Shen Ruo put the kitchen knife back and thought: Shen Ziying clearly knew, just like him, how the original Shen Ruo’s story ended, which is why she caused such a scene today.
This meant she also knew the plot, perhaps she had been reborn or had some other chance. He just didn’t expect that Shen Ruo from the 21st century would accidentally end up here, becoming a butterfly that could change the story.
As for the original Shen Ruo’s unexpected pregnancy, Shen Ruo didn’t believe it was due to careless behavior. After all, the original Shen Ruo’s heart was entirely on the male lead; there was no way he would fool around with anyone else.
Someone must have plotted against him. Aside from the female lead, Shen Ruo couldn’t think of anyone else.
That debt, Shen Ruo would settle it with her sooner or later!
After this incident, another piece of memory returned to him. The Shen family had many members, but the household had been split.
Usually, families only split after the older generation passed away, but Shen Ruo’s grandparents were still alive. They favored the youngest son and, fearing that the Shen family would be dragged down by poverty, decided to divide the household. From then on, they lived with the youngest son, Shen Hong, for the rest of their lives.
Shen Hong was Shen Ziying’s father, so Shen Ruo still had to call him “uncle.”
Shen Ruo remembered him as a shifty-looking, cunning man who worked as a shopkeeper in town, earning three strings of copper coins a month.
This wasn’t Shen Hong bragging, it was his mother, who constantly boasted about her youngest son’s earnings. She’d say, “Our little ge’er earns three strings of coins a month just by managing the shop and counting beads!”
She’d even taunt others: “You peasants digging in the fields all year might not even make three strings!”
The villagers were both embarrassed and envious, but they also flattered him, because Shen Hong’s shop was one of the few in town willing to buy goods produced by the village. Anyone wanting to do business had to maintain a good relationship with him.
As Shen Hong’s daughter, Shen Ziying had naturally been pampered since childhood. The villagers treated her with special tolerance, partly because they still relied on her father for matters.
She was just a village girl, yet she insisted on putting on airs like a noble daughter of a farming family.
It was ridiculous, like some of the non-mainstream rural girls he’d seen, dressing in an evening gown and doing splits in a cornfield…
“Waaah—”
Shen Ruo heard the crying and was momentarily caught off guard. When he heard it a second time, he immediately rushed toward the room.
Xiao Yuntun was crying loudly and full of energy. Shen Ruo thought to himself: this should be a strong little one.
He flung open the door and sprang to the bedside.
It turned out that Yuntun had peed. Frowning, Shen Ruo tore off the diaper and tossed it aside, feeling a bit at a loss.
This was his own child, the little one who came from his own body. Shen Ruo repeated it in his mind several times, mentally preparing himself. Then he held his breath, folded the soiled diaper, and used it to wipe Yuntun’s bottom.
“Hey! Ruo’er! You can’t just wipe like that!” Li Shantao had also heard Yuntun crying. Her sleeves were still rolled up, the small chopping knife in her hand hadn’t even been set down, and she hurried in.
“The baby’s skin is so tender! You can’t just dry-wipe like that! Stop moving, go fetch some warm water!” Li Shantao didn’t pay Shen Ruo any mind, snatched the diaper from his hands, and started shooing him away.
Shen Ruo nodded and turned to leave. Diaper duty was clearly for someone experienced, he really didn’t know what he was doing.
Once Yuntun was finally cleaned and wrapped back in the swaddle, Shen Ruo wiped his sweat.
Raising a child wasn’t as simple as he had imagined, it wasn’t just about preparing a bottle of milk.
“Mother, you’ve really worked hard.” Shen Ruo watched Li Shantao bustling back and forth, washing clothes, chopping wood, and felt a pang of emotion in his chest.
“It’s nothing hard at all, it’s all something I’m happy to do. Look at our Xiao Yuntun, who knows how many men he’ll charm when he grows up?” Li Shantao gently patted the swaddled baby, joking.
Shen Ruo looked at the tiny child in the swaddle and couldn’t help but smile.
“I just hope he’ll be happy when he grows up.”
“Our Yuntun loves to laugh so much, he’ll definitely grow up cheerful and happy.” Li Shantao said with a smile, then glanced at Shen Ruo. “Ruo’er, did you notice? Yuntun has a birthmark on his lower back, exactly like yours.”
Shen Ruo felt embarrassed; he really hadn’t noticed.
He couldn’t see his own birthmark and didn’t know what it looked like, but he could look at Yuntun’s.
Yuntun wasn’t sleepy yet and was perfectly cooperative, not resisting at all as his father and grandmother carefully handled him.
They carefully supported Yuntun’s head, opened the swaddle, and the baby was completely bare. Shen Ruo immediately saw the red heart-shaped birthmark on his lower back.
Shen Ruo suddenly thought of a saying: “[1]The phrase “Even a birthmark is shaped by love” conveys the idea that something as small and seemingly ordinary as a birthmark carries a deeper meaning or connection. jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_1745373_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_1745373_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });Even a birthmark is shaped by love,” and it even comes with its own little lines and expressions.
A smile appeared in his eyes. Yuntun seemed to sense his father’s happy mood and waved his tiny arms in response.
“He’s got some strength,” Li Shantao laughed. “It’s good to have a bit of power, when Yuntun grows up, he can protect himself.”
As Li Shantao spoke, her thoughts drifted to Shen Ruo, and tears welled at the corners of her eyes. “Ruo’er, it’s all my fault. If I hadn’t left you home alone that day, you wouldn’t have…”
Shen Ruo shook his head. His memory of that day was still very vague. “It’s not your fault. I don’t clearly remember what happened that day either, but I will find out, whoever tried to harm me, I’ll uncover the truth.”
Li Shantao wiped her tears and nodded. When she first returned home and saw her Shen Ruo unconscious, his body covered in bruises and lying on the bed, her heart felt as if it had been shattered.
At that time, she had wanted to make a scene at the local authorities, but her family stopped her. If news of what had happened to Shen Ruo got out, who would be willing to marry him?
So she endured it. She never expected, however, that Shen Ruo would become pregnant.
The law clearly stated that any pregnancy had to be registered, and abortion was not allowed. News of Shen Ruo’s pregnancy spread far and wide.
Thinking back on that period, Li Shantao felt a deep ache in her heart. Her once lively Shen Ruo seemed to have lost his spark, becoming sluggish and timid.
Yet at the same time, he suddenly became more responsible, helping out around the house and even going out to work in the fields with his parents.
Before, he had been pampered. The family had only a small amount of land, and with his parents and older siblings taking care of the work, he had never needed to set foot in the fields.
But Li Shantao didn’t feel comforted, she ached for her Shen Ruo. Even though he had once been so devoted to a man, shamelessly leaning in, she never thought her Shen Ruo was wrong. On the contrary, she thought he was brave, after all, not everyone has the courage to pursue their own love.
“Mother, wipe your tears. Don’t cry. I’m fine, see?” Shen Ruo handed her a handkerchief, one that Liu Shan had embroidered earlier.
“This isn’t for wiping tears,” Li Shantao said, raising her sleeve to dry her face. She carefully folded the handkerchief and placed it on the bedside.
“Oh, look at the time. Your father and the others should be back soon. I’ll go make some cakes first.” Li Shantao, busy as ever, cast a quick glance at Yuntun and then turned to leave.
“All right,” Shen Ruo replied.
He picked up the folded handkerchief, running his long, slender fingers over the delicate embroidery.
If these embroidered handkerchiefs were to sell for a good price, they would definitely need quality fabric. In the original owner’s memory, most farmers now wore rough hemp cloth.
Some villagers could weave cloth themselves, and the price was slightly lower than in town. Almost every household could afford one or two bolts of hemp fabric.
Using fine cloth to make handkerchiefs would be something ordinary families would be unwilling to waste. When Liu Shan said she had leftover cotton fabric for handkerchiefs, it was really just scraps no bigger than a palm.
Recalling the book in his mind, Shen Ruo knew that the emperor now encouraged farming, and after cotton was introduced, it was being promoted all over the country. Cotton fabric’s price would inevitably drop in the future. But isn’t that the point of embroidery crafts, turning a small, unremarkable piece of fabric into something valuable, stitch by stitch, through the work of the embroiderer?
Shen Ruo was confident about that.
“Ruo’er, may I come in?” A rough, hoarse voice called from outside the door.
Shen Ruo reflexively stood up, his older brother had returned!
“[2]Ah Xiong (阿兄) – The actual form of address in Chinese—an affectionate, familiar way to say “elder brother.” The “Ah” prefix adds warmth and intimacy, commonly used … Continue reading jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_1745373_1_2').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_1745373_1_2', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });Ah Xiong, you can come in.” Shen Ruo didn’t know if it was due to lingering emotions from the original owner, but he was very reliant on his brother. In his memories, his brother was a man who loved his younger sibling deeply and was very responsible.
After Shen Feng returned, he hurriedly took a bath and changed out of his clothes, which were covered in mud and rice chaff. In the afternoon, he had learned from others that Shen Ruo had been out in another field and nearly died. The seven-foot-tall, dark-skinned strongman’s eyes were red with worry.
The Shen family had a total of three acres of paddy and two acres of dry land. He and their father had been harvesting in the front fields while Shen Ruo was picking rice ears in a more distant field. Fortunately, his good friend brother Lang had noticed and helped Shen Ruo back home, otherwise, the consequences would have been unthinkable.
Shen Feng had originally wanted to rush back without thinking, but the sky was about to rain. If they didn’t hurry with the harvest, a single downpour could ruin the entire year’s crops. Knowing that rushing back wouldn’t help, he and their father sped up their work to finish harvesting. Only when his wife came running over with the news that Shen Ruo and the little one were safe did he finally relax.
The two of them, now officially father and elder brother, worked with full energy and finally returned home before it got completely dark.
The tall, dark, strong man walked in quietly. Seeing Shen Ruo safe and sound, he couldn’t help but reach out and gently pat his shoulder.
“Good work.”
Shen Ruo shook his head. “Ah Xiong and Father are the ones who worked hard. This doesn’t count as anything for me.”
His father and brother had left before dawn to harvest, laboring until dusk, repeating the same motions all day long, that was real hardship.
Shen Ruo noticed that his brother seemed a little guilty, so he quickly changed the subject. “Look, isn’t our Xiao Yuntun adorable?”
Only then did Shen Feng look at the baby on the bed, the same little child he had once hated. If it weren’t for him, Shen Ruo wouldn’t have been ridiculed by the entire village.
But Xiao Yuntun actually smiled at him.
Forget it, he thought. If there was blame or resentment, it certainly didn’t belong on the baby, especially since this child was born through all of Shen Ruo’s pain and effort.
“Adorable? That’s the first time I’ve heard that word… but it really suits him.” Shen Feng raised his thick, dark eyebrows and carefully studied Xiao Yuntun.
Shen Ruo was momentarily stunned, his brother had slipped into the situation so quickly that modern words just came out. Fortunately, Shen Feng didn’t overthink it. This family’s love for the original Shen Ruo was genuine and heartfelt; if they knew the original had died, they would be utterly devastated.
“I heard from Mother that you scared a group of old women today?” Shen Feng asked, his expression serious.
Shen Ruo subconsciously felt a little intimidated by his brother’s look but still nodded stiffly. “Yes. They provoked me first. I don’t think I did anything wrong.”
“Well done!” Shen Feng’s large, dark eyes widened. “I’ve always disliked those useless old women, they never shut their mouths. They just wait until Father and I aren’t home to bully you.”
People always prey on the weak. When he and Father were home, who would dare speak ill of Shen Ruo?
Shen Ruo didn’t expect Shen Feng to react this way, but he secretly appreciated his brother’s fierce protectiveness.
References[+]