Chapter 1: Catastrophe Strikes

Xia Qiqi was dead.

As a dedicated veterinarian, after staying up late to save several cats and dogs poisoned on the lawn, Xia Qiqi died of sudden exhaustion.

When she opened her eyes again, she was lying on the cold floor of a woodshed.

The faint sound of wind outside the door made her shiver involuntarily.

The dead of winter—it was truly freezing!

"Where on earth has that brat Qiqi gone?!"

"Hurry up and find her! The maidservants of Youlan Courtyard are short one, and Steward Yan is still waiting for a reply."

Xia Qiqi tried to move her limbs. Suddenly, the voices of two older women outside the woodshed seemed to tear open the darkness before her eyes, flooding her mind with countless memories that were not her own.

Xia Qiqi was now a lowly maidservant in the Left Prime Minister’s residence of the Liang Kingdom!

Three years ago, during the plague in Shengjing, she happened to collapse outside the "Hundred Herbs Hall" clinic, where the owner saved her life.

After recovering from a serious illness, Xia Qiqi had completely forgotten who she was and whether she still had any living relatives.

The clinic owner's surname was Xia. Xia Qiqi was the seventh person he saved during that plague, which was why she was given the name Xia Qiqi!

Xia Qiqi insisted on paying the clinic owner’s fee, but after his repeated refusals, he could only arrange for her to become a maidservant in the Left Prime Minister’s residence.

Her main daily duty was to feed the numerous pet cats and dogs of the residence’s eldest young lady, Liu Mingyu.

She faithfully sent the five taels of silver she earned each month to the clinic on time.

Because of her amnesia, Xia Qiqi’s eyes often looked vacant, giving the impression of someone not very bright.

Therefore, in the prime minister’s residence, she naturally became the one everyone bullied.

A couple of days ago, the cat she fed, Xiao Ai, kept meowing loudly and disturbing the young lady’s peace, which caused Xia Qiqi to be punished by Madam Wu of Youlan Courtyard: no food for three whole days.

By the second day, Xia Qiqi was starving and thought about finding something to eat.

Ever since a maidservant had hanged herself in the woodshed last month, the prime minister’s residence had been haunted. The more timid maids would secretly leave a bun or two behind the woodshed door.

So, she sneaked into the woodshed, hoping to borrow a couple of buns from the ghostly sister.

Perhaps due to hunger, she fainted inexplicably on the woodshed floor before even eating the buns.

When she woke up, she had become the modern veterinarian Xia Qiqi.

Sighing softly, she accepted the reality of having transmigrated into a maidservant.

“Huh? There’s a sound in the woodshed. Could that girl be hiding inside?”

Madam Wu outside the door seemed to hear something and suddenly stopped at the woodshed entrance.

***

Upon hearing the two madams’ voices again, Xia Qiqi instinctively held her breath.

Having grown up in an orphanage, she had a natural sensitivity to danger.

Madam Zhang lowered her voice, “No way, who would hide in the woodshed to slack off? Everyone knows what’s in there…”

“Meow… meow… meow meow!”

Before Madam Zhang finished speaking, several sharp cat cries suddenly exploded in Xia Qiqi’s ears.

“Cough, it’s just a cat!” Madam Wu’s voice trembled slightly. “Let’s hurry and search elsewhere. This place is really eerie.”

As their footsteps faded away, Xia Qiqi stretched her neck a few times, leaned on the woodpile, and tried to get up off the floor.

With a creak, the woodshed door was pushed open slightly.

A pure white cat slipped through the crack.

“Oh, it’s you!” Xia Qiqi chuckled softly, crouching down to stroke the cat’s head. She whispered teasingly, “In such cold weather, why don’t you stay in the young lady’s warm chamber instead of running here?”

Xia Qiqi’s habit of talking to fluffy little animals was very much in line with her former self.

“Meow, meow... run away quickly!”

“Run now or it’ll be too late, meow!”

The urgent, adorable voice startled Xia Qiqi, who looked around in surprise.

“Meow! Xia Qiqi, what are you staring at? I’m talking to you!”

Who was speaking?

Was the cat talking?

There was clearly only her in the woodshed. Was it a hallucination?

Suddenly, Xia Qiqi’s eyes landed on the cat in front of her…

“Xiao Ai, be good. Are you hungry? Sister will get you some cat food right away.”

Xiao Ai raised a front paw, scratching Xia Qiqi’s skirt anxiously. “This is so nerve-wracking, Xia Qiqi… you’re in big trouble!”

In big trouble?

Xia Qiqi froze, her hand stroking Xiao Ai stopping mid-motion.

Then she thought, she was just a lowly maidservant—what kind of trouble could be worse than starving?

She wobbled to her feet, dusted the dirt off her skirt, and smiled at the cat, “Eating well is the most important thing.”

Madam Wu only forbade her from eating, but never said Xiao Ai couldn’t have cat food.

***

Xiao Ai didn’t seek a cuddle as usual. Instead, the cat raised its tail, glared fiercely at Xia Qiqi, and clawed the ground desperately.

“I personally heard the prime minister order Steward Yan to silence a few maids from Youlan Courtyard tonight!”

“Meow! I forgot Xia Qiqi can’t understand me when I get flustered!”

Xia Qiqi lowered her head and saw Xiao Ai’s anxious, contorted feline face.

It seemed the adorable fierce voice she heard earlier was really Xiao Ai speaking.

But no matter how she searched the original owner’s memories, she couldn’t find any reason why the prime minister would want her dead.

She looked at Xiao Ai with a puzzled expression and murmured, “I’m just a useless maidservant—how did I end up marked for death?”

“Meow, the prime minister told Steward Yan that the young lady’s secret must never be revealed, so…”

“Xia Qiqi, can you understand what I’m saying?”

The young lady?

Wasn’t she Liu Mingyu, the prime minister’s only legitimate daughter?

Her secret?

Xia Qiqi was stunned.

Last year, the current emperor had arranged a marriage for Liu Mingyu with Prince Jin, the emperor’s third son. Once Prince Jin completed the establishment of his mansion on his fief, she was to leave Shengjing to wed him.

Recently, the betrothal gifts had arrived at the prime minister’s residence, but Liu Mingyu suddenly suffered a relapse of an old illness and was unwell, making it unlikely she would travel to the fief to marry.

But that was the public story…

The truth was Liu Mingyu already had someone in her heart, and was secretly pregnant by him. The prime minister had wanted to end this unwanted relationship quietly, but Liu Mingyu was determined, swearing that if the child in her womb was taken away, she would rather not live.

That day, Xiao Ai had been disobediently running around Youlan Courtyard. When Xia Qiqi tried to catch her, she overheard a fierce argument between the prime minister and Liu Mingyu.

Just thinking about the prime minister storming out of Liu Mingyu’s chamber, casting a complex, vicious look at her, made Xia Qiqi shudder.

Xiao Ai was not lying.

Her days were numbered!

“Darn it, there’s no escape now, meow…”