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Sheng Nanzhen felt like she was suffocating.

“Mom, please take away the mat…”

“Oh… right, right…”

As soon as the mat was removed, Sheng Nanzhen could finally breathe normally again.

Miao Xiu wiped her tears. “Zhen, my dear Zhen.”

“Mom, I’m okay now. I’m back.”

Sheng Nanzhen reached out to wipe away her mother’s tears, only to realize her hand felt like a lifeless piece of meat. Even after being soaked, her body shouldn’t be this swollen… it felt as if it had been pumped full of air.

Even she was taken aback.

This kind of bloating wasn’t normal!

But Miao Xiu was lost in the joy of her daughter’s return, completely missing the confusion in Sheng Nanzhen’s eyes. She reached out to touch her daughter’s forehead and found her breathing was normal.

Sheng Nanzhen said, “I’d like some water.”

“Sure.”

A bowl of water was brought over, and Sheng Nanzhen was helped up. She drank it down in big gulps.

“Take it slow…”

Her body hadn’t eaten in two days, and her stomach felt empty, like an abandoned castle.

“Mom, I’d like some porridge…”

“You want porridge?” Miao Xiu asked.

“I haven’t eaten… I’m hungry.”

Sheng Zhenbei came over and said, “Get up, don’t sit on the floor.”

Only then did Sheng Nanzhen realize she was sitting on the ground.

She was exasperated. When someone died, they were treated like livestock, wrapped in a straw mat and left on the ground, ready to be discarded.

From the memories of her former self, she knew the customs of Azure Crow Town: if someone unmarried and under forty passed away, they couldn't be buried in a coffin, only wrapped in a straw mat and buried without even a gravestone.

To explain her miraculous survival, Sheng Nanzhen said, "I had a dream. The River God told me it wasn't my time and sent me back."

The river she had fallen into was called the Azure River. The people of Azure Crow Town worshipped the River God. About twenty years ago, during a push to dispel superstitions, the Azure River was almost filled in, but now it flowed freely again.

Upon hearing this, Miao Xiu immediately clasped her hands together and knelt on the ground. "Thank you, River God, for returning my daughter. It was Tianjiao who rushed to find someone to save you. We've been so busy with family matters that we haven't had a chance to thank her properly."

Sheng Nanzhen's eyes flickered at the mention of Sheng Tianjiao. At the time, no one else was around. If she claimed Sheng Tianjiao had pushed her into the water, her parents would surely confront her. She glanced at her parents, who looked exhausted and unable to handle any more stress.

She said, "Mom, there's no rush. I'll thank her myself."

"Alright," Miao Xiu replied. "Now that you're better, I'll go check on your brothers."

"What happened to my brothers?"

Zhenbei's eyes were filled with worry. Their family had been hit with one misfortune after another, like a leaky roof during a storm.

"When you fell into the river, your older brothers jumped in to save you, and now they're not doing well. Your third brother..."

"The kid just woke up, let her take a moment," Zhenbei interrupted Miao Xiu.

Miao Xiu then said, "You just woke up, get some rest. I'll make some porridge for you."

Nanzhen sensed there was more to the situation than met the eye.

"Dad, I want to check on my brothers," Nanzhen said, struggling to move and feeling dizzy, noticing her severely swollen foot.

In her past life, she lived to be thirty-one, skilled in medicine and classical studies, the founder of a prestigious educational institute, and a top-notch feng shui master. With just one look, she knew she had been poisoned slowly. If it continued, her kidneys would likely fail.

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