Qinghe Village, Great Li Kingdom
A heavy rain had just passed through, bringing a touch of coolness to the sweltering summer heat.
At this moment, a large crowd of villagers had gathered beneath the old locust tree at the entrance of the village. The atmosphere was lively and bustling.
“Miss, have you decided which one you want yet? There are still plenty of people waiting behind you!”
An impatient voice urged from beside Lin Wan, pulling her out of the shock of realizing she had transmigrated into a book.
She never expected that after merely taking a nap, she would somehow find herself inside a political intrigue novel she had read just two days ago.
And of all people, she had become the character who shared her exact name—the male lead’s original wife, the one countless readers had cursed as the “vicious first wife.”
Although that was the role assigned to her in the novel, Lin Wan felt that the original owner of this body had simply been the ultimate tragic sucker.
The woman had worked tirelessly to support the family and finance her husband’s education.
Then, after the male lead passed the imperial examinations and entered the capital, he met the female lead, and the two fell in love.
The female lead came from an influential official family and was one of the capital’s noble young ladies. Naturally, someone of her status could never agree to become a concubine.
As a result, the original wife became the obstacle standing in the way of their romance.
That led to a series of events that eventually ended with the original wife falling off a cliff and dying a miserable death.
Back when Lin Wan had read the novel, she had complained about it more than once.
The author’s values were questionable, and the readers were somehow even worse.
Wasn’t the male lead basically a classic Chen Shimei—a man who abandoned the wife who had supported him through hardship once he became successful?
Yet somehow it was the original wife who got all the hate.
People kept talking about “love conquers all,” but to Lin Wan, it just looked like an excuse to whitewash a faithless scumbag and a female lead who knowingly became involved with another woman’s husband.
Thinking of the original wife’s tragic fate, Lin Wan let out a cold laugh.
Her gaze swept across the group standing before her.
Then her eyes suddenly lit up.
She raised a hand and pointed decisively.
“I want him!”
At this point in the story, the original wife was supposed to buy the future male lead, Zhao Qingyuan, and bring him home.
The setting of the novel was a fictional dynasty called the Great Li Kingdom.
According to the kingdom’s laws, any woman who remained unmarried after the age of seventeen would be forcibly matched with a husband by the local authorities.
And in exactly one month, Lin Wan would turn seventeen.
By then, the government would arrange a marriage for her whether she liked it or not.
What kind of good marriage could possibly come from forced matchmaking?
All the decent marriageable men in the village had long since been promised to someone else.
The only ones left were widowers or men with questionable character.
Coincidentally, a slave trader had passed through the village today and decided to set up a temporary market at the entrance.
The original owner of this body, having no better options, had come here hoping to buy a husband instead.
That was how she had met Zhao Qingyuan—that walking disaster.
As Lin Wan pointed, everyone froze.
Especially Zhao Qingyuan himself.
Standing not far away in ragged clothing, he had noticed her staring at him for quite some time.
He had assumed she would definitely choose him.
Yet she hadn’t.
Instead, she had pointed toward another man entirely.
Zhao Qingyuan stared at her in disbelief.
Although she was thin and dark-skinned, her delicate features still made her stand out from the crowd.
Originally, he had thought that being bought by her wouldn’t be too bad.
But now she had passed him over and chosen the half-dead man lying in the corner instead.
What terrible taste.
Even the slave trader was stunned.
“Miss… are you sure you’re pointing at the right person?”
“Absolutely. One hundred percent sure.”
Lin Wan nodded seriously.
At once, everyone’s gaze shifted toward the man lying in the corner.
The man’s breathing was shallow, with far more breaths leaving than entering.
He looked as though he could die at any moment.
The slave trader had already been considering abandoning him.
Who would have thought that someone would actually be willing to buy him?
After receiving confirmation, the trader immediately urged Lin Wan to pay and handed over the man’s ownership papers.
Since the man’s condition was so poor, his price was extremely low.
Zhao Qingyuan cost two taels of silver.
This man cost only two hundred copper coins.
A bargain, really.
Holding the contract in her hand, Lin Wan felt quite satisfied.
She had just arrived in this world with neither money nor connections.
She couldn’t change the kingdom’s laws.
Since she had to marry someone anyway, she might as well pick a man who pleased her eyes.
Although he looked like he was on the verge of death, a quick glance had already told her that he was by far the most handsome man among the group.
And even if he did die…
She would still count as a married woman.
The law would no longer apply to her.
Being a widow might not sound pleasant, but it would save her a great deal of trouble.
She didn’t care much about her reputation.
However, when she looked down at the name written on the contract, the smile on her face faltered.
Gu Zhixing.
A very nice name.
And strangely familiar.
She felt as though she had seen it somewhere before.
Based on her years of reading novels, names like this usually belonged to someone important.
“Miss, this man belongs to you now. Hurry up and take him away.”
The slave trader urged her anxiously.
If the man died here, it would only cause trouble.
Better to send them off quickly.
Under the trader’s urging, Lin Wan didn’t think much more about it.
She walked over to the corner.
Under everyone’s watchful eyes, she crouched down and met the man’s gaze.
Although Gu Zhixing was physically weak, his mind remained clear.
He was fully aware of everything happening around him.
When he heard that someone wanted to buy a dying man like him, he had sneered inwardly.
Then a shadow fell across him.
He raised his eyes and found himself staring into a pair of exceptionally clear and bright eyes.
Lin Wan became even more satisfied after seeing him up close.
Once cleaned up, this man would easily rival the most handsome celebrities from her previous life.
She had struck gold.
“Can you still move?”
After a moment of eye contact, she finally asked.
Her voice was crisp and pleasant, and genuine concern could be heard in her tone.
After all, he had cost her two hundred copper coins.
For her current financial situation, that was a huge amount of money.
Naturally, she hoped he would survive.
Not to mention she was extremely satisfied with his looks.
After looking at her for a moment, Gu Zhixing turned his gaze away.
He neither answered nor wished to.
A dying man was a dying man no matter where he went.
Rather than following this woman home and dying in her house, he would rather die here.
At least then he wouldn’t bring misfortune upon someone else.
Leaning back against the pile of weeds, he closed his eyes.
If she regretted her purchase now, it wasn’t too late.
Then he heard her suddenly say in realization,
“Your injuries are so serious. No wonder you can’t move!”
A pause followed.
“Then excuse me.”
Lin Wan was a polite person.
Well, somewhat.
Without waiting for his response, she bent down and lifted him directly from the pile of weeds.
And not just any lift.
A princess carry.
Judging by his attitude, he clearly wasn’t interested in talking, so she decided not to waste her breath.
As she carried him, she couldn’t help marveling at the original body’s incredible strength.
It really was useful.
Though her future husband seemed a little too skinny.
She would have to feed him well.
Gu Zhixing: ???
The moment his body left the ground, he opened his eyes.
The first thing he saw was Lin Wan’s smiling face.
She kindly reminded him,
“I know you’re weak right now, but for safety’s sake, it’d be better if you held on to me. That way you won’t fall.”
Although carrying him required almost no effort, the man was already hers now.
With such beauty right in front of her, she’d be a fool not to take advantage of the situation.
Gu Zhixing was speechless.
Never in his life had he imagined being this close to a woman.
And certainly not being carried in such a humiliating position.
“Y-You…”
His voice was rough and hoarse from disuse.
The sudden rush of emotions made his blood surge.
Combined with his weakened condition, he only managed to utter a single word before his eyes rolled back.
He fainted on the spot.