Volume One, Chapter One: Disfigurement, Drowning in a Pig Basket

When Su Yi'an woke, she found herself submerged in water, her entire body wracked with pain and chilled to the bone.
What is happening?
Had she not sacrificed herself to protect the newly developed medicine, perishing together with the intruders? How could she end up here?
Suddenly, a rush of unfamiliar, hazy memories surged into her mind, and Su Yi'an realized she had crossed over.
She had been transported to ancient times, inhabiting the body of a foolish and feeble-minded legitimate daughter of a grand scholar’s household—one who shared her very name.
Today, she was being falsely accused by Concubine Li of having an illicit affair.
At this moment, she was undergoing the punishment decreed by family law:
Bound inside a bamboo cage, she was being drowned in a pond!
In her previous life, as an S-class operative and senior pharmaceutical specialist of the Base Organization, Su Yi'an would never be detained by a mere bamboo cage.
With a single tug, she tore apart the cage, then swam toward the faint glimmer of light and soon emerged above the water's surface.
On the bank, a crowd was waiting for her.
At their head stood Concubine Li herself, clad in lavish attire and heavy makeup.
At first, surprise flashed across her face, then her eyes filled with a beast-like ferocity.
“That shameless fool dares to float up again! Quickly, use the bamboo poles to beat her back down!”
Li’s daughter, Su Wan’er, joined the shouting,
“Hurry! Push that ugly wretch under!”
From the original owner’s memories, Su Yi'an knew that this vicious mother and daughter had long tormented and abused her.
Today, they had not only slandered her with adultery but also scarred her face with a hairpin before sealing her in a cage and sinking her in the pond.
Su Yi'an raised her hand and seized the bamboo pole intended to strike her. With a powerful swing, she threw the servant off balance, sending the woman stumbling sideways—straight into Concubine Li and her daughter, knocking them both into the pond.
The early winter water was icy, and neither woman could swim. Terrified, they flailed as the household servants plunged in to save them.
Cries and screams filled the air, plunging the scene into chaos.
Meanwhile, Su Yi'an calmly swam ashore, her bright eyes flickering as a subtle, almost imperceptible smile played upon her lips:
Since I have borrowed your body for this new life, I will surely avenge you!
Playing with prey is what I do best!
Returning to her room, Su Yi'an caught sight of her reflection in the bronze mirror: her face was a mass of bloody, crisscrossing wounds—truly a ghastly sight.
Fortunately, the girl’s bone structure was fine, and not too different from her own original features. While healing the wounds, she could reshape her face to resemble her former self.
However, it would take a whole year to fully recover, and she would have to bear quite some pain in the meantime.

Su Yi'an first found some dry clothes to change into, then wrapped her face in a clean cotton cloth before heading to the kitchen in search of food.
She was cold and starving—only after eating would she have the strength to buy medicine for her face.
“Make me a bowl of porridge.”
At that moment, the kitchen staff were busy boiling water and ginger soup for Concubine Li and Su Wan’er, who had just been pulled from the pond, and paid her no heed.
“Make me a bowl of porridge!” Su Yi'an raised her voice, repeating her request.
An old woman scooped a ladle of slop from the swill bucket and poured it into the cat’s bowl by the door, nudging it with her foot,
“Go eat that.”
With a cold curl of her lips, Su Yi'an grabbed the cat bowl and smashed it down on the woman’s head.
The bowl shattered, blood streamed from the old woman’s scalp, and she collapsed in a faint.
The rest of the kitchen staff gasped in shock:
Wasn’t the eldest young lady always dim-witted and submissive? How had she become so violent after nearly drowning?
Su Yi'an issued her orders, each word crisp and commanding,
“Make me a bowl of porridge! Right now! Immediately!”
The servants scrambled to prepare porridge, desperate to avoid a beating from the mad young lady.
“And boil four eggs!”
“Miss, Concubine Li said you can’t eat eggs, or you’ll get indigestion and your mind will worsen,” the steward of provisions ventured timidly.
Usually, Concubine Li only allowed the kitchen to send the eldest young lady swill to eat; if they gave her eggs today, they would surely be punished.
With lightning speed, Su Yi'an sent a sharp kick into the steward’s gut, her eyes flashing with icy brilliance,
“You only need to do as I say!
I am the legitimate eldest daughter of the Su household—when did it become Concubine Li’s place to dictate my affairs?
Today, taking advantage of my father’s absence, she falsely accused me and tried to kill me by family law. She’s finished!”
The servants exchanged uneasy glances:
The eldest young lady did seem less dim-witted today, but the master had favored Concubine Li for so many years—surely she wouldn’t be finished so easily…
After Su Yi'an finished her meal, night had nearly fallen.
She hurried to search her room for money to buy medicinal herbs and surgical tools.
But there wasn’t a single coin to be found, nor any valuables—just a dusty red booklet in a drawer.
Opening it, Su Yi'an discovered it was the betrothal gift list sent from the Prince of Chu’s residence three years prior.
From the original owner’s vague memories, she pieced together that three years ago, the Emperor had decreed the marriage of the Su scholar’s legitimate daughter to the Prince of Chu.

The Su family had then sent for their legitimate daughter, who had been raised in a Taoist temple since childhood, to bring her home.
The betrothal gifts had already been delivered, but the Prince of Chu’s mother had suddenly passed away, and the wedding was postponed.
During this time, Concubine Li began spreading rumors:
The Su family’s legitimate daughter had lost her mother in childhood and her fiancé’s mother before the wedding—thus, overcome with guilt, she had fallen ill with a persistent fever that left her slow-witted. The Su family planned to substitute the second daughter for the marriage.
However, the Prince of Chu’s household sent someone to the Su family, making it clear that they cared nothing for rumors; regardless of the eldest daughter’s health, once the Prince’s three-year mourning period was over, the marriage would proceed as planned.
A faint smile curved Su Yi'an’s lips as the truth of her situation became clear:
Now, with the Prince of Chu’s mourning period nearly over, Concubine Li had fully vented her cruelty and was ready to send her on her way—so Su Wan’er would have a chance to marry into the Prince’s household.
Such clever scheming. Unfortunately for you, your opponent is now me!
Su Yi'an idly tapped the gift list against her palm, a smile brightening her features:
Since these betrothal gifts were meant for me, I can spend them as I please!
She made her way to the storeroom, snapped off a branch, and deftly pried open the horizontal brass lock, grabbing a handful of silver notes before leaving the residence.
The original owner had been so muddle-headed that Su Yi'an, unfamiliar with the roads, struggled to find her way out.
With night fallen and no one on the streets, it took great effort for her to locate a pharmacy.
The shop had already closed, but when she knocked and offered double the price, the sleepy manager reluctantly agreed to fill her prescription.
But there was still one thing left to buy:
Ice.
Su Yi'an pondered—since the outdoors had not yet frozen, perhaps the icehouses of wealthy families still held leftover ice from summer.
She made her way to a walled estate, noting the tall towers rising above the wall—surely a sign of wealth, and likely an icehouse inside.
The place was dark and unguarded, making it easy for her to “borrow” some ice.
With agile movements, she scaled the wall and slipped across the rooftops, soon reaching the icehouse.
Inside, unlike the dark courtyard, a small oil lamp flickered.
In the dim glow, a man in white lay sprawled across the ice, his hair disheveled.
Su Yi'an twitched her lips in surprise:
Could this be a morgue? How long had he been dead? If the ice was tainted by a corpse, it certainly couldn’t be used for her face…
She strolled over, observing the man’s sharp and elegant features, a flush of red still coloring his cheeks—he did not look dead. She reached out to check his pulse, and her eyes widened in shock:
Raging heat toxin attacking the heart—alive, but barely clinging to life.