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“Zhao Yuniang! Zhao Yuniang! Your daughter jumped into the river!”
What?!
Oh, heavens above!
Madam Song threw aside the sickle she was using and broke into a run.
On the way, she ran into Zhao Dashu and sobbed as she shouted, “Hurry, your daughter—she jumped into the river!”
Dear heavens!
Zhao Dashu sprinted with all his might toward the riverbank…
By the river, villagers had already gathered in a dense crowd. Zhao Xiaoyu lay on the ground, her face pale with a bluish tint.
As the couple arrived breathless, someone turned to them and shook his head. “Too late. She’s not breathing. Best go back and prepare the funeral.”
Song’s heart seized, and she collapsed to her knees beside Zhao Xiaoyu, weeping bitterly. “Daughter, oh my daughter! How could you be so foolish! How could you just leave like this—what is your Mother supposed to do now? Oh, my Xiaoyu!”
Watching his wife sob uncontrollably, Zhao Dashu looked at their daughter’s lifeless face on the ground. Grief welled up within him, his eyes reddening with sorrow.
“Xiaoyu!”
Why would that foolish girl jump into the river?! Why was she so stubborn?
Cough, cough, cough…
Zhao Xiaoyu only felt as if her chest were on fire, her stomach painfully bloated, and her throat sore from swallowing too much water.
The people around her immediately backed away in fright. Damn! Was the old Zhao family’s granddaughter coming back from the dead? Was her grievance so deep she couldn’t rest in peace even after death? That was terrifying!
“Daughter, my daughter, you’re back! Open your eyes and look at your Mother, my daughter!”
What’s there to look at? She’s alive now—can’t you tell? Stop shaking her, Madam, you’re making her dizzy and nauseous.
Zhao Xiaoyu coughed violently for a while before lying back down with her eyes closed. Her fuzzy head was suddenly flooded with a wave of memories. Holy crap—she had transmigrated? Into a dynasty that didn’t exist in history—the Xia Dynasty? Wasn’t she just fighting off monsters? Could it be that she was killed by the Zombie King? Well, she was just an ordinary person. How could she possibly fight some high-level demon lord?
Still, what a fantastic transmigration—perfect timing, perfect world, absolutely perfect!
This dynasty was enjoying peace and prosperity. Compared to the apocalyptic world overrun by zombies, this was heaven. After living through the end times, the hardships the original owner faced here seemed… trivial. Sure, life was hard, but did she really have to jump into a river over it? She must’ve been too sheltered and fragile. A few zombies would’ve toughened her up, made her realize how precious life was.
She took a deep breath of the air in this world. Damn, it was fresh—filled with the scent of grass. If there weren’t a crowd watching, she’d pluck some and give it a taste.
“Daughter?”
Kneeling beside her was one, squatting beside her was another—one was her Mother, a pitiful and honest woman; the other was her Father, once a slippery and lazy man. But in recent years, due to not having any sons, he had begun to change for the better.
“Mother!”
“My Xiaoyu! You nearly scared your Mother to death!”
Madam Song clutched Zhao Xiaoyu tightly, crying uncontrollably. Nearby, some of the more emotional village women also wiped at the corners of their eyes. From what they’d heard, it seemed the girl had been forced to jump into the river. What kind of family matter could push a child to such a desperate act? What was happening in the Zhao family to drive their own granddaughter to suicide? Wasn’t Old Master Zhao supposed to be a reasonable man?
“Mother, I won’t be sold off to be someone’s concubine. I won’t be sold to an old man to be his second wife!”
Madam Song clung tightly to Zhao Xiaoyu, unable to do anything but cry. She couldn’t defy her father-in-law’s decision—even if her heart refused to accept it.
The villagers were collectively stunned. What? The Zhao family was going to sell their granddaughter off to be a concubine? The Zhao family was one of the wealthiest households in the village, owning at least twenty-five mu of farmland, and they’d even supported Old Master Zhao’s son in his studies. Why would they need to sell anyone? So the girl jumped into the river because of this?
No, something wasn’t right. Their Laomuzhu Village had always prided itself on simple, honest customs. Apart from years of famine, there had never been any incidents of people being sold. If this story got out, their village’s reputation would be ruined. Who from any decent village would dare marry into theirs then? Besides, Zhao Xiaoyu was only eleven years old—she hadn’t even reached the age of hairpin*—how could she be married off? Let alone be someone’s concubine?
*Note: The “age of hairpin” refers to a traditional coming-of-age ceremony for girls, typically around age fifteen.
Zhao Dashu’s eyes were bloodshot. “Daughter, don’t worry. Even if your grandfather kicks me out of the family, I still won’t let you serve some decrepit old man.”
Zhao Xiaoyu gave a silent thumbs-up in her heart: Oh yeah, way to go, Cheap Dad!
The crowd erupted in astonishment. Zhao Dashu had just admitted it himself—so it was true? Old Master Zhao was really going to sell off his granddaughter? What kind of man does that? Was he no longer concerned with saving face in his old age?
“Mother, carry me home.”
Having achieved her goal, Zhao Xiaoyu lay weakly on the stretcher, feigning a look that said she couldn’t walk. She was already a proper young girl—there was no way she’d let her father carry her in front of everyone. Only Madam Song was allowed that.
“Mother!”
Lying on Madam Song’s back, Zhao Xiaoyu felt a wave of warmth in her heart. So this is what a mother feels like. In her previous life, she had been an orphan, abandoned at the gates of an orphanage as a baby. The orphanage was full of children, and the director was always busy. She had never been the type to win people over, always blending into the crowd. From childhood to adolescence, she had never once known what it felt like to be cared for, never once experienced the warmth of having a Father or Mother.
Madam Song walked steadily forward, and the villagers followed along, trailing all the way to the entrance of the Zhao family home. Even then, many continued to crane their necks from outside, eager to see what would unfold.
Inside the Zhao residence, everyone had already gathered in the central hall upon hearing news that Zhao Xiaoyu had thrown herself into the river.
Old Master Zhao sat in the seat of honor, puffing on his dry tobacco with a rhythmic pa-ta pa-ta. He hadn’t expected that stubborn girl Zhao Xiaoyu to be so willful. One moment he was telling them to prepare for a visit to Lord Wang’s family the next day, and the next, she’d gone and thrown herself in the river. Now they’d be forced to plead with the other family, completely humiliated. What would happen to the Zhao family’s reputation?
The eldest son of the family was clearly displeased. “Father, that scene the third brother’s daughter made just now—it’s gotten completely out of hand. If she didn’t want to go, she could’ve just said so. Jumping into the river? What did that mean? Doesn’t she understand that for us scholars, the family’s reputation is of utmost importance? I’m taking the imperial examination in a few months. Right at this critical time, what is she trying to do? Ruin everything?”
Before Old Master Zhao could speak, his wife cut in, “Exactly! That must’ve been her mother’s doing—those two are always up to something. Both mother and daughter are as black-hearted as they come.”
If she had just drowned herself and been done with it, that would’ve been one thing. But everyone could see she didn’t really want to die—it was just some childish tantrum, meant to make trouble.
A granddaughter was nothing but a money-losing burden. They didn’t care about her. What really mattered was ensuring nothing disrupted their fine son’s bright future.