“Mom, I really can’t marry him. Qin Yuheng’s legs are already ruined. The doctors in his unit all said that he’ll have to spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair.”
“And his temper is terrible. I heard that even the comrades who went to visit him a few days ago were thrown out after he hurled things at them.”
“If I marry him, my whole life will be ruined!”
“Oh, my poor girl, stop crying. You’re breaking your mother’s heart. Don’t worry, Mom will never let you jump into that fire pit!”
So noisy… Shut up… Just shut up!!!
Jiang Qingli suddenly opened her eyes and gasped for breath.
Following the voices, she looked over and saw a young girl sitting on the sofa, wearing a floral Dacron dress and repeatedly wiping her tears with a white handkerchief.
Beside her, a middle-aged woman held the girl protectively, patting her back and soothing her over and over.
Ugh. Who are these two? Why are they being so fake?
Jiang Qingli rolled her eyes before looking around.
Hmm? Wait! Where the hell have I been brought?!
A peeling imitation-leather sofa, an enamel mug decorated with large red peonies…
And a calendar hanging on the wall, torn halfway off.
August 4, 1983!
Jiang Qingli suddenly felt dizzy as a flood of unfamiliar memories poured into her mind.
A moment later, she regained consciousness and sighed.
She, Jiang Qingli, was a renowned master of Traditional Chinese Medicine in 21st-century China.
She had transmigrated.
And she had transmigrated to the very day the original owner was being forced by the Jiang family to become a substitute bride.
The original owner was also named Jiang Qingli. They shared the same given name and pronunciation, though with different surnames in the original timeline. She was the Jiang family’s “real daughter.”
In her previous life, the Jiang family had told everyone that their child had been switched at the hospital years ago, and they had only brought the original owner back from the countryside six months earlier.
Because she desperately longed for a family, the original owner obeyed the Jiang family in everything.
When they forced her into this marriage today, she felt deeply wronged, but because she wanted to hear even a single word of praise from her parents, she still agreed to become the substitute bride through tears.
And what happened afterward?
After marrying into the Qin family, the original owner worked tirelessly to take care of Qin Yuheng. She even tried every possible way to earn money to support her birth family.
But Jiang Xuejiao secretly manipulated things behind her back, using her sister’s suffering as a stepping stone to become a glamorous wealthy wife, while Jiang Qingli herself eventually met a miserable death on the streets.
Jiang Xuejiao was the tearful little green-tea schemer from the beginning the Jiang family’s “fake daughter.”
And the woman beside her was the original owner’s biological mother, Liu Cuiying, a sharp-tongued, petty-minded fool whose brain was even smaller than her capacity for malice.
The original Jiang Qingli really was too useless.
If it were her, Jiang Qingli, in this situation, she could kill one person with a single acupuncture needle. Even the gods wouldn’t be able to save them.
“Jiang Qingli, are you dead? Can’t you see how heartbroken your sister is?”
“Let me tell you, the marriage with the Qin family was arranged long ago. Now that Qin Yuheng is disabled, your sister is too frail to endure that kind of hardship. You must marry him in her place!”
Liu Cuiying glared at Jiang Qingli, who was standing silently beside the dining table, and shouted at the top of her voice.
Jiang Qingli came back to herself and suppressed all her emotions, leaving only icy coldness in her eyes.
Forget it. It would be a waste to send them away so quickly.
It would be much better to keep them around and let them destroy themselves.
Liu Cuiying felt a chill run through her under Jiang Qingli’s stare. She slammed her hand against the table.
“What are you looking at? I’m telling you, there’s no room for discussion. Your sister has been pampered in the city since she was little. How could she possibly take care of a paralyzed man? You’ve been doing hard labor in the countryside and have plenty of strength. You’re perfect for taking care of him. This is also your chance to repay the Jiang family for raising you!”
Jiang Xuejiao stood up with red-rimmed eyes and walked over to Jiang Qingli, reaching out to grab her arm.
“Sister, Qin Yuheng was once a war hero, after all. If you marry him, it’ll at least sound respectable. I’m really in poor health. The doctor said I have asthma, and I can’t stand the smell of medicine. Sister, please, just pity me and take my place this once.”
Jiang Qingli looked at Jiang Xuejiao’s outstretched hand and slapped it away without the slightest hesitation.
Smack!
The back of Jiang Xuejiao’s hand instantly turned red.
She cried out and deliberately stumbled backward two steps before falling onto the sofa, her tears flowing even more heavily.
“Sister, why did you hit me? I only wanted to beg you…”
“This is outrageous!”
Jiang Jianguo, who had been sitting nearby smoking gloomily, finally couldn’t take it anymore.
He abruptly stood up, threw the cigarette butt onto the floor, and crushed it beneath his shoe.
“Jiang Qingli! Your sister politely begged you, and not only did you ignore her, you actually dared to hit her? Let me tell you, don’t bring those barbaric habits you learned in the countryside into this house!”
“Heh. She begged me, so I have to agree?”
Jiang Qingli sneered.
“The Qin family originally arranged the marriage with Jiang Xuejiao, didn’t they? Now that Qin Yuheng is disabled, you’re reluctant to let her suffer, so you’re pushing me the biological daughter you just brought home out there instead.”
“Director Jiang, your calculations are quite clever.”
At the words “biological daughter,” a flicker of guilt appeared in Jiang Jianguo and Liu Cuiying’s eyes, but it was quickly replaced by anger.
“You ungrateful daughter! What do you mean by ‘biological daughter’ or ‘fake daughter’?!”
“Xuejiao may not be our biological child, but how much effort and love have we poured into raising her? You’re nothing more than a country girl who grew up in the countryside. If you can marry into the Qin family in Xuejiao’s place, that’s already more than you deserve!”
“Oh, is that so?”
Jiang Qingli looked at Jiang Jianguo mockingly.
“Then I’ll go to the factory’s Women’s Federation right now and ask them whether a workshop director at a state-owned factory is allowed to arrange and force marriages at will, and whether he’s allowed to abuse his own biological daughter.”
No.
If those people from the Women’s Federation got involved, his position as workshop director would probably come to an end.
What was more, he had a guilty conscience and absolutely couldn’t withstand a thorough investigation by the authorities.
Jiang Jianguo didn’t dare answer. His chest heaved violently with anger.
Seeing this, Liu Cuiying took advantage of Jiang Qingli’s moment of unpreparedness, grabbed her arm, dragged her toward the utility room, and shoved her inside.
Bang!
The door slammed shut.
A moment later, the metallic sound of the lock clicking into place came from outside.
“You damn girl! You still dare to threaten us, huh? Fine! If you don’t agree today, don’t even think about eating! I’ll starve you for three days and three nights and see if you still dare to talk back!”
“Stay inside and reflect on yourself! The moment you come to your senses and agree to marry him, I’ll let you out!”
“Mom, please, don’t get yourself worked up and ruin your health. Sister is used to suffering in the countryside. Missing a couple of meals won’t hurt her. Once she understands, she’ll naturally realize how much you and Dad have sacrificed for her.”
Jiang Xuejiao’s voice also came through the door, and the smugness in her tone was unmistakable.
Listening to the conversation between the mother and daughter outside, Jiang Qingli sneered.
They wanted to lock her up and force her into marriage?
Dream on.
Did they think she was someone who could be frightened into submission?
Hiss. That shrew really has some strength.
In the living room, Jiang Jianguo lit another cigarette, his brows tightly furrowed.
“Cuiying, is it really okay to lock her up? What if she refuses to marry no matter what? If Madam Qin comes looking for us, what are we going to do?”
Liu Cuiying snorted and took a sip of water from her enamel mug.
“What are you afraid of? Starve her for two days until she’s dizzy and weak. Then we’ll simply tie her up, put her in the car, and send her straight to that cripple’s bed. Once the marriage is consummated, can she still run away?”
Hearing this, Jiang Xuejiao peeled open a White Rabbit milk candy and popped it into her mouth. Its sweet, creamy flavor spread across her tongue.
She secretly calculated that once Jiang Qingli married into the Qin family, she would be free to pursue Wang Hao without any worries.
She absolutely had to win him over and become a glamorous wealthy wife.
Just then, Boom!
A tremendous crash rang out.
The already flimsy wooden door of the utility room was kicked open from the inside.
The rusty lock snapped apart. The wooden door slammed against the wall, sending flakes of plaster raining down.
The three people in the living room jumped in fright and turned around at the same time.
Jiang Qingli strode out of the utility room and dusted off her hands.
“Want me to marry Qin Yuheng?”
“Fine.”