When Lin Shuiyao woke up, her head felt groggy, and her stomach hurt intensely, as if she hadn't eaten anything for days.

What was she doing just a moment ago?

Ah, right. She had forgotten to turn off the faucet before plugging in the food processor.

When the wet plug entered the socket, Lin Shuiyao knew that she had just casually thrown away her life.

"If I knew opening a shop was so dangerous, I might as well have remained employed," Lin Shuiyao thought to herself.

Before she could even start regretting, she realized something was off.

Hadn't she felt pain all over her body just now? Why was it only her stomach that hurt now?

What... was happening? Was she not dead?

With a puzzled mind, Lin Shuiyao slowly opened her eyes, only to behold a desolate scenery.

The sky was filled with yellow sand, the land was parched, and as far as the eye could see, there were only a skinny boy and a wickers basket in front of her, along with two menacing grown men.

"Eat me instead. I have more flesh than my sister," the boy standing in front of the basket spoke first.

"Big brother, let's eat this young lad. The lass in the basket, we can trade her for a couple of pancakes later. No one will suspect a thing," one man suggested.

Despite not knowing where she was or what era it was, Lin Shuiyao understood one thing very clearly: Cannibalism. They were probably in the midst of a famine!

For some reason, this boy in front of her seemed familiar. A jumble of fragmented memories raced through her mind.

Before Lin Shuiyao could think in detail, she grasped one crucial point - This boy seemed very important to her, she had to save him!

There was a boy standing in front of them, so the two men didn't notice that Lin Shuiyao had already woken up.

Lin Shuiyao looked around and saw a long wooden stick not far from her on the ground. While the two men were discussing who to eat first, she had already gripped the wooden stick in her hand, and then hit the taller man on the head as hard as she could.

People in times of famine are naturally unable to eat enough, and have hardly any strength. After taking a hit from Lin Shuiyao like this, the tall man staggered and fell over.

The boy was shocked at first, but then quickly rushed over to wrap his arms around the thin man's legs, immobilizing him.

Then another blow from Lin Shuiyao, and the thin man was knocked to the ground, unable to get up.

Only after the two men were both down did the boy run to the place where Lin Shuiyao had been lying, pulled out a basket, and looked inside.

"Mother, let's go quickly," he said.

Mother? Lin Shuiyao was utterly befuddled. Was the brat referring to her?

Seeing that Lin Shuiyao did not respond, the boy ran over and tugged on her hand, "If we don't leave now, the two of them will wake up soon."

"Ah, okay!" Lin Shuiyao took the basket and put it on her back, then grabbed the boy's hand and quickly left the dilapidated temple.

Regardless, since the kid had called her 'mother', she would play the part to the full and take them home first.

Just after they had started walking, a severe headache struck her. Lin Shuiyao abruptly released the boy's hand and squatted on the ground.

"Mother? What's wrong?" asked the boy, somewhat anxiously. The little girl in his backpack also started crying.

As Lin Shuiyao clutched at her head, a surge of memory that didn't belong to her flooded her mind.

Turns out, she'd transmigrated. She had become Lin Shuiyao, the young wife from the old Shen family of the Great Qin Kingdom.

Speaking of which, the original host led quite an unfortunate life. When she was little, her father was often drunk and took his anger out on her and her mother. Her older brother wasn't much help and often idled away his time outside.

The original host was sold off to Old Shen's family at the young age of fourteen by her father. She became the second wife of the eldest son of the Shen's family, Shen Xiuyuan, and was expected to play the role of a stepmother to two children.

When she got married, Shen Xiuyuan was away at war. Not only did she never meet her husband, but she was also thrust directly into the Shen household without even a traditional wedding ceremony.

Who could have foreseen that less than a year into her new family, a once-in-a-century drought would strike. No rains fell for half a year making it impossible to grow crops. The villagers had no choice but to abandon their homes and seek livelihood elsewhere.

The Old Shen's family was part of this exodus. However, because of the overwhelming mass of people, the original host and the two children got separated from the larger group. They were spotted by some ill-intended men who saw a young woman with two children and plotted harm.

These men first knocked her unconscious with a stick and intended on eating the children. Fortunately, Lin Shuiyao crossed over in time to prevent their evil intentions.

Having assimilated all these memories, Lin Shuiyao’s splitting headache slightly eased. She stood up, with Shen Changqing worriedly supporting her, "Madam, don't blame Chang Le for her tantrums. She's just hungry and will stop crying when she's tired."

As he explained, his eyes filled with compassion.

Looking at the frail Shen Changqing before her, and hearing the sobs from little Chang Le in the cradle, Lin Shuiyao's heart ached.

Enough. She must make the best of the situation. She cannot abandon these children heartlessly.

Right now, survival is the most paramount. As for the rest, she'll take one step at a time!

"Baby-girl, don't cry. Let's go home." Lin Shuiyao cradled little Chang Le, soothing her gently. To make it easier to talk to the children, she decided to call them by their nicknames, Da Bao and Nan Bao.

How heartbreaking to see such a young child suffering from hunger. If only they could have some milk. As Lin Shuiyao thought this, a box of packaged milk suddenly appeared in her hand.

With wide eyes, she gasped: Where... Where did this come from?