Chapter 1: This Is My Wife? (Please add it to your favorites)

Page (1/3)

“How could he suddenly lose his mind and jump into the river?”

“Exactly! He had only just brought his bride home!”

“Poor girl. How is she supposed to live from now on?”

In a daze, Xu An heard people chattering about something.

So noisy!

The muscles in his face twitched as he tried to express his displeasure, only to provoke a chorus of screams from all around him.

“Oh no! Is the corpse coming back to life?”

“Run! He’s going to turn into a vengeful spirit!”

The surroundings quickly fell silent. Xu An slowly sat up. Why did his body feel so cold—and soaking wet?

He opened his eyes, and then he froze.

He was wrapped in a straw mat. The skin beneath his blue robe was unnaturally pale, ghastly white, as though a corpse had been soaked in water for far too long.

Judging from the surroundings, he was in a dilapidated little courtyard. The main house stood ahead, with side rooms on either side.

Not far away, beneath a locust tree, a petite girl of fifteen or sixteen was curled up on the ground.

She was thin and undersized, apparently from years of malnutrition, yet her skin was remarkably fair and clean. Even dressed in nothing more than a tattered homespun garment, she possessed a peculiar beauty.

Put her in a custom-made costume, and she would be the ultimate adorable petite anime girl, enough to drive countless otaku wild.

But what was the matter with those enormous eyes? They were actually purple!

And judging by the way they reflected the light, they certainly did not look like contact lenses.

Before Xu An could think any further, a mass of unfamiliar memories suddenly flooded his mind.

Xu An, twenty years old, lived in Qinghe Village of Linyuan County in the Great Wei Dynasty. He was proud and aloof, overly concerned with his reputation, and a scholar by trade.

Unfortunately, after sitting for the examinations three times, he had not even managed to earn the lowest scholarly degree.

Once he had digested these memories, Xu An understood one undeniable fact.

He had transmigrated.

And judging from the situation, he had been handed an absolutely disastrous opening.

The original owner’s parents were both dead… Ah, the standard issue for transmigrators? Fortunately, they were not his own parents, so there was no need to grieve.

The original owner also had an elder sister named Xu Panpan. She was the wife of Zhao Hong, the village chief of Qinghe Village. Fierce-tempered and sixteen years older than the original owner, she had always treated him extremely well.

The current era was the Great Wei Dynasty, whose institutions resembled those of the Ming Dynasty in history. Because of years of warfare, the Great Wei had a very small population. Thus, the law required women to marry upon reaching adulthood and men to marry upon coming of age.

Those who did not marry were fined. The original owner had no money to pay the fine, so he had no choice but to marry.

Therefore, after a matchmaker arranged the union, he had brought home a bride the previous night…

Xu An suddenly turned his head toward the petite girl curled up beneath the locust tree.

“This is my wife?”

Xu An was dumbfounded.

She was so young. In the modern world, he would have been sent to prison for two or three years for this, wouldn’t he?

Ahem. But having grown up under the protection of the red flag, he could not bring himself to lay a hand on her now. Besides, with looks like hers, he could simply raise her until she was older.

Page (2/3)

When Xu An looked toward her, the purple in the girl’s eyes grew even brighter.

Tears glimmered in her eyes as she timidly said, “Husband… Husband, I’m sorry. How are you feeling? I didn’t mean to frighten you. I’m sorry…”

Xu An frowned, and memories of the previous night surfaced in his mind.

The night before, the original owner had entered the bridal chamber with the girl. Just as he was about to consummate the marriage, her eyes had suddenly turned purple.

The sight had terrified him so badly that he screamed “monster” and fled outside in panic.

Unfortunately, he had drunk some wedding wine and was already overwhelmed with fear. When he reached the Qinghe River that flowed through the village, he had accidentally fallen in—and never climbed back out.

As for how the original owner had been pulled from the river, Xu An had no memory of it.

Xu An sighed and walked over to the girl.

“It’s all right. By the way, what’s the matter with your eyes?”

According to the marriage document, the girl’s name seemed to be Su Yan’er. Seeing her tear-streaked face, filled with guilt and fear, Xu An felt his heart stir.

The girl grew extremely nervous under his unwavering gaze, and her bright eyes lowered.

“R-Replying to you, Husband… I was born this way.”

Born that way?

Xu An rubbed his chin. He had seen plenty of beautiful women with golden hair and emerald eyes, but this was the first time he had encountered someone with black hair and violet eyes.

Seeing him lost in thought, the girl could not help feeling afraid.

Why wasn’t he saying anything? Did he despise her?

She had frightened him so badly the previous night. Surely he intended to drive her away.

If she were sent back, she would certainly never be able to marry again. Given the temperament of her aunt’s family, they might even force her to drown herself in a latrine.

Thinking of this, the girl hurriedly added, “H-Husband, my eyes are usually just like everyone else’s. They only change color when I’m nervous.”

“I’ll work hard to control myself from now on. I won’t let anyone see them and bring shame upon you again. Please don’t send me away.”

Xu An smiled.

“Don’t worry. I won’t send you away.”

In this feudal society, driving her out would be no different from killing her with his own hands.

Xu An could not do such a thing.

With the knowledge he possessed as a graduate holding dual master’s degrees in agricultural science and economics, escaping poverty should not be too difficult.

He could certainly afford to support one petite girl.

Hearing his answer, the little thing felt that it was almost unreal.

“Really? You don’t despise me?”

Xu An shook his head with a smile.

“Of course it’s true. From now on, this is your home.”

“Home?”

The girl’s gaze shifted slightly.

Her husband was so kind!

She had a home of her own now.

Xu An looked at the dazed girl.

“Is there anything to eat? I’m hungry.”

“There is!”

Page (3/3)

“Husband, wait here. I’ll heat it up for you.”

The girl immediately rose to her feet and hurried into the house.

Xu An leaned back beneath the locust tree. Since he had already transmigrated, there was no point dwelling on it. He needed to make a plan for the life ahead.

First, he took stock of his possessions.

One acre of farmland, three dilapidated tile-roofed rooms, and four bare walls. Fortunately, it was not winter yet.

Oh, and he owed one tael of silver in high-interest debt. In three days, he would have to repay two taels.

Two taels of silver was no small sum. It represented half a year of hard-earned income for many ordinary peasants.

It was all the fault of the original owner, that imbecile. He had actually taken out a loan from loan sharks to visit the pleasure quarter, listen to music, and chase women. Those loan sharks were all cold-blooded and ruthless men.

Plenty of people had been driven to ruin and death by them.

The original owner had died and escaped everything, but the debt had been left for Xu An to deal with!

The thought left Xu An deeply frustrated.

What was more, the household was already on the verge of starvation. If he remembered correctly, the rice in the storage jar would last no more than two days.

And there was another problem: it was already late autumn. Winter would arrive before long, and every year in the Great Wei Dynasty, many people froze or starved to death. He needed to find a way to repair the house and prepare supplies for the winter.

The pressure was enormous.

He had to find a way to make money. Solving their livelihood problem was an urgent matter.

Extracting refined salt and selling it?

He knew how, but it was illegal and therefore impossible.

Going into the mountains to hunt and sell the game?

With the original owner’s frail body, it was hard to say whether he would be the hunter or the hunted.

Besides, his body had not yet recovered. He still looked like a drowned ghost.

Copying books for others?

They paid only after the entire book was finished, and the earnings were pitifully small. He did not have that much time.

What could he do to make money quickly?

“Ah, I’ve got it!”

A smile curved across Xu An’s lips.

At that moment, a commotion suddenly arose outside the gate.

“Madam, don’t go in! Your brother has come back to life!”

“You with the surname Zhao, stop talking nonsense! Let go of me!”

“Madam, please listen to me. You truly cannot go in!”

“Don’t hold me back! My brother is dead, and you’re still spouting nonsense here, you heartless bastard!”

Xu An looked up. A rather attractive woman was forcing her way into the courtyard despite the attempts of several people to restrain her.

It was the original owner’s fierce elder sister, Xu Panpan!