Serena Feng could hardly believe her own eyes. Wasn't today supposed to be her wedding day? How could she wake up at the city gate, her clothes in complete disarray?
She looked down at herself. Her lower half was at least covered by a pair of underpants, but her upper half had only a dudou and a sheer red gauze.
Beneath the gauze, her fair skin was faintly visible, and the purplish marks on her body stood out starkly.
If this were the modern world, this situation would be nothing—maybe even considered conservative. But this was ancient times!
The kind of ancient times where your body had to be completely covered, and nothing but your face and hands could ever be seen!
And that wasn’t even the worst part—the worst was that she was being watched by a crowd.
What on earth happened? Serena Feng racked her brain, trying to recall recent events. Other than marrying the Seventh Prince, Adrian Dongling, today, nothing out of the ordinary had happened...
"M-miss, wh-what happened? Wendy, Wendy’s scared…" Her little maid clung desperately to Serena Feng’s clothes, her eyes filled with fear and helplessness, as if she’d collapse with a single gust of wind.
She looked even more delicate than Serena Feng herself.
What happened? She wanted to know that too!
Serena Feng swept her gaze over the crowd of onlookers, a glint of sharpness flashing in her eyes. She patted her maid perfunctorily, "It's fine."
She said it was fine, but Serena Feng knew perfectly well that today’s incident was a huge mess—and clearly someone had set her up.
She was just an orphan whose parents died early, yet she was betrothed to the Seventh Prince. There were plenty of people who didn’t want her to marry him.
After all, aside from being male and female, she and the Seventh Prince had nothing in common. In an era obsessed with matching family status, she was reaching far above her station.
Just yesterday, the original owner of this body drowned in an accident. If not for that, she wouldn’t be here now.
Serena Feng narrowed her eyes, hiding the sharpness within.
No matter who it was, she had to admit—using this kind of tactic was vicious.
In an era where chastity was more important than life, tossing her out at the city gate half-dressed was nothing but another attempt to drive her to her death...
Was it not enough to kill the original Serena Feng and force her to transmigrate here? Did they have to try to hurt her again?
Serena Feng clenched her fists, her beautiful eyes sweeping coldly over the crowd. "What are you staring at? Move aside!"
They wanted her dead? It wouldn’t be that easy. She wasn’t the old Serena Feng—weak, gloomy, and suicidal. As the best female military doctor of the twenty-first century, she had the courage to survive any hardship...
The crowd was startled by Serena Feng’s shout and quickly backed away, whispering in confusion.
"Wh-who is she...?"
"Yeah, whose daughter is she? Why is she here so early in the morning...?"
"Look at her—those marks on her face and neck... She must be a brothel woman."
"A brothel woman? Doesn’t seem like it, she looks more like a noble lady."
"Tch, what noble lady would end up here like this, so early in the morning? Tsk tsk, look at all that pale skin, and those marks… She must’ve been thoroughly enjoyed last night," a sleazy-looking man sneered.
"I’d love to cop a feel!"
"Wonder how much she costs for a night—she really is a beauty. Her face might not be striking, but her aura is something else. A whore, yet she carries herself like a noble lady. Tsk tsk, I wonder what she’d be like under a man…"
"Hahaha, dream on. She’d cost a fortune for sure…"
......
Bastards! What right did these people have to point fingers and spew filth at her...
Serena Feng ground her teeth in fury, but reason told her now wasn’t the time to deal with them.
She lowered her gaze to her neck and found, just as the crowd had said, her exposed skin was covered in purplish kiss marks.
Looking like this, even if she made it back to the city safely, what would come next was far beyond what an orphan like her could handle.
"Such ruthless methods—not only dumping me outside the city, but making me look like this. How am I supposed to go back?" Serena Feng’s eyes blazed with fury; at this moment, she wished she could kill someone.
Whether she married or not didn’t matter, but her military’s latest smart medical kit, which had come with her during the transmigration, was still at the Feng residence.
That thing would be hard to get even in the modern world, let alone ancient times.
She absolutely had to get it.
But now, it looked like there was no way to get it—what awaited her in the city was sure to be harsh punishment.
Serena Feng was so angry she wanted to kill someone.
It was infuriating. If she ever found out which bastard had set her up like this, she’d make sure to greet him with her scalpel—slice his flesh off piece by piece...
Her eyes blazed with anger, red dress and dark hair swirling—at this moment, Serena Feng was like a blooming red spider lily: alluring but not vulgar, beautiful yet not gaudy.
The onlookers stared in a daze, and a few bold ones even stepped forward, ready to reach out and touch...
Before Serena Feng could react, her little maid suddenly went wild, shielding Serena in front of her:
"Back off! Back off! My lady is an official’s daughter, not someone you filthy commoners can touch. Move aside, or I’ll have you all thrown in jail!"
The crowd burst into laughter at her words: "An official’s daughter? Wow, she really is an official’s daughter..."
"That’s right, my lady is—" The little maid puffed up with pride, blurting it out without a care, totally unlike a well-trained servant.
"Enough!" Serena Feng snapped back to herself, yanking the maid behind her and glaring fiercely.
Did this girl want to embarrass the two of them even more?
Did she have to disgrace their family for three generations before she was satisfied?
"M-miss..." The little maid jumped in fright, her heart pounding wildly.
Did Miss—did Miss know something?
"Don’t let me hear you speak again, or I’ll sell you off." Serena Feng threatened, the fierce light in her eyes making the maid fall to the ground in terror.
"Y-yes, Miss." The little maid was scared out of her wits.
She stared anxiously at the ground, not daring to look at Serena Feng at all.
Serena Feng nodded in satisfaction. "Follow me."
With that, Serena Feng swept a cold glance at the crowd and, under their stares, walked toward the outskirts. Though her steps were slightly hurried, there was an undeniable air of grace and nobility about her...
There was no way to enter the city today; the medical kit would have to stay at the Feng residence for now. Besides her, no one could open it, and even if they did, people in this era wouldn’t know how to use it.
As long as she stayed alive, she’d have a chance to reclaim her medical kit!
As for the wedding?
Serena Feng thought: To hell with it.
Her poised demeanor and unyielding spirit made the crowd quickly drop their sleazy expressions. It felt almost blasphemous to look at such a noble woman with lewd eyes.
Wherever Serena Feng passed, the crowd immediately stepped back, making way for her.
So the onlookers ended up forming two lines, as if they were sending her off.
People watched Serena Feng, whispering to one another...
Was this girl an idiot or something?
Otherwise, why would she leave the city? Where was she going, looking like this so early in the morning?
Serena Feng caught all the confusion in their eyes, but all she could do was smile bitterly.
In this world where social classes were so strict, returning to the capital like this was more than any weak woman could bear...
But just then, the little maid who’d been sitting on the ground suddenly scrambled up and shouted:
"Miss, Miss—no, Your Highness the Princess Consort, wait for your servant..."