After Wang Chunhua stepped out of the room, she saw a chaotic crowd gathered outside. No one seemed to have time to pay attention to her.
“Second son… don’t blame your mother for being cruel back then. Your eldest brother injured his leg while hunting in the mountains, and your younger brother was about to arrange a marriage. The family only had old people and half-grown boys left, there was no choice… that’s why we sent you to military service… my son… your mother really couldn’t bear to part with you…”
An old woman, Liu, sat on the ground crying and wailing.
The eldest of the family stepped forward and gently patted her back.
“Mother, don’t cry anymore. Second brother wouldn’t want you to suffer like this. If anything happens to you, he won’t rest in peace.”
The youngest son also stepped forward at the right moment.
“Yes, mother! Elder brother is right. Don’t cry anymore. The dead are gone. With war everywhere and no stable food supply, second brother going might have been a relief. He wouldn’t want you to ruin your health over him. We will take care of his family from now on so he can rest easy…”
“Yes, Madam Liu, life still has to go on…” the village head also tried to persuade her.
Amid the noise and chatter, Wang Chunhua gradually pieced together the situation.
So… her husband had died.
The crying old woman was her mother-in-law.
The limping rough man was her eldest brother-in-law.
The young and refined-looking man was her youngest brother-in-law.
The awkward, helpless-looking man was her eldest son.
The cunning-looking man was her second son.
The thin, timid girl standing nearby was her third daughter.
And the two extremely thin, weak children, with identical runny noses like baby chicks, were her fifth and sixth children.
Before she could finish matching everyone’s identities, a sharp pain struck her head—and she collapsed.
Seeing this, Summer Iron Hammer (her son) panicked. Before he could ask her to take charge, she had already fallen to the ground.
Fortunately, Aunt Li beside her reacted quickly and caught her, preventing her head from hitting the ground and splitting open.
Because of this sudden incident, the loud crying outside slowly stopped. Everyone thought Wang Chunhua had fainted from grief and shock over her husband’s death.
Since she couldn’t just be left outside, two strong women carried her back into the house.
As soon as they entered, they saw Xia Yan lying on the floor as well.
Unlike Wang Chunhua, Xia Yan wasn’t so lucky—she had hit her forehead hard on the ground, bleeding quite a bit.
“Aunt Zhang! Come help quickly! The second girl also fainted and hit her head—she’s bleeding!” someone shouted.
“Coming!”
A woman hurried over. Together with Aunt Li, they carried Wang Chunhua onto the bed.
Meanwhile, Xia Yan was taken to another room. Someone casually pressed some ash from burned grass onto her forehead and wrapped it with a rough cloth before leaving to discuss matters with the eldest brother.
After fainting, both Wang Chunhua and Xia Yan began absorbing memories of the original bodies.
Wang Chunhua’s memories were as follows:
She had been born into a wealthy and loving family, where her parents were deeply affectionate and had no concubines. She had two younger brothers and grew up in a happy household.
However, one day her father offended a powerful official. The men of the family were exiled, while the women were sent to the military camp as prostitutes.
Her family risked everything to forge a commoner identity for her and send her away, telling her to forget the past, not seek revenge, and live well.
She obeyed at first, fleeing desperately for survival. After a long escape, she collapsed in Dong Family Village.
When she woke up again, she had been saved by the second son of the Xia family.
At first, the Xia family treated her well.
But after learning she was an amnesiac orphan with no background, their true nature was revealed.
The Xia family were outsiders who had fled famine. After marrying off the eldest son, they had no money left. Because of poverty, the second son’s marriage had been delayed far past the proper age, and no nearby family was willing to marry their daughters into the household.
On the fifth day of her recovery, Old Madam Liu slaughtered the only laying hen in the house, claiming it was to nourish her body.
Grateful, the original owner didn’t suspect anything.
But after drinking the chicken soup, she quickly lost consciousness.
When she woke up again, she found herself naked, with the second son of the Xia family beside her.
She immediately understood what had happened.
Torn between rage and survival, she ultimately yielded under the second son’s repeated promises and swore marriage.
At first, he felt guilty and treated her well. But over time, he revealed his true nature—drinking, beating his wife, and becoming violent.
She resisted at first, but after years of abuse, she became numb.
She gave birth to six children in nine years, almost constantly pregnant.
Fortunately, when she was pregnant with the fifth and sixth child, conscription came. The second son was tricked by his mother and taken to war.
From then on, life became slightly easier.
However, news of deaths from the battlefield began arriving in the village. Every time there was news from the county office, Old Madam Liu feared it would be her second son, growing anxious and ill.
The original owner, however, always rushed to hear the news—not out of concern, but hoping he was dead.
But each time, she was disappointed.
Later, death notices became rare.
By the fourth year, the eldest son had reached marriage age. But Old Madam Liu refused to spend money on him and even beat him, calling him a debt collector.
The children were often bullied by the elders, while the original owner ignored it. At first, the children sought her help, but eventually stopped, realizing she would not stand up for them.
Although she did not love them, they were still her children. So when it came to major matters, she finally intervened.
She demanded a division of the family.
After threats and confrontation, Old Madam Liu finally agreed.
After the split, the original owner used hidden jewelry to buy silver, arranged a marriage for her eldest son, and held a simple wedding feast.
Shortly after, the second daughter fell ill, and she was brought into the original owner’s room for care.
On Xia Yan’s side, her memories were:
From childhood, her mother never showed her affection. She rarely smiled at her.
She envied cousins who could cry in their mothers’ arms and be protected.
At least she had her sister, who cared for her.
Her grandmother and uncles constantly ordered them around and never fed them enough. Her mother knew but ignored everything.
She always wished her mother would love her.
But she didn’t understand why she wasn’t loved.
After the family split, things improved slightly. Her mother smiled more and even arranged a marriage for her eldest brother.
She thought her mother still loved them.
She was happy.
One day, a boy tricked her into following him to eat roasted bird eggs. Instead, he pushed her into a rice field.
She returned home soaked and afraid to tell her mother. She had no dry clothes, so she washed her outer clothes and continued wearing wet ones.
The next day, she fell ill.
When she was sick, she felt her mother holding her gently.
That warmth felt like a dream—so good that she never wanted to wake up.
And then…
The memories ended.