“Waaah! Mother, I know I was wrong. I won’t steal food again. Please don’t hit me!”

“Big sister… waaah… don’t hit my sister!”

“Whip—CRACK!”

“I’ll beat you to death, you worthless brat! How dare you steal food! And you, little debt collector, if you cry again, I’ll beat you too! Running away? Hah!”

The usually peaceful afternoon in Dahe Village was suddenly disrupted by the piercing cries of children and the furious screams of a woman.

Madam Wang, the next-door neighbor, pushed open her door and glanced toward the thatched cottage where the noise was coming from.

She shook her head in disapproval.

“This Shen woman is truly outrageous. How can she beat the children every day? Like a wasp’s sting—no one is more vicious than a cruel-hearted woman.”

Aunt Zhang, who had come out to watch the commotion, sneered and spat in the direction of the cottage.

“Well, what do you expect? She’s a stepmother. Back when she was living in the Lu family’s main house, Old Man Lu kept her in check. Now that they’ve split off, those two poor kids are at her mercy.”

Madam Wang sighed. “I saw little Xiaoyu’s injuries before—her whole body was covered in bruises from Shen’s beatings. Not a single spot was spared. I can’t imagine how these two children have survived all these years.”

Aunt Zhang also let out a long sigh, as if recalling something. “To be fair, Shen is a pitiful woman too. She married into the family four years ago and has been a widow ever since. I heard that Lu’s eldest son barely had time to marry her before he was called away to war. They didn’t even get to consummate their marriage before he left… and then a year later, news came back that he had died in battle.

She waited for him for a year, only to receive his death pension instead.

Now, after four years of widowhood, all she has left is venting her anger on these kids.

She may be harsh with her words and bossy in her ways, but at least…”

She wanted to say that Shen wasn’t all that bad, but she hesitated.

After all, everyone in Dahe Village knew exactly what kind of person she was.

As they spoke, the courtyard suddenly fell silent.

The children’s cries stopped.

The two women exchanged glances, curiosity piqued.

They crept closer to peek inside—only to gasp in shock.

Shen was lying at the doorstep, her head covered in blood.

“Oh my! What happened?”

Startled, the two women rushed forward to check.

The two children were already frozen in fear.

Xiaoyu’s thin body was covered in whip marks, her clothes sticking to her wounds.

The willow switch had cut into her skin, leaving her back streaked with blood.

Madam Wang and Aunt Zhang quickly ran to call for help. Soon, the courtyard was filled with villagers.

Meanwhile, Shen Qingwan’s eyelashes trembled.

A sharp pain throbbed in her head.

She instinctively frowned, struggling to open her eyes.

The pain at the back of her head was excruciating.

She remembered she had been fighting a high-level zombie… but then the zombie had punched her straight in the head.

No wonder it hurt so much.

“Hiss—”

Shen Qingwan inhaled sharply, then slowly opened her eyes.

As soon as her consciousness returned, she sensed the presence of many unfamiliar people around her.

Five years of surviving in the apocalypse had made her hyper-aware.

She clearly remembered that humanity was nearly wiped out in that world.

Could it be… she was now surrounded by zombies?

She instinctively sprang to her feet in a fluid motion, ready to attack—

But instead of zombies, she ended up knocking over a woman, who fell to the ground clutching her chin.

“Ow! That hurts! Shen, what’s wrong with you? Why are you suddenly jumping around like that?”

The woman who had fallen was Widow Chen from the village.

She had been checking on Shen’s injuries when she was unexpectedly knocked down.

Shen Qingwan stood frozen, looking at the unfamiliar crowd surrounding her. Her mind was completely blank.

“Oh no… did the eldest daughter-in-law hit her head too hard? Is she stupid now?”

Wu Guihua, her mother-in-law, slapped her thigh anxiously.

Before she could say more, a splitting pain tore through Shen Qingwan’s head again.

A flood of foreign memories surged into her mind.

She clutched her head, groaning from the pain.

Seeing this, Wu Guihua and Old Man Lu quickly ordered people to carry her inside, placing her on a shabby wooden bed.

The two children remained kneeling in the courtyard, trembling in fear.

After understanding the situation, Old Man Lu sighed and patted little Xiaochen’s head.

He asked Grandma Lu to apply medicine to the children’s wounds before reassuring them:

“Your stepmother is full of grievances, and you two have suffered because of it. But take good care of her. When she wakes up, come find me and your grandmother. We’ll bring you some food later.”

The children nodded obediently.

Once the villagers had dispersed, Shen Qingwan finally opened her eyes.

She had actually been awake for a while but was busy sorting through the original host’s memories.

Now, she understood everything.

She had transmigrated!

She was now in a place called Xia Kingdom… and she had become the infamous wicked stepmother of two children.

As a woman who had been single for over twenty years, she had suddenly become a mother overnight?!

As for the original owner of this body—she had been beating the children to vent her anger but had accidentally stepped on a rock, lost her balance, and hit her head on the doorstep.

She died on the spot, which led to Shen Qingwan taking over her body.

As unbelievable as it seemed, this place was far better than the apocalyptic wasteland filled with zombies and death.

This… was paradise.

Shen Qingwan slowly sat up, ignoring the throbbing pain in her head.

She stepped outside, lips curling into a relaxed smile.

She took a deep breath.

The air was fresh—no more rotting corpses, no more foul stench of decay.

The sky was bright and clear, no longer a dull gray.

The sun shone brilliantly, and fluffy white clouds drifted lazily above.

Beyond the courtyard, simple yet cozy earthen houses stretched out, and in the distance, lush green mountains extended endlessly.

Had the heavens taken pity on her after years of struggling in the apocalypse… and sent her here for a peaceful retirement?

As she was lost in thought, she sensed two small figures behind her.

Turning around, she saw Lu Xiaoyu and Lu Xiaochen staring at her in terror.

Shen Qingwan took a step forward, and the two children immediately dropped to their knees, fear written all over their faces.

“Mother, I know I was wrong! I won’t do it again!”

Xiaoyu’s eyes were filled with unshed tears.

She forced herself not to cry, lips trembling as her thin body shook.

She and her brother had been so hungry that they stole half a piece of coarse bread—only to be caught by their stepmother.

Xiaochen hid behind his sister, too frightened to look up.

Shen Qingwan sighed.

“Get up. I won’t punish you for today’s incident.”

She reached out and gently helped the two children to their feet.