novelraw Chapter 559: The Little Cannonfodder of the Three Kingdoms
Chapter 559: The Little Cannonfodder of the Three Kingdoms
An Ning woke up again amidst a biting, icy wind.
To put it simply, she had been frozen awake!
She lowered her head to glance at the tattered hemp clothes on her body and her grimy little paws. Even though consciousness was nearly gone, this body still instinctively curled itself tightly into a corner of the wall.
Unfortunately, even so, in this frigid winter day, it still couldn't bring a shred of residual warmth.
An Ning even suspected that even if she hadn't arrived at this moment, the original owner would have soon frozen to death.
Oh, there's no worse, only the worst. Looking at the sky, An Ning instinctively tilted her head back for a glance. Based on her past experience, it seemed like it would start snowing soon.
And right now, unsurprisingly, she didn't even have a place to shelter from the snow. As for her ragged clothes...
To be honest, in such bitterly cold weather, they were practically no different from having none at all.
An Ning, who just moments ago had been beautifully fishing and sunbathing in the manor, sleeping on an ultra-soft large bed, occasionally bickering with Old Man Lu: "..."
Sigh, suddenly feeling that sometimes, some of the minor quirks of the elderly aren't completely unbearable.It was the Lantern Festival in the first lunar month, a time of bustling activity in the city. Even though disasters large and small had plagued the vicinity in recent years, it still couldn't dampen the prosperous liveliness within the city walls.
What a pity. No matter how lively, all this had nothing to do with her, who was practically a beggar.
Tightly curling her small body into the corner, An Ning quickly began receiving the original owner's memories.
Surprisingly, the original owner's background this time was quite simple—just a pitiful peasant girl nearly swallowed by natural disasters, without even a proper name. Her whole family had fled here as refugees. Along the way, some fell ill, some left, and now, only the original owner remained.
But perhaps it was for the best. At least now she was no longer the burden her family wanted to discard.
In fact, if they hadn't consistently failed to encounter slave traders or brokers nearby, the original owner would likely have been sold long ago for food.
The only fortunate thing was, although the original owner's body was small, she was quite clever. That's how she managed to sneak into the city hiding under a cart. Was that slightly better than the refugees being driven away outside?
Although, truth be told, it wasn't much better.
As for the background... this was... the late Eastern Han Dynasty?
Amidst the howling snowstorm, An Ning couldn't help but suck in a sharp, painful breath. Ah, so early?
But the most important thing was the original owner's wish. It wasn't for anyone else, but for a person very familiar to later generations. A daughter of the Zhen Family, the fifth child. Yes, precisely the later era's well-known Empress Wenzhao of the Zhen clan.
That great beauty—Zhen Luo—who, after death, was said to have had her mouth stuffed with chaff and her face covered with hair by Cao Pi. (Luo is a later era laudatory title; her real name isn't recorded in historical texts.)
She was also the original owner's future benefactor and master, although currently, this young lady of the Zhen Family hadn't appeared yet.
"Eh, host, you're actually not very resistant to this?"
Seeing her host only dazed for a moment before accepting things with exceptionally smooth ease, the system couldn't help but be taken aback.
After all, given her host's temperament, wasn't she the one who most disliked this kind of thing—a miserable servant girl with a tragic background not pitying her own pitiful self, but instead pitying some noble, precious young lady from a wealthy family.
"How can this be the same?"
Using the motion of burying her head into her knees, a pill slipped smoothly into her mouth. Feeling her originally stiff body gradually beginning to recover, facing the cold wind, An Ning then slowly spoke:
"If it were a simple transaction of silver for goods, that would be one thing. But let's not talk about this chaotic era where human life is as cheap as grass; at any time, a life-saving grace, it's only right for the recipient to want to repay it."
Not to mention how dire the original owner's current situation was, the future years of master-servant affection, the life-saving grace, sparing her from the suffering of displacement, hunger, and cold in this chaotic era, giving her the opportunity to learn to read and broaden her horizons.
Even when she finally sensed something was wrong, she used her utmost strength to properly settle the people around her.
With all these antecedents, it's completely normal for the original host to want to repay, even willing to pay a huge price for it, only wishing for the other to have peace and smooth sailing, a good outcome.
Of course, for An Ning, her moral integrity, overall, is far inferior to the original host's own.
Repaying a kindness is possible. Giving up her life? Sorry, that's impossible! Absolutely impossible! Not one bit possible!
However, it must be said, thinking about the original body's experience in her previous life, an opportunity would come soon enough.
The system: "..."
That... that's true too!
"So host, what do you plan to do?"
Glancing at her pitiful-looking host, the system instinctively shrank its head, then spoke weakly. But in its heart, it was thinking:
Anyway, with the host's temperament, following the original body's trajectory, being rescued to become a maid—that's impossible!
Who would have thought, the next second, hearing the gradually approaching footsteps not far away, just as the system was about to turn its head, it saw its host hurriedly place a jade bottle of rather good quality against her chest, and then...
And then, just like that, she fainted in a dazzlingly dramatic fashion.
Wait... fainted? Fainted!
This... compared to the original body's trajectory, it's not just identical, it's exactly the same, down to the last detail.
The system: "???"
Much later in the day:
When the "unconscious" An Ning "woke up" again, unsurprisingly, she was in a rather elegantly decorated room. On a small table not far away, an ancient bronze flower bud incense burner was slowly burning. Beneath her was a solid wooden platform bed. Stroking the soft bedding beneath her, An Ning, for once, comfortably let out a sigh of relief.
Phew, isn't this much better than huddling in a corner of an alleyway, constantly being chased back and forth by people?
As the saying goes, when you're out and about, your identity is all something you give yourself.
It's just that next, she'll have to put on a good performance.
Lying on the comfortable wooden platform bed, stroking the warm bedding covering her, An Ning soon closed her eyes.
Hmm... better conserve energy and build up strength first!