Chapter 1

"You little slut, the sun is already hitting your ass and you're still sleeping in! The whole family is waiting, why haven't you gotten up to make breakfast?"

This was the Zhao-Li Village in the northwest of the Dongli Kingdom. Outside the entrance of the Third Branch of the Li family, an old woman was cursing and scolding.

"Are you deaf? The whole family only knows how to rely on an old woman like me!"

These words dragged in the eldest, the second, the fourth, the fifth, and everyone else as well.

The eldest daughter-in-law, Little Mrs. Zhou, had a look of dissatisfaction on her face, while the second daughter-in-law remained indifferent.

The fifth son was reading in the room; he was staring blankly at his book, lost in thought, and his earlobes were slightly red.

She had been cursing all morning and was right in the middle of a satisfying rant when a curved knife used for cutting pig grass suddenly flew out from the house. It spun several times in the air before falling with a *clatter* right next to Mrs. Zhou's feet...

Mrs. Zhou jumped in fright, her legs trembling uncontrollably. She had nearly been cleaved by a blade!

The fourth daughter, Pearl, couldn't stand her mother dragging her into this. Just as she was stepping out of the main hall, she happened to witness this terrifying scene!

"Mother, what happened? Has Sister-in-law gone mad? She dares to swing a knife at you?"

She rubbed her eyes in disbelief, looking again to make sure she wasn't seeing things!

She had to make sure her mother didn't blame her for not working!

Only then did Mrs. Zhou react. She scurried to the entrance of the Third Branch and began cursing loudly,

"Heavenly killer! You little slut, are you rebelling? You fat hen that can't even lay an egg, you dare to strike your mother-in-law?"

"If you've got the guts, come out and face me!"

The door, which had only been cracked open a corner, creaked open. A woman weighing about three hundred pounds squeezed out, swaying from side to side.

The woman's figure was extremely corpulent; her face was swollen into a ball, her features squeezed into a single mass. However, her complexion was pale, and she was panting heavily from exhaustion after only a few steps!

It was as if she had just recovered from a major illness. Her eyes were cold...

Exuding a chill...

Li Xi'er took a silent breath. *Whew! Good heavens, why did she make me transmigrate into such a massive body!*

Even just walking took her a tremendous amount of effort...

Mrs. Zhou and her daughter looked at the behemoth before them. They wanted to see through her, but they were secretly puzzled...

This Luo Zhi'er was usually accustomed to being bullied by them, acting like a soft bun, working tirelessly and without complaint for this family.

Her father had died in a fall before she was married, and there was no one in her original home to speak for her.

Mrs. Zhou thought this dim-witted fat girl could still be easily worn down just like before.

"Go feed the pigs!"

The piglets hadn't been eating much since yesterday; they were likely sick. Usually, Mrs. Zhou wouldn't let anyone else touch them—they were her precious treasures.

If she let her feed them and something went wrong, she would be held accountable!

She would make her third son pay the silver in compensation. The third son was usually an honest man who did everything with a mumble, but he was a formidable hunter; it was just that all the silver from his sales was handed over to her.

The Li family had four sons and one daughter, and they had not yet split the household.

The eldest, Li Daqiang, was married. Wife: Little Mrs. Zhou. Two sons: the eldest, Yunliang; the second, Muqing. Daughter: Liuliu, six years old.

The second, Li Lei, was married. Wife: Mrs. Chen. Two sons: the eldest, Jiayong; the second, Jiabao.

The third, Li Sanmao, was married. Wife: Luo Zhi'er. One daughter, Miaomiao, five and a half years old.

The fourth, Li Zhenzhu, was an only daughter, seventeen years old, an old maid, unmarried.

The fifth, Li Gui, was fifteen years old, the only scholar in the Li family. He had passed the entrance exam for a *tongsheng* two years ago and was unmarried.

Just by hearing the names, one could tell the third son was like a blade of grass; ranked third, he was sandwiched between treasures above and below, making him the one who suffered the most!

Li Xi'er looked coldly at the two women standing outside the door. Were these the Li mother and daughter who had indirectly caused her original self's death?

"You fat corpse, what are you doing? You dare glare at us like that?"

Li Zhenzhu stood with her hands on her hips, momentarily feeling a chill in her heart from that cold gaze.

"You... you wench, what are you looking at? Have you been possessed by a demon? Was it you who threw that knife just now? You dare to move against my mother?"

Luo Zhi'er was the only daughter of Old Man Luo. She had been exceptionally fat as a child. Old Man Luo doted on his daughter and gave her all the best things.

However, he had picked her up. He had no wife, and before he passed away, he left her in the care of Li Sanmao, whom he had once saved.

On that day, Li Sanmao had gone to Black Mountain to hunt. He wandered too far and was ambushed by a large cat in the deep mountains.

He lay on the mountain for a day and a night until Old Man Luo, who was from Luo Village in the back of Black Mountain and was out gathering mountain goods, found him and carried him back.

Old Man Luo was usually a warm-hearted and honest man.

Seeing him unconscious and not knowing who he was, he had no choice but to invite the village doctor and prescribe medicine.

He looked after him for two days, and only after he woke up and through some questioning did he learn he was from Zhao-Li Village.

He sent word for the Li family to come and collect him, but he waited and waited, and no one came.

He wondered to himself: *Is the Li family not worried at all that they've lost a person?*

He had no choice but to wait until the man was better before personally seeing him home.

He had delivered the man, but the Li family hadn't even offered him a meal.

Later, they were unwilling to spend the silver to treat Li Sanmao properly, so they just wrapped him up haphazardly with some herbs and let him linger.

They thought that if they just let him linger, he would get better; eventually, they couldn't even be bothered to wrap the herbs.

Not to mention the various branches of the family; they had their own sons and daughters, so why would they care for him? After all, he was a severely injured person; how could he endure it?

In just a few days, he was at death's door. Old Man Luo felt uneasy at home, so he carried some mountain goods and ran over to check on him.

He saw him with a pale face and sunken cheeks, lying on the floor of the house, wanting water...

He looked truly pitiful. The man was dying, and though he had parents, the family had so many children and grandchildren that no one cared.

Who would bring him food and drink?

Regardless, he had looked after him for a few days and felt some attachment. Li Sanmao was also a kind young man, so the old man returned to the village to fetch the original doctor to treat him again.

In his spare time, he would often come by to check on him and provide care.

Until he recovered.

Li Sanmao remembered his kindness; from then on, whenever he hunted, he would leave a bit for him and deliver it.

This matter made Mrs. Zhou extremely uncomfortable!

She felt Old Man Luo had ulterior motives, trying to get something for nothing...

Sure enough, he had promised his fat daughter, the dim-witted Luo Zhi'er, to Li Sanmao...

Otherwise, given the mindset of the old Li couple, the third son's wife would never have been married.

They didn't actually expect the third son to marry; although they favored boys over girls, they didn't expect the third son to add another mouth to feed!

The third son was the most honest in the family, the best at earning silver, and a very skilled hunter.

Every time he caught wild game, he would sell it for a good amount of silver and hand it all over, which also allowed the whole family to eat meat.

As soon as Luo Zhi'er woke up just now, she had been hearing sharp, scolding voices outside.

Recalling past events in her mind, she knew that the husband of this body's parents neither loved nor cared for him. As for her, she loved to eat. She had been married for six years and had only given birth to one daughter.

Because she was fat, she was slow in everything; because she was an only daughter, she was a bit dim-witted and slightly selfish.

When she gave birth to her daughter Miaomiao, she had suffered greatly because of her weight; therefore, she wasn't very close to her own daughter!

Not to mention her in-laws disliked her, even her own daughter Miaomiao avoided her.

This time, because she was pregnant, her mother-in-law and sister-in-law had played tricks on her, intentionally making her go to the river to wash clothes.

Because she was too heavy, she slipped and fell into the river, choking on the water. She couldn't get out for a long time and caught a chill.

She was fished out by Li Daniu, who was at the river to fetch water for the vegetable garden. He had almost been crushed under her weight when he tried to carry her back...

He had to carry, support, and drag her all the way, only managing to bring her back after attracting the attention of the villagers!

Her heavy body was already weak, so she ended up having a miscarriage...

Mrs. Zhou had made a scene, demanding she be thrown into a pig cage or something, but Li Sanmao had protected her...

This morning, Li Sanmao had gone to the mountains to hunt before dawn, saying he would catch some wild eggs to nourish her. The family kept about ten chickens, but all the eggs they laid were collected by her mother.

When Sanmao had asked her for some yesterday, he was scolded so harshly that his face turned ashen...

"Feeding that scandalous little slut is no better than feeding pigs!"

Mrs. Zhou stood with her hands on her hips, saliva flying as she spoke.

"Hmph! You little slut, if you aren't being greedy with food, you're sleeping in. Why don't you just eat yourself to death?"

"Mother, I don't feel well. There are so many people in this house, why are you relying on a sick person like me to make breakfast?"

"What? A sick person? You've eaten yourself into this state, looking as bulky as a pillar, and now you're playing the fragile one? Do you think you're some pampered young lady?"

"Hmph! I'm not playing; I am truly sick. If you won't, then go invite Doctor Li!"

Mrs. Zhou slapped her face with a loud *smack*.

"You have the nerve to say that? A woman being carried back by a grown man—you've brought nothing but shame to the Li family, and you still dare to ask for a doctor?"

Mrs. Zhou sized her up in disbelief. This third daughter-in-law used to be greedy for food...

But she hadn't dared to resist in this house; she was a bit dim-witted and did whatever she was told!

"Doesn't inviting a doctor cost silver?"

(End of Chapter)