In the Year of the Earth Horse, on the fifth day of the eleventh lunar month, it was an auspicious day for marriage.
The sky had only just begun to lighten when the courtyard outside the Shen residence was already bustling with activity.
“I heard the bride is marrying into the family of the Factory Director of the state owned factory in the county.”
“Oh! Now that’s quite the family in our county!”
“Wasn’t Zhixia dating that boy from the Zhou family?”
“He’s a college student now. Why would he still want a country girl?”
“That doesn’t mean he can lose his conscience! These past few years, Zhixia has been helping take care of his mother, who’s in poor health. She’s handled everything inside and outside the house, washing clothes and mending garments. During the busy farming seasons, after finishing her own work, she even stayed up late into the night to help his family with planting and harvesting. College student? I say he’s nothing but an ungrateful wretch!”
…
Inside the room, a small round mirror with a rusted frame reflected a delicate and pleasing face.
Shen Zhixia kept her eyes closed as the matchmaker carefully shaped her eyebrows with a fine thread, but she could not help sighing inwardly.
She had been nothing more than an ordinary office worker in the twenty-first century.
Who would have thought that after working overtime until she suddenly died, she would transmigrate into a period novel as its tragic heroine, who even happened to share her name?
Other people who transmigrated into novels were usually blessed with all sorts of golden fingers, but when it came to her, she had absolutely nothing.
No system, no spatial ability.
She did not even know the plot. She only vaguely remembered a few words from the synopsis, enough to know that the original owner’s life was bitterer than drinking the water of the huanglian herb.
“Press your lips together.”
The matchmaker handed her a small piece of red paper.
Shen Zhixia opened her eyes, took it, and lightly pressed it against her lips. Her lips immediately took on a rosy color.
The matchmaker could not help praising her. “Beautiful, absolutely beautiful.”
Shen Zhixia, however, stared at her reflection in the mirror with a somewhat dazed expression.
She had never expected that transmigrating into a novel would turn her into some great heroine destined to accomplish extraordinary things. But she knew one thing for certain: the original owner’s tragic life was definitely not the kind of life she wanted.
‘Shen Zhixia’ had already turned eighteen. Her vicious stepmother had originally planned to sell her to an old bachelor from a neighboring village.
Just when the transmigrated Shen Zhixia was at a complete loss about what to do, someone from the city unexpectedly came to the countryside looking for a wife.
“He’s here! He’s here! The wedding procession is here!”
A shrill voice interrupted Shen Zhixia’s thoughts.
The deep, powerful roar of an engine came from the distance, followed by the deafening sound of firecrackers.
“Oh my goodness, what kind of vehicle is that? It looks impressive!”
Coming along the winding dirt road was a majestic dark green jeep at the front of the procession, with a huge red silk flower tied to its hood.
“Never seen one before, have you? It’s called a jeep. It’s the Factory Director’s official vehicle. Even the driver is specially assigned to it. He doesn’t have any other duties all day, just taking care of this car!”
“The Shen family has really married into a powerful family this time. Tsk, tsk, look at this grand procession!”
“Poor Zhixia, she’s had such a difficult life. Now that she’s marrying into the city, she’ll finally get to enjoy some happiness!”
“Enjoy happiness? Hmph! Why do you think the Lu family chose a country girl? There must be something fishy going on!”
Amid all the curious whispers and speculation, the wedding procession came to a steady stop outside the Shen residence. Behind the imposing jeep were two rows of spirited young men riding Phoenix brand bicycles.
The driver’s door opened, and a driver wearing white gloves stepped out first before respectfully opening the rear passenger door.
A gleaming black leather shoe touched the ground, and Lu Huaiyuan stepped out of the car.
He wore a perfectly pressed dark gray Sun Yat Sen suit, every button fastened meticulously, and his tall, lean figure was straight and imposing.
His handsome features carried a naturally careless, almost roguish charm that made him strangely alluring.
With such a handsome face and an intimidatingly cold presence, the noisy crowd fell silent for a moment.
“Brother Lu, this place is really remote.”
A young man nicknamed Monkey pushed his bicycle over and muttered quietly, “But don’t look so grim. The Factory Director even sent the official car and driver for you. At least cooperate a little and look happy while we get this whole ceremony over with.”
Lu Huaiyuan casually straightened his cuff, a trace of impatience flashing in his eyes.
The fact that he had personally come here was already enough to show consideration for his family.
As for the woman he was about to marry, she was nothing more than a prop meant to placate his parents. Did they really expect him to greet her with a smile?
“All right, enough nonsense.”
“Oh my, the groom is here! Come in quickly, Zhixia is almost ready!”
Shen Zhixia’s stepmother, Zhao Meiyun, came forward with a face full of smiles.
Lu Huaiyuan kept one hand in his pocket and strode forward with his long legs, completely ignoring the noisy woman.
A moment later, a drawn out cry of “The bride is coming out!” rang through the courtyard.
Shen Zhixia stepped over the threshold of the main room and walked outside.
Lu Huaiyuan had originally been leaning idly against the courtyard gate, lowering his head in boredom. Hearing the commotion, he lazily raised his eyes and glanced over.
The morning sunlight pierced through the thin mist and fell upon the girl.
The red sweater around her neckline made her skin look smooth and radiant, while the navy blue work clothes gave her a neat and capable appearance.
Unlike other brides, who would shyly lower their heads, she met his gaze openly.
Her eyes were clear and bright, and when she got a good look at his face, the corners of her lips even curled into a faintly playful smile.
Lu Huaiyuan’s pupils suddenly contracted.
That familiar cleverness and composure caused the pale, sallow face that had haunted his mind for half a month to overlap with the fair face before him.
The hand Lu Huaiyuan had tucked into his pocket clenched suddenly before slowly relaxing.
The trace of impatience in his eyes seemed to be swept away by a sudden breeze.
“Heh.”
A low chuckle escaped his throat.
“So it really is true that after searching everywhere, you find what you were looking for right here.”
Half a month earlier, outside Jinxi County.
Beside a remote dirt slope, three local thugs surrounded an old man carrying a wicker basket.
“Old man, what have you hidden under the pigweed? Take it out and let us have a look!”
One of the thugs kicked the basket, scattering the pigweed covering it and revealing half a basket of bright red wild pears underneath.
“These are just wild fruits I picked in the mountains. They aren’t worth much. I was going to exchange them for some medicine for my child…” The old man trembled with fear.
“Not worth much? I say you’re engaging in illegal profiteering! We’re confiscating them!”
One of the thugs reached out to snatch the basket.
“Hold it! I’ve taken a liking to this basket.”
A magnetic yet arrogant voice suddenly rang out.
A man wearing a loose black leather jacket was leaning against the tree trunk, casually playing with an unlit cigarette in his hand.
“Lu… Lu Huaiyuan?”
The thugs’ faces instantly turned ugly when they saw him.
No one knew what had gotten into Lu Huaiyuan. He was clearly the Factory Director’s son with a bright future ahead of him, yet instead of becoming a proper cadre, he insisted on competing with them for a living every day.
“Get lost. Don’t make me say it twice.”
Lu Huaiyuan’s gaze turned cold, and the thugs did not dare provoke him. They hurriedly ran away.
Only after they had gone some distance did the gloom in Lu Huaiyuan’s eyes fade.
Tucking the cigarette behind his ear, Lu Huaiyuan quickly walked over and bent down to help the old man put the scattered pigweed back into the basket.
“Uncle, don’t take this road again,” Lu Huaiyuan said in a lowered voice. “Take the ditch on the western side instead. You won’t run into people like them there.”
Everything had been witnessed by Shen Zhixia, who was hiding nearby.
She had come to the county today specifically to find out what kind of person this ‘Lu Huaiyuan’ was, the man who needed to come to the countryside to find a wife. By sheer coincidence, she happened to witness this scene.
“I never would have thought he was such a warmhearted person with a strong sense of justice.
Then… it’ll be him!”