"Mom, Yueyue is so hungry."
In a dilapidated thatched cottage in a village of the Guoqing Dynasty, the little girl pouted her lips aggrievedly.
Looking at the little girl, whose glassy eyes shone brightly despite her looking like an African refugee, Luo Xiaobing couldn't help but sigh in her heart.
She had really transmigrated.
She was a genius pharmacist and a prominent, low-profile entrepreneur of the empire. On her way to work, she had the misfortune of being crushed by someone jumping off a building, only to transmigrate into an unmarried village woman with children in ancient times. Having never even been in a relationship, she had suddenly become the mother of two.
As for the original owner of this body, she had starved to death after surviving on nothing but water for a long time just to save food for her two children.
"Mom, An'an isn't hungry," the little boy spoke up hurriedly, seeing his mother staring at his younger sister in silence.
Although he was still young, he knew there was no food left in the house.
However, as soon as the words left his mouth, a loud rumble echoed from his stomach, and his thin, tiny face instantly flushed with embarrassment.
Looking at the two skin-and-bones children, Luo Xiaobing felt a pang of sorrow in her heart.
In any other household, wouldn't a pair of twins like this be pampered and cherished as they grew up? Yet here, they couldn't even get a single filling meal.
Now that she had become their mother, she couldn't just stand by and watch them starve.
With that thought, Luo Xiaobing forced what she hoped was a gentle smile.
"Alright, Mom is going to cook for you."
It was easier said than done. The moment she stepped into her rudimentary kitchen, Luo Xiaobing was utterly speechless.
No oil, no salt, no rice, no flour...
They were dirt poor...
Seeing the two little ones following her into the kitchen with expectant eyes, Luo Xiaobing felt an immense weight of pressure.
"Luo Xiaobing, you wretched girl, get out here right now!"
Just as Luo Xiaobing was racking her brain over the lack of food, a loud shout boomed from outside.
Before Luo Xiaobing could even react, she saw the two children beside her cower in fear.
The newcomer was the original owner's eldest aunt. She had frequently insulted the original owner's parents in the past, so it was no wonder the two children were terrified the moment they heard her voice.
At this thought, Luo Xiaobing's gaze turned icy.
"Go wait in the room, kids. Mom will be right back."
Luo Xiaobing instructed the two children before stepping out of the kitchen.
At a glance, she saw Fan Huali, her face twisted in a harsh expression, storming into the bamboo-fenced yard.
"What are you doing here?" Luo Xiaobing asked coldly, making her displeasure obvious.
"You wicked, malicious wench! Is that any way for a niece to speak to her elder?" Fan Huali jabbed a finger at Luo Xiaobing's nose, but when her gaze landed on the large scar on Luo Xiaobing's face, her eyes filled with disgust.
The original owner had once been the most beautiful girl in the surrounding villages. However, a beautiful woman living alone was bound to attract unwanted attention. To protect her chastity, she had used a pair of scissors to disfigure her own face. Now, the former top beauty had become the "ugly woman" of everyone's gossip.
Hearing Fan Huali's foul words, a flash of ruthlessness crossed Luo Xiaobing's eyes, but she merely smiled. "Who is the wicked, malicious wench scolding?"
"Of course she's scolding you!" Fan Huali spat back without a second thought.
"Oh—" Luo Xiaobing drawled, staring at Fan Huali with a half-smile.
Fan Huali frowned, sensing that something was off, but she couldn't put her finger on it, so she brushed the feeling aside.
Just as she was about to speak, out of the corner of her eye she caught sight of An An and Yue Yue coming out of the kitchen behind Luo Xiaobing, preparing to slip into their room. Instantly, she snapped in anger, "What are you two bastards hiding for? Get out here this instant!"