“Shen Ning, I’ve made everything I need to say perfectly clear. Look, your Zhao Mu’s body hasn’t even gone cold and is still waiting at home to be buried. The way you’re behaving really isn’t appropriate. You should go back.”
“Auntie knows you mean well, and I’m grateful for all the help you’ve given me over the years. But look, your Zhao Mu has only just died, and with your status now… Besides, Yuanzhou is about to enter marriage negotiations. You ought to avoid arousing suspicion, shouldn’t you?”
“Go back, Shen Ning. Honestly, why can’t you understand? I’ll say it plainly: you may not care about your reputation, but the Pei family does. Don’t come around here anymore!”
Shen Ning blinked, finally certain that this was not a hallucination at the brink of death. She had truly… transmigrated—no, reincarnated. No, not that either. She had reincarnated and transmigrated at the same time!
As someone with doctorates in both chemistry and medicine, she believed in materialism more firmly than anyone. Yet the scene before her had given her a vicious slap in the face.
Just a moment ago, she had been a patient with ALS, closing her eyes in a palliative-care ward. When she opened them again, she had become a character in a novel she had read only the opening of two days ago—a… cannon-fodder character who had appeared in no more than a few sentences.
That novel told of the love and hatred between Great Xuan’s future Grand Secretary, Pei Yuanzhou, and Xie Lingyue, the daughter of a prestigious family in the capital. The character Shen Ning had now become was a neighboring village woman from the time when Pei Yuanzhou had yet to rise to prominence and was living in poverty in the countryside.
Shen Ning’s husband had gone off to war. The restless village woman, dissatisfied with her own household, had taken a fancy to Pei Yuanzhou, who was handsome, talented, and completely different from the coarse village men around her. Shamelessly, she had fawned over him and tried to ingratiate herself with him.
Even while her own husband’s bones were still unburied, Shen Ning had been able to dress herself in red and green and go to the Pei family’s home to seduce Pei Yuanzhou. In the end, someone had reported her to the village headman, who had brought people to drown her in a pig cage in public, utterly ruining her reputation.
A vulgar widow who dared to provoke the male protagonist naturally could not have a good ending. After becoming notorious, she was involved in some unsavory rumors with a hooligan. Then, somehow, she had jumped into a river, only for her corpse to be taken by her gambler father and used in a ghost marriage. It was truly both laughable and pitiful.
And now, Shen Ning, a twenty-first-century doctor, had become this flirtatious widow who had sought her own death…
Standing opposite her was the haughty-looking Mother Pei. Farther inside, in a poor but tidy house, an elegant young woman in plain white clothes was taking the pulse of a handsome man in a blue robe.
Shen Ning quickly matched everyone to their identities. This man was the future Grand Secretary, Pei Yuanzhou. The woman taking his pulse should be Li Yushi, the novel’s secondary female character. Given the current situation, Li Yushi’s old juren father had probably just passed the palace examination and become a jinshi.
She rapidly sorted through the memories she had received.
The secondary female character, Li Yushi, and her old father, who had been a juren, also lived in the village. Li Yushi had long harbored feelings for Pei Yuanzhou, but her juren father had failed the examinations for years and had never managed to pass the palace examination. Even with his status as a juren, he had been unable to find a good way forward.
Mother Pei looked down on the Li family’s poverty and decline. In addition, Li Yushi was frail and unhealthy, so she had always kept her distance from her.
After all, the Li family had a juren in it. If she provoked them, she might end up having to marry him.
But Shen Ning was different.
Shen Ning was hardworking and able to endure hardship. She also had a husband of her own, so there was no need to worry about her clinging to Pei Yuanzhou later on. Besides, since Shen Ning was the one shamelessly throwing herself at them, any damage to her reputation would be her own concern.
Her son needed to study hard, while her own poor health left her unable to manage the household. The mother and son could not make ends meet and needed someone to work like an ox and a horse for them.
Thus, Mother Pei tacitly allowed Shen Ning to come to their home every day under the pretense that she and “Auntie” simply got along well. Shen Ning took care of all the household chores and even supplemented them with money. It would not be an exaggeration to say that she had been supporting the two of them, taking care of mother and son for more than two full years.
During that time, Mother Pei had pretended not to know Shen Ning’s intentions.
But not long ago, Li Yushi’s father, who had failed the examination several times, had unexpectedly passed the palace examination and was even going to remain in the capital. Mother Pei’s thoughts immediately became lively.
Her son was about to take the autumn examination, and passing as a juren was certain. Once he went to the capital to sit for the examination, he would need someone to look after him… If they established ties with the Li family, then Old Li, who would remain in the capital as an official, would certainly be able to look after him a little.
And so, Mother Pei changed her former attitude of keeping Li Yushi at arm’s length and began warmly inviting her to the house for meals.
With that, Shen Ning, who had worked tirelessly for more than two years, became an eyesore… It was also at this time that Shen Ning’s husband, Zhao Mu, returned after more than two years without a word.
Only, what returned was a corpse.
Shen Ning became a beautiful widow. Mother Pei was now even more afraid that this widow would cling to her son, especially since the widow had ignored the fact that her husband’s body had not yet grown cold, dressing herself in red and green before coming to the Pei family’s home. Mother Pei was filled with speechless exasperation and disgust.
Thus, she changed her former warm attitude and directly blocked Shen Ning at the gate, not even letting her enter.
“Shen Ning, you’d better hurry home and arrange Zhao Mu’s funeral. The younger brother he brought back is a fool, too. The funeral can’t be managed without you!”
Mother Pei endured her disgust and pretended to coax her.
Shen Ning came back to herself. Looking at the impatient village woman before her, she lowered her head and glanced at the red clothes she was wearing. Then she remembered that the village headman and a group of people were already on their way to seize her.
She was about to become the shameless woman who had dressed herself in red and green and tried to cheat on her husband while his body was still unburied. She was about to be captured and drowned in a pig cage.
No. She had to survive this calamity first. In an era like this, a woman whose reputation was completely ruined would find it very difficult to go on living.
It was then that she saw a group of people approaching rapidly in the distance. Leading them was the village headman of Qingyuan Village.
“Come on, let’s go see. Zhao Mu’s body hasn’t even been buried, and she’s already dressed in red and green, fawning over another man. Isn’t she supposed to be drowned in a pig cage?”
“Shameless! It was bad enough that she used to run to the Pei family all the time, but now her husband’s bones aren’t even cold and she’s still doing this. Does she have any humanity at all?”
“Exactly. Zhao Mu brought back Zhao Nan, whom he had been separated from for years. Poor Zhao Nan has become a fool and doesn’t know anything. As his sister-in-law, instead of taking care of the dead and living members of her household, she shamelessly keeps running to someone else’s home…”
“The Pei family is a scholarly household. How could they possibly take a liking to her? She has no shame.”
The crowd was filled with righteous indignation, chattering and discussing the matter.
Seeing that the group was about to arrive, Shen Ning looked up at Mother Pei, her expression instantly turning sorrowful.
“Auntie, I actually came today just to tell you something.”
Mother Pei glanced at the approaching villagers. Her expression became uneasy, and her eyes filled with wariness. “What is it?”
Shen Ning blinked, and tears immediately spilled down her face. Deliberately raising her voice, she said through sobs, “I know that Auntie has always looked down on me. The reason I shamelessly tried to build a relationship with you was because I had something to ask of you… I wanted to ask that, when you accompanied Young Master Pei to the capital for the examinations in the future, you inquire after my Zhao Mu’s whereabouts for me.”
Mother Pei froze. Behind her, the villagers brought by the village headman had also vaguely heard Shen Ning’s words, and their righteous cries began to quiet down.
Shen Ning wiped away her tears and gave a sorrowful smile. “But now Zhao Mu has returned. I came here to tell Auntie that… I won’t need to come anymore, and I won’t need to trouble you to inquire after him for me.”
Behind her, the villagers who had stopped looked at one another.
“So Shen Ning wasn’t here to fawn over him?”
“Well… Look at how she’s crying. What she says should be true, right?”
“That’s true. Her husband’s body hasn’t even been buried. Who could be so heartless as to fawn over someone else at a time like this? Wouldn’t they be drowned in spit?”
The aggressive villagers’ attitudes softened, and the village headman’s expression changed as well. After all, if a wanton woman were drowned in a pig cage in his village, it would also bring shame upon him as the village headman.
But at that moment, Li Yushi, who had just been taking Pei Yuanzhou’s pulse, stood up and walked out.
Though she had fallen into poverty, her grandparents’ generation had come from a scholarly family. Li Yushi was ultimately different from the other village girls. She had also taught herself medicine and often treated people, earning considerable praise. On ordinary days, she always wore a cold and aloof expression.
Now she stood before Shen Ning and looked at her with a faint smile. “Sister Shen, those clothes of yours are certainly bright and pretty.”
As soon as she finished speaking, the villagers behind Shen Ning suddenly understood.
“She’s still wearing red.”
“Exactly. Her family is supposed to be holding a funeral, yet she’s dressed so brightly. That proves she’s heartless.”
“Could she have been lying just now? If she really cared about Zhao Mu, why would she wear red while her own husband was dead?”
“That’s right. Who can say otherwise…”
The village headman’s softened expression immediately turned cold as well. After a moment, he said in a low voice, “Shen Ning.”
Shen Ning glanced at Li Yushi across from her, then turned around. “Uncle De.”
The village headman was Zhao De, a member of Zhao Mu’s clan. By seniority, she addressed him as uncle.
Zhao De’s face was cold. “Zhao Mu’s bones aren’t even cold, yet you’re dressed in red and green…”
Shen Ning lowered her eyes and smiled, then interrupted him. “Uncle De, I’m wearing these clothes because Zhao Mu once said that I looked good in red. He liked seeing me wear red.”
Zhao De frowned and was about to speak, but Shen Ning did not give him the chance. She immediately headed back, walking several steps before breaking into a run.
The villagers were confused by this. Some secretly muttered, “Did she realize that we came to seize her and question her, so she’s trying to run away?”
“Come on, follow her. Let’s see where she can run.”
The entire group departed from the Pei family’s home in a grand procession. Mother Pei hurriedly shut the door and turned around, patting her chest.
“That dog-skin plaster is finally gone. Thank goodness she didn’t latch on to our family.”
She spoke to her son, who sat silently at the table. “My son is destined to become the top scholar. He absolutely mustn’t get saddled with someone like that.”
Then she looked at Li Yushi beside her and smiled broadly. “Only a girl like Miss Li is suitable to marry into our family as its mistress.”
Li Yushi’s face reddened slightly. “Auntie is joking. What kind of miss am I?”
Mother Pei stepped forward. “Lord Li is staying in the capital as an official. Doesn’t that make our Yushi an official’s daughter? I said it from the beginning, didn’t I? A girl like Yushi shouldn’t be doing household chores or exhausting herself with such things. She was born to live a pampered life of luxury.”
Li Yushi’s face flushed. “Auntie, please stop. Big Brother Pei will laugh at me.”
Mother Pei pretended to be annoyed. “He dares! Yuanzhou… Didn’t you say yesterday that you had something to give Yushi?”
Pei Yuanzhou, who had remained silent the entire time, lowered his eyes and took a hairpin from his sleeve. Then he raised his head and said gently, “The capital is no countryside. This jade hairpin was left behind by my grandmother. Yushi, take it with you for protection.”
Li Yushi hurriedly declined, saying that she could not accept it, but Mother Pei unceremoniously stuffed it into her arms.
“Good girl, Auntie treats you like her own daughter, so don’t be so polite… Yuanzhou hasn’t yet earned any official honors, so there’s no need for Auntie to say more for now. But remember this: if Yuanzhou is able to earn official honors in the future, Auntie will never allow him to marry anyone else.”
At last, Li Yushi accepted the jade hairpin with a flushed face…
Pei Yuanzhou lowered his eyes, his expression indifferent.
Naturally, he knew what his mother intended. Likewise, he did not feel that there was anything inappropriate about driving Shen Ning away.
When Shen Ning had first come to their home to fawn over him, he had asked his mother to refuse her several times. Unfortunately, that village woman had no sense of propriety at all. She had made excuses about being bored alone at home and getting along well with his mother, claiming that she had come merely to pass the time.
Several times, she had tried to exchange meaningful glances with him, yet even when he responded with cold disdain, she had shown no shame. Now that she had become a widow, the situation was even worse.
A woman so lacking in modesty and shame naturally ought to be kept far away.
As for the excuse she had just made, Pei Yuanzhou considered it entirely false. He simply had not realized before that the village woman possessed such thoughts and such skill at acting.
While harmony reigned in the Pei family’s home, Shen Ning covered her face and ran back to her dilapidated house. When she saw the coffin placed in the main room, she immediately lifted the lid and prepared to climb inside.
As she “struggled” into the coffin, she cried as though her heart were being torn apart.
“Zhao Mu, sob, sob… I waited for you for nearly three years, nearly three years! You promised me that you would come back.”
“I believed that you would return. I waited and waited, but you abandoned me. I won’t accept it, I won’t! Sob… Look, I’m wearing the clothes you liked best. Take me with you too!”
The villagers accompanying the village headman followed her into the Zhao family’s courtyard. What they saw was this scene.
The beautiful widow who had supposedly wanted to cheat on her husband was crying as though her heart and liver had been ripped apart. She was even ignoring the taboo and trying to climb into the coffin. Those who arrived first hurriedly grabbed hold of her.
“You mustn’t, you mustn’t! Zhao Mu’s wife, the dead cannot return to life. You have to look at the bright side!”
Two softhearted women beside them hurriedly stepped forward to stop her.
After all, this was an era in which people revered ghosts and gods. The vast majority of people did not dare to speak carelessly about such things, and there were many taboos and fears surrounding them. When they saw Shen Ning trying to climb into the coffin in a red dress, they almost immediately believed that she truly intended to follow her deceased husband into death.
Who would have imagined that someone could be so unafraid of ghosts and gods? How could they continue to suspect her?
Moreover, Shen Ning herself had spent years bedridden with illness and had suffered terribly before her death. Her grievances and misery, combined with a bit of acting skill… For a time, she cried so heartbreakingly that she had actually managed to fool everyone.
Even the usually cold and imposing village headman had reddened eyes.
“Who said Shen Ning’s conduct was improper?
“If anyone dares to gossip recklessly again, I will not let it go.”
“Ah, Heaven have mercy. Shen Ning has had such a bitter fate. She was mistreated by her gambler father from childhood. Just when she was finally bought back by Zhao Mu and had a few good years, she ended up widowed…”
“Who can say otherwise? Alas, they hadn’t even held their wedding ceremony, and now she has to become a widow. Anyone would be unable to think straight in her place.”
“Shh, didn’t Zhao Mu also bring back a foolish younger brother? They say he’s Zhao Nan, the brother he lost as a child. He’s completely simple-minded. Not only does Shen Ning have no husband now, she also has to care for her foolish younger brother-in-law… She’ll have plenty of hardship ahead of her.”
“Alas, we should help as much as we can. Her fate is truly bitter.”
Just as several women were “forcibly” pulling Shen Ning away from the coffin with all their hands and feet, a man standing outside the main room, by the corner of the courtyard wall, suddenly changed his gaze.
His clothes were tattered, his appearance disheveled, and he was standing there foolishly while holding a chicken. The instant he regained consciousness, he found himself staring blankly into the eyes of the rooster in his arms. Xiao Nanchen instinctively tightened his grip, easily snapping the flustered rooster’s neck.
Looking at the chicken feathers covering his body, he remained expressionless, his heart filled with nothing but numbness…
No one would believe that this fool, looking utterly wretched as he hugged a large rooster… was actually Great Xuan’s God of War, Prince Ding, Xiao Nanchen.
The wound in his leg caused excruciating pain. It had festered and suppurated because of the poison, and with the poison entering his brain, he had been lucid one moment and muddled the next during this period.
The last time he had been lucid was yesterday, when he had brought Zhao Mu’s corpse back to the Zhao family home… At that time, he had clearly seen indifference in that woman’s eyes.
Aside from ordering her foolish “younger brother-in-law” to get out, she had shown not the slightest bit of sorrow at her husband’s death. She had not even looked at Zhao Mu’s corpse more than once before hurrying out to fawn over another man.
But now, she was crying as though her heart were being torn apart?
That village woman’s acting could truly be called masterful…
Xiao Nanchen stood up and, while no one was paying attention to him, dragged his injured leg with difficulty toward the other room.
Who knew when those useless subordinates of his would finally find him?
The last time, he had dealt with those people too harshly. The sanctimonious men who had occupied high positions in the capital for so long probably wished they could chew him up and swallow him alive… Before his useless subordinates found him, this place was the safest one for him.
When he passed the chicken coop, Xiao Nanchen expressionlessly tossed in the rooster whose neck he had snapped.
The rooster landed limply on the ground. Beside it, a flock of hens raised their heads in unison to look at him.
Xiao Nanchen suddenly realized that there seemed to be only one rooster in the chicken coop.
And he had just snapped its neck.
The gazes of those hens… Were they somewhat resentful?
As he walked toward the room ahead, Xiao Nanchen thought of how Zhao Mu had entrusted him with taking care of his wife before he died. Yet a licentious village woman like this was unworthy of such a loyal and courageous man…