The tobacco and liquor store owner was dumbfounded, and Ruan Zheng was equally stunned.
Wasn’t this supposed to be a soul transmigration?
Why did the body disappear along with it?
But now wasn’t the time to dwell on that.
After the original host’s body was sent to the hospital, she remained unconscious.
Wang Jinhua seized the opportunity when the ward was empty, grabbing the original host’s neck, intending to strangle her to death so no one would ever find out about her scheme of borrowing a seed.
Because her life was under threat, the System urgently summoned her over.
The moment she opened her eyes and saw Wang Jinhua’s ferocious face, it was even more shocking than seeing Wang Jinbao.
Seeing Ruan Zheng open her eyes, Wang Jinhua exerted every ounce of her strength.
The overwhelming sense of suffocation made Ruan Zheng’s vision flicker in and out of darkness, but at the last moment, she finally managed to grab the enamel mug from the bedside table and smashed it hard onto Wang Jinhua’s head.
In pain, Wang Jinhua loosened her grip, and Ruan Zheng immediately screamed at the top of her lungs, “Murder! Murder! Is there anyone who can help?”
Realizing something was wrong, Wang Jinhua rushed forward to cover Ruan Zheng’s mouth, but concerned onlookers had already burst in.
Seeing Wang Jinhua trying to harm Ruan Zheng, they immediately stepped in to stop her.
Seizing the opportunity, Ruan Zheng tearfully pleaded, “Comrades, I want to report a crime. Can you help me call the police?”
As luck would have it, there were police officers next door who, upon hearing the commotion, rushed over and asked, “Who wants to report a crime?” Ruan Zheng raised her hand from the hospital bed, “Officer, it’s me! I want to report a crime!”
The officer nodded, and Ruan Zheng immediately began her tearful account.
She didn’t believe in the idea that family scandals shouldn’t be aired in public—she was determined to air it, to make it known to everyone, as that was the only way to save her life!
“I was tricked into marriage. My husband is impotent, so my mother-in-law tied me up and sent me to her brother-in-law’s bed in the countryside.”
“I resisted desperately and only escaped after smashing my head open!”
“In this new era, they dare to openly persecute a female comrade, even resorting to the old society’s tactics of forcing a good woman into prostitution! This is a trampling of human rights, a challenge to the laws of the new society, and a feudal restoration that blocks the broad path paved with the blood of revolutionary martyrs. Their intentions are utterly reprehensible!”
“And even after all this, my mother-in-law just tried to strangle me to death, to silence the evidence!”
“What do they think human life is? Officer, you must stand up for me!”
The officer’s face grew darker with every word.
The onlookers, however, grew more and more intrigued.
Some even whispered among themselves, exchanging gossip.
Goodness, sending a daughter-in-law to her own brother-in-law’s bed?
Is that something a human being would do?
And now trying to kill to cover it up—this old woman is vicious!
Wang Jinhua was attempting murder for the first time and was already frightened. After being caught in the act, her psychological defenses completely crumbled, so she failed to refute the accusations in time.
By the time she regained her senses, the officer had already taken down the statement and handcuffed her.
Only then did Wang Jinhua start to panic. “Don’t you dare touch me! My son is a war hero, and my husband is an active-duty military officer. If you dare bully me, my son and husband won’t let you off easy!”
Hearing this, the onlookers immediately took a few steps back, distancing themselves from Wang Jinhua.
But before Wang Jinhua could feel smug, the officer yanked the handcuffs and led her away. “Even if you were the emperor himself, murder is still a crime.”
If it weren’t for the inappropriate setting, Ruan Zheng would have clapped and cheered.
But Wang Jinhua wasn’t entirely wrong.
Although Zheng Xiujie was disabled, Zheng Jianguo was still an active-duty military officer.
Although the Song Family held some influence, they had already sent her away for the sake of their adopted daughter. To avoid trouble, they would not stand up for her.
Therefore, to fight for her rights and ensure the wrongdoers were punished, she needed to escalate her efforts.
With a sudden retch, Ruan Zheng vomited in front of everyone.
After vomiting, she clutched her head and groaned incessantly, "Ah, my head, my head hurts so much, I feel dizzy, I want to vomit again… Am I dying? I'm only eighteen…"
As she spoke, her eyes rolled back, and she nearly fainted.
The quick-witted among the crowd hurried to call a doctor.
Those with a keen sense of drama watched Ruan Zheng with shining eyes.
Just as expected.
After lamenting her miserable fate once more, Ruan Zheng began recounting in fragments how she had been sent to the countryside, how she had been tricked by her own family into marrying the disabled fiancé abandoned by their adopted daughter on the very day she returned to the city.
After the wedding, her husband allowed his mother to hand her over to his mentally impaired uncle, all while still pining for the adopted daughter. She repeated the story once more.
Finally, she sobbed and concluded, "This life is unbearable. I might as well die. My adoptive parents resent me, my husband’s family wishes me dead, and my birth parents despise me. What’s the point of living? Just let me die like this~"
Ruan Zheng’s heart-wrenching display stirred the compassionate onlookers, who began to fan the flames.
"Others aside, your birth parents are truly inhuman."
"Scheming to have their own daughter marry the disabled fiancé in place of their adopted daughter—even if my head were filled with water, I couldn’t come up with such a wicked plan."
"Exactly. I suspect the girl’s own family was involved in her being handed over by her husband’s family. After all, backing out of the wedding at the last minute made them feel guilty, so they resorted to this despicable trick to leave the other family with an heir."
"Heavens, even enemies would slap their thighs in disbelief."
Just then, the doctor arrived.
With her diligent cooperation, active guidance, and even another bout of vomiting, she was successfully diagnosed with a 'concussion.'
This condition was difficult to diagnose even in later eras, let alone in the medically underdeveloped 1960s. It was almost too easy to fake.
The onlookers had never heard of such an illness. Watching doctors come and go in waves, shaking their heads each time, and finally prescribing only some nutritional supplements with the advice to "eat well," their expressions toward Ruan Zheng shifted.
What kind of injury had no specific treatment?
A terminal illness!
When would a doctor ever advise someone to "go home and eat well"?
When preparing for the end…
The atmosphere in the ward instantly grew heavy. Some of the more emotional onlookers even turned away, shedding a few tears.
Ruan Zheng felt a bit embarrassed by the scene.
But her goal was not yet achieved. She couldn’t just get out of bed and do a somersault to prove she was fine, so she let everyone’s imaginations run wild.
After the doctor left, the crowd gradually dispersed.
Ruan Zheng grabbed the hand of an elderly woman and handed her the prescription for nutritional supplements issued by the doctor, saying slowly, "Auntie, I have no money now. This prescription is useless to me. If you can use it, take it. If not, just throw it away for me."
The woman’s eyes lit up as she took the prescription.
In those days, buying anything required ration coupons, but ordinary people had very few ways to obtain them. This often forced them to purchase overpriced goods on the black market.
A hospital-issued prescription allowed purchases at regular prices without coupons, saving a significant amount of money.
Saving money was like earning money.
Only a fool would pass up such an opportunity.
But thinking of Ruan Zheng’s plight, the woman felt the prescription was almost too hot to handle.
Ruan Zheng was on the brink of death. Taking the prescription now felt like snatching her last meal.
After a brief internal struggle, the aunt still handed the ration coupon back: "I can't take this. If you don't have money now, just use it when you do."
"Even if I had money to buy it back, it might not end up in my mouth anyway," Ruan Zheng casually deflected, then made her request. "If you feel bad about it, you could provide me with meals for a couple of days. I really don’t have any money on me."
The aunt immediately took Ruan Zheng’s hand and said, "Alright, while you’re in the hospital, I’ll bring you three meals a day. It might not be meat every time, but at least one egg per meal. How does that sound?"
Ruan Zheng looked grateful. "Thank you so much, auntie."
The aunt smiled and patted Ruan Zheng. "No need to be polite. You earned this—I’m not losing out either."
After chatting a bit longer, the aunt got up and left. Ruan Zheng closed her eyes to rest while planning her next steps.
Perhaps due to sheer exhaustion, she fell asleep almost immediately.
But it was not a peaceful sleep.
Her mind kept shifting between scenes from the modern era and flashes of the 1960s.
The sounds of footsteps, laughter, and arguments from the ward also crowded into her head, drilling into her like a power tool against her skull—the pain growing sharper with each moment.
Unable to bear it, she curled up and let out a few groans.
Just then, a cool touch brushed against her forehead.
Instinctively, she leaned into it, but soon lost strength and fell back.
Then, that cool sensation slowly trailed down from her forehead, soon covering her entire face.
She guessed someone was wiping her face, probably to help cool her down.
After that, she felt much more comfortable, and her consciousness quickly drifted away, sinking into a deep sleep.
Yet even in deep sleep, she still dreamed.
The dream was filled with the novel’s plot.
The female lead was Song Yao, and the male lead was Song Zhanbei—the second son of the Song Family and Ruan Zheng’s own biological older brother.
Brother turned into lover, adoptive parents became in-laws. Song Yao continued her pampered life, gave birth to two genius children, and lived happily ever after.
Meanwhile, Ruan Zheng, who had been briefly brought back to the city only to be married off as a substitute to Zheng Xiujie, died on the day she was assaulted, becoming the most insignificant tool on Song Yao’s path to happiness.
Ruan Zheng woke up furious.
Upon waking, she found Zheng Xiujie sitting in a wheelchair blocking the hospital room door. Feeling even more irritated, she shot him a massive glare.