Chapter 1
#Volume 1: Blooming Talent
Chapter 1 - Taixing Town
Lin Haoxue felt that she was powerless. From head to toe, her entire body was in pain, and it felt as if her meridians were rupturing making it difficult for her to even move a finger.
Her mind was filled with resentment as she felt humiliated and powerless.
"Hahahaha, the Lin family's women look so beautiful, but they are fated to be just concubines," the insolent voice of a young man rang out in her mind.
"You're unsatisfied about what I said? What can you do about it? If you're really something, then stand up and fight me!" Another young man said provokingly.
"Older brother Wu Ling, right now not even her family has anyone capable of protecting her..."
"Humph, Wu Gang, you're really courting death. She is still from the Imperial Capital and has been chosen to become a concubine. You dare to go after her? Won't you just be causing your own death?" The young man talked back fiercely since he seemed reluctant and annoyed at Wu Gang. Therefore, you could see that he had a dirty mind as well.
"Tisk, it's such a pity that she's so young and already so attractive. It's hard to say how much prettier she will be in the future. It's really unfortunate that she is rubbish."
"Of course she has to be beautiful, otherwise, how would she have caught the He family's attention. Don't forget the He family's reputation in our empire."
"It's a pity that we can't touch her. But, this is Taixing town which is our Wu family's domain. We are so far away from them so even if we did something they wouldn't know, right?"
"Even if we can't touch her, we can just think about her to solve our hunger. Haha."
These unrestrained voices kept sounding in her mind. They made her feel nauseous as she remembered how his hand reached out towards her face, feeling it. She remembered how this ignited her anger and caused her to be completely humiliated.
"Stop it!" Lin Haoxue shouted as she suddenly sat up.
In a split second, the voices that echoed in her mind vanished into smoke.
These voices were not from the present rather they were a memory.
Now she was laying in bed, and when she looked down, she was surprised to see that her body had gotten smaller. Seeing her body, she could tell that she was now merely eleven or twelve years old. On her arm that was not covered by the quilt, she saw bruises, and the rest of her body ached.
"Second Miss, you're finally awake! You scared me to death," said a happy voice from nearby. Lin Haoxue looked in the direction of the voice, and she realized that she was surrounded by thirteen or fourteen young servant girls. When they saw that Lin Haoxue had woken up, they all gathered around her. Cui Lan said to her, "Old master was really frightened. If it were not for an urgent matter that came up, he wouldn't have gone out."
"Cui Lan? What happened to me?" Lin Haoxue asked, a little confused about where she was and who this Cui Lan was.
"You were injured. Quickly lie down! I will slowly explain," the young servant girl, Cui Lan, said hurriedly as she went to the bed and quickly tucked Lin Haoxue in.
"So what happened?"
"I don't know. Lin Gui and the others found you lying in an alley next to East Street covered in cuts and bruises, so we quickly brought you back home. We are also unclear about what exactly happened. However, we heard others saying that Wu Cuo and his friends were seen leaving that alley; therefore, it's likely that they were the ones who did this to you Miss," Cui Lan explained, full of anger.
"Wu Cuo?" While Lin Haoxue was unconscious, she had heard the names Wu Ling and Wu Gang. It seems that this Wu Cuo had also been there.
"Yes, the Wu family is one of the big three families of our town. Wu Cuo is merely a branch disciple, how dare he be so bossy and harm our Miss," Cui Lan was quite furious. "Don't they know how powerful the Lin family was, even if that was a long time ago…"
While speaking, her voice which contained a hint of longing gradually became softer and softer. Lin Haoxue was clear about her thoughts. The Lin family used to be highly regarded, and only now were they in dire straits. It was like a tiger becoming a cat or a phoenix becoming a chicken. No matter how well respected they were in the past, now they were in bad shape.
"Enough, I'm fine now!" Seeing this young servant girl become so mad about what had happened to her warmed her heart. But she didn't want to let this young servant girl dwell on her feelings, therefore she changed the topic saying, "I'm a little hungry now, get me some food."
"Okay, Second Miss, wait a moment. I will go prepare your favorite stir-fried lotus root for you. Just get some rest, it will be done soon." It turned out that changing the subject was useful in making Cui Lan think of something else.
"You lost consciousness and just woke up, so maybe congee would be better," Cui Lan murmured to herself as she quickly left the room shutting the door behind her.
Following Cui Lan's departure, the room turned silent in a flash. Lin Haoxue carefully reviewed the many memories in her mind.
Now her name was also Lin Haoxue, and she was the second granddaughter of Lin Geng, the head of the