cold clothes

Leng Yi remembered that she was almost late for work and couldn't catch the bus, so she had to run on the sidewalk in high heels under the scorching summer sun. She was hot, thirsty, and exhausted, and then she lost consciousness.

Then she woke up from the heat; her throat was burning, and she was going to die if she didn't drink water. Was there any water? Was there any...?

Suddenly someone ran past her, and a few drops of water splashed on her face. She stuck out her tongue and licked the water droplets, but those few drops were not enough.

People kept passing by her, but no one helped her. Were they afraid she'd stage an accident? They could have at least called 120! How could people in modern society be so cold-hearted?

Clearly, she had to save herself; the sound of flowing water ahead indicated a water source. She crawled forward with all her might, the rough stones beneath her causing excruciating pain. She sensed something was wrong; city sidewalks shouldn't be this uneven.

There's only one explanation: she's dreaming. Only dreams can be so bizarre and chaotic. But the feeling of dying of thirst feels so real. It seems she's been under too much mental stress lately, which is why she's having this near-death dream.

The stone hurts so much, I'm afraid it broke my skin... I'm so tired, my body feels incredibly heavy...

It's so ironic, isn't it? Why is she so pathetic even in her dreams? She's always bowing and scraping to her superiors, but in her dreams she has to crawl like a dog. Why? Why!

Damn it! Leng Yi wanted to cry, but her eyes were so dry that she couldn't even shed a tear.

Leng Yi slowly crawled along when suddenly he heard voices, "That little bastard isn't dead yet. He wants to crawl to the riverbank?"

"Hehe, how about we help him out? Throw him into the river!"

"Great idea!" Then came a burst of laughter.

Leng Yi felt a sudden darkness before her eyes, and then she was lifted into the air and thrown out! She instantly disappeared into the water.

Is this dream going to replay all her painful memories? When Leng Yi was eight years old, she was kicked into the river, and then she learned to swim. Now she is experiencing the feeling of drowning again.

However, the river wasn't deep. When Leng Yi sat up, the water level was just up to her chest. She sat there breathing heavily, squinting as she watched three men on the bank laughing loudly.

Leng Yi froze for a moment, then lowered her head and frantically sucked in water. The laughter on the shore abruptly stopped.

I have to say thank you to those three guys, they're such kind people! Leng Yi was touched by her own imagined scenario.

After drinking her fill of water, Leng Yi rubbed her face and then noticed something was wrong: her hands had shrunk, and the clothes she was wearing looked like rags.

The image in her dream had changed, which greatly surprised Leng Yi. She looked at herself in the water and was frightened by her dirty, pointed face and big eyes. But upon closer inspection, although her face was dirty, her features were still exquisite, and she was a pretty girl! A beautiful girl with blue eyes at that!

This isn't how she looked when she was a child. What's going on...? Using her modern mind, Leng Yi quickly realized that she had transmigrated, and into the body of a beggar.

Leng Yi looked around and found that most of the people along the river were dressed in rags, making it seem like a slum.

Fragments of memories flashed through her mind. She was a refugee who had fled all the way from the southwest. A war broke out on the southwestern border of the Great Xia Kingdom. She couldn't remember anything else. She didn't even know what this body was called, where it came from, or whether it had any family.

She had arrived in the capital not long ago with a group of refugees. The officials of the capital gathered the refugees in a corner of the city and provided them with porridge twice a day, which barely fed them. Now it was the height of summer, and many people had died of heatstroke, and it seemed that the original owner of this body had also died.

Coming to her senses, Leng Yi felt even hungrier, and driven by hunger, she staggered toward the porridge distribution point.

Before the porridge distribution even started, a long queue had already formed at the porridge stand. Leng Yi arrived at the end of the line, but unexpectedly, a burly man came up behind her and pushed her to the side.

Then the line continued to grow longer.

Most of the survivors among the refugees were adult men; very few of the elderly, women, and children survived. It was a miracle that Leng Yi, the original owner of this body, a little girl of only a few years old, was alive.

So what about her now? How is she going to survive? She died of heatstroke in her previous life, and now she's going to starve to death or die an even more miserable death after transmigrating?

Leng Yi silently moved to the back of the line, squeezed into the stinking shadows, and only when she was almost unconscious from hunger did she receive a small bowl of steaming porridge.

Not enough, one bowl of porridge is far from enough. Her stomach, which had been whetted by her cravings, churned, and acid almost rose in her throat. She looked pleadingly at the soldier distributing the porridge, but was pushed to the ground by someone coming from behind.

"One bowl isn't enough for everyone, and you little monkey want another? Dream on! Go to hell!" Someone cursed her fiercely and spat at her.

Leng Yi quickly fled the soup kitchen to avoid being beaten.

No, she can't stay here.

They have been trapped here for months, and people are dying every day. The government doesn't care about the lives of the refugees at all. They care more about the dead bodies than the soldiers patrolling the living. Once they find a body, they immediately carry it away and bury it to prevent the spread of plague.

If this continues, she'll die in a few days. Die the moment she transmigrates? Are you kidding me?

No one expected that someone would slip away during the porridge distribution, and given Leng Yi's small stature, she easily escaped.

She didn't know where she was going, but she knew she had no way out if she stayed in the refugee camp.

Shortly after leaving the refugee area, they arrived at a bustling market. Lengyi was awestruck by the scene of the ancient market. Compared to the sets in period dramas, the real ancient streets were wider and had more pedestrians. Various stalls lined the moat, selling paintings, straw sandals and cloth shoes, dried fruits and candied fruits, vegetables, fruits, handkerchiefs and sachets, and so on. Lengyi's mouth watered at the sight of them, but the stall owners' faces darkened when they saw her.

Leng Yi couldn't stop walking next to a steamed bun stall; the aroma of the buns was just too tempting... The stall owner noticed Leng Yi and hurriedly shooed her away, saying, "Where did this little beggar come from? Come on, leave!" But when he saw Leng Yi's pitiful blue eyes, he paused for a moment.

"This girl's eyes are blue, how strange." The steamed bun vendor muttered to himself, then reluctantly handed a steamed bun to Leng Yi, "I'll give you one because you look pitiful, hurry up and go."

"Thank you, Uncle." Leng Yi accepted the steamed bun with both hands, almost moved to tears, her childish voice hoarse.

As Leng Yi walked and ate, her eyes darting around. She noticed many beggars on the street, all carrying canes and bowls, their heads wrapped in turbans, resembling the legendary Beggars' Guild. They sat in the shadows, looking bored and dejected.

After taking a few more glances, Leng Yi lost the idea of ​​joining the Beggars' Sect. She couldn't stand living a life of unkempt appearance and hated begging for money without working. She had hands and feet and was capable of being self-reliant.

But what could a little girl do in ancient times? She arrived at the entrance of a restaurant, and just as she was about to speak, the waiter sweeping the floor picked up a broom to chase her away.

"Beggar, go away, don't bring bad luck!"

"I can wash the dishes, I think..."

The waiter completely ignored Leng Yi's words and mercilessly hit her with a broom, forcing Leng Yi to run away with her head in her hands.

Leng Yi's nose suddenly stung with tears. What should she do?

Unbeknownst to her, she had arrived at the most bustling part of the city. Towering buildings stood tall, colorful flags fluttered in the wind, and people passing by were impeccably dressed. Leng Yi felt out of place, shrinking fearfully to the edge of the street, cautiously observing her surroundings. The bright characters of Jinfu Cloth Shop, Yunlai Restaurant, Zhenbao Pavilion, and Cuiyu Pavilion made Leng Yi dizzy. Among them, a cleverly designed pavilion stood out as the most elegant.

Fengxiang Pavilion. Lengyi read out the large characters on the plaque, and then faintly smelled a faint fragrance wafting from it, like the sweet scent of rouge, and the sound of string and wind instruments could be heard from it.

One after another, richly dressed men went in, and Leng Yi vaguely guessed what kind of place it was.

brothels...

Leng Yi calmly analyzed her situation. She was now a refugee of unknown origin, like a rat in the street. She had just been beaten up by a restaurant waiter, and if she wandered the streets for too long, she might be caught by the soldiers and taken back to the refugee camp. What frightened her most was that her body had a pair of unique blue eyes.

Leng Yi was already very beautiful, but she wasn't grateful for her looks. In modern times, women can make a living without relying on their looks, but in ancient times, there weren't many women who could do that.

What should she do now? She either becomes a prostitute or a beggar, with a high chance of starving to death. She either becomes a prostitute, or is captured by soldiers and taken back to the refugee camp, where she will starve to death. Or she becomes a prostitute, or... a savior will come and save her.

She should just become a prostitute.

She didn't think that transmigrating would automatically give her a Mary Sue script. Or, could anyone tell her how to survive? Besides living as a dependent, what other options did she have for survival? Becoming a child laborer? A slave? That was practically the same as being a prostitute.

Her head was about to explode from thinking. Leng Yi clutched her head in anguish. Shouldn't she be right to hesitate? She had no room for hesitation now. Maybe even if she were a prostitute, no one would want her now... So, she should go ask.

Leng Yi licked her dry lips and walked towards Fengxiang Tower.