Embroidered Phoenix Chronicle

Breakfast was plentiful: soybeans and millet ground into a thick paste, along with fried dough sticks and four-cornered sesame flatbreads, shredded pickled radish mixed with scallion whites and sesame oil, a dish of pickled cucumbers, a dish of tofu with chive blossoms, and a dish of salted eggs. Only the elderly couple, a young couple, Xiao Hu, and Liu Lian ate there. Aunt Liu brought more food to the front yard. Although Xiao Hu was mischievous and active, he was well-behaved at the table. Liu Lian was truly hungry; she drank two bowls of soup, and when the old lady peeled an egg and put it in her bowl, a smile appeared on her face.

Liu Lian, startled to realize everyone was staring at her, awkwardly put down her chopsticks, her face flushed red. The old lady's expression darkened. The old man cleared his throat, "Xiao Qi, do you still remember what happened yesterday?"

Liulian shook his head.

"Do you still remember us?"

He lingered and shook his head again.

Where are your parents?

There was nothing else they could do but shake their heads, and everyone's faces showed reluctance.

"Do you even remember your name?!"

She had never shaken her head so many times in her thirty years of life; there was no way she could tell, she really didn't know.

The old man clicked his tongue helplessly, then asked cautiously, "What happened after you woke up yesterday? Do you remember?"

Liu Lian nodded, no longer shaking his head. Pretending to be stupid was different from being genuinely stupid; he had to know when to stop.

"Speak, speak!" The crowd looked delighted and urged her on all at once.

"I remember," Liu Lian said softly. The old man's eyes lit up, and he nodded at the old woman. The old woman quickly took a sesame seed cake and stuffed it into Liu Lian's hand, "Eat more, you didn't eat anything last night, what good is just drinking soup?" Liu Lian felt a warmth in her heart.

Aunt Liu was a talkative person, and she followed Liulian closely, teaching her everything like a child. By the end of the day, Liulian learned that Liu Ye'er was not the old couple's child, but rather her mother had died early, and her father had entrusted her to them before his death. The old couple raised her as their own daughter; they had six daughters, and she was the seventh.

Liu Lian's behavior relieved everyone. As long as she wasn't scared out of her wits, that was good. If she forgot something, she could tell her again; if she didn't recognize someone, she could get to know them again; if she forgot a word, she could learn it again; if she forgot a skill, she could learn it again. None of that was difficult. The old lady smiled and nodded, but she couldn't stop the tears in her eyes. Liu Ye'er's father had entrusted the child to her before he died, asking her to adopt the child. This was an affirmation of her character, and she absolutely could not let him down.

Liu Lian had a general idea: he called the elderly couple his godfather and godmother. His godfather was a famous doctor from Liangjing. He had three apprentices and two employees, but no sons. The young couple in the backyard were his youngest daughter and her husband, who were supporting him in his old age. The son-in-law was not a live-in son-in-law; he had simply given his first son to his wife's family for adoption. He usually traveled around selling medicinal herbs. His wife didn't want to live with her in-laws, so he was temporarily living with her at her parents' house.

The front courtyard had a large gate and four south-facing rooms. Three of the south-facing rooms served as a clinic and pharmacy, while the other was a toilet. The north-facing rooms were a passageway with two rooms on each side and a door in the middle; these were the living quarters for the shop assistants and apprentices. Entering through the second gate in the middle led to the main courtyard. At the east end of the main house in the main courtyard was a passageway leading to the back courtyard, which was also a courtyard house. Sixth Sister and her husband lived in the main house. The east and west wing rooms and the south porch were all locked, emanating a strong smell of medicinal herbs. There were no pavilions, towers, or grand mansions as she had imagined, not even a back garden; it was simply a well-to-do household. Liu Lian was slightly disappointed; all her skills in palace intrigue and domestic power struggles were useless!

She had intended to go out for a stroll, but then the old lady's daughters came to visit one after another. Liulian had no choice but to accompany them, sometimes crying and sometimes laughing. Although she was annoyed by these social obligations, she could only force herself to endure it. Some of Liu Ye'er's friends came to visit her with apricots or purses. Fortunately, Liu Ma was there to take care of her. Everyone knew that she was too frightened and exhausted, so they didn't mind. That's how the first day went.

Lunch was quite sumptuous. The old man brought out a jar of fine wine and shared a few cups with his daughters and sons-in-law. Being an ordinary family, there weren't many formalities. Everyone sat around a large table, toasting and laughing, lingering happily, even moved. In her previous life, she was an orphan, growing up in an orphanage, her greatest longing being the warmth of a family. She didn't dare marry until she was thirty, and even then, it was to a man seven or eight years her senior. She never imagined that in this life she would be able to integrate into such a warm family, with so many sisters. She wiped her eyes and smiled happily.

In the afternoon, after seeing the guests off, the old lady took the gifts her sisters had given her to her room—clothes, food, silk flowers, and toys, a colorful pile that filled half the kang (heated brick bed). This was good; with so much love showered upon her, she could almost forget her past life, even though she knew in her heart that this love was actually given to someone else. But it didn't matter; she accepted it on her behalf, and was very grateful. Even though this world was completely different from the one she knew, what did it matter? In her past life, she was abandoned at the entrance of an orphanage before her umbilical cord had even fallen off, covered in mosquito bites. The orphanage named the children according to the "Hundred Family Surnames," and she happened to be named Liu. In this life, she was sure to know her surname was Liu (柳). This "Liu" at least had lineage and origin, something more meaningful than the "Liu" of her previous life.

Lost in thought, the old lady stroked her head with affection and tenderness, and said softly, "Life isn't always smooth sailing. What you've suffered is nothing. At least you're still alive. Forget about the past, and it's better to forget your worries! That Yang woman, hmph..."

Liu Lian was slightly surprised, feeling that Yang Shi had some connection with her, but her mind was blank. Seeing that the old lady didn't want to say more, she didn't press the matter. With Liu Ma around, she wouldn't have to worry about not knowing anything.

Sure enough, after the lights were turned off, Aunt Liu helped her resolve her doubts. Liu Ye'er's mother, Madam Lü, and Madam Yang were girls from the same village. After marriage, they were neighbors. Although their husbands both bore the surname Liu, they were not considered relatives of the same lineage. Madam Lü's Liu family was more prosperous; her husband and father-in-law drove carts and didn't farm. Madam Lü and her mother-in-law stayed home to manage the household. Madam Yang's family, on the other hand, farmed, but they didn't have many acres of good land, making them relatively poor. When Madam Lü gave birth to her second child, she suffered a severe hemorrhage and both she and her child died. Her mother-in-law couldn't bear the blow and fell ill and passed away as well. The Liu family to the east was left with only the father and son, both bachelors, unable to care for their daughter. They entrusted her to Madam Yang for ten taels of silver a year. This wasn't a low price; for a family of four or five, growing their own food, twenty taels a year would have been enough. Madam Yang initially took excellent care of the girl, but unfortunately, her husband died of typhoid fever. She wanted to merge the two families into one, but Liu Changsheng resolutely refused. Although Liu Changsheng was just a cart driver, he had seen the world and was used to traveling. He looked down on Yang Shi, especially since he was already married to a beautiful proprietress in the border region and had a son. Yang Shi, with nowhere to vent her anger, began to mistreat the girl. At first, things were a little better with her grandfather watching over her, but then old Liu suddenly died, and Liu Ye'er suffered for several days. Liu Changsheng returned to handle the funeral arrangements, observing coldly. He wasn't stupid; he couldn't bear to spend money on his daughter's suffering. He couldn't bear to let his daughter go to Fangzhou with him, so he begged the old lady to raise her. Good people don't live long. Two years later, Changsheng also passed away. Before he died, he sold all his house and carriage, entrusting his child and all his money to the old couple…