Consciousness hazy, Qiao Xuan, lying on the bed, heard a knock on the door, followed by a middle-aged woman’s anxious and slightly nervous inquiry, “Duan’er, are you okay? What happened?”
“Mom, it’s nothing, I accidentally knocked over a stool.”
The woman became agitated, “Ah? You didn’t get hurt, did you?”
“No, don’t worry. You’ve had a tiring day, go rest!”
“Alright, then you… you rest too…”
There was no more sound outside the door, but in Qiao Xuan’s heart, there was a thought, “What the heck, why is there a man in this room?!” She suddenly opened her eyes wide.
Meeting a pair of cold and clear eyes, she was so scared that she couldn’t catch her breath and coughed heavily while covering her mouth.
A quick glance around the room revealed the color red everywhere, and the words “Double Happiness” – this was definitely a bridal chamber!
“You… you…” Qiao Xuan hastily scrambled up, clutching the blanket, shrinking into the corner of the bed, eyes wide open, staring at the man, “Don’t come near me!”
The man chuckled slightly, with a hint of coldness, and muttered angrily through clenched teeth, “You crazy woman! Unreasonable! If you didn’t want to marry, you could have refused. If I hadn’t found out – how can I face my family in the future if our new bride committed suicide on the wedding night? How can I face my parents and brothers?”
Qiao Xuan was stunned. She then saw the white silk dangling from the beam, which looked a little eerie in this room filled with festive red…
Below the white silk was a fallen stool, which must have caused a commotion when her cheap husband rescued her, thus alarming his mother.
Her mind stirred suddenly, and Qiao Xuan turned pale with a rush of memories of the original owner flooding into her mind like a tide…
The original owner’s status was not low compared to this rural family. She was the daughter of a county magistrate – although a bastard.
She had already been engaged long ago, as her late mother had arranged a betrothal for her. Her fiancé, who was remarkable, had actually passed the imperial examination and become a county magistrate sent for training, coincidentally in the neighboring county.
In theory, it was perfect, a harmonious union between the two families.
But the stepmother resented the original owner’s mother, so how could she be willing to let Qiao Xuan marry such an outstanding young man who achieved so much at the age of eighteen?
So, not long ago, she had tricked Qiao Xuan into going out to pray, and had someone push her into the water by the riverside.
They had thought they could get away with it, but unexpectedly, Qiao Xuan was saved by the groom – Shao Yunduan from Shao Village.
With the intimate connection established, they could only get married to protect his reputation.
The stepmother was delighted.
This was great!
She wouldn’t have to bear the guilt of intentionally causing someone’s death, and she could also force Qiao Xuan to marry into a peasant family, suffer for the rest of her life, and never be able to turn the tables around!
So, she quickly reported to her husband and promptly hurriedly married Qiao Xuan off to the Shao family.
Qiao Xuan was in despair and fury, but she was tightly guarded during her time at home, and she couldn’t do anything. At that time, she still held a glimmer of hope in her heart.
However, today, after she was married, she quietly lifted the curtain to see the simplicity of the new room, felt as if she had fallen into an icy chamber, and realized that there was no hope left in her life. Filled with indignation and despair, she committed suicide…
Unexpectedly, she was saved in time by Shao Yunduan – but that’s not quite accurate. The original owner was still dead, and the one who woke up in her body was the transmigrated Qiao Xuan.
