Summer, the fifteenth year of the Great Zhou Dynasty.
Qin Family Village, Yunzhong County, Heishan Prefecture.
Outside, darkness blanketed the world.
Inside the house, an oil lamp flickered uncertainly, crackling softly from time to time.
“Husband, today was only my first day as a member of the Qin family. I haven’t even given you an heir yet. You can’t die, please don’t die… sob…”
“…Husband, if you die, I won’t go on living either. In life, I belong to you. In death, I’ll be your ghost…”
In his hazy state, Qin Ming heard the tearful voice of a young girl.
“This…”
Did I transmigrate?
When Qin Ming opened his eyes, his gaze was still unfocused.
“That’s wonderful! Husband, you’re alive!”
“You…”
With the dim and shifting lamplight illuminating the room, Qin Ming finally got a clear look at the girl before him.
She had fair skin and a delicate oval face, her features gentle and attractive. Her reddened eyes still held traces of tears. Her long black hair was neatly coiled behind her head, revealing the unmistakable promise of a future beauty.
A glimpse of pale skin at her collar made her look even more alluring.
She called me husband?
Could she really be my wife?
But she’s far too young. She looks no older than sixteen or seventeen.
Soon, the memories of his previous life and those of the original owner of this body rapidly merged together.
In his previous life, Qin Ming had been a martial arts instructor in his forties.
The body he now occupied belonged to a hunter who happened to share the same name.
The original Qin Ming had no parents and lived alone.
As for the girl, her name was Fan Niang. She was the daughter of an elderly scholar named Fan Jin from the nearby town.
Fan Jin had spent more than twenty years repeatedly failing the imperial examinations. He had no practical means of earning money, and his family’s circumstances were extremely poor.
Some time ago, the kindhearted Qin Ming had helped fund Fan Jin’s attempt at the provincial examination.
Because of that act of generosity, Fan Jin came to regard him as a good man and decided to betroth his daughter to him.
Today was the day of their wedding.
Under the weak glow of the oil lamp, Fan Niang’s lovely face seemed to fade in and out of the shadows. She wore only a coarse cloth garment, and her slender figure looked frail.
The thought that such a young girl was now his wife after his rebirth left Qin Ming feeling somewhat emotional.
Back in his previous life, a pretty girl of her age would probably still be attending secondary school, enjoying the love of her parents, the care of her teachers, and perhaps the secret admiration of a few male classmates.
As for him, he had already lived more than forty years.
Well, forty wasn’t exactly old, but it was certainly old enough for her to call him uncle without sounding strange.
Fortunately, the body he had transmigrated into was only seventeen or eighteen years old, which eased some of his awkwardness.
“Husband, it’s time to eat…”
Fan Niang brought over a bowl of coarse rice and half of a dried flatbread, setting them on the kang bed.
“Mmm… Why aren’t you eating?”
Seeing that she hadn’t picked up any food, Qin Ming frowned slightly.
“There’s no grain left at home. As long as Husband has enough to eat, I’ll be fine…”
Fan Niang spoke softly.
“I remember we had plenty of food in the house.”
According to the original owner’s memories, Qin Ming had been a capable hunter. Nearly every trip into the mountains brought back some kind of game.
His life wasn’t wealthy, but he had never lacked food.
Before the wedding, there had clearly been several sacks of grain and more than a dozen high-quality animal pelts stored in the house.
Those pelts alone could have been exchanged for over ten taels of silver.
Yet now the house could only be described as utterly destitute.
The pelts that had once hung on the walls had vanished, and even the furniture was gone.
As a result, the two of them could only sit on a bare earthen kang while eating, without even a table.
“Husband, have you forgotten? The county officials came to collect taxes today…”
Fan Niang reminded him quietly.
“Those beasts!”
The moment he heard that, Qin Ming understood.
Because of the empire’s constant wars, taxes throughout Great Zhou had become increasingly burdensome.
In addition to the regular land tax, there were contract taxes, pawn taxes, customs duties, market taxes, appraisal taxes, collapsed-house taxes, stall taxes, tung oil levies, and countless others.
Earlier that day, shortly after Qin Ming and Fan Niang had completed their wedding ceremony, tax collectors from the county yamen had arrived at their door.
Logically speaking, Qin Ming was only a hunter and owned no farmland.
Yet he was still forced to pay land taxes along with a host of unrelated levies.
Unable to accept such injustice, the original Qin Ming argued with the officials.
The result was a brutal beating from several yamen runners, leaving him unconscious on the spot.
Everything of value in the house was looted.
Even the meat, wine, flour, and rice prepared for the wedding feast had been taken away.
And it was precisely at that moment that the Qin Ming from another world stepped into the abandoned shell and became the new owner of this body.
“Husband, don’t be angry. Commoners cannot fight officials. We can’t afford to provoke them. As long as your injuries heal and we can live our lives peacefully, that will be enough…”
As she spoke, Fan Niang pulled out a small cloth bundle.
When she unfolded it, a silver hairpin appeared inside.
“This is…?”
“My mother left it to me before she passed away. She loved me very much. She suffered beside my father her entire life, and this was the only valuable thing she owned. Tomorrow I’ll trade it for rice…”
Fan Niang bit her lip lightly, her eyes filled with sorrow.
“You absolutely can’t do that. It’s your mother’s keepsake. You must keep it safe.”
“If there’s no other choice, I’ll pawn it temporarily and buy some grain. Once we have money again, I’ll redeem it.”
“Alright…”
A sharp ache rose in Qin Ming’s chest.
He had never expected that immediately after transmigrating, he would have to rely on his wife selling her dowry to survive.
The thought made him deeply uncomfortable.
But given their current situation, they had no other option.
In these times, a household without grain truly could starve to death.
“Husband, eat while it’s still warm…”
“You should eat too.”
“I’m not hungry.”
That was what Fan Niang said, but her weak voice betrayed her.
“If I tell you to eat, then eat. This flatbread is enough for me.”
Qin Ming pushed the bowl of coarse rice into her hands and kept the flatbread for himself.
Fan Niang hesitated.
Seeing his determination, she finally accepted the bowl.
Only then did this newly married couple, this so-called “old husband and young wife,” begin their first meal together after marriage.
After an exhausting day, Fan Niang was already starving.
Once she received the bowl, she quickly finished every grain of rice inside.
When she was done, she even used her tongue to clean the bottom of the bowl until it was spotless.
Throughout the meal, she occasionally looked up at her husband.
As she saw that his complexion appeared normal, her anxious heart gradually settled.
Raised on the traditional teachings of obedience and virtue, Fan Niang believed that her husband was her entire world.
As long as he remained by her side, she still had hope.
After dinner, Qin Ming lay down on the kang to rest.
There were no mobile phones or computers in this era, nor any restaurants or entertainment venues nearby.
Once darkness fell, the only thing left to do was sleep.
Fan Niang extinguished the oil lamp and carefully lay down beside him.
As his new wife, she had not yet consummated the marriage.
Girls in this era married young, and though not necessarily physically mature, they were often mentally prepared for married life at an early age.
While her mother was still alive, she had spoken to Fan Niang about the relationship between husband and wife.
Yet now, lying beside her husband, she could not help feeling embarrassed.
Moonlight filtered through the paper-covered window, faintly illuminating Qin Ming’s broad and sturdy chest.
A moment later, Fan Niang bit her lip and slowly settled down beside him.
Their wedding bedding had also been stolen, leaving them with only a single straw mat to cover themselves.
Fortunately, winter had not yet arrived.
Even so, the nights had already begun to grow chilly.
Qin Ming was about to use his clothes as an extra blanket when he suddenly heard the rustle of fabric beside him.
Fan Niang had removed her thin outer garment.
The mere act of doing so left her face burning red with embarrassment.
Her arms instinctively shielded her chest as she curled up like a frightened kitten beside him, scarcely daring to move.
The thought of performing a wife’s duties made her heart pound violently.
Sneaking a glance at her husband’s strong and muscular frame, she found herself wondering whether she could withstand it.
“Still awake? My clothes are thicker. Move a little closer so you won’t get cold.”
Worried that she might catch a chill, Qin Ming turned toward her and spoke gently.
“Mmm…”
Her response was barely louder than a mosquito’s buzz.
Closing her eyes, she edged a little closer.
“We’re husband and wife. What are you afraid of?”
Hearing her hurried breathing, Qin Ming frowned.
“Mmm…”
Her answer remained soft, but she obediently moved closer to him.
By the faint moonlight, Qin Ming could see her smooth, fair shoulder.
A small hand slowly came to rest against his body.
Cool and soft.
For a brief moment, Qin Ming considered pulling her into his arms to keep her warm.
But he quickly abandoned the idea.
He was a healthy man.
If she moved any closer, he wasn’t sure he could maintain his self-control.
Fan Niang was simply too young.
He could not bring himself to touch her that way.
Besides, their home was practically empty.
Even if they had a child now, they would have no way to support it.
At the very least, they needed to improve their circumstances before taking that step.
As for Fan Niang, knowing that her husband was injured, she did not dare take any initiative.
And so they remained in that position.
The day’s exhaustion finally caught up with her.
When she realized her husband had no intention of doing anything, she eventually drifted off to sleep.
Watching his wife curl up like a sleeping kitten, Qin Ming soon felt drowsiness overtake him as well.
Before long, he too fell asleep.