Chapter 1 – Transmigration

“If you don’t want to marry, you still have to! Even if you die today, I’ll have you carried over tomorrow!”

“You ungrateful wretch! I raised you all this time, and you still dare to threaten me!”

…

The noise was unbearable! That old woman upstairs, yelling at her granddaughter all day long—does her family have a throne to inherit? It’s so late, and she has no sense of decency. Doesn’t she care if people can sleep?

Xia Tian, feeling irritated, lifted her hand to pull the blanket over her head. But as soon as she moved, a dull pain shot through her forehead, as if her head was splitting apart, making her instantly dizzy and disoriented.

What’s going on? Did I hit my head while sleeping?

That shouldn’t be possible!

Xia Tian, confused, closed her eyes and waited for the dizziness to subside. Just as she was about to touch her head, a foreign memory suddenly flooded her mind, forcing her into a deeper state of dizziness.

“Siya, Siya? Why isn’t she waking up?” A panicked female voice came, “Siya won’t be in danger, will she?”

“She won’t, Mother. Siya will be fine.” Another younger female voice answered.

When Xia Tian woke up again, her head still throbbed painfully, and the fragmented voices seemed to be coming from a distant place, making her feel lost and restless.

She had really transmigrated!

Xia Tian, formerly known as Siya, had just turned fifteen. The cursing she had heard earlier was from her grandmother, Old Mrs. Xia.

Of course, the one being scolded was Xia Tian herself.

Xia Tian’s grandmother had sold her for thirty taels of silver. Well, to be precise, she had been sold to a sickly young man from the neighboring village who had fled the famine. Xia Tian had to marry him tomorrow.

When Xia Tian found out, she was furious. During a heated argument with her grandmother, she became overwhelmed with emotions and slammed into a wall.

And then, she transmigrated.

Xia Tian felt like crying but had no tears. She had wasted so much time slacking off at work, and just when she finally tried to make an effort, planning to stay late to finish a project and impress her boss, she ended up dying. How could she explain this to anyone?

Was it because the heavens liked her lazy, “salted fish” lifestyle?

The worst part wasn’t the transmigration itself, but that she hadn’t even gotten a chance to relax. She was stuck in the body of a poor farmer’s daughter instead of a noblewoman or a young lady from a wealthy family. The situation was absurd.

Xia Tian sighed inwardly, unwillingly opening her eyes, only to meet four concerned faces.

“Siya, you’re awake? Were you trying to scare me to death?”

Xia Tian stared at the woman in front of her, who looked to be around forty, with a waxy complexion and a rag wrapped around her head. After a moment, she recognized her as her mother, Chen Shi.

“How are you feeling, Siya?”

A younger female voice came. Xia Tian slowly turned her head, seeing a young woman, about seventeen or eighteen, with a gentle and caring expression. This was her older sister, Xia Yue, also known as Erya.

“I’m fine,” Xia Tian said, looking at the two women. “Mom, I’m dizzy. I want to sleep for a while.”

“Alright, alright,” Chen Shi agreed. “Then you sleep for a while. I’ll go make something for you to eat.” Chen Shi asked Xia Yue to stay with her sister and left the room.

Once Chen Shi left, Xia Tian turned to Xia Yue and said, “Sis, can you go out too? I want to be alone for a while.”

“Alright, but don’t do anything foolish. I’ll be right outside the door. Call me if you need anything,” Xia Yue said, still concerned. After Xia Tian nodded, she took a small stool and sat at the door, mending shoes.

Xia Tian sighed, stretching her limbs and lying flat on the kang (a traditional Chinese heated platform), staring blankly at the ceiling.

She couldn’t believe it—after being single for over thirty years, she transmigrated and was now facing the ridiculous plot of having to marry, and worse, marrying a sickly man.

She had heard about this sickly man through village gossip. Apparently, he and his younger brother had fled from the south three months ago due to famine. During their escape, they were attacked by bandits, and only the two brothers survived. The younger brother, also injured, didn’t have long to live, so he had been desperately seeking a wife for his older brother before he passed.

Xia Tian didn’t know the details, but it seemed that no one in the village was willing to marry the sickly man, as they believed his illness was fatal. That’s when the younger brother offered a huge dowry—thirty taels of silver, a sum that could support a family for three or four years. This tempted her grandmother, who immediately agreed to the match, without any hesitation.

Of course, this had been kept a secret from Xia Tian’s family. But when the younger brother passed away two days ago, he made the matchmaker promise to bring a wife to his brother quickly, so that someone would take care of him after his death.

So today, when the matchmaker came to discuss the matter, Xia Tian caught wind of it.

Xia Tian felt like complaining to the heavens. If she had to get married, why did it have to be to such a tragic figure?

But now, she had no choice. She might as well face it head-on.