The sky was high and the air was fresh, and the wheat that had just been sown in Back Mountain Village had already sprouted, with the tender green seedlings covering the fields.

In contrast to the tender green in the fields, the nearby mountains were a swath of golden yellow. The grass had dried up, and the leaves were beginning to fall, while the wild chrysanthemums on the ground were in full bloom.

"Sigh..."

After Pei Qin had raked together a pile of leaves, she sat down on the stone beneath the tree and sighed for the twenty-first time. She could never have imagined that she would be caught up in such a massive transmigration, only to be immediately doused with a bucket of misfortune upon arrival.

The original owner's father was a scholar, quite learned, and the family had scraped together enough money for him to travel to the capital for the imperial examination. The family was full of hope, awaiting good news and hoping that after his success, he would transform their family's standing, propelling the Old Pei's House to new heights.

But the original owner's father was unlucky, for he was attacked by robbers halfway there. For some reason, several hot-blooded youths, who were of no use in physical labor but educated, were killed and robbed by the bandits.

That tragedy brought the Old Pei's House crashing down. The family had lived frugally and gathered all their silver for Pei Loaer to study for the examination, but in the end, they lost not only the silver but also their son.

When they collected Pei Loaer's body from the charitable foundation, it was already disfigured from the passage of time, with his face and body gnawed in many places by rats. Seeing their son in such a state, Pei family's elderly couple passed out.

The original owner was only three years old then and an unloved little girl, which suddenly left her and her mother alone and helpless.

The original owner's mother had tried to hang herself to follow her husband, but was saved.

After the family discussed the matter, they reached a decision that made Pei Qin curse her mother.

Since the General of Chu Nation, Duke of Anguo, had died on the battlefield without a son, and to ensure the continuation of the Duke's lineage, the Emperor issued a decree permitting the Duke's younger brother, Jian Xiao, to marry into two households so that the Duke's lineage could have an heir.

Once this happened, many in the commonfolk began to follow suit. And since the scholar father also had no son, Jian Xiao naturally fell upon the eldest brother.

Ten years had passed, and now Pei Qin was fourteen years old, with two younger sisters and a brother below her. After three daughters, the second wife finally had an heir!

Pei Qin lifted her slightly dizzy head and glanced at her younger sisters, San Ya and Si Ya, who were gathering leaves nearby, and couldn't help but sigh again. She was aware of the concept of Jian Xiao in ancient times and did not discriminate. The problem was that she was now the eldest sister to three little radishes and faced an uncertain future.

San Ya, who was ten, and Si Ya, who was eight, managed to gather a pile of leaves taller than themselves, and San Ya came over to get the cloth to pack firewood. Seeing Pei Qin sighing, she asked worriedly, "Eldest sister..."

Pei Qin glanced at her and stood up, "Pack the firewood!"

San Ya opened her mouth but didn't know what to say and followed her in unfolding the cloth.

The cloth was made of scraps sewn together, six to seven square feet in size, perfectly suitable for carrying dry leaves, and could hold much more than any bamboo basket or pannier.

Pei Qin bent over and pressed the leaves onto the cloth.

San Ya deftly pushed the leaves onto the cloth with the rake.

Si Ya frowned, "Third sister! If you push them like that, stones and dirt clumps will get mixed in, and grandma will scold us again!"

San Ya hesitated, "Then I'll sift it from the top!"

"Just push them!" Pei Qin frowned and took the rake, pushing the firewood onto the cloth. There was a straightforward way to do it, yet they insisted on meticulous sorting, as if gathering firewood was such a delicate matter.

Si Ya looked at Pei Qin with a somewhat displeased expression. It was just like the eldest sister to be so dense and slow, thinking how grandma wanted to marry her to an old widower who had lost his wife. She wasn't even alert when gathering firewood and wouldn't take a reminder even when offered!