Chapter 1 – Forced to Remarry

“Qingqing, Mom is doing this for your own good. Qin Ye hasn’t sent money for half a year. He’s a soldier—being a soldier is dangerous, right? What if something happened to him and he’s gone? Tell me, how are you going to raise a child on your own?”

“Li Zhuzi is your sister-in-law’s cousin on her mother’s side. You can’t go wrong with him! His family has money. If you take Nannan and marry him, wouldn’t you be living a good life, eating well and drinking fine things?”

When Ye Qing opened her eyes, she saw a woman standing by the bed in a dull gray long robe, earnestly trying to persuade her.

“Wuwu… Mommy, you’re awake! Nannan was so scared! Mommy, Grandma was so fierce. I was so afraid!”

As soon as she woke up, a soft little hand tightly gripped one of her fingers, the child’s tear-stained face pitiful and fragile.

Qin Ye? Nannan? Remarry? Li Zhuzi?

Did I transmigrate into a book?

Ye Qing felt like dying.

She had been a dedicated teacher and mother of two, balancing career and family. She had just been awarded the title of National Outstanding Teacher when she collapsed on the podium from exhaustion.

She had complained to Yama, and seeing that she had spent her life doing only good deeds, Yama granted her another life. Who would have thought she would end up in a period novel titled Rebirth in the 70s: The Beautiful Military Wife Jiao Jiao?

What made it worse was that her name here was also Ye Qing—the original wife of the male lead who died early. She didn’t even have a proper introduction in the book, only being mentioned in the conversations between the male and female leads.

Before she could think more, the melon-faced older woman began persuading her again.

“Qingqing, think about it. If he really died, raising Nannan in his place is a great deed, too! Why can’t you just understand this?”

Ye Qing’s head ached terribly as a flood of unfamiliar memories poured into her mind.

The original owner was also named Ye Qing, the youngest daughter of the woman in front of her. She was just twenty-one years old and had an older brother and sister. The sister had long been married and lived in a nearby village.

Because the family was poor, and the brother was getting older without finding a match, the mother, Su Fang, came up with a scheme. She somehow got her hands on an aphrodisiac and tricked Ye Qing into drinking it, then used the excuse of taking her out of the village for medical treatment to push her into the thatched hut where Qin Ye was staying.

At the time, Qin Ye was stationed in Qiaotou Village for a mission. Injured and under the drug’s influence, he confusedly had relations with Ye Qing, only for Su Fang to barge in with others and catch them in the act.

Su Fang made a scene, insisting Qin Ye had violated her daughter, and forced him to marry her. To protect Ye Qing’s reputation and ensure his mission wouldn’t be compromised, he had no choice but to agree.

He was also forced to hand over all his savings as a bride price to settle the matter.

The day after their wedding, Qin Ye received orders to return to the army and left for more than three years. Though he sent Ye Qing living expenses every month, he never came back again.

As soon as Su Fang started receiving money from Qin Ye, she became gleeful. “I knew he wasn’t an ordinary guy! See? Your mom’s judgment wasn’t bad at all, was it? You lucky girl! Once you’re living the good life, don’t forget your mom.”

As a result, Ye Qing’s status in the family had visibly improved. She no longer had to do as much hard labor, and even the scornful looks Nannan received had lessened considerably.

However, Qin Ye had stopped sending money over the past six months. At first, Ye Qing hadn’t paid it much attention, but after hearing Su Fang complain repeatedly, she began to sense that something wasn’t right.

She had written several letters, but they disappeared without a trace. Eventually, Su Fang lost patience and began arranging blind dates for her again. This time, the candidate was Li Zhuzi, her sister-in-law Ding Lanhua’s cousin on her mother’s side.

Li Zhuzi had fallen off a mountain a few years back while chopping firewood and broke his leg. Ever since, he had become violent and quick-tempered, often beating his wife. His wife had died last year, and now his family was trying to find him another match.

But his reputation for abusing his wife was well known. Who would dare marry their daughter to him? Still, his family was willing to pay a bride price, and after some discussion between Ding Lanhua and her mother-in-law, they set their sights on Ye Qing.

After all, Ye Qing’s man didn’t want her anymore—he hadn’t visited her once in over three years. He used to send money each month, but now even that had stopped. Might as well sell her off again.

They didn’t say much, but the Li family was willing to offer 200 yuan as bride price. That amount would be enough to support them for a while—at the very least, it would cover the cost of postpartum recovery.

The original Ye Qing had refused, slamming her head against the wall to protest. She hadn’t expected that one blow would end her life—allowing the Ye Qing from the 20th century to cross over and take her body.

After sorting out her thoughts, Ye Qing already had a plan in mind.

She slowly lifted her head. “What Mom said makes sense. But, I haven’t had any new clothes in the past two years—how can I go on a blind date like this? Going in patched-up clothes would make them look down on our family, wouldn’t it?”

Su Fang’s face lit up with joy but she quickly masked it, slapping her thigh. “Aiya! How could I forget that? The Li family has money—we can’t show up too shabby and make them look down on us! How about this: I’ll give you some money, and tomorrow your sister-in-law will go with you to town to buy some new clothes.”

Ding Lanhua quickly nodded. “Yes, yes! Little sister’s thoughtfulness puts us all to shame. Why didn’t we think of that? Alright then, tomorrow I’ll take little sister to town and help her pick out a new outfit. Maybe even a hair ribbon! We can’t let them look down on her.”

Seeing the two of them fall for it, Ye Qing quickly added: “Sister-in-law is heavily pregnant, let’s not trouble her. I’ll just take Nannan with me tomorrow. Town’s not far. We’ll be back before dark.”

“Mom, you don’t have to give me too much. Sister-in-law is about to give birth, and there are still many things our family needs to spend money on!”

Su Fang’s face beamed with pride. “My Qingqing is still the most sensible! But we can’t skimp on clothing money. The Li family is rich—if we show up too shabby, they’ll look down on us.”

The rest of her sentence she didn’t say aloud, but Ye Qing already filled it in mentally: “If they look down on us, the bride price won’t be as high!”

Ye Qing curled her lips internally but said nothing.

As soon as she saw Su Fang and Ding Lanhua leave the room, she immediately got out of bed, gathered a few of her and Nannan’s clothes into a basket, added a cloth bundle, and then took Nannan out to find the village chief.

Buy clothes and get married? No way!

She and Qin Ye were in a military marriage. How could she remarry just like that? Su Fang might not understand the rules, but Ye Qing, as someone who had transmigrated from the modern world, knew perfectly well: if she remarried without getting a divorce, that was illegal—a criminal offense that could land her in prison!

Besides, this family had never cared about how she was actually living. They only cared about how much money Ye Qing could bring them. Now that Qin Ye hadn’t sent money for six months, they couldn’t wait to sell her off again.

Tomorrow, she would go to the commune office to get an introduction letter, then take Nannan to find Qin Ye at the army base. She wanted to see where Qin Ye stood. If their marriage could be salvaged, they’d live on. If not, then they’d divorce!

That meant today, she had to get the village chief’s certification.