In a dimly lit room.
Shen Qingyuan, gradually regaining consciousness, felt as if her head were splitting apart.
She had merely had a few too many drinks at her college graduation ceremony, yet now her head throbbed as if it had been bludgeoned by a blunt weapon.
Instinctively, she raised her hand to touch her head—and felt something warm and sticky.
The metallic scent of blood filling her nostrils made her realize something.
Blood!
She instantly sobered up and sat up abruptly.
Staring at the blood on her hands and everything before her, she was dumbstruck.
How was she in a crude earthen house?
Five steps directly ahead, behind a cabinet, half a small head peeked out, timidly stealing glances at her.
What was going on?
Shen Qingyuan waved at the little girl.
“Come here. Tell me, where is this? How did I end up here?”
The little girl reacted as if facing a mortal enemy, shrinking back, her eyes reddening.
“It wasn’t Sanya who hit Mother. Mother, please don’t hit Sanya, okay?”
Shen Qingyuan: “…”
What on earth was all this?
She had been single her entire life for over twenty years—when had she ever produced a four or five-year-old child?
Just as she was utterly baffled, she heard a mother and son conversing outside.
“Zhihong, that little slut’s head is bleeding. She was thrown on the ground like mud, motionless. Will she be alright?”
Zhao Zhihong dusted off his faded long robe, straightened his back, placed one hand before him, and resumed his harmless scholar appearance.
“Don’t worry. I know my own strength. She won’t die!”
Granny Li spat viciously in the direction of the room door.
“She was the one who threw a tantrum first. Even if she’s beaten to death, she deserves it. And she still wants to marry my son, to become a scholar’s wife? I spit on that! She should piss and take a good look at herself.”
Hearing this, Zhao Zhihong’s brows furrowed slightly.
“Mother, back then it was you who secretly promised that woman Shen Qingyuan—if Big Brother died in battle, you would have me marry her. Today we truly received news of Big Brother’s death. I, a scholar lord, how could I marry a widow? Moreover, she’s the widow of my half-brother with a different mother. If word gets out, wouldn’t I become a laughingstock?”
Granny Li put on an apologetic, ingratiating smile.
“Son, ever since your Big Brother was conscripted, our family lost its source of income. To continue supporting your studies for the imperial examinations, your mother had no choice but to come up with this temporary plan—tricking that little slut into returning to her maiden home to ask for silver to fund your schooling.”
“Who would have thought news of your Big Brother’s death would come so quickly! But rest assured, Mother will definitely find a good excuse to drive that little slut out. I absolutely won’t let her latch onto you and ruin your reputation.”
Zhao Zhihong nodded with slight satisfaction.
“The sooner the better. Don’t ruin my good prospects with the Yun family’s young lady.”
Hearing the name of the renowned wealthy Yun family from the county town, Granny Li’s eyes lit up with greed.
“Son, if you marry Miss Yun, we’ll never have to worry about silver again.”
Zhao Zhihong straightened his back even more.
“Shortsighted. How could it be merely about silver! In the future, my official career will also receive tremendous support from the Yun family.”
Granny Li imagined her own son becoming a high official one day, and herself living the life of a superior being waited upon by others. Instantly, she grinned from ear to ear.
“Good, good, good. Mother guarantees she’ll give you a satisfactory answer within three days.”
By now, a scheme had already formed in her mind: find a man to ruin Shen Qingyuan’s innocence.
Then she would lead people to catch them in bed together—Shen Qingyuan wouldn’t be able to explain herself even with two mouths.
Even if Shen Qingyuan spoke of her previous promises, no one would believe her.
After all, who would believe the nonsense spouted by a lowly slut with no sense of virtue!
Moreover, Shen Qingyuan was trying to climb above her station by coveting a scholar lord.
By then, everyone would stand on their side, and Shen Qingyuan would be smoothly swept out the door, eliminating any future trouble.
Shen Qingyuan listened to their departing footsteps, muttering the names she had just heard.
Suddenly, she thought of something!
No way!
She had actually transmigrated into a book!
She had become the cannon fodder stepmother of the future villain in an alternate history novel.
Because the cannon fodder stepmother in the book shared her exact name, Shen Qingyuan had briefly skimmed the plot.
The Shen Qingyuan in the book could be described as an absolute extreme case.
As the youngest child in her family, she had been doted on by everyone since birth, becoming utterly lawless and demanding that everything go her way.
Two years ago, at age fifteen, having become infatuated with Zhao Anbang’s looks from the neighboring Zhao Village, she staged a drowning scene on his way back from working outside.
Zhao Anbang couldn’t stand by and watch her die, performing a heroic rescue.
She then smoothly used the excuse that since he had touched her body, he must marry her, successfully wedding Zhao Anbang, who was ten years her senior.
Although the Shen family minded that Zhao Anbang was a widower with three children, they compromised because she liked him.
To help her hold her head high in her husband’s family, the Shen family even provided two taels of silver and a silver hairpin as dowry.
Coincidentally or not, on her wedding day, her period arrived, preventing consummation with Zhao Anbang.
Even more coincidentally, seven days later, when her period ended, Zhao Anbang was taken away by government soldiers.
To the front lines as a conscripted laborer.
From then on, she lived with Zhao Anbang’s three children, her mother-in-law, and the child scholar Zhao Zhihong.
Initially, she treated the three children fairly well. Though not as attentive as a birth mother, she at least maintained appearances, and the villagers couldn’t find fault with her as a stepmother.
But gradually, as she heard more and more villagers say that swords and spears have no eyes on the battlefield, and that Zhao Anbang would likely meet a grim fate, she too began to harbor doubts.
Although simple and honest Zhao Anbang was an excellent carpenter.
Over the years, he had earned considerable silver and even funded Zhao Zhihong’s studies for so many years. If he returned someday, he would certainly be able to give her a good life.
He would make her the envy of all the women in the village, even in all the surrounding villages.
But what if Zhao Anbang didn’t return?
Wouldn’t she become a widow?
What would she do then?
She plummeted from heaven straight into hell!
The immense sense of loss was unbearable, and she began to regret marrying Zhao Anbang.
The three children Zhao Anbang left behind also grew increasingly displeasing in her eyes.
Thus, she vented all her negative emotions onto the three children.
Every day, she beat and cursed them, forced them to do heavy labor, and denied them food.
From then on, she earned herself the “honorable” title of wicked stepmother.
Under prolonged abuse, the three children developed severe psychological trauma.
Particularly after Sanya died because of her, the darkening of her two older brothers, Dabao and Erbao, accelerated.
Years later, Dabao became the utterly ruthless Grand Secretary, and Erbao became the bloodthirsty General Protector of the State.
They returned to Zhao Village and killed everyone who had bullied them back then.
They didn’t even spare the old dogs that had barked at them.
They skinned and butchered them for meat, ground the bones into powder, and scattered it into the latrine pits.
They also found Shen Qingyuan, who had remarried by then. First, they threw her into the army as a military prostitute, then gave her to the eunuchs for their amusement, and finally handed her over to poison refiners to experiment on, making her wish for death, until she was tortured to death bit by bit.
Recalling the miserable fate of the Shen Qingyuan in the book, Shen Qingyuan couldn’t help but shudder.
So this cannon fodder stepmother was making her dazzling debut just like this?
What sins had she committed in her previous life!
No!
She didn’t want to be cannon fodder!
Even less did she want to die so horribly!
She wanted to live properly—but what could she do?