A peasant girl travels through time with a hospital, rising to become an empress.

Gu Xiao gazed at Nie Qianqian, his eyes deep and unfathomable, and slowly said, "Qianqian, I've told you before, this jade pendant is a keepsake left to me by my mother. It's an heirloom of my maternal clan, passed down through generations. If the blood of a direct descendant drips into it, it will form the family totem."

Nie Qianqian's voice was full of surprise, "The family totem?"

Gu Xiao: "That's right." This is why Gu Xiao told Nie Qianqian earlier that this was a symbol of his identity, that the jade pendant recognized its owner, and that no one else could impersonate it.

Nie Qianqian sighed inwardly: Gu Xiao's mother's family totem was actually a fire phoenix, so her mother's identity must be extraordinary.

Nie Qianqian raised an eyebrow and asked tentatively, "Your mother's family isn't related to royalty or anything like that, is it?"

Gu Xiao was taken aback. "That, that's not..."

Nie Qianqian patted her chest, "That's good, that's good."

Gu Xiao continued: "My mother's family is a reclusive clan. The clan members believe in the god of nature. Some of the clan members are gifted and can communicate with animals. It is said that one of our ancestors was a great and unparalleled person who understood the laws of nature and had the ability to control all beasts. He was born hundreds of years ago and ended the decades-long war of division between the five kingdoms, unifying the Central Plains."

Nie Qianqian grew increasingly alarmed as she listened. "And then?"

Gu Xiao raised his head slightly, his eyes seemingly piercing through everything before him as he gazed at the distant horizon. "With our ancestor's abilities, unifying the Central Plains and ascending the throne would have been an easy task. However, his ambitions lay elsewhere. After the war ended, he went into seclusion again and disappeared without a trace, leaving behind only one sentence for the world: that the descendants of the clan would remain in seclusion generation after generation and never step into the mortal world to participate in the struggle for royal power."

Nie Qianqian: "Is this to prevent the emperor from becoming suspicious?"

Gu Xiao gave Nie Qianqian an approving look, "Indeed, our ancestors also used this as a clan rule to restrain everyone."

Nie Qianqian: "Then how could your mother..."

Wouldn't her mother have violated the clan rules and stepped into the mortal world?

Nie Qianqian didn't finish speaking. Gu Xiao's parents weren't there either, and she knew that this was the topic Gu Xiao least wanted to mention.

Gu Xiao sighed softly, "That's another complicated story..."

Nie Qianqian had mixed feelings. First, she felt pity for Gu Xiao's situation; second, she realized that after she transmigrated to another world, her connection with Gu Xiao had become increasingly close, and she seemed to be getting involved in an extraordinary event without even realizing it.

Gu Xiao turned around, took a small step forward, and shortened the distance between himself and Nie Qianqian. The two stood face to face and could hear each other's breathing.

Gu Xiao gazed at Nie Qianqian quietly, his eyes focused and solemn. "Qianqian, thank you for finding the jade pendant for me. I know this journey will not be easy. The jade pendant is precious, but I cherish this affection even more. I, Gu Xiao, swear that in this life, whatever you desire or ask for, even if it means going through countless hardships, I will do my best to pursue it and make your wish come true."

Gu Xiao's breath was right in front of her, and the firmness and passion in his words made Nie Qianqian's fair face flush red, and her heart pounded.

Gu Xiao was always reserved and introverted, and had never spoken to her so bluntly before. His sudden words were like a sharp sword, striking her heart instantly.

She lowered her head slightly, avoiding direct eye contact with Gu Xiao. "I don't have any particular ambitions. I just want to earn more money so that my family can live a happy, stable, and worry-free life."

This was her true thought. Of course, besides that, there was another one: to practice medicine and save lives, but she didn't say it out loud.

Gu Xiao chuckled softly, his voice gentle and deep, "Then I grant you a lifetime of glory and wealth."

If others heard Gu Xiao's words, they would probably laugh at him, thinking that a poor scholar whose hand ailment had not yet healed was spouting such nonsense.

But Nie Qianqian knew that if Gu Xiao didn't make a promise, fine, but if he did, he would definitely keep it!

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.

The capital city, the Imperial Observatory.

Jian Zhengnan Huaisheng was observing the celestial phenomena at the Star-Gazing Platform. The night was as dark as ink. Suddenly, he saw a star in the southeast that was originally so faint as to be almost imperceptible suddenly become brighter, even showing a tendency to outshine the main star. But in just a moment, it disappeared again, as if nothing had ever happened.

If he hadn't happened to be stargazing and observing the constellations in the southeast, he would have thought he was seeing things.

Nan Huaisheng was startled and frowned. The main star in the east symbolized the royal family, but the star just now seemed to be colliding with the main star.

But how could that be?!

The stars that were once brighter than the main star have long since lost their fortune and mind to the main star.

Back then, when the late emperor was critically ill and the late empress disappeared, the main star set a trap, luring that person into the Imperial Horse Temple to pray for the late emperor. In reality, a grand formation had already been set up, the purpose of which was to steal the emperor's fortune, seize his desire to rule the world, and allow the main star to defy fate and seize power.

From then on, the constellations took shape, the world was at peace, and no other star could ever shine as brightly as the main star.

That person could not possibly be alive in this world. Even if he were to be alive by chance, he would surely be living in poverty and plagued by misfortune, and would never be able to unleash the light he just saw.

What exactly happened? Could it be that he really misread it?

"Could it be related to the falling star from a few months ago?"

Several months ago, an official reported to him that a falling star had appeared in the southeast.

Afterwards, he sent people to investigate the direction of the fallen star, but they found nothing unusual.

Both are in the southeast direction, but are they related, or is he overthinking it?

Nan Huaisheng frowned deeply. After careful consideration, he decided to keep the matter a secret for the time being and not report it to the Emperor.

The current emperor has been on the throne for six years, and the people sing his praises, praising his benevolence, wisdom, and respect for scholars. However, Nan Huaisheng knows his deep and unfathomable thoughts, as well as his ruthless and merciless nature.

If this matter is told to him now, it will inevitably cause a bloodbath, and people will also suspect him, the one who deduced the formation back then.

Moreover, the matter is shrouded in mystery, and he hasn't fully grasped it yet.

A vague sense of unease arose in his heart. During this period, he stayed on the observatory every night to observe the stars and see what was happening.