Chapter 1

“Did you hear? That woman still hasn’t woken up!” “It’s already noon and she’s still sleeping? How shameless. Her own children are crying from hunger.” “Keep your voice down. She’s not someone to mess with. She’s fierce. Her parents-in-law were even driven out by her and had to move into the thatched hut in the back. I heard yesterday that she’s still not satisfied. She wants Old Man Lu to hand over all the family’s money to her.” “Tsk, what a shameless, vicious woman. The whole Lu family is honest and simple-minded, so how did they end up marrying such a wicked daughter-in-law? What a disaster!” Bai Zhi lay flat on the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. The wooden house was in terrible condition. There was even a hole in the ceiling. If it rained, water would definitely leak through. She could hear every word spoken by the two old women outside. It was obvious they had no intention of hiding their conversation from her. In fact, they were probably deliberately saying all of it for her to hear. And honestly, that was understandable. After all, Bai Zhi was not exactly a good person. No one in the village liked her. “She stole her own younger sister’s fiancé…” “She’s been getting suspiciously close to the male educated youth…” “She bullies her parents-in-law and sister-in-law…” “She abuses her own children…” “She’s planning to take her parents-in-law’s money and elope with another man…” Bai Zhi sorted through her current situation and then let out a helpless laugh. She had practically unlocked every possible negative trait. When Bai Zhi had first transmigrated into this world, she had been quite happy. But reality had quickly poured a bucket of cold water over her excitement, leaving her heart completely chilled. “Exactly! She’s obviously just a country woman, yet she acts like she’s better than everyone else. I also heard she’s been running to the educated youths’ residence all the time lately. Who knows, maybe she’s trying to latch onto some promising young man.” “Tsk, tsk. I think so too. Hey, did you hear about the new male educated youth who just arrived? I heard he’s very handsome, and quite a few young girls in the village like him. Bai Zhi is even worse—she follows him around every single day.” “Shameless! She’s already a mother with two children, yet she still has no sense of shame! If I were her, I’d just go die!” Bai Zhi immediately sat bolt upright when she heard that. No way. Now that she had this identity, she absolutely could not continue letting people throw mud at her. “Bang!” Bai Zhi forcefully shoved the window open. The old wooden window creaked loudly. The sudden movement startled the two women gossiping right outside her window so badly that everything they were holding fell to the ground. “Good heavens, you scared me to death! Lu’s daughter-in-law, are you crazy?” Chen Xiufen was quick to curse at her. “You’re only finding out now that I’m sick?” Bai Zhi said coldly. “My illness is that I can’t stand people gossiping about me right in front of my face. Whenever I hear it, I have to slap them. So what? Are you staying because you’re waiting for me to slap you?” Bai Zhi’s expression was icy as she raised her hand and aimed a slap straight at Chen Xiufen’s face. “My god! She’s a lunatic!” Chen Xiufen turned and ran for her life. The other woman was frightened as well and hurried after her, terrified that Bai Zhi would catch up and slap her. Although Bai Zhi looked rather thin, she had an unusually great deal of strength. One slap from her could knock a cow to the ground. There was no way they dared fight with Bai Zhi. If they did, they might lose half their faces. “Heh.” Bai Zhi did not even spare them another glance before walking out of the house. She had vaguely heard children crying earlier. From the original owner’s memories, Bai Zhi knew those children were probably her own biological children. And there were two of them—a pair of twins, a boy and a girl. The children were only three years old, still at an age when they could barely take care of themselves. Bai Zhi had no idea how long they had been crying. The thought made her anxious, and she hurriedly began searching the house. She searched the front yard, the backyard, and even the only two rooms in the house, but she couldn't find the children anywhere. “Could something have happened to them?” Bai Zhi frowned anxiously. Then she suddenly remembered that her house was right at the foot of the mountain. There was a small ditch just outside the wall of the backyard. Could the children have fallen into it?! The thought made Bai Zhi immediately sprint outside. She ran quickly and soon made her way around to the back of the house. Sure enough, as soon as she turned the corner, she saw two little black figures crouching beside the ditch, apparently doing something. “What are you two doing?” Bai Zhi’s sudden voice startled Lu Tuan'an and Lu Shengrong so badly that their hands jerked, and the small wooden stick they were holding fell into the ditch with a soft plop. Lu Tuan'an didn't even have time to worry about the river shrimp she hadn't managed to scoop up. She immediately jumped to her feet and shielded her younger brother behind her. Her tiny body didn't even reach Bai Zhi's thigh. Yet she boldly glared at Bai Zhi with a fierce expression, as though the moment Bai Zhi tried to hit them, she would rush forward and bite her as hard as she could. “Forget it.” Bai Zhi found herself at a loss. She knew the original owner had done far too many terrible things, so it was only natural that the children weren't close to her. There was no need to force things right away. “As long as you're both safe. Come back home.” The moment Bai Zhi said this, Lu Tuan'an became even more wary. She stared at Bai Zhi like a little wolf ready to attack at any moment, her eyes filled with distrust. Lu Tuan'an genuinely didn't believe Bai Zhi would simply let them go. Whenever the two children secretly did something and Bai Zhi caught them, she would always scold them harshly. Sometimes, she would even grab one of them with each hand and spank them. Bai Zhi was incredibly strong. Even an adult man would have difficulty breaking free from her grip, let alone little children like Lu Tuan'an and Lu Shengrong. Today, the two of them had secretly sneaked out to catch river shrimp, and Bai Zhi had caught them red-handed. Lu Tuan'an didn't believe for a second that Bai Zhi would let them off so easily. She must have thought of an even harsher punishment. The thought made Lu Tuan'an's face turn pale. Yet the arm protecting her brother never dropped. “What are you going to do? It was all my idea. Don't hit my little brother. If you want to hit someone, hit me. I did it, so I'll take responsibility!” The little girl standing before Bai Zhi was still very young. Although the two children were twins and neither was technically older than the other, Lu Shengrong had always been quiet and timid. By comparison, Lu Tuan'an was a lively and fearless little girl. Without even realizing it, she had naturally taken on the role of an older sister and protected Lu Shengrong every day. Bai Zhi hadn't felt much toward these two children who had inexplicably become hers. But seeing the expression on Lu Tuan'an's little face now, she suddenly found the girl rather adorable. Bai Zhi squatted down so that she was at eye level with Lu Tuan'an. Lu Tuan'an swallowed nervously. Her palms were already sweating. When Bai Zhi suddenly reached out her hand, Lu Tuan'an was still only a three-year-old child. No matter how much she had prepared herself mentally, she couldn't help but tremble with fear when the moment came for her to be hit. “Sis!” Lu Shengrong shouted anxiously from behind her. But what happened next was completely beyond their expectations. Bai Zhi wasn't going to hit them at all. Instead, she gently patted Lu Tuan'an on the head. Lu Tuan'an couldn't believe the sensation she felt on her head. She stared at Bai Zhi as if she had just seen a ghost. She couldn't understand what this meant. What was Bai Zhi trying to do? No matter how hard she thought about it, she couldn't figure out her intentions. “I won't hit you.” Bai Zhi smiled faintly. “Come on. Let's go home and eat.” After saying that, Bai Zhi instinctively reached out to take the children's hands. But Lu Tuan'an was even faster. She grabbed her younger brother, Lu Shengrong, and immediately ran past Bai Zhi as fast as she could, as though Bai Zhi were some terrifying monster. “These two little brats…” Bai Zhi was helpless. She was also worried that the children might run off again, so she quickly followed them. Seeing Lu Tuan'an pull her brother along and dash all the way back home, Bai Zhi finally felt relieved.