Chapter 1: Is This Really Something a Human Could Do?

Liang Kingdom.

Xinchou City, Chicken Crow Alley.

Xu Mo, who had just arrived from another world, gazed at the millet porridge as thin as water and could not help but shake his head, a look of despondency clouding his face.

“Husband, won’t you drink your porridge? Is it because there’s no meat in it?” came a gentle woman’s voice to his ear.

He jolted to his senses and saw before him a stunning beauty, perhaps eighteen years old, tall and delicately lovely. Though her clothes were plain and worn, and her face bore no trace of cosmetics, to Xu Mo she seemed like a fairy stepped out of a painting. Yet, she was painfully thin, her hair tinged with yellow—a clear sign of malnutrition.

This was Chen Miaoyi, wife to Xu Mo’s predecessor, famed as the great beauty of Xinchou County. She was never meant to marry him, but calamity had struck the Chen family, driving them to hastily marry off their daughter in hopes of sparing her from disaster. At that time, no one in Xinchou dared to take her hand—no one, that is, save for the stubborn man Xu Mo now inhabited.

Not long after the wedding, the crisis threatening the Chen family suddenly resolved itself. Her parents immediately ordered their daughter to divorce and follow them to the capital. But Chen Miaoyi refused, firmly believing that husband and wife should grow old together and share both hardship and joy. She quarreled bitterly with her parents, who, in their anger, left for the capital and declared they had no daughter by her name.

Just yesterday, Xu Mo’s predecessor fell ill and collapsed. It was at that moment the soul of the modern Xu Mo, a top science student, crossed over and took possession of this body.

Xu Mo set down his bowl and beckoned to Chen Miaoyi. “Come here. I have something to ask you.”

But Chen Miaoyi did not dare approach. Shaking her head, frightened, she said, “Husband, I haven’t lied to you. There truly is only this little rice left in the house... You know, all my dowry has long since been sold. There’s no money for meat. Please, don’t hit me, I beg you.”

Xu Mo was stunned.

His predecessor had developed a twisted temperament—after failing in the imperial examinations, he abandoned himself to drink, pleasure, and gambling, squandering all their property. Not only would he beat his wife at the slightest provocation, but he also sold off her dowry, leaving her in tears day after day.

Yet Chen Miaoyi, out of gratitude for his having married her when no one else dared, endured everything. Not only did she refuse to leave, she toiled willingly to serve him and supply his needs.

“Husband, give me more time,” Chen Miaoyi sobbed, tears streaming down her cheeks. “I’ll find a way to borrow more money for your wine and meat.”

Xu Mo’s heart ached for her. If, in the modern world, he had such a beautiful wife, he would only have cherished her, never raised a hand.

He walked to her side, but as soon as he raised his hand, she flinched and stepped back.

“Don’t be afraid,” Xu Mo said softly, pulling her gently back. He wiped away her tears with his sleeve and said earnestly, “I was wrong before. I will never hit you again.”

At these words, Chen Miaoyi’s expression changed. A foreboding crept into her heart. In the year since their marriage, her husband had done nothing but beat and scold her. On the rare occasion he spoke kindly, it was to coax her into pawning her dowry or begging money from others. This sudden gentleness could only mean he wanted her to find money again!

She burst into tears. “Husband, how much do you owe this time?”

“I’ve already asked every neighbor and all my father’s old friends. No one will lend us a single copper coin anymore.”

Xu Mo rolled his eyes and managed a bitter smile. “Please, stop crying. I haven’t borrowed any more money, nor will I ask you to beg on my behalf.”

Chen Miaoyi looked at him, skeptical.

“I mean it,” Xu Mo insisted.

What a wonderful girl, he thought. How could his predecessor have been so blind?

Even with his certainty, Chen Miaoyi could not bring herself to believe him. Every time she trusted his sweet talk, it only led to deeper pain. His words could never be trusted.

Suddenly, the courtyard door was kicked open with a crash. In strode a burly, black-faced man with a red sash at his waist, followed by a young nobleman whose bright attire and haughty air marked him as the scion of a wealthy house.

The black-faced man’s eyes lit up at the sight of Chen Miaoyi. “Well, still having your meal?” he sneered.

Xu Mo’s face darkened immediately. He pulled Chen Miaoyi behind him. “Who are you? Why have you barged into my home?”

From behind him, Chen Miaoyi was surprised—he was actually trying to protect her.

Xu Mo felt that the black-faced man seemed familiar, but could not recall his identity or his predecessor’s connection to him.

“He’s Steward Xu from Changlong Gambling Hall,” Chen Miaoyi whispered. “Don’t you remember him?”

“Steward Xu…”

With that reminder, Xu Mo recalled everything. His predecessor had often gambled at Changlong, and even borrowed money from this very steward.

“Your home? How amusing,” Steward Xu sneered. “This property now belongs to Young Master Ning. And the pretty thing behind you—she’ll soon belong to our Young Master as well!”

“Nonsense!” Xu Mo’s anger flared.

Steward Xu had not expected the usually spineless Xu Mo to react so fiercely. He snarled, “You’d better take a good look. Black and white, clear as day—think you can deny it?”

He flourished an IOU, unfolding it with a frown.

“Xu Mo of Chicken Crow Alley, Xinchou, hereby borrows one hundred taels of silver from Changlong Gambling Hall, to be repaid in full with thirty percent interest after one month. As collateral, his ancestral home and…”

Steward Xu paused, then looked up at Chen Miaoyi.

She shrank behind Xu Mo, eyes wide with shock.

Steward Xu continued, “…and his wife, Chen Miaoyi!”

Stunned, Chen Miaoyi looked at Xu Mo in disbelief. “Husband, you… you actually…”

Xu Mo was dumbfounded as well. He had never imagined his predecessor could sink so low as to pledge his own wife as collateral.

What kind of monster would do such a thing?

Staring at the handprint and signature on the IOU, memories flooded his mind, making him grit his teeth and clench his fists. His predecessor had been drunk, led astray by dissolute friends, and in a fit of desperation, had written this note.

In Xinchou, livelihoods were hard. A strong laborer could earn forty to fifty copper coins a day at most. With one tael equaling a thousand coins, a hundred taels was a hundred thousand coins—a laborer would need over two thousand days, more than five and a half years, to repay such a sum, and that was without considering living expenses or taxes.

Such a staggering debt made Xu Mo’s head throb.

Steward Xu leered at Chen Miaoyi. “Pretty lady, pack your things and come with us. Life with our Young Master Ning will be far better than suffering with this fellow.”

Tears streamed down Chen Miaoyi’s cheeks, falling to the ground as her heart twisted in agony.