Chapter 3: Clear Thoughts Follow Cause and Effect

The one in the indigo silk robe stained with blood was Father Song, the one in purple satin and red gauze was Mother Song, the one in a black brocade robe was Elder Brother Song, and the one in a red silk and apricot gauze skirt was Sister-in-law. Nearby was her small-bodied nephew.

There were also ten guards dressed uniformly in black cotton robes and two maidservants in dark red cotton clothes. Some of their bodies were even incomplete.

Mother Song and Sister-in-law took their own lives with hairpins, but even those hairpins were snatched away by the mountain bandits. The two maidservants had bitten their tongues and died.

All the valuables the group carried were gone, including the oxen and horses, and the carts loaded with fabrics were taken as well.

Only things like pots, pans, and other luggage—items deemed worthless by the bandits—may have been taken by some bold passersby.

Lady Song recognized the bodies and discovered that her second brother and the maid who served her sister-in-law were missing. Although she didn’t know whether they had escaped or been captured by the bandits, it gave her a sliver of hope.

There were too many corpses, so they had to find a place nearby for burial. He Yanxin bought coffins from the mortuary and hired people to carry them. Seventeen people were buried, and white funeral papers filled the sky.

Just handling the funeral affairs took three full days. Lady Song, whose health had improved slightly over the past half-month, grew thin again.

He Yanxin also looked haggard. He had taken care of almost everything during these days.

“Thank you, Brother He. I truly have nothing with which to repay you, I can only… only…”

She couldn’t continue speaking and instead placed the jade bracelet she had always carried into his hand. Without it, she could still do embroidery and sell her work.

She knew she could never repay He Yanxin’s kindness in this life—the grace of saving her life, finding her family, and arranging for their proper burial.

But to express her willingness to marry him was still difficult. On one hand, she had just buried her loved ones. On the other hand, she was still a modest young woman and couldn’t say such bold words.

“I understand. Right now, your health is the most important,” He Yanxin didn’t say more and didn’t take the bracelet.

“Keep the bracelet. Here’s what’s left of the six taels of silver I gave you. You should keep it too.”

He had only used part of it to pay for the coffins and burial costs. Originally, there were just a few hundred coins left, but he rounded it up to one tael and gave it to Lady Song.

He Yanxin could feed himself alone just fine. But thinking of Lady Song’s past status, he wanted her to have some silver for her own use.

Still, since they weren’t married and had no formal relationship, he didn’t want to risk damaging her reputation—so he acted discreetly.

Thus, Lady Song stayed in Anshan Village. Occasionally, she would walk half a day to visit the graves. To protect her, He Yanxin would accompany her.

At the same time, she never stopped searching for her second brother.

In this world, people typically observed a mourning period of thirteen months. Because she was in mourning, Lady Song moved from Granny Ge’s home to an empty house in the village.

With support from He Yanxin and Granny Ge’s household, nothing untoward happened.

After she reached adulthood and completed the mourning period, He Yanxin asked Granny Ge to help arrange a match. Eventually, the two were married.

After marrying He Yanxin, Lady Song and he got along extremely well. He handed all their silver to her to manage, treated her with utmost care and concern, and gradually healed many of the wounds in her heart.

Lady Song never felt she had wronged herself by marrying him. She had been raised in a refined and delicate manner but was not spoiled or arrogant.

The couple lived a loving life. In the second year of their marriage, when she was sixteen, she gave birth to their first son. Seven or eight months later, she became pregnant again with their second son. Now, the two children were three years old and nearly one and a half.

At this point, Song Yeqing withdrew from Lady Song’s memories.

Thanks for the invitation. I’m currently in Da’an Kingdom, just stepped out of a time tunnel, suddenly have two sons, plus a bonus husband—not thrilled. The end.

What kind of situation is this? She’s nineteen. Lady Song is also nineteen now. One hasn’t even dated before, while the other already has two kids. What a gap.

And now she was using Lady Song’s body, so she was Lady Song, and Lady Song’s sons were her sons.

As a Celestial Master, she understood these karmic relationships. Regardless of what happened before, now that she had become Lady Song, she had to bear the responsibilities of a mother.

So from now on, she definitely had to take good care of the two children and treat them as her own.

Although she had never been a mother, and used to avoid children whenever she could, she vowed that as long as she had food, they would never go hungry. As for what else to do—she didn’t know yet.

Trying to think positively—maybe Lady Song would return one day.

But as for that husband… Sorry, she really didn’t want him. He married Lady Song of Da’an Kingdom. What did that have to do with Song Yeqing of the 21st century?

Song Yeqing maintained her cold expression and believed that, in a marriage, blood ties mattered more than emotional ones. So this husband was dispensable.

But she also had a headache—how was she supposed to explain to He Yanxin that his wife had gone and wouldn’t be coming back?

Looks like she needed to cast a divination and ask the spirits.

Maybe she could find out where the real Lady Song had gone and how she herself ended up here.

But this body was extremely weak, and her cultivation was gone. She couldn’t support the spiritual energy needed for divination. She’d have to recover physically first.

After sorting through her thoughts, Song Yeqing picked up the mirror again.

The modern-crafted mirror clearly reflected her face—it looked very much like her original one.

Except unlike her once-healthy, rosy complexion, this woman was thin, her face slightly yellowish—a sign of malnutrition.

She touched her arm—where there had once been defined muscle lines, now there was only bone.

And the reason this once-delicate lady had become like this was…!?

Well, according to the memories, the first two years after marriage were indeed good. He Yanxin was capable.

Lady Song had never farmed before. To protect her hands for embroidery, she’d never done heavy work, so all the farming was handled by He Yanxin.

She also wasn’t good at cooking. He Yanxin had gotten used to handling the meals. When he had to go out, Granny Ge would come help cook.

So Lady Song managed the household, fed chickens, did embroidery, and took care of the children.

But in the year she was pregnant with her second child, the heavens didn’t cooperate. It barely rained all year, and crop yield was reduced to 40%.

In fact, drought had started two years earlier in some regions—it just gradually spread to Anshan Village.

At first, it was still manageable—few people in the household, so not much food was needed.

Plus, He Yanxin often went out to work and always brought back two or three taels of silver. Lady Song’s embroidery was exquisite—her needlework sold at a good price.

Together, the couple made sure they never went without food.

But by the time their second son was born, the drought was widespread. River water had nearly dried up, and even well water barely sufficed for drinking. The land yielded very little grain.

Meanwhile, prices of food and goods rose sharply. Having children also meant more expenses. They nearly drained their fifty taels of savings.

Their elder son even had a dangerous illness once. The jade bracelet and other jewelry had to be pawned for medical bills and daily needs.

He Yanxin promised Lady Song that he would redeem the bracelet later and buy her more jewelry.

But the situation worsened—and there was no end in sight.

Lady Song became like this due to prolonged malnutrition. They had barely enough grain to eat, but no other nutrients.

They couldn’t afford meat. The only nutritious food they could afford was eggs. But He Yanxin couldn’t hunt, and they had no bow or arrow, so they couldn’t catch wild animals from the mountains.

Now, all that remained at home was half a sack of coarse rice and some mixed grains. Even that had become too expensive in town.

So, to survive, He Yanxin had left two days ago for Yongqing County, hoping to earn money and bring back food.

Thankfully, because of his trip, Song Yeqing avoided the awkward situation of waking up face-to-face with her “husband.”

The sun was already up—it must be around seven in the morning. The two children in bed were about to wake up.

Lady Song usually rose around five, but today Song Yeqing had spent over an hour just thinking everything through.

She glanced at the sleeping children. It was clear that even if Lady Song had gone hungry, she never let the kids starve—they were well cared for.

Though thinner than modern children, they didn’t have the same yellowish complexion as their mother.

In ancient times, the mourning period was supposed to last three years, but since this was a fictional world, it had been shortened to thirteen months—so don’t take it too seriously.

(End of Chapter)