Chapter 2: The Concubine’s Ferocity

Chapter 2: The Concubine's Ferocity

Xianjin He is dead.

Or rather, she has been dead.

In the past tense.

When a person dies, the last sense to fade is hearing.

Without investigation, there is no basis for opinion.

Xianjin He, through her own experience, confirms that this statement is true.

As her vision turned pitch black and her consciousness began to dissipate, her ears were filled with a cacophony of wails.

In this life, she lived twenty-four years, at least ten of which were spent in bed due to illness.

Her congenitally weak heart prevented her from experiencing great joy or sorrow, from engaging in strenuous activities, or even living like an ordinary person.

Her life was filled with caution and accidents.

Grateful for her family's ample financial resources, they helped her carefully avoid mishaps and accidents, allowing her to strive to live on, to study, take exams, and even successfully obtain a business degree. She entered the family enterprise starting from scratch, gradually accumulating experience.

She thought she could continue being careful, but she fell on the eve of turning twenty-five...

The cries of her loved ones and friends intertwined, yet Xianjin He could precisely distinguish her mother's voice.

Heart-wrenching, yet powerless to change fate.

Mother is fine... That's good... Mother...

Xianjin He desperately wanted to comfort them, straining to open her mouth, but her entire body felt entangled by a dense web of chaos.

The crying around her gradually faded.

Goodbye everyone, Xiaojin is leaving now.

Finally, Xianjin He heard nothing more.

---

When Xianjin He opened her eyes again, she found herself drenched as Xianjin He.

Xianjin He of Great Wei.

Xianjin He of Xuanzhou.

Xianjin He, fifteen years old, of the third branch of the papermaking dynasty, the Chen family.

A Xianjin He with the same name, surname, and character, but entirely different.

This Xianjin He was healthy, free from any ailments.

Free from illness, but not from misfortune.

The previous Xianjin He had drowned and met her end, replaced by the wandering spirit of a recently deceased woman from a century later and another dimension.

As a bedridden young adult who spent much of her time immersed in the two-dimensional world, she swiftly accepted the bizarre occurrences of soul transmigration and reincarnation, immediately immersing herself in exploring her new identity.

Upon investigation, she was taken aback.

The background of this body's Xianjin He was somewhat twisted—she bore the surname He, but the people responsible for her daily needs belonged to the Chen family, her mother's second husband. Her mother was a favored concubine of the third master of the Chen family, while she was the offspring of her mother and her previous husband.

In short, she was a child in tow.

And a child in tow, dependent on a concubine, not entirely legitimate.

Xianjin He clicked her tongue.

For her mother to remarry in feudal times and bring along a child from a previous relationship, she was indeed a fierce concubine.

After Xianjin He took a serious look at her opulent bedroom and the four maidservants attending to her personally, she couldn't help but marvel once more: her mother was truly a concubine with explosive fighting power!

Was it reasonable for a child in tow to have such excellent material conditions?

Unfortunately, when Xianjin He arrived, Xiaoniang He had been bedridden for many years, and the original owner's drowning hastened Xiaoniang's decline—on the fifth day after Xianjin He's soul transmigration, Xiaoniang finally passed away.

That is, right now.

The wind stirred the window frames.

Creaking back and forth.

Xianjin He's thoughts slowly returned, her gaze softly landing on Mr. Chen's face.

Behind every fierce concubine lies a man in love.

Mr. Chen was indeed a man in love.

This understanding was a consensus throughout the Chen family.

The Chen family started with papermaking and had already existed for a century.

Although the current Great Wei dynasty did not exist in any of Xianjin He's knowledge about feudal times, its customs, regional divisions, scholarly backgrounds, and ruling systems all bore the shadows of the Song, Ming, and Qing periods.

Many familiar place names and objects made it not too difficult for Xianjin He to immerse herself.

Xuan paper, Xuan paper—it was simply paper produced in Xuanzhou. And in this region of Xuanzhou, the Chen family ranked among the prominent paper merchants.

In the days leading up to her arrival, He Xianjin had already toured the Chen family's inner courtyard with the character 'Bing' tablet of the third branch, bestowed by Mr. Chen.

The inner courtyard alone comprised four sections, divided into five courtyards.

Matriarch Chen, the head of the household, resided in Castor Hall. The eldest son, who was an official in the capital, and his family lived in the Grass Selection Hall. The second son's family occupied the Pulp Making Hall, while the third son's family dwelled in the Paper Skimming Hall. There was also an empty courtyard, labeled as the Sun Drying Hall.

It was clear that these names were all related to papermaking.

Castor, grass selection, pulp making, paper skimming, and sun drying - these processes combined to create sheets of paper with a clear texture and a delicate structure, forming the backbone of the Xuanzhou Chen family, which consisted of seventy-six members, including servants.

In short, the Chen family was a successful local urban private enterprise in Xuanzhou.

The matriarch managed both internal and external affairs with a firm grip; she excelled at both. The eldest son was responsible for expanding their political connections, while the second son assisted the matriarch in managing the business, awaiting his inheritance of the Chen paper industry. As for the third son...

Younger sons often lagged behind.

Chen San, or Chen Fu, was no exception.

Chen San, known as Chen Fu, began his education at the age of six and was now thirty-six years old. Neither a scholar nor a warrior, he married the youngest daughter of the Sun family, proprietors of a neighboring Jiangnan silk weaving business, when he was eighteen. He should have led a typical life of a wealthy second-generation heir, filled with frivolous pursuits.

However, at the ripe age of twenty-seven, he encountered He Ainiang, who appeared as fragile as a morning glory flower, and her young daughter, He Xianjin, during a famine.

From then on, Chen San's romantic inclinations blossomed.

Defying pressure, he obstinately took the remarried He Ainiang as his concubine.

He became obsessed.

Anything that Lady Sun, the third wife, possessed, regardless of its rarity or value, Chen Fu was determined to obtain for He Ainiang.

He didn't care even if his mother scolded him to his face.

He Ainiang was slender and sensitive, often plagued by illness. Chen Fu stayed by her side day and night, spending his own money to send ginseng and bird's nest soup flowing into He Xiaoniang's quarters.

Not only did he send these gifts, but he made sure everyone knew about it.

He wanted everyone to envy her!

He wanted everyone to see that despite his lack of scholarly or martial prowess, he knew how to pamper and care for someone!

He wasn't just good for nothing!

Everyone in the third branch's inner courtyard envied He Ainiang for her "lavish favor."

But He Xianjin, while gathering information, silently added "rebellious" and "immature" to the list of labels for Chen San's infatuated persona.

He Xianjin pieced together that Chen San and her mother's story was likely one of a rebellious, spoiled second-generation heir falling for a delicate, weak female lead.

Xianjin's gaze shifted from the love-struck Chen San to the memorial tablet before the coffin.

It bore the inscription, "The Position of My Wife, He Ainiang."

He Xianjin let out a soft sigh.

"My wife, my wife."

Could Chen San, the true husband, bear this indignity?

Perhaps he had long since grown tired of it.

It was the original body's inexplicable drowning that had led to He Xiaoniang's sudden deterioration in health.