Qiu Hanlu’s head was spinning. She felt someone tearing at her clothes and, knitting her brows, she forced her eyes open.
She was lying in an ancient-style wedding chamber. The bright red curtains were striking, and the “Double Happiness” characters were pasted onto the classical chests and cabinets.
Before Qiu Hanlu could grasp the situation, a girl of fifteen or sixteen with her hair tied in twin buns and small eyes pinned her down by the neck. “I suggest you stop struggling,” the girl said. “Whether you agree or not, you’re taking my place in the sedan chair today. Now, get into this wedding gown.”
A surge of fury rushed to Qiu Hanlu’s head. As a proud eighth-degree Taekwondo black belt, when had she ever been bullied like this?
She grabbed the small-eyed girl’s arm, flipped her over, and pinned her to the bed. Sitting astride her, she began a violent counterattack.
Just as Qiu Hanlu was hitting her stride, an old woman’s roar erupted from the doorway: “You wretched girl! Are you trying to flip the heavens? How dare you hit your older cousin? Do you want to hit me, your grandmother, as well?”
Qiu Hanlu looked toward the sound. A withered old woman with white hair tied in a bun and a face full of wrinkles walked in.
The old woman’s triangular eyes were sharp, and she wore a brownish-red beizi jacket, giving her a somewhat sinister appearance.
At this point, Qiu Hanlu was even more bewildered. Grandmother? Is this really ancient times?
Seeing her distraction, the girl pinned beneath Qiu Hanlu reached out to scratch her face.
With her agile reflexes, Qiu Hanlu wasn’t about to be ambushed. She swung back with two sharp slaps, followed by another round of pummeling that left Qiu Lixia seeing stars, unable to get up.
The old woman scrambled onto the raised kang bed, desperately pulling at Qiu Hanlu. “Letting you marry into the county seat in Lixia’s place is for your own good! Even if the man is paralyzed, they aren’t poor. You’ll never want for food or clothes. Besides, you are a daughter of our Qiu family; you must understand the need to sacrifice for the clan. Your older cousin is waiting on this bride price to marry a wife. This is a major matter concerning the continuation of the Qiu family line—you must see the big picture!”
Qiu Hanlu was so livid she leaped up. Standing on the kang and stepping on the small-eyed girl, she glared at the wrinkled old woman. “How have you lived to this age being so shameless? Why haven’t you died of embarrassment yet?”
The old woman was stunned. Usually, this little girl was as quiet as a quail, yet today she dared to challenge her. “You little slut, you actually dare to curse at me? See if I don’t beat you to death!” With that, the old woman grabbed a broom and climbed onto the kang.
Qiu Hanlu quickly jumped down, swung a stool up, and pointed it at the old woman. “Don’t force my hand.”
The old woman was genuinely intimidated by Qiu Hanlu’s aura and didn’t dare step forward for a moment.
During the standoff, Qiu Hanlu caught a glimpse of a strange yet beautiful face in the copper mirror on the cabinet. Suddenly, a flood of memories that didn’t belong to her rushed into her mind.
Sifting through her thoughts, she could only reach one conclusion: she had transmigrated. She had traveled to ancient times into the body of a young girl with the same name.
The original owner was fifteen years old. Her biological grandmother had passed away when her father was young; the old woman before her was her step-grandmother, Wang Jinlan, of the Wang family.
This wicked woman had abused Qiu Hanlu’s family for years, refusing to let the family branches separate for the sake of keeping them as free labor.
Last year, Wang-shi had arranged a marriage for the eldest daughter of the second branch, Qiu Lixia, to a family in the county seat. Unexpectedly, after the wedding date was set, the man fell from a tree and became paralyzed, losing the ability to care for himself.
Wang-shi didn’t want to return the bride price, so she plotted to have Qiu Hanlu take the bride’s place. This morning, they had fed the original owner a knockout drug, which was what led to Qiu Hanlu’s soul transmigrating here.
Seeing Qiu Hanlu dazed, Wang-shi tentatively edged toward the side of the bed. “I am your grandmother. I still have the final say in this house. Defying me will do you no good.”
Qiu Hanlu raised the stool to scare her. “If I don’t defy you, I’m headed for a dead end. But if I resist, at least I have a chance, while Qiu Lixia will be the one to get her comeuppance immediately. If you were me, what would you choose?”
Wang-shi recoiled in fear. How had this wretched girl become so sharp? “You should know, you still have to survive in this house later.”
“So what? From now on, whenever you dare to bully me, I’ll fight you to the death. I have nothing to lose, anyway. At worst, we both go down together. No one gets to have a good life.” Qiu Hanlu looked at Wang-shi without a trace of fear.
On the bed, Qiu Lixia finally scrambled up. She hugged Wang-shi in terror. “Grandmother, Qiu Hanlu has gone mad! What do we do?”
Wang-shi was also breaking out in a cold sweat. She sat on the kang clutching her granddaughter. “Let me think, let me think.”
Her heart was racing; she regretted not putting more of the drug in the drink this morning.
Fortunately, she had already instructed her second son to tell the guests in the courtyard that Qiu Lixia was unhappy with the marriage and was throwing a tantrum and breaking things. She told them not to worry about the noise inside, as she just needed to vent.
So, the people outside were currently unaware. Otherwise, her reputation would be ruined.
She had planned to successfully swap Qiu Hanlu into the marriage, and then later claim that Qiu Lixia had run away, leaving them no choice but to have Qiu Hanlu take her place. The matter would have passed that way. Who could have expected Qiu Hanlu to suddenly become uncontrollable?
While Wang-shi was plotting her next move, Qiu Hanlu was also planning her next steps. She had to blow this matter wide open today, let the whole village know how black-hearted the wicked old witch Wang Jinlan was, and then strive for a family separation.
In her memories, the original owner’s family had always wanted to separate. She hoped to fulfill the original owner’s wish and then find a way to return to the modern world.
Looking at the wedding gown hanging on her body, she formed a plan. She grabbed the cup she had drunk from that morning and kicked the door open.
The Second Aunt, Li Cuifen of the Li family, was standing guard outside the door cracking melon seeds. She had heard the arguing and fighting inside but assumed it was Qiu Hanlu being beaten. Without a second thought, she sat comfortably by the door, snacking away.
The sudden kick to the door sent her jumping in fright, scattering melon seeds all over the ground.
Seeing the murderous look in Qiu Hanlu’s eyes, she asked in a trembling voice, “Qiu Hanlu, what are you doing?”
Qiu Hanlu had no intention of dealing with Li-shi. Now was not the time for entanglement. She said to Li-shi, “Get out of the way, or I’ll kill you.”
Li-shi was stunned, frozen in place, not knowing what to do.
Qiu Hanlu pushed past her and headed straight for the courtyard.
Wang-shi and Qiu Lixia scrambled off the bed, put on their shoes, and chased after her. They knew this matter could not be exposed. Li-shi finally snapped out of it and ran after them as well.
In the courtyard, everyone’s eyes were drawn to Qiu Hanlu, who was wearing the bright red wedding gown. This was because today, the one the Qiu family was supposed to be marrying off was Qiu Lixia, the eldest daughter of the second son, Qiu Guangli—not Qiu Hanlu, the second daughter of the eldest son.
Qiu Hanlu knew that the power of the crowd and public opinion was her greatest weapon. She needed to make the onlookers sympathize with her and take her side.
She knelt directly before the crowd. “Uncles, aunts, neighbors! Please, save me! My grandmother wants me to marry in Lixia’s place so her own biological granddaughter doesn’t have to marry a paralyzed man, and so she can keep the bride price for my male cousin to find a wife. They could have canceled the engagement, but they want to drive me to my death for their own profit! This is simply unacceptable!”