Upon returning to her residence, Li Xiyue was immediately intercepted by Aunt Li, who ran over with a face absolutely radiating pure gossip. “Xiyue! What on earth did you do to make Wang Dani completely lose her mind? She’s currently throwing an absolute tantrum inside the house!”
Oh, so she discovered the plundered wardrobe already, Li Xiyue thought.
Adopting a fearful expression, she lowered her voice. “Aunt Li, you have to help me in a moment. I’m truly terrified that she’s going to beat me the second I step through the gate.”
“Rest assured, child,” Aunt Li replied, patting her shoulder reassuringly. “With so many villagers gathered around today, she wouldn’t dare strike you without a proper reason.”
A substantial crowd of curious onlookers had already formed near the courtyard entrance, whispering among themselves.
The moment Wang Dani spotted Li Xiyue approaching, she flew into a manic rage and lunged forward, her hand raised to deliver a vicious slap.
Anticipating the movement, Li Xiyue swiftly ducked behind Aunt Li. Unable to stop herself in time, Wang Dani’s hand swung forward blindly and landed squarely across Aunt Li’s cheek with a loud smack.
Stunned by the unexpected blow, Aunt Li exploded instantly. With a furious roar, she threw herself forward, and the two women collapsed into the dirt, clawing and tearing at each other in a chaotic heap.
By the time the frantic villagers finally managed to pull them apart, Wang Dani was missing a huge clump of hair, while several deep scratch marks bled openly across Aunt Li’s face.
Feeling utterly humiliated, Zhu Tiezhu dragged his disheveled wife backward and glared at Aunt Li before turning toward Li Xiyue. “Why are you wasting your strength fighting her? This little wretch is the real problem here!”
Remembering her missing food supplies, Wang Dani immediately dropped to the ground and began wailing theatrically at the top of her lungs.
“Oh, Heaven above! I can’t live anymore! Our family took in an ungrateful white-eyed wolf! We fed her, clothed her, sheltered her, and this is how she repays us? She chopped down my bedroom door and stole our grain! I truly can’t live anymore!”
While Wang Dani’s performance was dramatic enough to rival an opera troupe, Zhu Tiezhu’s calculated act was equally impressive. He turned toward Li Xiyue with a look of heavy disappointment.
“Niece Xiyue, ever since you returned to Zhu Family Village three years ago, I can honestly say our household has never mistreated you. Why would you repay our kindness with such malice? If you cannot provide a proper explanation today, I will have no choice but to write to your father and ask him to take you back immediately.”
At those words, many of the gathered villagers began casting disapproving looks toward Li Xiyue.
“Child, this truly is your fault,” an elder sighed, shaking his head. “When you fell into the pond yesterday, your aunt cried so bitterly that everyone witnessed it. How could you break down her doors and steal grain the moment you recovered?”
“Exactly,” another villager added. “For common folk like us, grain is life itself. Stealing food is no small matter.”
Li Xiyue quietly pinched her own thigh beneath her sleeve, forcing tears into her eyes.
“Maternal Uncle, Aunt, and all the respected elders gathered here today,” she sobbed softly, “ever since my father sent me back to Zhu Family Village three years ago, I rarely left the house. But surely everyone has seen my character clearly during this time.”
Tears streamed down her pale cheeks, immediately stirring sympathy among the crowd.
“My father sent me here to recover my health, and every month he faithfully sends one silver liang for my living expenses. Yet during these three years, I have never once been allowed enough food to fill my stomach, nor proper clothes to survive the winter.”
“You’re spouting nonsense!” Wang Dani screeched, springing to her feet. “When have I ever denied you meals?”
“Aunt, I truly never intended to break your door,” Li Xiyue cried pitifully. “But since yesterday afternoon, you have refused to give me even a single bite to eat. I searched the kitchen today, but every storage jar was empty. I was so hungry my vision turned black. I knew the grain was locked inside your room, and because I couldn’t open the padlock, I had no choice…”
Her voice cracked with desperation.
“Uncle, Aunt, please forgive me. If I hadn’t eaten something, I truly would have starved to death.”
As she threw herself toward Wang Dani, clinging tightly to her legs while sobbing hysterically, Wang Dani instinctively tried to kick her away. In the struggle, Li Xiyue’s sleeve was yanked upward, exposing a horrifying network of purple bruises covering her thin arm.
The crowd gasped collectively.
No one had expected Zhu Tiezhu’s family to abuse a young girl so viciously.
“Zhu Tiezhu! Wang Dani! Have you both lost every shred of human decency?”
An authoritative voice boomed across the courtyard.
The speaker was Third Great-Uncle, the most respected elder in the entire village. Though advanced in years, he still made his daily rounds leaning heavily on his polished wooden cane.
“Third Great-Uncle…” Wang Dani stammered weakly, her arrogance instantly collapsing into a nervous smile. “Please don’t listen to this girl’s lies. We’ve never abused her.”
Internally, she cursed the old man for appearing at the worst possible moment.
“I may be old, but I’m not blind!” Third Great-Uncle barked, slamming his cane against the ground. “Aren’t you afraid Master Zhu Shou and Muyin will return from the underworld to settle accounts with you for tormenting their bloodline?”
“Third Great-Ancestor!” Li Xiyue wailed miserably.
At that moment, she genuinely marveled at how the original owner of this body had managed to endure such misery while possessing such powerful allies within the village hierarchy.
“Do not fear, child,” the old man said gently. “Your great-ancestor will see justice done today.”
Turning back toward the trembling couple, his face hardened.
“If you refuse to behave like proper human beings from this day forward, then pack your belongings and leave Master Zhu Shou’s ancestral estate immediately!
The only reason your family was permitted to live here was because you agreed to care for Niece Xiyue. If you cannot fulfill even that responsibility, surrender the house at once.”
Within the Zhu Family Village, the Zhu surname held absolute authority, and nearly every household shared tangled ancestral ties. A decree from a respected elder carried immense weight.
“We…” Wang Dani tried to protest, but Zhu Tiezhu quickly clamped a hand over her mouth.
“Third Great-Uncle is absolutely correct,” Zhu Tiezhu said hurriedly, bowing his head with practiced humility.
“This is entirely my foolish wife’s fault. I spent all day working in the fields and failed to pay proper attention to household matters. I promise this will never happen again.”
“Hmph. See that it doesn’t,” the elder snorted coldly.
With the matter apparently resolved, the villagers slowly dispersed while continuing to gossip among themselves.
Aunt Li stepped forward and squeezed Li Xiyue’s hand warmly. “Child, if that monster Wang Dani ever dares hit you or starve you again, come straight to my house. I’ll deal with her personally.”
After spitting loudly in Wang Dani’s direction, she hobbled away while rubbing her aching back.
Soon, silence settled over the courtyard.
Ignoring the murderous glare Wang Dani shot her, Li Xiyue calmly dusted off her robes and strolled back toward her room as though nothing had happened.
The instant the courtyard gate shut, Wang Dani exploded.
“You miserable little bitch! Get out here this instant! If I don’t beat you to death today, my surname isn’t Wang—”
“Aunt,” Li Xiyue’s calm voice drifted through the wooden door, “Third Great-Ancestor hasn’t walked very far yet. If you continue screaming like this, the entire village will hear you.”
Sliding the latch into place, she smiled coldly.
“And let me remind you, every single time you try to starve me, I’ll chop down another door. Whatever exists in this house, I’ll chop it apart piece by piece. You may want to purchase sturdier padlocks.”
Wang Dani turned pale with rage, nearly fainting on the spot.
Zhu Tiezhu quickly grabbed her arm and dragged her back toward their room. “What’s the point of shouting now? If this becomes an even bigger public spectacle, the village will only blame us.”
He paused thoughtfully, narrowing his eyes.
“Besides… haven’t you noticed? Ever since she fell into the pond yesterday, that girl’s behavior has become extremely strange. It’s as if she transformed into an entirely different person overnight. Could she have been possessed by some malicious spirit?”
Wang Dani froze.
Now that he mentioned it, the change truly was terrifying. That girl used to be so timid she barely dared raise her voice. Today, she acted utterly fearless.
The couple exchanged uneasy looks, cold dread settling into their hearts.
At the same moment, they both arrived at the exact same conclusion.
They needed to contact Li Xiyue’s father immediately and marry her off as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, inside her locked bedroom, Li Xiyue remained completely unaware that her relatives had accurately guessed the truth.
She slipped into her pocket dimension, retrieved a bottle of makeup remover from her survival supplies, and thoroughly cleaned away the fake bruises painted onto her skin.
By now, she had already deduced that the spiritual spring water had transformed her body. The thick layer of foul-smelling impurities she’d expelled that morning was clear evidence of a marrow-cleansing effect.
Satisfied, she happily settled down with a massive roasted pork trotter and began eating enthusiastically.
The meat was rich, tender, spicy, and wonderfully gelatinous.
Mm. Absolutely delicious.
By evening, the story of the afternoon’s dramatic confrontation had spread throughout every household in the village.
“Sister Li truly has a tragic fate,” Zhu Qinghe sighed softly while sitting beside the hearth. “From now on, I should prepare extra food every day and secretly bring some to her.”
Across from her, Zhu Qingshan’s confusion deepened considerably.
Was this fierce, calculating, aggressive woman truly the same gentle and introverted wife he had known in his previous life?
Could it be possible that she, too, had been reborn?
Meanwhile, Wang Zhen’er’s mother, Madame Du, had already waited two full days for the Zhu family to arrive and explain the growing scandalous rumors.
Having exhausted her patience, she gathered several burly relatives and stormed aggressively toward Zhu Qingshan’s home to demand answers, only to discover the house completely empty.
At that very moment, Zhu Qingshan was seated inside the residence of Village Chief Zhu Chenggong.
“Are you absolutely certain this information is accurate?” Zhu Chenggong asked, his face pale with shock.
Zhu Qingshan nodded solemnly.
In his previous life, the common people remained completely unaware that a catastrophic disaster was already looming over the empire.
By early July, several northern provinces of the Grand Xian Empire would suffer weeks of relentless torrential rain. Yunzhou, Jinling, and Xinle Prefectures would become the primary disaster zones, swallowed entirely by devastating floods.
Although Qingzhou Prefecture would avoid severe flooding due to its higher elevation, and Zhu Family Village itself—nestled safely against the Baitou Mountains—would remain unharmed, the aftermath would be catastrophic.
Yunzhou and Jinling had long served as the empire’s primary agricultural heartlands. Once their crops were destroyed, the year’s harvest would vanish completely.
Worse still, the following year would bring a nationwide drought.
At the same time, the imperial princes would be locked in a vicious struggle for the throne, while corrupt officials focused solely on political survival. The government would abandon the common people entirely, leading to unimaginable famine and death.
Zhu Qingshan’s chest felt unbearably heavy.
Having been granted a second life, he harbored no illusions of becoming some great savior. He possessed neither the power nor authority to rescue the empire.
His only goal was to protect Zhu Family Village.
“And this prophecy truly came from Grandmaster Yuanzhen?” the village chief pressed, his hands trembling.
“Indeed,” Zhu Qingshan lied smoothly. “Grandmaster Yuanzhen has spent many years traveling through the outer provinces. I encountered him while passing through Lizhou. After calculating these terrifying celestial omens, he immediately dispatched warnings to the Imperial Bureau of Astronomy and the governors of the vulnerable prefectures. Unfortunately, after exhausting his life force to reveal these heavenly secrets, the grandmaster attained parinirvana.”
Learning that the legendary monk of the Imperial Protectorate Temple had passed away, Zhu Chenggong’s expression filled with sorrow and reverence.
He harbored no doubt whatsoever regarding the prophecy’s authenticity.
“If that is the case,” the village chief declared sharply, “we must quietly begin purchasing massive stores of grain immediately. At minimum, our village needs enough reserves to survive two full years before the merchants discover the truth and prices skyrocket.”
“Zhu Qingshan! Get your cowardly face out here!”
Madame Du’s shrill voice suddenly pierced through the tense atmosphere outside.
“What kind of man hides inside the village chief’s residence to avoid responsibility? Your family must give us an explanation today!”
Zhu Chenggong glanced toward Zhu Qingshan, noting that the young man remained perfectly calm.
Turning toward his wife, Madame Ma, the village chief instructed her to invite the noisy group inside. Standing outside the gates and screaming in public was beneath the dignity of the Zhu clan.