Chapter 1

Chapter One

“I heard Wang Laoshuan’s second son drowned himself!”

“Seriously?!”

“Absolutely! He was lifeless when they pulled him out!”

“Oh, heavens, how tragic. What drove him to such despair?”

“It’s all because his parents are so biased. They wanted to marry him off to Chen Dalang in town for an auspicious wedding. I heard that young man is so sick he can’t even get out of bed. If things go badly, he might end up widowed.”

“They pushed a good child to such an extreme.”

“Exactly. Selling their own son for just ten strings of cash. What kind of parents would do that?”

“Ah…” The old woman sighed, falling silent. Every family had its own troubles, but no matter how hard life got, one shouldn't sacrifice their children. The Wang family was truly heartless!

At that moment, the subject of their gossip lay drenched in the courtyard.

Wang Ying heard voices, muffled and indistinct, as if through a pane of glass. He tried to open his eyes, but his eyelids felt impossibly heavy, refusing to budge.

After a long while, his stomach churned violently. He suddenly vomited a large mouthful of water, and only then did full consciousness return.

“Ah! Second Brother is alive!” a shrill voice shrieked nearby.

People immediately swarmed around him. At the forefront was a middle-aged man in coarse, short clothing, his skin dark, a mustache on his face, glaring furiously at Wang Ying.

Beside him stood a short woman, also in drab, gray clothes, her hair pulled back, her face etched with a harsh, critical expression as she looked at him.

“You little beast, you’ve grown bold enough to throw yourself into the river! You’ve brought utter disgrace upon me!” the middle-aged man cursed, raising a hand as if to strike him.

Startled, Wang Ying tried to dodge but accidentally tumbled off the wooden plank. A wave of dizziness washed over him, and it took him a moment to realize something was profoundly wrong.

He looked around: a simple wattle fence, a low thatched hut, and people covered in dust and grime, like background extras in a period drama.

Just that morning, he had been at the experimental field checking crops and accidentally fell into a roadside well. Although there were villages nearby, they all had spacious brick houses, nothing like this place. Where on earth was he?!

A few people nearby intervened, restraining the middle-aged man and urging, “Brother Laoshuan, don’t hit the child. It’s a blessing that Second Brother survived!”

“Yes, Yingzi was just momentarily confused. The Chen family are landowners with hundreds of acres. Marrying into their family means never having to worry about food or drink again.”

Before Wang Ying could fully grasp what they were saying, his mind felt a chaotic jumble, and darkness enveloped him as he fainted once more.

He remained unconscious for half a day, finally managing to sort through the original owner’s memories.

The original owner was five years younger than him, just eighteen. They shared the same name, Wang Ying, but their destinies were vastly different.

Little Wang Ying was the second child, with an older brother and a younger brother. By all accounts, he should have been a boy, but in this dynasty, there was a unique gender known as a *ge’er*.

Outwardly, a *ge’er* resembled a boy but lacked typical male biological functions. Instead, they could bear children like women. Wang Ying was such a *ge’er*.

From childhood, he had been disliked by his parents. Now, they had outright sold him for ten strings of cash to a landowning family in town for an auspicious wedding.

The original owner, unwilling to marry, pleaded desperately for days. Seeing his parents remain unmoved, he despairingly threw himself into the river and drowned. Unexpectedly, Wang Ying, having just drowned in a well, found himself reborn in this body.

The awakened Wang Ying was even more dismayed. As a straight, upstanding young man, he was now expected to become someone’s wife. Who wouldn’t feel wronged by that?

But given the Wang family’s situation, there was no way they would return the ten strings of cash. Dying again was absolutely out of the question.

A man must be adaptable. So what if he had to… become someone’s wife? He could endure it.

He heard the Chen family were landowners. Perhaps he could negotiate with them. If he truly brought them luck, maybe they would give him a field to farm and make a living.

Over the next few days, Wang Ying stayed quietly at home, awaiting the marriage. Wang Laoshuan, uneasy that he might cause more trouble, assigned his youngest son to keep a close eye on him.

Wang’s third son noticed his second brother seemed like a different person. Previously, he had been talking about death daily, but now he was calm, either sitting on the bed in a daze or talking to the wall alone.

Sometimes, he would ask strange questions, such as which dynasty it was, the climate throughout the year, how many acres of land the family had, what crops they grew, how many harvests a year, and the yield…

A young boy like him had no idea about these things. He felt as if his second brother had been possessed by a spirit, and he was too scared to stay in the same room with him.

*

Another four or five days passed, and finally, the wedding day arrived.

Early in the morning, Wang Ying was pulled out of bed by his mother, washed, dressed, and put into a grass-green robe. According to local customs, men wore red and women wore green on their wedding day, much like the traditions of the Song Dynasty.

Around seven in the morning, the sound of music and celebration echoed outside—the wedding procession had arrived.

The Chen family seemed to take this marriage seriously, even hiring an eight-bearer sedan chair to fetch the bride, a first in the surrounding villages.

Women and children curiously circled the sedan chair. The wedding matron entered the yard, speaking auspicious words. Since Chen Dalang was too ill to get out of bed, his younger brother, Chen Sanlang, had to stand in for him.

Chen Sanlang, only ten years old, wore an ill-fitting wedding robe, nervously following the wedding matron as he waited for his new sister-in-law to emerge.

A few days earlier, he had heard that his future sister-in-law had thrown herself into the river, nearly drowning, because she didn’t want to marry his brother. He had expected her to cause a scene today.

To his surprise, in less time than it takes to sip tea, the person emerged from the room. With gentle features and a handsome face, dressed in a light green robe like a slender willow, he was so captivating that one couldn’t look away.

Even the wedding matron couldn’t help but admire him inwardly. No wonder the Chen family was willing to spend a fortune to marry him—Wang Ying had such striking looks!

“The magpie alights on the branch to celebrate the new marriage; two hearts unite to bring blessings. Young sir, please board the sedan~”

Wang Ying walked up to Chen Sanlang, took hold of the red silk in his hand, and said, “Let’s go.”

“Ah, ah.” The child quickly lowered his head, blushing, and led the other end of the silk toward the sedan chair.

Only after Wang Ying boarded the sedan did his mother symbolically wipe the corner of her eye with a handkerchief, urging him to listen to his in-laws and not throw tantrums.

As the sedan chair lifted and swayed its way toward town, Wang Ying’s anxious heart finally settled. Heaven knew how he had managed these past few days, constantly fearing that someone would discover he was a different person and burn him as a monster.

Still, he had managed to learn a few things. For instance, the village was called Wangjia Village and, based on its geographical location in his previous life, was likely in the North China region. The area had four distinct seasons, and it was currently June—hot and rainy.

The North China Plain was flat and not particularly fertile, but the climate was suitable. The main crops were millet, soybeans, and wheat. Of course, there was also rice, but that was reserved for the nobility—commoners couldn’t afford it.

In his previous life, Wang Ying had been a senior agriculture student, and coincidentally, his research focus had been on crop cultivation and breeding. Now, transmigrating to ancient times, he was practically in his element.

Secondly, the dynasty was called the Wu Dynasty, which he had never heard of. Since Emperor Wu, the Grand Ancestor, founded the dynasty, it had lasted over 130 years. Judging by historical patterns, the dynasty was at its peak, so there likely wouldn’t be major wars anytime soon.

Wang Ying felt somewhat fortunate to have transmigrated to a peaceful era, free from the worries of war. If he had ended up in a time of chaos, he might have died as soon as he arrived.

Lost in thought, the sedan chair soon arrived in town. The bumpy ride had left his backside sore and his stomach churning with acid. Since he hadn’t eaten anything in the morning, he couldn’t even vomit.

Finally, they reached the entrance of the Chen residence. Amidst the crackling of firecrackers, Chen Sanlang lifted the sedan curtain again. “Sister-in-law, please step out.”

It took Wang Ying a moment to realize the term “sister-in-law” was directed at him. A grown man being called “sister-in-law”—he couldn’t help but chuckle, quickly covering his mouth with a fan as he took the red silk and walked into the Chen family’s courtyard.

Unlike the village, the Chen family’s estate was large, built mostly with brick and wood. However, it was still old and dilapidated, a world apart from modern architecture.

During the wedding ceremony, Chen Sanlang stood in again. It was clear that Chen Dalang was indeed seriously ill.

Since the Chen family's old master passed away a few years ago, only Old Lady Chen remained in the seat of honor. She was not particularly old, but her temples were already streaked with white, and her brow was permanently furrowed with worry. Watching Wang Ying kneeling and kowtowing on the ground, she forced a faint smile and nodded.

No wonder she was so worried. Ever since the family’s master died, her eldest son had also fallen gravely ill. As his condition worsened day by day, and none of the town doctors could help, Lady Chen grew desperate. In her panic, she sought help from an old Taoist priest at a local temple.

The priest advised her that Chen Dalang lacked the water element in his five elements and needed to marry a spouse whose elemental fate was water to prolong his life. Coincidentally, Wang Ying’s five elements were dominated by water, so the family paid to bring him into the family for an "auspicious wedding" meant to ward off illness.

After the whole ceremony was over, Wang Ying was surrounded and ushered into the bridal chamber by a crowd of women and matrons, finally meeting his nominal “husband.”

Lying in bed, Chen Dalang was only seventeen years old, a year younger than Wang Ying (in his previous life). Prolonged illness had left him emaciated, little more than skin and bones.

When he saw Wang Ying, his expression was far from pleased—likely dissatisfied that his mother had hastily arranged a marriage with a male spouse.

Relatives, afraid of disturbing the sick man, didn't dare cause a disturbance. They offered a few auspicious words, wishing the couple to have children soon, and then left.

As soon as everyone was gone, Wang Ying quickly wiped his face clean with a handkerchief. The rouge applied in the morning had smeared with sweat, sticking unpleasantly to his skin and making it hard to breathe.

Noticing some pastries on the table, he lifted the hem of his robe, sat down, and began to eat.

The pastries were somewhat dry; each bite was so dry it was hard to swallow. In his haste, Wang Ying choked, and with no water on the table, he spent a long time pounding his chest before finally managing to swallow that mouthful.

“Pfft…” Chen Qingyan, lying in bed, couldn’t hold back a laugh.

Hearing the sound, Wang Ying turned around and saw the young man on the bed looking at him with curiosity.

“What are you laughing at?”

“There’s a water jug on the cabinet.” Perhaps from long disuse, his voice came out hoarse.

Wang Ying picked up the jug, opened the lid, and sniffed. It contained cool boiled water. He poured it into a bowl and gulped it down noisily.

After drinking half the jug in one go, his stomach finally felt fuller. Noticing the chapped lips of the person on the bed, Wang Ying poured a bowl of water and handed it over.

Chen Qingyan licked his lips but shook his head.

“Are you afraid you’ll wet the bed if you drink water?”

“Such… such crude words!” Chen Qingyan had not expected to be seen through and flushed with embarrassment.

Seeing his reaction, Wang Ying felt even more at ease. “What you have, I have too. Besides, we’re married now—why be shy?”

Chen Qingyan’s ears burned crimson. He turned away and muttered under his breath, “Shameless!”

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