"Help! I'm in here, help!" I cried in agony as I desperately made noises by banging hard on the door of my basement. My body was scorching hot, the fury of flames danced against my skin as if trying to swallow me alive.
The pain was an understatement, I felt like being engulfed by the flames of hell as I slowly got burnt alive. My vision got blurry every second as I gradually lost the power to continue calling out for help. My entire being slowly succumbed to death while my head began to spin from inhaling too much smoke.
I breathe heavily as I muttered the same words again and again, "it hurts... it hurts..." Tears continued flowing as I took my body's last bit of energy to slam it against the door, ultimately dropping on the floor.
Memories started flashing right before my eyes. "Even at death, I will never acknowledge you as my daughter you filthy child!" I let out a pained laugh of disbelief. Even at death's door, I'm still thinking about my bastard father.
"Never show yourself again in front of me! The sight of you disgusts me! You looked exactly just like that whore!" He looked at me with a scowl plastered on his face, his eyes screaming pure disgust at the sight of me as he threw money at my face. "Now, get lost!"
He turned his back at me as he said the words that completely broke my heart into pieces. "The next time you show yourself in front of me, I will personally kill you just like that whore." I smiled bitterly at the last flash of memory I experienced before darkness finally engulfed me.
"Miss, wake up! Young miss!" Frantic voices gradually filled in my hearing as I heavily opened my eyes. I slowly regained my vision, trying my best to focus on the owner of the voice calling out to me. "Young miss! You're alive!" The girl cried frantically and squished my hand tightly in relief.
"Ughh..." I groaned as I felt a sharp pain poking my temporal lobe. I held on to my head in a grimace when unfamiliar memories started filling in my brain. Realization slowly kicked in as my brain processed the overwhelming amount of memories I gained all of a sudden. They felt as if they were my own.
Jiu Xinyi- it's funny but I shared the same name with the previous owner of the body. It seems that right after I died, I transmigrated to this body of a nineteen-year-old young miss of the Jiu family.
I opened my eyes once again and looked at the servant kneeling in front of me. A name flashed on my memory when I saw her haggard face from crying too much. "Wanwan..."
"Yes miss, it is me, Wanwan!" She said and burst into tears once again. Her nose was red as she tried her best to wipe away all of her tears and blew her nose on a small floral piece of fabric that seemed to be a handkerchief. The thing was awfully familiar that I could not help myself but stare at it as I rack my head for an answer. Wanwan seemed to notice me staring at it and quickly offered it to me with her innocent expression, "Y-young miss, h-here." That's it! The previous owner bought it on a whim at a famous store when she saw a rival of hers trying to buy the same piece as well. Unfortunately, the fight grew bigger because there was only one piece left. Hence, she undoubtedly engaged herself on a farce for that now snot-covered piece of fabric.
My face scrunched up at the sight of Wanwan's offer to share the snot-covered hankie with me. "Uh, it's fine. You can have it to yourself." She made a pause and stared back at me for a couple of seconds with a face that showed she just witnessed something impossible. A few seconds later, her tears started forming on her tear ducts yet again.
"Waaah!" She cried loudly as her shoulders slumped in resignation. "Y-young miss must've h-hurt her head too hard." She sniffled in between her sobs. She probably thought I'm out of sanity to give the handkerchief that caused her young miss to have scratches in a catfight with that rival of hers.
I scanned my surroundings and memories just right before the original owner of the body died flooded me. Unfortunately for her, she was heavily poisoned. The tea she drank during her afternoon tea time was mixed with a very potent poisonous herb that could immediately kill a person within a couple of minutes if not tended to right away.
I took in my surroundings and much to my surprise I was sent back to the ancient period. I woke up next to a tea table after the original owner collapsed on the floor due to poisoning. The pastel-colored dress I'm wearing is drenched blood red, clearly the result of being poisoned. My fingertips were also dyed red and my wrists had obvious cuts that I assume were made a day ago.
A quick flash of memory was brought to my brain's surface. The past Jiu Xinyi inflicted self-harm after her engagement with the third prince was cut off by the prince himself. It was said that he can no longer fathom her attitude and way of dealing with people, that she lacked dignity and is not someone worthy of being part of the imperial family, thus, Jiu Xinyi tried threatening her family by being suicidal but sadly for her, her struggles were seen as useless to the third prince. He was even disgusted beyond belief and because of that, she really meant to end her life the second time with poisoning. The embarrassment she suffered made her decide to enter death's door.
"Xin'er!" A woman's sudden scream was heard outside the room. Hurried footsteps and in a short while the door was flung open, revealing a middle-aged woman and an old man with their eyes and nose tinted red from crying. The woman's eyes grew large due to shock and ran towards me in a hurry.
She knelt right beside me and gave me a tight hug while bawling her eyes out in tears. "You unfilial child, why would you try and kill yourself!" She cried in pain in between her sobs. After a few good seconds, she broke free from the hug and held my face with both of her palms as she stared straight into my eyes with a distressed expression. She was the owner's mom- Jiu Xinyi's birth mother.
I felt a rush of heat on my eyes and tears started pooling on my tear ducts for some reason. I felt a sharp pang in my chest as if it was being clenched real tight and at the same time, I felt a surge of warmth. It was a mix of emotions that I didn't get to experience before. As if the body I was in had a sudden impulse on its own. "You scared the wits out of me! You even worried your grandfather."
A single tear escaped my eye and the next thing I know, I couldn't stop my tears from falling. "I-I'm sorry..." I muttered in a whisper, but it was enough for her to hear my words. She quickly wrapped me around her arms once again and rubbed her palm against my back in comfort.
"Hush, it's fine my child... Please promise me you won't do it again, okay?" I nodded my head as an answer and she wiped my tears dry.
"Call the doctor to examine Xin'er immediately!" the old man- supposedly my grandfather- ordered to the servant that followed him from behind. He walked towards me and patted the top of my head softly before breaking out a smile of relief as he looked at me. "It's good that you've come around. Now, let's get you healed up."
The room I was in was bustling up with noises of people coming in and out. Wanwan was told to clean me up after the doctor checked up on me and told everyone I have avoided a great danger. My mother and grandfather then ordered me to stay still and recover from my injuries.
I was in bed for more than a week and it greatly helped me to organize my thoughts after being transmigrated to a different body. After that, I finally got permission to leave and walk outside my room. Mother told me not to get involved with the third prince at the moment, not that I want to, I mean the original owner already left this world. We may share the same name but not the same interests, personalities, attachments, and emotions. She might have feelings for the third prince, but I don't.
After thinking about it for some time, I finally decided what to do starting from here on. I will live my life as I want it to be. I may have been a horrible person, and I may still be- I mean no one can change in a complete 180 degrees after a day- still, I will try to live a different life than what I did in my former life.
I have been granted a second life, it might take time, but I will not let my life end in another tragedy. Considering I have been blessed with a parent in this another lifetime, I'd try hard to live my life how I want it to be. A chance for redemption!