“Ouch!” Zhou Qinghao yelped in pain, clutching his arm where he’d been struck, his father had hit him hard.
Zhou Fu gritted his teeth, glaring at his unreliable son: “Your mother and I have a great relationship, stop spreading rumors!”
“I was just saying it offhandedly.” Zhou Qinghao pursed his lips. His father was fine in every way, just too serious.
“Let’s settle down in the village for now.” Zhou Fu lay back down, took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled.
His injuries required rest, and this matter of suddenly gaining a daughter-in-law could be investigated slowly later.
He believed his wife wouldn’t do anything foolish.
“Alright.” Zhou Qinghao responded, then pushed the wheelbarrow to find the village head.
Looking at the desolate and rundown Xixia Village, Zhou Qinghao’s heart gradually grew cold. Was this where his mother had been living after her exile?
His family had been loyal and heroic, fighting east and west for the court with distinguished military achievements, and in the end, this was what they got?
In his previous life, he and his father had been on the battlefield when their battle plans were known to the enemy in advance, leading to a crushing defeat.
Then, it was discovered that his father and he had colluded with the enemy and betrayed the country, resulting in the whole family being exiled.
However, His Majesty was “merciful,” “considering” his and his father’s great military achievements, and “compassionate” that they had already died on the battlefield, so he only stripped them of their titles and demoted them to commoners.
The family was only exiled, not criminals, nor registered as such.
This was His Majesty’s so-called “death penalty can be avoided, but living punishment cannot be escaped.” Whether they lived or died from then on depended on the Zhou family’s own fate.
With that move, His Majesty gained a reputation for benevolence, while he and his father became ungrateful, greedy, shameless villains!
Even his mother and younger brother had to struggle to survive in such a poor, remote place. That damned emperor!
“What are you thinking about?” Zhou Fu’s low rebuke snapped Zhou Qinghao back to reality. He suppressed the intense hatred in his heart and said quietly, “Life in Xixia Village isn’t easy.”
Zhou Fu sighed softly: “We’ve come here in disguise, and at least we can help your mother. Fortunately, you were alert and discovered that the battle plans had been stolen. Otherwise… how would we father and son still be alive?”
A cold smile curled at the corner of Zhou Qinghao’s lips.
Yes, he had been reborn.
Reborn on the battlefield, when they were already surrounded. Fortunately, he knew how things would unfold later, and he fought desperately to save all their people.
At the same time, they faked their deaths in battle, using a death escape to fool that damned emperor!
The battle ended in a great defeat, just as the emperor had wished.
However, unlike the real tragic defeat of his previous life, this defeat was all an act.
To outsiders, they appeared dead, but in reality, they had gone from the open to the shadows, lying low.
Now their goal was simple: heal their wounds, protect the family, and wait for the right moment… to drag out all those who had framed them, one by one, and clear the Zhou family’s name!
But… Zhou Qinghao’s mind felt hazy. He always felt like he was forgetting something, his heart feeling empty.
One moment he died on the battlefield, the next he was reborn there. It was just a split second, yet he felt as if he had passed through a long, long time, as if he had forgotten something very, very important.
“That’s the village head’s house.” Zhou Fu’s words brought Zhou Qinghao back. He looked up, “Yeah, it is. I’ll go ask. Dad, wait for me.”
No matter what, his parents and younger brother were still alive now, and he still had a chance to make up for the regrets of his previous life.
He’d settle down in Xixia Village first.
The village head was quite busy today. He’d just finished with the marriage certificate when refugees came to register, and he was busy again.
Zhou’s mother returned with the marriage certificate and only then noticed that Jiang Tingting had already styled her hair into a married woman’s bun.
“You child…” Zhou’s mother said with a pang of heartache. She had gone to find Old Lady Jiang earlier, expecting trouble, but surprisingly, for five taels of silver, Old Lady Jiang didn’t even ask a single question and immediately pressed her fingerprint on the marriage certificate.
Jiang Tingting really was worth less than a blade of grass in the Jiang family.
She had been in Xixia Village for a while and naturally knew how capable Jiang Tingting was, yet this was her standing in the Jiang family.
No wonder Jiang Tingting came to her for help when she learned her birth mother was going to sell her.
“Mother, since I’ve married your son, I’m a member of the Zhou family now. Don’t worry from now on—with me here, this family will only get better.” Jiang Tingting promised with a smile.
“Mother, I’ll head up the mountain to see if there’s anything to eat. Tonight, let’s try to have a good meal.”
With that, Jiang Tingting didn’t wait for Zhou’s mother to respond and went out the door with her backpack basket.
“Be careful, don’t go too deep into the mountains.” Zhou’s mother called out worriedly.
Jiang Tingting felt a warmth in her heart. In the Jiang family, no one had ever cared about her like this. They only cared about whether she brought back wild vegetables, game, or firewood.
As for whether she might be in danger, no one ever asked.
“Mother, I understand.” Jiang Tingting turned around, smiled at Mother Zhou, and then strode away.
Mother Zhou looked at their house and quickly tidied up a room so her daughter-in-law could stay for the night.
Jiang Tingting went into the mountains, striding swiftly to the untouched depths of the forest, and then directly entered her space.
Having traveled through so many worlds, the portable space was her reward. Starting from the first world, in every world she hoarded things into it like a hamster.
Though called a portable space, it was truly a hidden paradise. Looking out, there were endless fields of crops and fruit groves, fat pigs in the pens, cattle and sheep in the pastures, fish in the ponds—absolutely everything one could need.
A rustic villa stood ahead, not large in appearance, but the underground warehouse was infinite; no matter how much was stored, it could never be filled.
Not to mention it also had preservation functions.
However, Jiang Tingting didn’t pay much attention to these basic living supplies. She quickly arrived at one of the storage rooms, pushed the door, and sure enough, it wouldn’t open.
Jiang Tingting couldn’t say she was too disappointed, after all, before entering the space, she had already anticipated this.
Each world has its own rules, and they cannot be disrupted by too much external force.
Take this world, for example—the items from her cultivation worlds couldn’t be used here.
Otherwise, she could have sent a flying sword to deliver that dog emperor to the underworld from ten thousand miles away, avenging Zhou Qinghao.
Some things from ordinary worlds could still be used.
Jiang Tingting looked at another warehouse, a hint of a smile flashing in her eyes.
Items from cultivation worlds couldn’t be used, but high-tech things were no problem. With those, she could plan carefully.
As long as the time was right, she could kill that dog emperor and change the dynasty.
The dog emperor falsely accused Zhou Qinghao of colluding with the enemy and betraying the country, and even caused his death—so she would make this nation take the surname Zhou!
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