“Madam Xu, don’t touch me.”
“Husband, you’re my live-in son-in-law. If I can’t touch you, who can I touch? I promise that once we have a child, I’ll stop causing trouble for the Song family and settle down properly.”
“You… dare.”
Xu Mingzhu vaguely heard a low, hoarse male voice. The next moment, something cool and soft brushed against her lips. A tingling sensation spread through her body, leaving her weak all over.
Xu Mingzhu had tasted countless delicacies in her life, but never anything so sweet, soft, and addictive. It was the kind of sensation that left people craving more. “Mmm…” A soft moan escaped her involuntarily. Sensing that something was very wrong, she abruptly snapped out of her daze.
Looking down, she froze. She was pressed tightly against a scorching-hot body. The man beneath her was bound hand and foot. A loose inner robe was the only thing preserving his modesty. As for her hands… They had slipped through the ropes around him and were currently resting on a very sensitive part of his body.
Xu Mingzhu sucked in a breath. Black and white, plain as day. These damned hands were way too bold. The inappropriate thoughts flooding her mind grew harder to suppress. She quickly snatched her hands back. Bathed in dim light, the man’s features were strikingly handsome. Most captivating of all were his phoenix eyes, misty with moisture, as though both body and soul had been thoroughly ravaged.
Xu Mingzhu’s head buzzed. She had been single for all twenty-six years of her life. Every ounce of her energy had gone into managing the restaurant her parents left behind. She had never even dated before.
And now this? Talk about starting off with a bang.
Wait. Where had this man come from?
Just as she was about to scream, the man ground his teeth, shut his eyes as though resigning himself to his fate, and spoke in a gravelly voice: “Madam Xu, if you want a child, I can agree to that. But after the child is born, you must divorce me. From then on, all grudges between the Xu and Song families will be settled once and for all.”
Xu Mingzhu’s eyes flew wide open. Something seemed to explode inside her head. An overwhelming torrent of fragmented memories crashed into her consciousness, making her temples throb painfully.
She had transmigrated into a novel. More precisely, she had transmigrated into a historical romance novel one of her restaurant employees always listened to. The novel was called The Chief Minister’s Beloved. It told the story of Song Ci, a poor scholar who rose through the imperial examinations to enter government service. Through a series of balanced yet effective reforms, he extended the Jin Kingdom’s lifespan by two hundred years. Along the way, he and his childhood sweetheart fell in love and remained devoted to each other for life. His career flourished. His love story was sweet. None of that had anything to do with her.
Because she had become Song Ci’s short-lived first wife, the vicious supporting character readers had cursed in over 999 comments: Xu Mingzhu.
In the novel, Xu Mingzhu was no saint. She was a gambling addict. She sold her own niece. Using an old favor as leverage, she forced the male lead to marry into her family. She violated him and became pregnant with his child. She tormented the female lead. She drove Song Ci’s parents to their deaths. She made her own mother take the blame for her crimes. And indirectly caused the deaths of her brother and sister-in-law. Later, after Song Ci passed the examinations and became an official, the very first thing he did was throw the vicious supporting character into prison. Her ending was utterly miserable. Meanwhile, it wasn’t until six years after her death that the male lead finally won back the female lead’s heart.
Sure, the push-and-pull romance between the protagonists was entertaining. But did the author really have to turn the male lead’s first wife and her entire family into cannon fodder? The entire Xu family was wiped out.
The moment Xu Mingzhu realized this, she nearly stopped breathing.
Xu “Unlucky Bastard” Mingzhu: “…”
Judging from the current situation, this was the point in the story where the original owner stole Song Ci’s tuition money. When he came home demanding answers, she had her second brother knock him out with a sack. And then she intended to force him into having a child with her.
At this crucial moment, Xu Mingzhu had transmigrated into the body.
What terrible timing. Seriously.
She, Xu Mingzhu, had spent her whole life striving for excellence. She was a top student, graduated near the top of her class, and within five years transformed a failing restaurant into a chain of dozens of successful establishments. Didn’t she deserve to be the heroine of some wish-fulfillment novel? Instead, she ended up in a fluffy romance. And not even as a side character. As pure cannon fodder.
Forget it. That wasn’t the important part. The important part was that the male lead belonged to the female lead. If she actually went through with this tonight and left the heroine holding a grudge, she would be taking a giant step toward her own death sentence.
The thought of replacing the original owner’s fate flashed through her mind: Locked in prison, beaten five times a day, never seeing sunlight, starving to death behind bars. Then wrapped in a mat and tossed into a mass grave, only to be gnawed on by wild dogs.
Xu Mingzhu shuddered violently. In an instant, she rolled off the man.
“Since you’re unwilling, then forget it.”
The man opened his eyes. The veins at his temples throbbed violently, and he looked as though he wanted to kill someone.
This woman was shameless and lustful, using every trick she could think of to force him into consummating the marriage. Yet just as he had given up resisting and resigned himself to his fate, she suddenly stopped. Utterly despicable.
After a long silence, the man’s dissatisfied voice broke the room’s quiet. “What kind of madness are you up to now?”
Xu Mingzhu desperately wanted to explain that she was a transmigrator, that all the terrible things the original owner had done had nothing to do with her, and that if he ever wanted revenge, he should make sure he was targeting the right person. But the words lodged in her throat. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t say them. It felt as though some invisible force was gripping her neck.
Fine. If she weren’t allowed to say it, then she wouldn’t. Accepting her fate, she bent down to untie the ropes and hastily came up with an excuse. “The moon isn’t full tonight. I’m not in the mood. Maybe next time.”
The moment Song Ci freed himself from the restraints, he grabbed a handkerchief and vigorously wiped his mouth, as if trying to erase every trace of contamination Xu Mingzhu had left on him.
Xu Mingzhu pouted. In her previous life, she had never lacked admirers. This was the first time a man had shown such blatant disgust toward her.
No matter what, she was still a young woman. She had her pride too, okay? Picking up a piece of clothing from the floor, she imitated him and scrubbed at her lips several times. “Disgusting.”
The man’s flushed face visibly darkened. “Since you know it’s disgusting, then stop playing your little games.”
Pretending not to hear him, Xu Mingzhu awkwardly climbed off the bed and started gathering her clothes. But no matter how she struggled, she couldn’t figure out how to put on the layered ruqun dress properly. The more she tugged at the ties, the looser they became, and soon her face was red with frustration. Which strap tied to which?
Having finished dressing himself, Song Ci happened to glance her way.
After a brief hesitation, he said, “I’ve already agreed to your demand. Since you’re the one who lost interest, you’re not allowed to go cause trouble for the Song family.”
“Mm.”
Song Ci paused. His dark eyes swept over her briefly before looking away. “Surnamed Xu, if you truly need money, then from now on, every coin I earn copying books can go to you. But you cannot touch my tuition funds.”
There it was—the real issue. The original Xu Mingzhu had feared that once Song Ci passed the imperial examinations, he would escape her control. So after stealing his tuition money, she had immediately taken it to the gambling house. The entire ten taels of silver had long since been gambled away. Not a single copper coin remained. But if the money weren’t returned, Song Ci would have to earn it by copying books. In the novel, this overwork eventually caused Father Song to fall seriously ill. Before long, he passed away. And that was a problem. Every key character in this story was someone she couldn’t afford to offend.
Lowering her head, Xu Mingzhu spoke in a muffled voice. “My fault. Give me a few days. Before the academy reopens, I’ll return every last coin.”
Her obedient admission of guilt was completely different from the original owner’s usual unreasonable behavior.
The sudden change left Song Ci with nowhere to vent the anger he had accumulated.
The man’s gaze shifted away. With a cold snort, he said, “You’d better keep your word.”
Before he had even finished speaking, he was already at the doorway. A moment later, he strode into the darkness outside, moving so quickly it looked as though ghosts were chasing him.
Xu Mingzhu finally let out a long breath.
Gone. Good. The male lead’s chastity was safe. The female lead wouldn’t have to think of him as tainted. Once she figured out a way to earn some money, paid him back, and then divorced him, she might just manage to save her own life.
Still struggling with her clothes, Xu Mingzhu hastily wrapped herself in an outer robe and shuffled over to the bronze mirror. The dim reflection revealed the original owner’s face.
Xu Mingzhu sharply sucked in a breath. The person in the mirror barely looked human. Her hair was crushed beneath a chaotic pile of ornaments. Her petite face was coated in a layer of white powder as thick as plaster. Two bright-red circles of rouge sat on her cheeks. Her eyebrows were drawn thick and heavy, stretching sharply upward toward her temples.