Shen Qingli groggily felt a sharp pain in her head.
But reason told her that was impossible—she was already dead.
The cause of death had been excessive radiation exposure.
Everyone in their world would eventually die from radiation; it was only a matter of time.
In the interstellar age, with plants having gone largely extinct, the world had long since become a place blanketed in radiation.
She had been mentally prepared for it.
Still, no one had told her that death could still hurt.
Wasn’t death supposed to mean the end of everything?
Just as Shen Qingli was drifting in and out of consciousness, a cold mechanical voice suddenly rang out in her mind.
[Beep beep. Beep beep. Grass detected. Radiation purification value: 600.]
[Beep beep. Beep beep. Willow tree detected. Radiation purification value: 200.]
[Beep beep. Beep beep. Shepherd’s purse detected. Radiation purification value: 0.]
As the radiation in her body vanished, Shen Qingli became fully awake.
Where? Where was there grass?
Where was there shepherd’s purse?
She had heard the voice clearly just now. She could no longer remember how long it had been since she had last seen lush green plants.
The first thing Shen Qingli wanted to do after waking up was find the plants.
But the moment she opened her eyes, she froze in shock.
What kind of scene was this?
She found herself sitting on the ground in the courtyard of a farmhouse, her entire body filthy and covered in dirt. Not far away, a mother and daughter were crying and shouting.
“No! Even if I die, I won’t let you take A’ping away!
“My perfectly good daughter—why should she be traded in a marriage exchange? I refuse!”
An old woman was tugging at them while gnashing her teeth and snarling viciously,
“It doesn’t matter whether you agree or not—you have to agree! Only if A’ping marries into the Liu family will they agree to marry their daughter to our Dagang!”
“Otherwise, I’ll make my successful scholar son divorce you!”
Hearing this, Madam Li looked pleadingly toward her husband, who had recently passed the imperial examination and earned the title of juren, hoping he would help her and their daughter.
The Liu family was nothing short of a pit of fire.
Her daughter absolutely could not be married there.
Shen Qingping was sobbing uncontrollably, instinctively begging for help.
“Father! Mother! Save me! I don’t want to marry Liu Ergou! I don’t want to! He’ll beat me to death!”
Liu Ergou was notorious in the village—a loafer known for gambling, drinking, and beating women.
There wasn’t a single vice he lacked.
Everyone in the village avoided him, and naturally no one would ever willingly marry their daughter to him.
Rumor had it that his previous wife had been beaten to death by him after one of his drunken rages.
But Shen Wenxuan, who had just earned his scholar’s title, coldly turned his head away, completely ignoring the cries of his wife and daughter.
Seeing this, Old Madam Yang became even more smug.
Knowing her son was on her side, her words became even harsher.
“Our Dagang had his brain damaged by a fever when he was little. If it weren’t for this marriage exchange, why would the Liu family ever agree to marry their perfectly good daughter to him?
“There’s no room for discussion in this matter!
“A’ping must marry!”
Seeing her husband’s reaction, Madam Li felt a wave of despair.
These past two days, she had truly experienced the feeling of falling from heaven into hell.
After finally supporting her husband through years of study and seeing him pass the examination, she had barely had time to celebrate before Old Madam Yang demanded that her eldest daughter be used in a marriage exchange.
How could she possibly marry her daughter to such a man?
And yet the man who had shared her bed and life all these years could watch helplessly as his own mother pushed their daughter into a living hell without doing anything.
Her disappointment had reached its limit.
So what if he had become a juren?
He was still a weak and useless coward who couldn’t even protect his own wife and daughters.
She had once thought he was merely quiet and reserved.
He was handsome, educated, and had read books—surely he would be more reasonable than ordinary farmers.
But who would have thought he was actually spineless, obeying his mother in everything?
Even when his own mother wanted to use his biological daughter as a marriage exchange for his elder brother’s foolish son, he remained unmoved.
No grief was greater than a dead heart.
She would never place any hope in him again.
Thus, she stood firmly in front of her daughter, shielding her, and looked at Old Madam Yang with unwavering resolve.
“If you want my daughter to marry Liu Ergou, impossible.
“Unless you step over my dead body.”
Hearing this, Old Madam Yang grew even angrier.
Naturally, she didn’t dare risk a murder charge, so she could only threaten stubbornly,
“If you refuse to listen to me, I’ll make my son divorce you! Don’t even dream of keeping your position as the scholar’s wife!”
“Then let him divorce me.
“Shen Wenxuan, I’ll be waiting for the divorce letter.”
Madam Li’s expression was cold and lifeless, as though her heart had already died, yet she still held tightly to her daughter.
Watching everything unfold before her, and after receiving the memories of the original owner of this body, Shen Qingli finally understood what had happened.
So the original girl had been protecting her mother and older sister just now when that old hag, Old Madam Yang, had shoved her aside, causing her to hit her head and pass out.
Shen Qingli reached back and touched the back of her head.
Sure enough, there was a swollen lump.
But there was no time to worry about that now.
She closed her eyes and felt carefully.
To her relief, her powers had come with her into this body.
A little confidence immediately rose in her heart.
She quickly ran over to stand in front of her mother and sister, shielding them.
“You are not allowed to hurt my sister and my mother!
“Old hag, stay away from them!”
The moment Old Madam Yang heard this little girl call her an old hag, she trembled with rage.
Pointing at Shen Qingli’s nose, she cursed,
“You unfilial little wretch! How dare you curse at me? I’ll beat you to death!”
As she spoke, she grabbed a thick wooden stick from the side and raised it, about to bring it down on Shen Qingli.
This scene terrified everyone in the Shen family courtyard who had gathered to watch.
That stick was so thick—if it struck a child, it could be fatal.
This old woman was far too vicious.
Madam Li and Shen Qingping were also badly frightened.
Madam Li immediately shouted,
“A’Li, be careful!”
Shen Qingping was so terrified that she covered her eyes, not daring to look at such a horrifying scene.
In the past, Grandmother had often beaten both her and A’Li.
They had always endured it because whenever they showed the slightest disrespect to their elders, their father would scold them.
In her understanding, when elders hit you, you could only bear it.
So she truly did not dare look.
Just when everyone thought Shen Qingli was about to be badly injured, something bizarre happened.
No one could believe their eyes.
They saw the skinny girl, thin as a bamboo pole, casually stretch out one hand and effortlessly catch the wooden stick that was thicker than her arm.
Then, no matter how hard Old Madam Yang tried, the stick remained utterly motionless in Shen Qingli’s grasp.
Moreover, the little girl’s expression remained calm, as if she hadn’t used any effort at all to completely restrain the old woman.
Everyone who saw this scene was utterly dumbfounded.
They all knew Old Madam Yang’s strength.
She had fought with many people in the village before, and her combat prowess was famously fierce.
Yet now, she couldn’t overpower a twelve-year-old girl!
When had the Shen family’s second daughter become this strong?
No matter how they looked at it, the scene was unbelievably strange.
Just as everyone was still in shock, Shen Qingli exerted a little force.
In an instant, she snatched the wooden stick out of Old Madam Yang’s hands—
and, at the same time, sent the old woman sprawling face-first into the dirt.