Volume One, Chapter Three: The Whole Family Together, Reunited Across Worlds

Pfft!

Lin Shuping, being outspoken, could not help but burst into laughter.

"Cousin, what kind of 'empty corridor moistening the earth' is that? It is clearly that a thief has broken into the house! Oh my, I must hurry and check if I have lost anything!"

As she spoke, Lin Shuping seemed to realize something, and with a grim face, she was the first to rush toward the backyard.

"Ping'er, be careful! The thief might still be around!"

Seeing this, the Second Madam of the Lin family, Madam Sun, could not spare a moment to frown and hurriedly chased after her daughter.

The Third Madam of the Lin family, Madam Wu, also had a terrifyingly gloomy expression. She lashed out sternly, "What are the servants in this house doing? How is it that not a single one can be seen!"

"Nanny Wu, take some people to see what is going on. Get them to surround the entire estate immediately... What a brazen thief, daring to run wild in the Lin residence; they truly must be tired of living!"

With that, Madam Wu also led some people away in a fury.

As for the First Madam of the Lin family, she was even more anxious. Unlike the second and third branches, the second branch held official positions at court and maintained a residence in the capital, with the majority of their assets kept there. The third branch dealt in illicit trades, keeping their wealth hidden away in various secret properties.

Only the first branch of the vast Lin estate kept half of their assets stored in the family's vaults!

Now that the Lin family had clearly been robbed, if anything happened to the assets in the vault...

The First Madam felt a wave of darkness wash over her. Unable to spare a thought for Lin Wanwan, she too hurriedly led her maids away in a rush.

At this moment, before the gates of the Lin mansion, only Lin Wanwan remained, standing all alone. Not only was there no one left to appreciate her poetry, but no one had even deigned to offer her a word of explanation!

"How could they? I am a reincarnator, the future Empress! How dare the Lin family treat me with such indifference and leave me here?!"

Lin Wanwan’s expression turned sinister. She clenched her delicate fists, stomping her feet in a rage!

*

"So, our whole family has transmigrated into a book?"

"The protagonist of the book is the child the Su family misidentified years ago, Su... no, Lin Wanwan?"

"And she is a reincarnator?"

"The reason your face is beaten like this is also because Lin Wanwan deliberately targeted you?"

"And the fact that you lost at the poetry gala in the book... was because I taught those ancient poems to Lin Wanwan?"

Beside Peach Blossom Creek, Su Yunhai and Shen Yuehua tried their best to digest this information, utterly shocked!

"That’s right. In the book’s plot, you both doted on Lin Wanwan and felt nothing but disgust for me, your own biological daughter."

"Including those three brothers of mine, they all favored Lin Wanwan and subjected me to all kinds of harassment and humiliation..."

At this, Shen Shuli looked meaningfully at her parents and asked, "Dad, Mom, will you be influenced by the plot and eventually favor Lin Wanwan and turn against me?"

"Impossible, absolutely impossible! You are my precious daughter; how could Mom ever help someone else bully you?"

"Don't worry, kiddo. Dad is a transmigrator now, not some paper character defined by a script. I know who is on my side!"

"Hmph, that’s more like it." Shen Shuli lifted her chin and curled her lips into a smile.

"By the way, Dad, Mom, according to the book's plot, the entire North and the Central Plains will face an unprecedented drought. Soon, a plague of locusts will pass through, destroying countless crops and leaving countless people to die of hunger and thirst."

"Internal factions within the imperial court will also clash in the shadows. The Great General of the North will be framed and die filled with hatred due to court infighting. When that happens, the northern border will fall, and the northern barbarians will ride straight in, slaughtering the people at will."

"The local officials are not acting like human beings. Either they increase taxes to line their own pockets and exploit the people, or they collude with local warlords to conscript soldiers, not even sparing ten-year-old children."

"Qingzhou is right on the route the northern barbarians will take to invade the capital. There is no way for the people of the state to survive. We must leave this place of chaos as soon as possible!"

Shen Shuli recounted the various natural and man-made disasters from the book with a grave expression. After finishing, she worried about scaring her parents, so she thought for a moment and added, "However, don't worry too much. My space... it came with me when I transmigrated."

The couple grew more horrified with every word, but then their faces filled with pleasant surprise. They had known that their daughter possessed a companion space since she was born in their modern life, but they had not expected it to follow her into this book.

Su Yunhai looked at Shen Shuli and warned her sternly, "Daughter, don't tell anyone else about the space, other than us."

Shen Yuehua also thought of something and quickly added, "The Su family has many members, and you have three cheap brothers. They aren't transmigrators; they will surely target you just like in the book."

"The space is your trump card. You must never let it be exposed."

It was worth noting that Shen Shuli took Shen Yuehua's surname because Shen Yuehua was the only daughter of the Shen family. When the couple married, it was agreed that they would have several children, and the daughter would carry the Shen name. They hadn't expected the first child to be a girl, nor did they anticipate that she would be born with immense good fortune. To ensure her safety, they had chosen not to have more children, fearing that siblings might not be reliable.

"Don't worry, Dad and Mom. I value my life; I will never let it be exposed." Shen Shuli knew the gravity of the situation.

"It's getting late. Old Su, hurry up and pack our things." Shen Yuehua took her daughter's hand, her face full of tenderness. "Come on, daughter, let's go home. Mom will make you your favorite food."

Before leaving, Shen Shuli made sure to tuck the fast horse into her space. She didn't want the Su family to see she had anything of value and try to cling to her.

A quarter of an hour later, they reached the Su family compound.

The Su residence was a standard courtyard-style house. The walls and buildings were made of adobe, with only the roof of the east wing covered in tiles, while the others were thatched. It was dinner time, and one could feel the bustle inside even from outside the wall.

Su Yunhai pushed the gate open and glanced inside, giving an intentional cough. The courtyard instantly fell silent.

Shen Shuli looked at her father in surprise, thinking to herself that he actually commanded quite a bit of authority in the Su household. She silently gave him a thumbs-up.

Su Yunhai felt even more smug. He puffed out his chubby belly and walked in front with his head held high.

"Mandian, are your grandparents home?"

"They are, Second Uncle." Su Mandian, who was busy feeding the pigs, immediately stood at attention and answered obediently.

"Hmm. See who isn't home and call them all back. Tell them your Second Uncle has something important to discuss with everyone." Su Yunhai gestured with his chin.

"Yes, Second Uncle! Task guaranteed to be completed!" Su Mandian replied in a bright voice, immediately setting off to find everyone in each room.

Others in the courtyard noticed them, and their expressions changed upon seeing the battered, unrecognizable person trailing behind Su Yunhai. The younger ones were almost scared to tears.

"Daughter, go wait in our room. I'll bring you out to meet everyone once they are all gathered," Su Yunhai said to Shen Shuli.

Shen Yuehua also smiled and said, "Mom is going to make you something delicious. I'll call you when it's ready."

"Alright, Dad and Mom, go ahead and get busy."

After the couple brought her to the room, they went off to attend to their tasks. Their room was the east wing with the tiled roof. Shen Shuli hadn't expected that while the exterior looked simple, the interior was quite something else.

The walls were freshly plastered, and the room was fully furnished. There were two large wardrobes, a desk, a tea table, a bookshelf, and a chest of drawers—all intricately carved. Even the corners of the heated brick bed had carved frames with curtains, much like a canopy bed.

The room was filled with exquisite and luxurious touches. As expected of her parents, they remained sophisticated even here. It seemed their life wasn't too bad.

Shen Shuli raised an eyebrow, thinking to herself with satisfaction: Perhaps she could continue to be a spoiled "stay-at-home" child in this world!