Chapter 1: Husband, Have Some Porridge

Great Qian, Mianshui County, Xiantao Village.

In a dilapidated courtyard, the room was in complete disarray. Chen Jie lay on the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling.

Did I transmigrate?

I never expected such an absurd thing to happen to me.

But this "new home" of mine looks absolutely destitute!

"Husband, you're awake. Please, get up. It was my fault yesterday; please, have some porridge."

Just as Chen Jie was lost in thought, a pleasant female voice suddenly reached his ears. Chen Jie turned his head and saw a woman dressed in patched clothes, wearing no makeup, walking in while carrying an earthenware pot.

She was forcing a smile, but it couldn't hide the swollen, red slap marks on her face.

Su Yunjin!

My wife!!

Suddenly, a flood of memories rushed into his mind like a tide.

The Great Qian Empire, founded by foreign tribes... Xiantao Village, a degenerate gambler...

Bits and pieces of information surfaced, and Chen Jie finally understood his situation.

His original self was named Chen Jiusi, a resident of Xiantao Village, Mianshui County. His family background had originally been quite good; his maternal grandfather was a famous village doctor. Unfortunately, the old man had no sons, only one daughter. To ensure the Chen family line wouldn't end, he took in a son-in-law—Chen Jiusi's father.

His father had originally been a village fisherman. Later, because his family was extremely poor, he became a live-in son-in-law for the Chen family. He had hoped to learn the old doctor's medical skills, but the old man was very conservative—medical knowledge was passed down to sons, not daughters, and kept within the family, never shared with outsiders. A son-in-law had no right to inherit it; only those with the Chen family bloodline could be taught.

Thus, Chen Jiusi became the successor to his grandfather's legacy. Unfortunately, when Chen Jiusi was eight, the old doctor passed away, and Chen Jie never inherited his grandfather's medical skills.

The Chen family's medical lineage ended there. Fortunately, a fair amount of property remained. However, no one expected that once the old doctor died, his father—the son-in-law—would start drinking and gambling without anyone to keep him in check. Later, while drunk, he went swimming in the river and drowned.

Later, when Chen Jiusi grew up, his mother remembered a marriage arrangement her husband had made while he was alive with an old scholar from the village ahead, the Su family.

At the time, both families were well-matched—one the descendants of a famous doctor, the other a family of scholars—so they had arranged this childhood marriage.

Thus, his mother, dragging her sickly body, found the old scholar. The old scholar was a man of his word and immediately married off his daughter, Su Yunjin.

At first, life wasn't bad. Although the Chen family had lost their medical trade, they still had over twenty mu of prime farmland and a large courtyard house.

Chen's mother was still around and could keep Chen Jiusi in line. But the good days didn't last long. First, the Su family's old scholar went to the county seat, encountered bandits, and lost his life, leaving behind only a five-year-old orphaned daughter.

Chen's mother took charge and had Su Yunjin bring the girl over to raise her. Not long after, Chen's mother's old illness flared up, and she passed away.

Without his mother's restraint, the genes of his father erupted within Chen Jiusi. He actually started drinking and gambling. When he lost, he liked to beat his wife—he was simply worse than a beast.

Before long, he had gambled away the family fortune accumulated over three generations, and in the end, he was forced to move into the dilapidated house his father had lived in before marrying into the family.

Last night, he stole the deed to the family's last three mu of prime land and lost it in just a few rounds. Enraged, he got dead drunk again and ran back home, tearing the place apart, trying to find money to win back his losses.

He found nothing; the rice jar was bottoming out. Finally, in his madness, he saw his five-year-old sister-in-law, Su Yunrui. He remembered someone saying that there were human traffickers in the city who specifically bought young girls like her to train in brothels, which could fetch a good price.

So, he started to snatch the child. Su Yunjin naturally resisted, so Chen Jiusi slapped her twice, kicked her to the ground, and cursed, "You bitch, I am your husband! What I say goes. You dare to disobey me? I'll beat you to death, damn it!"

As he spoke, he kicked her again. Su Yunrui, who was nearby, threw herself in front of Su Yunjin, crying and begging, "Brother-in-law, please, stop hitting my sister. I beg you."

But Chen Jiusi stared coldly at Su Yunrui and said, "I'm hitting your sister because of you. If you're obedient and go to the city with me tomorrow, I'll send you to a place where you can eat your fill. How about that?"

"Brother-in-law, I don't want to go."

"Not being good, are you? Then I'll keep hitting your sister. Do you believe I'll beat her to death?"

"Wuu wuu, don't hit my sister, don't hit my sister. I'll go, I'll go. Ruirui will listen to brother-in-law, wuu wuu..."

"Heh, that's more like it."

Chen Jiusi patted the little girl's head with satisfaction, then looked at the woman on the ground and said, "What are you still sitting there for? Go get me water to wash my feet, you trash!"

...

Recalling the cause and effect in his mind, Chen Jie felt his scalp tingle. This guy was a living beast!

To have such a beautiful and gentle wife and not cherish her, but instead beat her—it was simply conscience-less.

Chen Jie defined his predecessor as: scum.

Thinking this, Chen Jie couldn't help but look at his wife again. The woman was about 1.65 meters tall, with very fair skin and large eyes. She was wearing coarse hemp clothes covered in patches, yet she exuded the gentleness and quietude of a refined young lady.

If such a woman were in his previous life, she would definitely be a big star. But now, she was his wife—this was a huge gain.

Chen Jie couldn't understand how his predecessor could bring himself to lay a hand on such a great beauty.

"Husband, why are you staring blankly? Come, drink your porridge."

The woman took out a chipped porcelain bowl and used a spoon to serve a bowl of white rice porridge. Looking at the white porridge, the little girl standing nearby, who looked very cute, swallowed hard.

"Gulp... Ruirui doesn't want to drink white rice porridge at all, not at all... Gulp..."

The woman glanced at her younger sister, a flash of heartache in her eyes, but she still brought the bowl of porridge to Chen Jie.

"Husband!"

She called out softly.

She handed over the bowl. Chen Jie looked at the swollen slap marks on her face, then saw the bruises on her arms. His heart ached; instead of taking the bowl, he grabbed her wrist.

The woman shuddered in fear, nearly dropping the bowl, and instinctively tried to pull her hand back.

But the violence she expected didn't come. Instead, Chen Jie rolled up her sleeve, revealing that her arm was covered in bruises.

Chen Jie fell silent.

The woman pulled her hand back, tears flashing in her eyes, but she continued, "Husband, come and drink the porridge. It was my fault yesterday. After you finish, you can take Ruirui to the city."

When she said this, her voice was steady, but Chen Jie could hear the tremor in it. Just as Chen Jie was about to say something, the woman said, "Husband, eat first, then we'll talk."

Chen Jie sighed, reached out, and took the bowl. Just as he picked up the spoon, a sound suddenly rang in his ears: *Ding~*

[Daily Intelligence System binding...]

(End of chapter)