Chapter 332: Chapter 332

Decades had drifted by in circles. In this life she had been diligent about self-care, and with Sherlock—a living treasure of a younger brother who was constantly being jolted awake by all sorts of “accidental incidents”—and the occasional delightfully novel adventure he brought along, even the leisurely rural life felt unusually entertaining.

Although in old age she still had to endure harassment from her unlucky brother, who eventually moved next door, that particular “small government clerk” often lounged in his rocking chair, ripe with complaints.

Even her usual form of address for him shifted over time from “Dear Sherly!” to, “Oh, shut up, Sherlock!”

Still, none of that interfered with the group’s continued “happy” life.

The ever-creative Dr. Watson even used them as the template for The Amazing Scott Family, which became another celebrated work alongside the Holmes stories.

In short, by the time An Ning passed away in her nineties, with the rise of the film industry, both the Karl and Holmes series were gradually adapted for the screen...

News outlets and critics argued for years over which of the two great detectives—Karl or Holmes—was superior, and the relationship between the two added an even stranger color to the debate...

But by then, An Ning had peacefully died in her sleep alongside Mycroft.

Waking again inside the space, An Ning found herself unusually disoriented.

“I didn’t expect a vacation mission to land on us too, huh, System?”

She was... surprisingly taken aback.

Yes—vacation. No messy family drama, no immediately awful predicament. With its romantic undertone, at least the people An Ning encountered generally had kind hearts despite their different personalities.

The greatest challenge in a lifetime turned out to be a certain professor who, inexplicably interested in her, personally disguised himself to test her. Unfortunately, he badly underestimated her combat ability; despite what he thought were thorough preparations, his exit came much sooner than planned. That left the great detective uncharacteristically silent for a while.

All in all, the bodily problems that had tormented the original owner were, to An Ning, far too trivial...

Still, because Lady Catherine enjoyed a particularly happy and fulfilling later life, the original young woman generously left a five-star rating.

It was surprising, and faintly, An Ning felt a bad premonition. Thinking of previous missions, the system by her side fell silent for a moment and even stole a glance at its host.

Ah oh—just from the look on the other’s face, An Ning knew this premonition was likely to come true...

Without hesitation, she quickly pressed the button.

“Cough, cough, cough...”

“Master, please wait a moment, the imperial physician will be right here...”

In the cramped room, the occasional cough sounded, accompanied by a palace servant’s halfhearted words. An Ning slowly raised her eyes and took in everything before her.

At a single glance, she couldn’t help but close her eyes again.

A qipao, a small topknot, heavily colored embroidery, and a tiny, despair-inducing little room.

Tsk—indeed, there’s no such thing as a free lunch, and certainly no free vacation...

With the cold wind blowing in from outside, An Ning closed her eyes once more and began to receive the body’s memories.

Half an hour later...

An Ning opened her eyes in resignation and stared at the noticeably pale little hand in puzzlement.

Well, it turned out there was always a worse pit to fall into.

The original body, Wei An Ning, was seventeen. Just a few days ago she had been an obscure, low-ranking palace maid in the Xin Zheku.

From what An Ning knew, there were roughly two kinds of Xin Zheku personnel: one kind were bondservants who performed internal management duties—like the historical Liang Fei—and the other, far rarer, were the families of disgraced officials.

Unfortunately, the original belonged to that unlucky minority.

According to the young woman’s memories, before she was ten she had been a decent bondservant and had a relatively good life for a time. But her father failed her—on a crucial assignment he made a mistake, and the family lost the hereditary position they depended on. The little girl, once merely a bondservant, was dragged into the Xin Zheku along with them.

A ten-year-old in the inner palace, especially in the Xin Zheku, obviously had no promising future.

If not for her sister outside the palace, who had married and spared no effort to send money, and a matron in charge with some familial ties who helped out, she might not have made it. It’s also possible that the matron invested because the original was considered pretty.

In short, after a bumpy path the girl finally reached the present day. According to her sister’s plan outside the palace, in a little while they would claim she was gravely ill and get her released. It happened to be winter, and sickness was common in the palace; with some money and the fact that she was an unnamed low-ranking maid, she might well succeed. At worst, survive until the day she could leave the palace.

Climbing by marriage? She had no family, only beauty—how she’d die in this deep palace was anyone’s guess. Both her sister and the original knew that all too well.

Yet a few days ago, when the original went to Yanxi Palace to deliver laundry for Consort Hui, things “just happened.”

By a twist of fate, she became a completely unknown little concubine.

Oh, and I forgot to say—this was the twentieth year of Kangxi’s reign, and it had been less than half a year since the six palace promotions. The ranks of the four consorts and six concubines had already been filled.

Most importantly, An Ning lifted her hand and lightly checked the pulse in her palm. Unsurprisingly, the original’s fertility had been thoroughly destroyed a few days ago.

Great—what a start...

Still, it was at least a tiny bit better than the apocalypse or a natural disaster she’d imagined earlier.

She gave a half-smile and glanced at the spiritual sea where the system was playing dead. With a palace maid’s half-hearted comfort drifting by, An Ning decisively closed her eyes again.

Fine. She’d rest for a while first.