With a “splash,” Liu Chunxiang dropped to her knees straight in front of Old Mrs. Liang.
Her voice quivered slightly as she said, “Mother, Qianhua is the only child my husband and I have. I know you’ve never liked girls, but even so, Qianhua is your own granddaughter. You can’t just let her die!”
Mrs. Liu’s voice grew softer as she continued, “Mother, can’t you ask Wenyong to delay getting married for a bit? Right now, saving Qianhua’s life is more important.”
“You unluckiest girl in the world! And you have the face to beg me? You’ve been in the Liang family all these years, and all you’ve brought us is a loss. I’ve already been lenient enough by not divorcing you, and now you have the audacity to ask for your eldest nephew’s marriage money?” Old Mrs. Liang yelled viciously at her second daughter-in-law, Mrs. Liu.
The words struck deep. Mrs. Liu’s chest tightened painfully.
But her daughter was barely alive on the bed. She only wanted to get the silver to buy the medicine to save her. She ignored Old Mrs. Liang’s accusations and continued kowtowing desperately, begging her.
Old Liang, the second son, could no longer stand by. He rose from his seat, leaning on his cane, and slowly knelt down despite the injury in his leg.
“Mother, this is a matter of life and death. Qianhua is my only daughter. Please give us the money for the medicine first. Once my leg heals, I’ll go up the mountain to hunt and earn silver, and I promise it won’t affect Wenyong’s marriage.”
Seeing her injured son kneel, Old Mrs. Liang hesitated for a moment, her heart softening.
But at the thought of her grandson, she hardened again. “Son, it’s not that I don’t want to help, I really have no choice. Ever since you were injured, you’ve been bedridden, and these past few months, your family hasn’t earned a single coin. Everything has been supported by Zhonggong’s silver. The family is already in deficit.”
“We just managed to get a bit of silver from selling grain. I was preparing to see brides for your eldest nephew, Wenyong. Your second nephew, Wenzhi, has heavy expenses for his studies. Where would we find the spare money for such expensive medicine?”
Hearing this, Old Liang felt a mix of sadness and disappointment.
He knew his mother favored sons over daughters; she had always valued her nephews more.
But he had been obedient, never complaining about his mother.
Before his injury, he would often go hunting in the mountains during the off-season.
The silver he earned from hunting far exceeded what the family made from farming.
All the money he earned, except for a little allowance for his daughter, was handed over to his mother.
Now that his leg was injured and he couldn’t earn silver, his mother looked down on his daughter to this extent.
Lying on the hard bed, Qianhua listened to their heated argument over her medicine, and a sudden headache struck her.
She furrowed her brow slightly as countless images flashed in her mind, like a movie.
She finally understood her situation: she had transmigrated—her soul had crossed over.
She was originally surnamed Qian, named Qianhua, but now she had inhabited a body surnamed Liang, called Liang Qianhua.
The original girl was thirteen years old, the only daughter of Liang’s second son and Mrs. Liu.
Her father, Liang the Second, had once rescued an injured old hunter from the village. Out of gratitude, the old hunter taught him hunting skills.
From then on, during the busy farming season, he helped at home with the fields, and in the off-season, he went hunting. Much of the family’s income had previously come from him.
About four months ago, he went hunting in the mountains, encountered a leopard, and fell into a deep pit while trying to avoid it. He broke his thoracic vertebrae and leg bones.
He was found and brought back for treatment, barely surviving.
The doctor said the thoracic fracture was minor, but the leg fracture was severe.
If he took the medicine and properly recuperated, he could walk normally in three to four months.
But the medicine was expensive—several taels of silver a month. Meanwhile, his second cousin Wenzhi had high study expenses, and after giving a few courses of medicine, his grandmother stopped providing more.
Now, four months later, he still could not walk normally, relying on a cane to move slowly.
Without Liang the Second to protect them, in these past months, Mrs. Liu and the original girl had been forced by Old Mrs. Liang to do all kinds of chores.
Mrs. Liu not only had to care for her bedridden husband, but also cook, wash, fetch water, gather firewood, and clean for the entire household—tasks she did alone.
This month, Liang the Second could finally get around with a cane. After finishing household chores, Mrs. Liu was still forced to help in the fields, doing the work of several people by herself.
Meanwhile, the original girl had to go up the mountain daily to gather wild vegetables, feed the pigs, chickens, and ducks.
Despite all this, Old Mrs. Liang still scolded and complained that the mother and daughter had earned nothing and were just eating for free.
The original girl’s eldest uncle’s wife, Zhu, was a selfish and mean-spirited woman. Because she bore two sons for the Liang family, and her second son studied and spent money freely, she felt superior and often bullied the two daughters-in-law.
Normally, whenever she was asked to do housework, she would complain of discomfort, always finding excuses to slack off and never once helping Mrs. Liu with any chores.
Liang Lao-san’s wife, Mrs. Chen, was the youngest of the three sisters-in-law. She had a gentle temperament and was kind-hearted.
Her health had always been fragile, even before marriage, and Old Lady Liang had originally opposed Liang Lao-san marrying her—but Liang Lao-san insisted, so she was brought into the family.
Ever since giving birth to her son, Liang Wenjie, her health had worsened. She was never asked to do heavy farm work.
Instead, she stayed indoors, doing embroidery, and sold her pieces to contribute a little to the household expenses.
Occasionally, when she saw Mrs. Liu struggling with the housework alone, she would help out with the lighter chores.
The original protagonist had been pushed into the river by Liang Cuihua, Old Lady Liang’s granddaughter from her eldest son’s family. She had tried desperately to scream, to tell her parents the truth, but no sound would come out.
“Grandma, you should take the silver to treat my cousin first. I’m not in a hurry to get married,” said the young man named Wenyong. Although he also wanted to marry soon, he felt that saving his cousin’s life was far more important.
His sister, Liang Cuihua, shot him a sharp look and said in anguish, “Big brother, how can you not be eager to marry? You’re already eighteen! Er Gouzi in our village is the same age, and his child can already call him ‘dad’.”
In rural ancient times, children married early. Boys generally started preparing for marriage around fifteen or sixteen. Girls married even earlier—usually at fifteen, sometimes as young as thirteen or fourteen.
So it was normal for Er Gouzi’s child to already be old enough to call him father, even though he and Wenyong were the same age.
Old Lady Liang looked approvingly at Cuihua. She normally didn’t like this eldest granddaughter and rarely treated her kindly, but today she spoke to her in an unusually gentle tone.
“Cuihua is right. Last year, we were already preparing to find a wife for Wenyong. But who could have known that Lao-er would get injured? At that time, we almost emptied the family coffers to treat him. Finally, after selling some grain, we were about to get Wenyong a wife and have a big, healthy child. And now, some people, who themselves cannot have sons, want to prevent my eldest grandson from continuing the family line?”
Encouraged by someone agreeing with her, Old Lady Liang grew even more self-righteous, glaring viciously at Mrs. Liu as she spoke.
Mrs. Liu knelt on the ground, repeatedly kowtowing and begging, “Mother, I beg you… please take the silver and save Qianhua first.”