General, you should rest now; the lady is even more ruthless.

Jiang Qiqi closed her eyes and thought for a while, her mind gradually becoming clearer.

A completely unfamiliar place, a body that doesn't belong to me, and the vague sounds of "Master" and "Miss" that I heard when I woke up during the day—

Jiang Qiqi wasn't completely unaware of such ghosts and supernatural phenomena; she just hadn't imagined they were real, let alone that they had happened to her.

Now, her soul has entered this body, but what about the original body?

I remember she was on a mission at the time, dealing with those thugs in the rainforest.

At that time, she had just obtained the address of the other party's weapon forging factory. When she left, she was accidentally discovered by them. In a panic, she ran into the nearby rainforest, and the gang of thugs chased after her.

She wandered around inside with them for two days and three nights. The thugs couldn't catch her, but she couldn't find her way out either.

Early on the third day, she had just caught an unknown bird, plucked its feathers, and was about to eat it raw when she heard a rustling sound behind her. Turning around, she saw the dark muzzle of a gun. Before she could react, there was a bang, and then she lost consciousness.

……

Haven't you watched TV dramas? Where are the dialogue scenes? Who starts shooting right away?

In short, she should be dead for good. It's just a pity that she spent more than three months stealing the address of the weapons factory.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Jiang Qiqi has no parents and has lived in an orphanage since she can remember.

One night when she was five years old, several people dressed in black windbreakers came to the orphanage and, after careful selection, took her and two other children away.

They were blindfolded and rode in a car from dusk till dawn and then back to dusk. When they got out of the car, all they could see were endless mountains and a tall building hidden among them.

At that time, Jiang Qiqi had no idea that she would spend more than ten years in that place.

The training is tough. If ordinary children need to study academic subjects, then they are trained in both academics and martial arts. They get up at six o'clock in the morning and rest until ten o'clock at night. Apart from twenty minutes for three meals a day, they have no spare time.

From challenging physical limits to challenging psychological limits.

She died and came back to life inside.

From childhood to adulthood, she was not the tallest or the strongest, but she always achieved the best results in every subject, whether it was tactics or combat strength, she was always number one.

Although she was young, she was hardworking and resilient, and quickly stood out in the building. Everyone in the building knew the number 1977.

Her tactics instructor was a guy everyone called White Bear, who said she was a born spy.

The polar bear liked her very much. Everyone else was addressed by code names, but her code name was 1977, so the polar bear gave her a name based on that number.

She has a given name, Jiang Qiqi.

White Bear only spends two or three months a year in the building, spending the rest of his time going out on missions. But whenever he comes back, he always brings Jiang Qiqi some little trinkets from outside, sometimes small toys that girls like, sometimes picture books for children.

The most outrageous time was when he somehow managed to evade layers of security checks and bring her a string of candied hawthorns.

From childhood to adulthood, although the food and drinks she ate and drank were all very good, they were all specially formulated with nutrition. Where had Jiang Qiqi ever eaten such sweet and sour street snacks?

Her eyes lit up as she ate, and the polar bear watched her with a smile, saying, "In four more years, you'll be able to go out. When that time comes, I'll take you to buy everything from candied hawthorns to fried cakes."

"What are fried cakes? Are they delicious?"

"It tastes just like candied hawthorn, it's my favorite."

She was 12 years old that year.

But it didn't even last four years, not even a year.

It was a very cold day, but they trained as usual.

At that time, everyone was soaking in cold water practicing holding their breath when two people walked in, holding a sheet in their hands. Those people bowed their heads and said a few words to the teacher.

Jiang Qiqi was underwater, the shimmering water disturbing the scenery outside and blurring her vision. She vaguely saw the teacher turn his head to look at where she was, then turn his head back.

In the four years that followed, Jiang Qiqi never saw the white bear again.

However, the name Jiang Qiqi, which was originally only used by Bai Xiong, was now used by all the teachers, and gradually, even her classmates who trained with her started calling her that.

According to the rules, starting at age 16, they would leave the building in batches to adapt to and integrate into the outside world—this was their first task after becoming spies: to disguise themselves as ordinary people.

As the most outstanding spy in this group, Jiang Qiqi was naturally among the first to leave.

On the day she left, she asked a teacher she knew about the polar bear. The teacher remained silent for a long time before taking out a slightly yellowed piece of white paper from his pocket.

There are two words at the top of the paper: Obituary.

In the middle is a black and white photo of a polar bear.

The line below reads: Comrade Jiang Yunting died in the line of duty at the age of 25.

Jiang Yunting, it turns out that such a burly and rough man has such a scholarly name.

She left the building.

Just as she had never mentioned the white bear before, she had never mentioned Jiang Yunting afterward.

They only took that piece of paper with them.

White Bear was right back then; perhaps she really was a born spy, able to skillfully apply what she had learned and felt to practice.

For nine years, she traveled to various countries alone with a weapons case, silently collecting intelligence and fighting criminals. No information about her appeared in the media, but her efforts were behind the annihilation of many organizations.

That obituary remained at the very bottom of her weapons case.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Jiang Qiqi was sitting at the table thinking when she suddenly heard footsteps outside. She immediately went back to bed, closed her eyes, and lay down.

The door creaked open, and a sleepy-eyed maidservant entered, carrying a small basin of water: "Miss, the imperial physician instructed me to use this medicinal water to wipe your body every half hour."

This young maid was quite talkative, and even though Jiang Qiqi was unconscious, it didn't stop her from talking to herself.

"Miss, this afternoon the master went to the palace and indeed brought back the imperial physician. In my opinion, the imperial physician is much better than the doctors in our village."

She said this as she wiped.

"That Imperial Physician Wang brought five kinds of medicine. I've brewed two of them and mixed them into this water to wipe your body. As for the other three, the Imperial Physician said you'll wake up by tomorrow at the latest, and then I'll brew them for you to drink."

“Miss, you didn’t hear it at the time, but I heard it very clearly. The imperial physician said that your condition is not as bad as you think. As long as you take your medicine on time and take good care of yourself, you can live for another three to five years without any problem. After that, there may be an even more skilled imperial physician who can cure you.”

Xiang'er gently wiped Jiang Qiqi's arm. Because of her weak constitution, her arm was always cold, and it only regained a little warmth after being wiped with the medicine.

"You've finally made it through this difficult time. Tomorrow I'll go to the temple to give thanks. Oh, and I also need to go to the ancestral hall to tell Madam the good news. She must be watching over you from heaven."

Jiang Qiqi was "unconscious," but she could still hear the joy in the maid's words.

“Miss, in a few days, when we go to the General’s Mansion and you become the General’s wife, we won’t have to live such a hard life anymore. Xiang’er will stew crucian carp and make nourishing black chicken soup for you every day, and you will definitely recover.”

Although the maid was talkative, she worked very efficiently and finished wiping in no time. Seeing her mistress's face starting to regain some color, she was overjoyed.

She tidied up the handkerchief and basin, tucked the blanket around the young lady, blew out the candle on the table, and quietly left.

In the darkness, Jiang Qiqi opened her eyes, her gaze clear and bright.

She understood that her physical condition was certainly not that bad, because the original owner of this body was already dead.

That imperial physician seemed to have some skill. Jiang Qiqi had a rudimentary understanding of medicine, since getting injured during missions was commonplace for her, but she only knew some emergency self-rescue methods.

She judged that her body had become like this due to years of suffering from illness, and that treatment would not be a matter of a day or two, especially given the limited medical conditions in ancient times.

She had prepared herself to stay in bed for a month, but the imperial physician mixed some kind of medicine into the water and simply applied it to her skin so that she could absorb it. Surprisingly, she felt a little bit of strength return to her body.

She had listened carefully to what the maid had said, intending to gather information about the environment around this body.

After all, this is ancient times. If others discover that you are a wisp of soul that has come into this body, you might be treated as some kind of monster and executed.

It's safer to continue pretending to be the original owner after getting to know her better. Right now, it seems that the person closest to the original owner is this young maid named Xiang'er. She's young and doesn't have any suspicions, which makes it much easier for her to pretend.

The most important thing right now is to get my body back in shape. My body is too weak; when I cough twice, it feels like my heart is going to jump out of my chest.

Having been reborn, she didn't want to die of illness before she could even enjoy life.

Thinking this, Jiang Qiqi slowly drifted off to sleep again.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Since the Emperor has bestowed this marriage upon them, they must at least show some respect. With only five days left, Shijiu, who also works as the steward of the General's Mansion, has been busy since early morning.

"This stack of invitations must be delivered today."

"That 'double happiness' character is too small. Replace it with the biggest one and put the smaller one in the side room. Don't forget to put two 'double happiness' characters on the master's wheelchair."

"Has the wedding dress arrived yet? Go and follow up with them."

Twelve, dangling a blade of grass from his mouth, swung back and forth beside him: "Nineteen, what do you think happened that the emperor bestowed upon our master some kind of marriage out of the blue? Who is this person he betrothed to?"

Nineteen snorted coldly: "Who knows? The emperor's thoughts are hard to fathom. The one he has betrothed to is the daughter of Jiang Qianzhong, the Minister of Revenue."

"Jiang Qianzhong," Twelve muttered, thinking it was a pity that Sixteen hadn't returned yet, otherwise, with his intelligence capabilities, he could figure out the situation in no time.

"By the way, what did the master say?" Twelve asked.

Nineteen thought for a moment: "It seems like they didn't say anything special, as if they didn't take it seriously at all. When I went to ask the master for his opinion on decorating the wedding room, he also told me to prepare it as I saw fit."

"Oh." Twelve curled his lips, bored. Their master has always been like this. Others his age, even if they don't have a wife, must have several concubines. But he seems to be clueless about this. He's been a widow year after year, and he doesn't even care about getting married now.

“However,” Twelve suddenly lowered her voice, and Nineteen quickly leaned over, “on the day the palace messengers came to announce the imperial decree, the general did order that a room in the backyard be prepared for the future general’s wife.”

It's one thing if they're not married, but it seems like they'd be separated even if they were?

“Hey,” Twelve said mysteriously, “why don’t we help our master?”

Nineteen questions: "What kind of help?"

"Oh, of course I'll help the master and mistress. Putting everything else aside, don't you want a little master?"

Upon hearing this, Nineteen immediately became interested: "Of course I want to! But," Nineteen lowered his voice even further, "can our master manage it in his current condition?"

After thinking about how her master had fallen ill just two days ago, Twelve shut up.

After a while, he finally couldn't resist his curiosity: "Fine, I'm just killing time anyway, I'm going to visit Minister Jiang's house and see our future wife."

Since it was an imperial decree bestowing a marriage upon her, and she was the rightful mistress of the General's Mansion, it was necessary to inquire further.

It's not that he's gossipy.

"Go on, go on," Nineteen said, annoyed by his constant nagging.

"You're not going? Aren't you curious?"

Nineteen rolled her eyes at him: "You think everyone is like you? There are so many big and small things to do in this manor, I can't leave."

"Tch, old woman." Twelve muttered, and quickly ran away before Nineteen's pebble came flying at him.

"You're the old woman, your whole family are old women."

Nineteen entered the room while muttering to himself. He saw his master asleep, breathing evenly. He tucked the blanket around him and left with a loving expression.