At noon in May, the sun had already turned scorching. When the hot wind swept across the fields at the entrance of Jian Family Village, the wheat rippled like a brilliant golden sea, releasing a faint, refreshing fragrance.
Jian Jia gripped her sickle and bent over to cut the wheat. The sharp awns pierced through her coarse linen clothes, pricking her cheeks and arms until they itched and stung. Large beads of sweat slid down her forehead and gathered around her eyes. She straightened up and wiped her face carelessly with a sweat cloth.
Under the blazing sun, her originally fair and delicate face had flushed red. Jian Jia licked her chapped lips and shook the bamboo tube at her waist. It was already empty. She wanted to fetch some water.
But the moment she moved, He Xiaohong, her sister-in-law by adoption, who sat beneath the shade of a tree fanning herself like a supervisor, rolled her eyes and sneered, “Oh? Where are you going? You’ve only worked for such a short while and already can’t stand it? Hurry up and keep working, you useless thing. I’m telling you, if you faint again today, don’t even think about having dinner.”
Jian Jia cast a silent glance at He Xiaohong, dressed in rough ancient-style clothing with a sharp, mean-looking face. Disgust flickered through her eyes.
Her name was Jian Jia, yet she was not the original Jian Jia.
Before her sudden death, she had been an overworked corporate slave in the twenty-first century. In order to secure even the smallest foothold in a competitive metropolis, she had juggled multiple jobs and worked day and night. Just when she had finally saved enough for a down payment on an apartment, she collapsed after an all-night shift.
She had thought her exhausting life would end with her death, yet when she opened her eyes, she had become another Jian Jia.
Something as mystical as borrowing a corpse to return to life had actually happened to her.
She had transmigrated into an ancient romance novel titled Pastoral Pampered Love and became the vicious supporting female character who shared her name.
As an early-stage antagonist capable of opposing the female protagonist, the original Jian Jia had come from a good family and possessed favorable personal conditions. Unfortunately, the person she targeted was the female protagonist, blessed with fortune and destiny, and the man she admired was the female protagonist’s devoted admirer, the third male lead. The more she confronted the female protagonist, the worse her own situation became.
When Jian Jia arrived, the original host had already fallen from being a pampered young lady with wealthy, doting parents to an orphan. Under the pretext of acting for the good of the Jian family, the clan head had arranged for her to be adopted into another branch and assigned her an older brother. At first, the adoptive brother and his wife had kept up appearances, but once they realized no one would stand up for her, their attitude deteriorated drastically.
The family estate accumulated by Jian Jia’s parents was seized by the adoptive brother and his wife. She herself was abused and even intended to be sold off as a concubine to a landlord. Spoiled since birth and raised with a proud temperament, the original Jian Jia could not endure such a life. Yet her initial arrogance had been ground away by torment, and now, apart from crying, she could only carry out her tasks in silent grievance.
In her heart, she hated her adoptive brother and sister-in-law to the bone. One vicious thought after another took root. When she saw them eating, she imagined them choking to death. When she saw their young son, she fantasized about drowning him in revenge. Even when pulling weeds, she pictured the weeds as their heads, relying on that resentment to persist.
Two days ago, she had been assigned to harvest wheat. Distracted by her bitterness and failing to protect herself properly, she suffered heatstroke and died.
With the sun this merciless, drinking water was not optional. As someone who had clawed her way through life, Jian Jia cherished this hard-won second chance. Even as He Xiaohong continued to prattle on, she merely raised the bamboo tube and said succinctly, “There’s no water.”
He Xiaohong rolled her eyes and drawled mockingly, “You’ve barely cut three rows of wheat, but you’ve already drained three tubes of water. I really don’t know how your parents raised you. You can’t even handle such a small task.”
After a pause, she sneered cruelly, “Though I suppose it’s not your fault. Your parents were useless to begin with. Big useless people raised little useless things like you. Only natural.”
This had recently become one of He Xiaohong’s favorite amusements. She had discovered that whenever she mentioned the original Jian Jia’s deceased parents, the girl would only glare at her and burst into tears. The more pitifully she cried, the more delighted He Xiaohong felt.
Most of the time, Jian Jia had a good temper. Otherwise, she would never have survived alone in a big city long enough to save for a down payment. But she also knew her limits. What should be done, she handled decisively. Whom she could tolerate and whom she could not, she measured clearly in her heart.
In the two days since taking over this body, she had already discerned the dispositions of those around her. Her adoptive brother and sister-in-law were ignorant bullies who preyed on the weak. They dared to torment her only because the original Jian Jia had been young and powerless.
Jian Jia was different. She was not someone who endured everything meekly. Cherishing her life was one thing, but living in constant fear was never her choice.
When He Xiaohong once again insulted her deceased parents, Jian Jia’s expression turned cold. In a chilling tone she said, “How my parents raised me is none of your concern. You live in my parents’ house and eat food from the Jian family. If you dare to disrespect my parents again, I will tear your mouth apart.”
The original Jian Jia’s father had been a well-known benevolent man. When he prospered, he had helped many people, and the villagers of Jian Family Village had benefited greatly. Although Jian Jia never had the chance to meet him, from the original host’s memories she knew her parents had been kind people.
Such people did not deserve to be insulted, especially not by those who had once received their kindness.
He Xiaohong froze, then laughed mockingly. “You? Tear whose mouth? Go on, try it.” In a few days Jian Jia would be married off, and they were her only natal family. Without a maternal family, a young woman would be bullied in her husband’s household. Did she really dare lay a hand on her?
Leaning back leisurely with one leg crossed over the other, He Xiaohong fanned herself lazily. “You should know your own—”
Before she could finish, hurried footsteps sounded. In the next instant, it felt as if a heavy hammer had slammed into her chest, and her body toppled backward uncontrollably.
No one had expected that the usually soft-spoken Jian Jia would move faster than a grown man. After kicking He Xiaohong to the ground, Jian Jia pounced forward and sat squarely on her chest.
Though not heavy, seventy to eighty jin pressing high on her chest was enough to leave He Xiaohong struggling helplessly.
Shock and fury flooded her. Shock that the Jian Jia who used to whimper and glare resentfully seemed like a different person, fury that she, who prided herself on being formidable, was now utterly unable to resist.
Jian Jia sneered. She was not good at arguing, but she knew that the ruthless feared those who feared nothing. Before He Xiaohong could scream, Jian Jia’s hands struck swiftly and precisely across her face. Even as she slapped her, she did not forget to pinch and claw at her chest. She certainly had not forgotten her words about tearing a mouth apart.
In her previous life, she had trained to keep her body strong. She had been healthy enough to handle multiple jobs. The original Jian Jia, however, had been physically weak, all bark and no bite, unable even to catch a chicken. He Xiaohong could once beat her senseless with a twig. How could such a body contend in a fight?
Though she had only possessed this body for two days and lacked strength, she knew that fighting was not solely about power but also technique. Having once studied Sanda for self-defense, she now put that knowledge to use. She targeted sensitive spots that amplified pain. Her slaps could not loosen teeth, but they left swelling and redness.
Where strength fell short, skill compensated. After a fierce flurry, He Xiaohong would not forget the lesson.
Wracked with pain, struggling to breathe, her face bloodied and swollen, He Xiaohong’s earlier composure vanished, replaced with terror.
Her voice broke as she shrieked, “Murder! Murder!”
At midday, scattered villagers were harvesting wheat. Hearing the scream, they dropped their sickles and hurried toward the commotion.
Catching the approaching footsteps, Jian Jia rose and straightened her clothes. For an ignorant village woman, this display of force was enough of a warning.
He Xiaohong curled on the ground like a dead dog, her swollen face streaked with blood, tears and snot mixed with dust. The villagers gasped. One busybody admonished Jian Jia, “She’s your sister-in-law. How could you strike her so viciously?”
Jian Jia swept them with a calm gaze. “What sister-in-law? She eats Jian family grain and lives in Jian family houses, yet insults my parents. She abuses and humiliates me daily. If it were taken before the magistrate, I would not be in the wrong.”
The peacemaker faltered, attempting to placate both sides. “It’s wrong for her to curse you, but you shouldn’t have hit her either—”
“Wrong?” Jian Jia let out a soft laugh. “When He mistreated me, was she not wrong then?” She kicked the small stool back into place beneath the tree, smoothed her clothes, and sat upright, surveying the villagers. “I hit her. If anyone thinks I was wrong, take me to the authorities. I will wait here.”
The word authorities silenced them. Most villagers did not even know where the yamen gates faced. Commoners harbored an instinctive fear of officials. Faced with court, they would tremble before speaking.
Jian Jia lowered her gaze to He Xiaohong, who lay curled to one side. Last night she had overheard He Xiaohong and her husband planning to marry her off for bride price money. Once the wheat harvest ended, a matchmaker would arrive with suitors.
How laughable. The adoption had been absurd enough, and now this so-called brother and sister-in-law dared extend their hands toward her.
Knowing how the plot would unfold, Jian Jia smiled coldly. If they wanted to sell her, they could try. It would depend on whether their lives were sturdy enough, and whether they feared the kitchen knife.