Essence Past Life - Meimei-chan

Dear Meimei:

Thank you for visiting the Past Life Shop. Your payment has been received. Before receiving your next life, it is necessary to read the usual statement.

1. This is your past life, as I have seen it. It may be your last life, or the one before that.
2. The quality of the past life you receive depends on the following factors: whether I like you, and how you paid your price.
3. Everyone has only one chance to obtain their past life; the payment cannot be supplemented or withdrawn.

[Past Life]
You were born into an ordinary family; your parents were small merchants. Your surname was Zheng, and your given name was Tianqing. It was a scholar living next door who gave you the name. The scholar taught you to read and write, and your parents often looked after him as well.

Until the age of fifteen, you joined a wealthy household as a servant. Like your parents, you were practical-minded and cautious in your actions. At the age of twenty, you became the steward of this family. The master and mistress treated you very well, and you were willing to serve the family properly. That year, the master and his second wife finally had a child, the only heir of the family. A girl. She was showered with countless affections from birth. Her name was Song Yuyan. Like everyone else, you also adored her.

When you were twenty-five, your parents asked the mistress to arrange a marriage for you, but you said you wanted to marry a woman you liked. The mistress felt guilty for having occupied your youth for so long. She found the daughter of tailor Zhang in the city; the girl was very beautiful and somewhat famous in the city, and the Zhang family was moderately wealthy, a suitable match. When you saw the girl in the hall, you felt troubled, thinking of how to refuse. Yuyan ran in, her gaze piercing, pointing at the girl and said in a clear voice, 'When Yaner grows up, she will definitely be more beautiful than her. I don't want her to marry the steward.' The mistresses laughed uncontrollably, taking it as an innocent child's words and letting it pass. You privately expressed your wish to the mistress, who also thought that a forced match would not be sweet. The matter ended there.

The following year, a neighboring country started a war, and soldiers approached the city, causing civilians to flee in all directions. The master and mistress dismissed all maids and servants. The mistress fled first, leaving only the senior mistress, while the second wife even abandoned her child. It was later heard that she had secretly eloped with the accountant from the Zhang family. Your parents, at your urging, headed north early, while you, the senior mistress, and Yuyan kept struggling to push through the crowded city gates.Suddenly, a troop of soldiers stormed in recklessly. Although they shouted that they would not harm the civilians, their reckless charge was still very fierce. You tightly held Yu Yan's little hand and ultimately got separated from the master and mistress. You searched for three days and nights, but there was no news. You remembered the master saying he was going to Dali, so you took Yu Yan and headed toward Dali. Yu Yan was very well-behaved on the journey, neither crying nor making trouble. This journey ended up taking half a year. When you arrived in Dali, you opened a small tavern. To help the master and mistress find you, you made the tavern sign very large, reading 'Yu Yan Little Pavilion.' The dishes at your tavern were light, whether meat or vegetables, and your pear blossom wine was a specialty. Your place became somewhat famous in Dali.

Ten years passed, yet the master and mistress still did not find the place. During this time, you inquired everywhere but found no news. Sixteen-year-old Yu Yan had grown tall and graceful, truly a beauty. From time to time, suitors came, but you refused them all. They were all spoiled nobles, and you feared it would harm Yu Yan.

On Yu Yan's seventeenth birthday, she said, 'Tian Qing, let's get married.' You were not surprised; over the years, you had seen this coming. You just felt sorry for the master and mistress. And you, after all, did like her. On your wedding day, the tavern was smashed. Master Qin, who had a close relationship with you, turned out to be the son of a prince and drove away the gang of spoiled nobles. It was also the result of your years of hard work, turning misfortune into luck. You closed the tavern and quietly left with Yu Yan. Back in your hometown, everything had long since changed. There, you opened a tavern called Tian Qing Little Pavilion. Just like before, life was stable from then on. In the end, you had a pair of children who took care of you in your old age.

Life can be called ordinary yet, at the same time, extraordinary. Even in the calm moments, there are a few twists and turns, making life quite flavorful.