Li Menglan was willing or not, whether she admitted it or not, everything clearly stated one fact: she had transmigrated—transmigrated into this little girl who shared her name.
It turned out that the original owner of this body had come from a family that was originally quite well-off. Unfortunately, this body's original owner's father was a great filial son...
Li Menglan's father, Li Dazhu, was an honest, simple, and guileless man, yet also a great filial son. Two years prior, Li Dazhu's father—that is, Li Menglan's grandfather, Li Fujin—had inexplicably contracted a strange illness. They didn't know how much money was spent on doctors and medicine. People say that with a long illness, there are no filial sons by the bedside. But when applied to Li Dazhu, this saying was exactly the opposite.
Li Dazhu had no brothers or sisters; he was his parents' only son. By chance, Li Dazhu himself was a filial person, and the wife he married was also very filial. The couple, in order to cure Li Fujin, pawned and sold everything in the house that could be pawned or sold. Even the newly built tile-roofed house, which had been completed less than a year prior, was sold to a fellow villager. Li Fujin's life was finally saved.
But the family was completely ruined. As luck would have it, when it rains, it pours. Just as Li Fujin's body recovered, Li Dazhu's daughter, Li Menglan, fell ill. With this illness... the core was unknowingly swapped. Inside the body of this ten-year-old girl, Li Menglan, now resided a soul from a thousand years later.
Li Menglan lay powerlessly on the bed, looking at the desolate, empty, dilapidated room. Her face couldn't help but reveal a bitter smile unbefitting her age. Heh... it was truly quite funny. When others transmigrated, they became some young miss or some princess. At the very least, they would have a space or something... But what about her?
Sigh... so it really was true—comparing oneself to others would only anger one to death. She had been a perfectly good rich beauty, so how had she so unluckily become a miserable child? She wondered how her parents were doing now. At the very least, even if she was gone, there was still a younger brother at home. She only hoped that Dad and Mom wouldn't be too heartbroken over her departure, Li Menglan consoled herself.
However... taking a glance at the room she resided in, then recalling the original host's memories, Li Menglan decided that she needed to recover her health as soon as possible. She had to find some way to earn money. Otherwise... with such a broken-down house, winter could very well freeze someone to death. As for other matters, she could slowly plan for them later.
"Lan girl, I heard from your mother that you've finally woken up." An aged voice came from outside.
"Little sister, when you're better, Second Brother will take you to play on the mountain." This was followed by the voice of a loud, youthful boy, along with a series of hurried footsteps.
How nice, wasn't it? At least the original owner of this body was the most doted-upon one in this poor family. A smile appeared on Li Menglan's pale, emaciated face.