Summer, 1966.
The second-floor hall of the Shanghai Grand Hotel.
The wedding venue was decorated with countless fresh flowers, a sight of breathtaking beauty. But at this moment, no one was looking at the flowers. No one was even looking at the bride and groom.
The festive music had stopped.
Every eye in the room was fixed on the woman lying on the floor. She lay on her side, her bulky clothes unable to hide the high bulge of her pregnant belly. Messy long hair covered most of her face, though her pale cheeks were visible through the gaps in her hair.
“Why hasn’t she gotten up yet? Is she dead?”
“Probably not. It’s not that easy to die!”
“I bet she’s just too ashamed to show her face, so she’s playing dead.”
“Makes sense! She’s already married and sporting a huge belly, yet she actually tried to snatch her own brother-in-law at her sister’s wedding. How can she face anyone?”
“If I were her, I would have bashed my head against a wall long ago. I’ve never seen anyone so scandalous!”
Mocking words poured into Qiao Zhenzhu’s ears. The stinging sarcasm incensed the newly conscious Qiao Zhenzhu. Who gave them the nerve to sneer at her?
As she moved to rise, a sharp pain lanced through her brain. A flood of information surged in—the memories of another person being forced into her mind. Fortunately, Qiao Zhenzhu possessed powerful mental strength. She activated her superpowers, instantly organizing and making sense of the chaotic memories.
Once the memory transfer was complete, however, her headache only intensified.
The world she came from had undergone a cataclysmic change ten years ago, entering an apocalypse. At that time, she had awakened triple superpowers: Space, Mental, and Wood. Despite having three attributes, she was naturally gifted; her cultivation speed surpassed those with only a single power.
Over those ten years, she had slaughtered countless zombies and mutant plants. Using an ocean of energy crystals, she had raised all three of her powers to max level. Though she wasn’t a Base Commander, she was respected and sought after by everyone in the base.
She remembered clearly: the night before, a young girl had given her a “period novel” (set in the 60s/70s). She had read it before bed. Though the cover was missing, it didn’t affect the reading—until she finished the first chapter and threw the book under the bed in a fit of rage.
In that novel, there was a supporting female character also named Qiao Zhenzhu. This character was a new peak of stupidity.
Despite being the eldest miss of the wealthy Qiao family, she was manipulated by her live-in father. To “repay” a supposed life-saving debt on his behalf, she married a rugged military officer. She conceived on her wedding night and discovered she was pregnant a month later.
She could have lived a good life, but a letter arrived from a university classmate. After months of back-and-forth correspondence, the original Qiao Zhenzhu fell into “love,” believing she shared a spiritual connection with this classmate and that they were the true soulmates.
The classmate subtly hinted he wanted to see her in Shanghai. After much hesitation, she agreed. She told her “rough” soldier husband she wanted to visit family, secured a travel permit, and took a train back to Shanghai while eight months pregnant.
She planned to rest at home before meeting him. But the moment she arrived, she saw the classmate—dressed in a sharp suit and beaming with joy—stepping out of the Qiao residence carrying her half-sister. They were surrounded by cheering crowds. They all piled into a car, and no one noticed the travel-worn, pregnant woman standing there.
Even after seeing this, she refused to believe it and followed them to the hotel. She arrived just as the classmate, Xie Chenggong, and her half-sister, Wang Sinian, were about to hold their wedding.
The original host was shocked and furious. She confronted Xie Chenggong, who put on an innocent act, claiming he only cared for her as a sister-in-law and that she shouldn’t have such “ideas” about him since she was already married.
Her father pointed at her and called her shameless. Her stepmother called her unchaste. Wang Sinian whispered in her ear that this was all a plan to ruin her reputation.
Pregnant and consumed by rage, the host suffered a fetal disturbance and fainted. The onlookers only watched the drama; no one took her to the hospital. She died right there, two lives lost in one body.
When her husband finally chased her to Shanghai, all he found was a small, unmarked mound of dirt. Even though he believed she had come for “true love,” he still built her a proper tomb and returned to the army, heartbroken.
After her death, the entire Qiao family fortune fell into the hands of her scumbag father, who gave most of it to the half-sister.
Qiao Zhenzhu had been so angry at this point that she had tossed the book. If I knew I’d transmigrate into it, I would have finished reading!
But dwelling on that was useless now. She didn’t know the full plot, but since she was here, she would dictate how the story ended!
The most important task wasn’t dealing with the scumbag couple or the father and stepmother—it was going back to collect the Qiao family assets. The Qiao family had been a prominent clan in Shanghai for centuries. Their old residence was an exquisite garden villa filled with famous paintings, antique vases, jade ornaments, and ancient furniture. She wouldn’t let those “scumbags” have a single cent.
As she plotted, she felt a dull ache in her stomach. Right, this body is eight months pregnant!
Her Wood power could not only accelerate plant growth but also heal the body. Qiao Zhenzhu circulated the green energy, focusing it on her abdomen. The pain vanished instantly. Not only that, she clearly felt the babies inside happily kick her belly.
That’s right—babies, plural. She was carrying quadruplets!
That “rough husband” of hers was a bit too capable! One shot, and he had landed her four children at once!
If the original host hadn’t died of anger, she likely would have died during childbirth. Even in the modern era, delivering quadruplets safely was no easy feat, let alone in this restrictive time period.
But now that she was here, there was nothing to worry about. Though she didn’t know why her powers had followed her, she felt this body was now her own. With her Wood power, ensuring the safe birth of these four children would be a breeze.
In her original world, Qiao Zhenzhu was an orphan. In the apocalypse, life was precarious; she had wanted a blood relative but never dared to act on it. Even as a max-level powerhouse, the lack of resources and harsh conditions meant she didn’t want a child born into such a threat.
But now, she had transmigrated and skipped straight to the finish line. In a little over a month, she would have four blood-related family members!