"Oh, oh, oh..."

With the crowing of the rooster, day breaks.

The crowing announces the arrival of a new day.

"It's dawn again."

After a busy night, Jiuniang stretches lazily, warming up her muscles and bones. She needed to head out soon, otherwise her mother would get scared upon finding her bed empty at dawn. Looking at the thriving medicinal herbs in her space, her clearly contrasting eyes are full of gratified smiles. How great! It seems these can be harvested in a few days, it is not in vain that she worked hard for these many days. After selling these medicinal herbs, coupled with what she had saved previously, it should be enough to support her brother's living expenses. Winter was nearing and the grains in the house were running short, it would be best to buy back some food. As for her brother's eyes, the only solution was to replace the cornea. However, in this era, mentioning surgery would probably lead to her being burned as a witch.

"Sigh!" Thinking about this, the smile on Jiuniang’s face disappeared, replaced with a look of melancholy.

Jiuniang, the ninth daughter of the Gu family, a pharmacist in modern times.

Unexpectedly, due to a medical accident, she crossed into ancient times and became a nine-year-old girl, also called Jiuniang.

But in this life, the term Jiuniang wasn't referring to her rank among siblings - her family only had three people.

Her mother, Gu Yu, her brother, Gu Jinyu, and herself, Gu Jiuniang.

As for the father, she carefully asked the question when she first arrived, but neither her mother nor her brother responded, so she stopped asking.

Anyway, they were all good as a family of three...

Except for...

Gu Jinyu was blind, and she was born with a disfigured face full of pustules...

The only 'normal' one was her mother. However, due to years of heavy physical labor, her health had been dragged down considerably.

"Ah... Life isn't easy."

Jiuniang sighed softly, furrowing her brows considerably.

To her relief, after traveling to this new reality, she unexpectedly awakened a unique spatial ability. At first, she never thought that she could use her space to grow medicinal herbs. It was only after her mother fell ill suddenly and they had no money to afford a doctor, that she had to venture into the mountains to find some medicinal herbs. Accidentally, she came across a handful of medicinal seeds and she took a chance on tossing them into her space. To her surprise, those seeds sprouted the next day... From then on, she started to utilize her special space to grow medicinal herbs, pretended to have them found in the mountains, and then sold them in the market.

"This can't go on like this. I need to think of a solution."

The space wasn't large, totalling about ten square meters. Additionally, the herbs she could plant were quite common. Although they brought in some income, it was barely enough. When she thought of all the expenses back home... All the herbs sold would only yield her a mere few dozen coins. After saving for two to three months, she only amassed about an ounce or two of silver, just enough for her elder brother's education.

Gu Jinyu may have been blind, but he was always a sensible child. Despite being only thirteen, he helped out as much as he could with the family matters. Understanding the hardships his mother had to go through, especially following Gu Yushi's sudden illness, Gu Jinyu had suggested leaving school. However, both Jiuniang and Gu Yushi disagreed.

Gu Jinyu, despite his blindness, was incredibly astute and greatly favored by the teacher. The teacher even sought out several specialized textbooks for the blind just for him. Although his resources were limited, Gu Jinyu continued to work hard and taught himself to write beautifully. Even Jiuniang, despite her keen sight and hearing, was ashamed by the sheer determination of her brother. In addition, Gu Jinyu was blessed with an exceptional memory. All it took was for the teacher to read once, and he could recite every single word. Jiuniang could not help but sigh; truly, the heavens were fair. Gu Jinyu had such gift for learning that not pursuing academics would be a great disservice to his talent.

Of course, there were those who gossiped behind their backs, questioning why a blind boy was pouring so much effort into academic studies. Was he aiming to become a scholar? Upon hearing such words, both Gu Yushi and Gu Jinyu would be deeply sorrowed. Only Jiuniang knew that Gu Jinyu's blindness was not completely beyond help... But she was uncertain and hence, dared not to casually reveal this to others. All she could do was to encourage him to persevere with his studies.

"Mother, brother and I are heading out."

"Alright, leave early and return early."

The warm sunshine bathed the earth brightly, at the front of the dilapidated thatched house, two children in coarse linen clothes waved goodbye gently.

The taller boy had a basket on his back, which was filled with common medicinal herbs.

The boy was handsome, with a complexion as fair as jade. Even though he seemed barely twelve or thirteen, you could see his future elegance. Particularly his ink-black eyes, they were as clean as dark gems, shimmering under the sunlight. If one were not told, nobody would believe that this pair of beautiful eyes were, in fact, blind.

And standing next to him was a thin little girl, who was as tall as his shoulders. She wore the same coarse linen attire, her face was veiled with a black scarf, revealing only a pair of clear, sparkling eyes.

Indeed, they were the siblings, Gu Jinyu and Jiuniang.

Gu JinYu studied in a school located in the town and originally had the option for accommodation. However, being from a poor family, JinYu could not bear the annual dormitory fee of one or two silver coins, so he insisted on going home every day.

When he was younger, his mother, Mrs. Gu Yu, used to drop him off and pick him up every day. But as he grew up, he started to commute on his own.

Fortunately, the village of Peach Creek where the Gu family lived was only half an hour's walk from the town. Gu JinYu, having traveled this path alone for so many years, had the way etched into his memory.

Jiu Niang, marked by a face full of boils, was bullied by the village children from a young age and rarely left her home… Three months ago, while delivering food to Mrs. Gu Yu in the fields, she was pushed into a freshwater lake by a group of hooligans. She became so ill that she almost didn't survive. However, after recovering, Jiu Niang seemed to have changed person. She was optimistic, no longer afraid to leave her house…

"Brother, let me carry it."

The siblings walked side by side out of the house. Seeing her scholarly young brother's back being weighed down by the heavy burden, Jiu Niang felt a pang of regret.

It was impossible not to say, her brother's appearance was truly handsome. Even dressed in a rough linen was unable to conceal his distinctive demeanor. Perhaps because of his years spent reading, he carried not a whiff of the countryside but a hint of scholarly charm. Jiu Niang had more than once felt that her brother was born into the wrong family. Had he been born into a wealthy family, despite being blind, he would certainly be a distinguished young master.

"I'll carry it."

Turning around, his black eyes twinkled with a smile. Gu JinYu gently shook his head and took Jiu Niang's hand. He had extraordinarily acute hearing and touch, owing to his inability to see. He could judge a person's position and distance based on sounds alone. So, if someone were not aware of his blindness, they wouldn’t notice at first glance.

"Brother, I can do it, it's not heavy," the brilliant smile, however, seemed to stab at Jiu Niang's heart, making her feel a sourness within.

She wasn't sure what kind of brother Gu JinYu used to be, as Jiu Niang had very few memories of him. The most prominent memory was of being bullied by the village children… However, spending these past two to three months together, she knew JinYu was a very good, very good brother… he always goes out of his way to be good to Jiu Niang…

Take today for instance.

Usually, JinYu would leave home before dawn and make it to school in about half an hour, just in time for the morning reading.

However, knowing that today Jiu Niang had to go to town to sell herbs, he deliberately postponed his departure to wait for Jiu Niang to go with him… He'd rather be late and wait for Jiu Niang, only to assist her with carrying the load...

"Yes, it's not heavy, brother, you just pick it up."

With a glint of laughter in his eyes, Jin Yu gently stroked Jiu Niang's head with a warm palm, so tender and gentle as if afraid to cause her pain...

"Brother, it's great to have you."

Unsure why she felt a sourness in her eyes, Jiu Niang abruptly hugged Jin Yu's waist, burying her small face deep in his embrace.

In her heart, she made a resolution to find a way to cure her brother's eyes, no matter what.

The heavens must favour him, for he is such a clever and kind soul.

"Brother, you should go in now."

Although the academy was in the town, it was actually a short distance from it. Standing at the academy door, Jiu Niang shouldered her carrying basket and urged Jin Yu to hurry in.

She knew that Jin Yu had been late waiting for her. Although he had always been punctual and the teacher wouldn't mind if he was late once or twice, Jiu Niang still didn't want him to waste time.

"Okay. Be careful too, come home early, so mother won't worry."

He smiled warmly and gently stroked Jiu Niang's head. Despite being late, he was in a good mood.

He liked the way Jiu Niang was right now. Although he couldn't see his sister, he believed that his little Jiu Niang must still be as adorable as when she was a child. She was like a vivacious young sapling and being beside her filled him with vitality, any discomfort in his heart dissipated...

"Um, okay. Brother, you also be careful and come home early after school."

His palm was warm. Jiu Niang stood quietly, seemingly unwilling to move away, allowing him to gently stroke her head with his graceful yet firm fingers... His affection was palpable, utterly undisguised.

"Okay!"

Jin Yu nodded, a slight upward curve on his lips and a soft smile in his eyes.

"Young Master, Young Master, hurry up, we'll be late!"

"Get out of my way, don't block this young master!"

"Young Master, you can't keep running around. The old master said if you still don't go to the academy today, he'll break your legs!"

"Scram, scram, don't block my way. This young master will go when he pleases!"

Two boys of similar age are shoving and pushing their way towards the academy.

The boy dressed in silk is visibly discontented, his body contorted as if aiming to escape far away.

The boy in coarse green clothes is looking helpless, pulling and hoisting onto the silk-clad boy, trying to prevent him from taking flight.

Alas, the two boys are close in age, and the coarse-clothed youngster seemingly dare not harm the silk-dressed one. As such, despite their tussle, neither of them makes significant progress.

"Big brother..."

Watching the two boys, although they are still some distance away, Jiu Niang fears they might crash into Gu Jin Yu and urges him to move faster.

However, before she could finish her words…

"Ouch, isn't this Gu Jin Yu? I never thought that the teacher's favorite student would also be late!"

The boy, whose voice is cracking as he goes through puberty, sounds as grating as a drake, and his mocking tone is incredibly piercing.

Jiu Niang frowned slightly, turned around to look at the boy, flashing a hint of displeasure in her eyes.

"It's none of your business! Just look after yourself."

Haughtily stepping in front of Gu Jinyu, Jiu Niang spoke without any politeness.

Even though her current body was merely nine years old, she was, after all, an adult, and hence she generally wouldn’t stoop to quarreling with children. Normally, she would turn a deaf ear to the contemptuous sneers and sarcastic remarks from the village children behind her back.

However, this fellow, was just too irritating.

If it could be said that she had a sensitive point now, then Gu Jinyu was it.

As for her memories of the former Gu Jiu Niang, they were very, very few. She only remembers that right after she opened her eyes, the first person she saw was Gu Jinyu. He looked at her nervously, his warm hand tenderly touching her forehead filled with abscesses, calming her again and again. Moreover, he repetitively cleaned her ruptured abscesses, his technique was so adept it was as if he’d done it many, many times before...

In the beginning, she wasn’t even aware that he was blind.

"Goodness me… I was wondering who it was. Turned out it's Gu Jinyu, the ugly duckling. You have the audacity to follow me? Who are you here to see this time? Zi Lang, or Mo Fan? Are you not afraid to scare someone till they faint just like the last time?"