The two of them instantly pulled apart, putting some distance between each other. Their eyes met, and an oddly awkward tension filled the air.
“Mom… how did you end up transmigrating too?”
Tang Li was still reeling in shock, her voice trembling as she spoke. This plot development was just too ridiculous.
But judging from the other woman’s reaction, who else could it be but her vicious mother-in-law from her previous life, Wang Cuihua, the very same woman who used to point at her nose and call her a jinx who brought misfortune to her husband?
At the question, Wang Cuihua turned her head away, her gaze evasive. After hesitating for a while, she stammered, “Well… I was at home… cooking, you know, and then I accidentally… uh, forgot to turn off the gas… and then when I woke up, I was here…”
Forgot to turn off the gas?
Tang Li’s mouth twitched. Even in a novel, that kind of transmigration excuse would be ridiculously half-baked.
“Then what’s your identity now?” Tang Li asked, suppressing the urge to lose her mind.
At the mention of this, Wang Cuihua suddenly became animated, waving her hands as she complained, “I found out already! Those snobbish people in the marquis household say I’m your deadbeat father’s… his… kept woman! They threw me into a rundown house on the outskirts, won’t give me food or clothes, and are even planning to sell me to a brothel to pay off debts!”
The old woman shot Tang Li a disdainful glance and muttered to herself, “It wasn’t easy for me to escape. I thought I could come find my daughter and live off her, but who knew you’d be just as useless. Even after transmigrating into a novel, you’re still an unloved concubine-born daughter. Now look at us, both kicked out and waiting to die…”
A kept woman?
Tang Li felt even dizzier. In her previous life, she had supposedly brought misfortune to her father, mother, and husband, earning her mother-in-law’s hatred. She had finally transmigrated into a novel and gained a new identity, only to discover she was a cannon fodder side character, a concubine-born daughter, and her mother’s status was even lower as a kept woman.
There was no such thing as the worst luck, only worse.
“System, come out! What kind of trash script is this? I quit!” Tang Li shouted in despair, and the next moment, her vision went black as she collapsed stiffly into the snow.
When she woke again, she was in a drafty, broken-down hut.
A feeble campfire burned in the middle of the room. Wang Cuihua sat beside it, constantly tossing in dry grass while complaining, “Oh my, city folks really are delicate. You just got a bit of wind on you and you fainted?”
“I really don’t know what I was thinking back then, letting you marry into my family. Your constitution isn’t even as strong as mine, an old country woman! Back in my day, I went straight to the fields after giving birth…”
Tang Li rubbed her throbbing head as she sat up, brushing off bits of hay from her body. Listening to her mother-in-law’s endless nagging, the anger she had been holding in finally erupted.
“I’m delicate? If you hadn’t forced me to flash marry your son who was on the verge of dying, would I have become a widow right after getting the marriage certificate?”
“Hey! You brat, you still dare bring up my son? You killed him within three days of entering the family! If I had known, I should have found a country girl instead, someone fertile and obedient who wouldn’t talk back to her mother-in-law!”
Tang Li’s sore spot was struck, and she refused to endure it silently any longer. She lifted her chin and shot back, “If I bring misfortune to my husband, then I learned it from you! By your logic, your husband’s death from illness was caused by you! And why didn’t the lake just drown me? That would’ve been better than ending up in this disaster of a novel waiting to die with you!”
“What does that have to do with me! You… you’re the jinx! If we’re going to die, it’s because of your bad luck!”
The two of them argued like stubborn roosters, each unwilling to back down, their voices growing louder and fiercer.
As if the heavens delighted in making things worse, the already pitiful campfire flickered weakly a few times, as though mocking them, and then went out.
The wind, carrying fine snow, forced its way into their bones. No matter how they tried, the extinguished fire would not relight. Darkness closed in around them, and it grew colder and colder…
[Survival time remaining: 2 minutes.]
That damned mechanical voice rang in her ears again. Tang Li felt her eyelids growing heavier, and as her consciousness began to fade, she suddenly lost the desire to argue with the person in front of her.
Even if it was the mother-in-law she hated most, at least this time, she wasn’t dying alone like in her previous life…
With great effort, Tang Li shifted closer, pressing against Wang Cuihua’s equally frozen body. Her voice was weak as she made peace, “Forget it, Mom… let’s stop arguing. We’re about to die anyway. There’s no point in fighting over this…”
[Survival time remaining: 60 seconds.]
Perhaps Wang Cuihua felt her daughter-in-law had a point, or perhaps she was simply too tired to keep arguing and didn’t want to go to hell with a twisted expression on her face. After a moment of silence, she relented and followed along.
“Well… actually, that day I spoke too harshly. I… I just have a sharp tongue but a soft heart. I didn’t really mean it. Later, I also…”
Tang Li could no longer hear the rest. Just as she smiled faintly, ready to embrace death, the countdown suddenly stopped.
[Ding!]
[Detected that the host and her mother-in-law achieved the “Loving Family” milestone at a life-or-death moment. Please complete the “Family Photo” task to gain survival time. This system aims to promote family harmony. Remember, harmony in the family leads to prosperity! Please smile~]
Tang Li’s eyes snapped open. She grabbed the nearly frozen person beside her. “Mom! We’re saved!”
“Quick! The System just said that as long as we take a family photo, since it’s just the two of us left, if we act loving enough, we can survive!” she babbled excitedly.
“What?”
Wang Cuihua couldn’t hear the System and was still confused and freezing.
“It’s pitch black, how are we supposed to take any family photos? And who’s talking? I didn’t hear anything!”
Tang Li quickly wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “I’ll explain later. Just smile and cooperate!”
Although confused, Wang Cuihua saw that her daughter-in-law didn’t seem to be lying, so she stiffly pulled up the corners of her mouth, even raising a V-sign toward the air with a smile uglier than crying.
Click.
[Photo taken successfully. Reward granted: Task skill “I Am the Stove Master.” Remaining survival time: 999 hours. Beginner reward dropped: Hot noodle soup x2, warm porridge x2. Please maintain a harmonious family atmosphere. The system panel is now activated…]
Hearing the announcement, the heavy weight in Tang Li’s heart finally lifted, and she dared to relax. Soon, two steaming bowls of soup and flatbread appeared out of thin air before them like magic.
“Heavens above!”
Wang Cuihua rubbed her eyes in disbelief, her eyes nearly popping out. “There really are immortals helping us!”
After a while, the now quiet mother-in-law and daughter-in-law sat in a corner of the hut, warming themselves by the fire and eating. The crackling of burning wood echoed softly.
“So… that thing, what was it called again? A bucket?”
“It’s called a System,” Tang Li corrected her.
“Who cares if it’s a bucket or not, as long as this immortal thing can keep us from starving, right?” Wang Cuihua said while chewing a piece of bread.
Tang Li nodded. “You could say that.”
She absentmindedly scrolled through the System panel. All the sections were greyed out and locked, and she had no idea what they did.
The road to survival ahead was long and dangerous…
Even though the only person by her side was the annoying mother-in-law, in this unfamiliar ancient world, having an extra helper was better than facing everything alone. Besides, this so-called System kept emphasizing family harmony…
“Mom…”
After thinking for a while, Tang Li spoke slowly, her voice patient and gentle. “The System can help us, but it’s not a god. If we want to survive, we can only rely on ourselves. From now on… let’s not fight anymore. In this world, only if the two of us work together can we stay alive.”
“Alright, alright, I’ll listen to you!”
Wang Cuihua paused mid-bite, her eyes shifting before she broke into a wide grin, a smile that was hard to tell whether it was simple or shrewd.
By the fire, the two of them exchanged a smile.
For now, they had reached a kind of temporary alliance, playing the roles of a loving family…
The wind and snow still raged outside. Half-tall weeds were whipped against the walls, making rustling sounds. Just as the two inside had barely closed their eyes for a brief rest, they were startled awake by a series of chaotic footsteps.
The sound stopped right at the door. Through the thin wooden plank, they could almost hear the heavy breathing of the person outside.
“This is bad! Could it be bandits or thieves in the middle of the night?”
Tang Li instinctively shrank into the corner. Behind her, Wang Cuihua stuffed the remaining bread into her mouth, grabbed a burning stick from the fire, and strode forward, standing protectively in front of them.
However, what appeared at the door was not a ferocious criminal.
Instead, a man covered in blood staggered in. His lean frame was clad in black, riddled with wounds. He stumbled forward a few steps, his sharp phoenix eyes sweeping over the two women as he forced out two hoarse words, “Help…”
Before he could finish, he collapsed to the ground with a thud. Blood spread like blooming flowers across the dry grass.
“Heavens! A dead man!”
Wang Cuihua recoiled in fright, nearly dropping the fire stick in her hand.
The man lay there in an odd posture, his arms curved protectively over his chest, as if guarding something.
Gathering her courage, Wang Cuihua stepped closer and pulled open his clothing. Inside, there was a baby girl wrapped against him, about two or three years old. Her wrinkled little face was frozen purple, and she made no sound, making it unclear whether she was alive or dead.
She reached out to feel the child’s neck, then checked the man’s breathing. Both were still alive, just extremely weak and unconscious.
“We can’t save them!”
Tang Li reacted even faster, instinctively dragging Wang Cuihua backward and lowering her voice. “Mom! Never pick up random men off the roadside! This is a classic novel trope. If we take him in now, he’ll come back later and wipe out our whole family!”
“You don’t know anything, you brat!”
Though Wang Cuihua had no knowledge of novel tropes, her sharp eyes scanned the man and the child. Even in their battered state, their clothing was clearly of fine quality.
“You haven’t eaten as much salt as I have! Look at his bearing, he’s obviously someone important. If we save him, we’ll enjoy endless wealth and glory in the future.”
For a moment, Tang Li regretted forming an alliance with this unreasonable old woman.
“What wealth?!” she nearly lost her mind. “This is a pursuit, a manhunt! Do you understand? If the authorities catch us, we’re dead!”
“Wealth comes from danger!”
Once Wang Cuihua made up her mind, not even nine oxen could drag her back. Worse, she was a woman of action, already rolling up her sleeves to save them.
At that critical moment, shouts suddenly rose from outside. Torchlight illuminated half the sky as people searched.
Tang Li’s heart pounded wildly, her chest aching with anger.
“Well, that’s just great. The wealth hasn’t arrived, but the danger sure has…”