Chapter 001: The sky is vast, the wilderness is boundless, and there is a widow who wants to cheat on her husband

"Chen Ning, I've told you everything I need to say. Look, your Zhao Mu's body is still warm at home, waiting to be buried. It's really inappropriate for you to be like this. You should go back."

"Auntie knows you have good intentions, and I thank you for helping me for so long. But you see, your Zhao Mu just passed away, and with your status... Besides, Yuan Zhou is about to discuss marriage, so you should avoid suspicion, right?"

"Go back, Chen Ning. Hi, why don't you understand what I'm saying? Let me be frank. Even if you don't have any shame, our Pei family still has some. Don't come here again!"

Shen Ning blinked, and finally confirmed that this was not an illusion at the moment of death. She really... traveled through time, no, reborn, but she was reborn and traveled through time!

As a doctorate in both chemistry and medicine, she believed in materialism more than anyone else, but the situation before her slapped her in the face.

The moment before, she, a patient with ALS, closed her eyes in the hospice ward, and when she opened them again, she became a cannon fodder character in the novel she had read the beginning of two days ago... with only a few words.

That novel was about the love-hate relationship between Pei Yuanzhou, the Prime Minister of Daxuan, and Xie Lingyue, the daughter of a wealthy family in the capital. The character she had now transmigrated into was Chen Ning, a village woman who was a neighbor of Pei Yuanzhou when he was still poor and struggling in the countryside.

Chen Ning's husband is away at war, and the restless village woman takes a fancy to Pei Yuanzhou, a handsome and talented man who is completely different from the surrounding country men, and shamelessly shows her courtesy to him.

Even when her husband's body was still warm, Chen Ning still dressed in red and green to seduce Pei Yuanzhou. As a result, she was reported to the head of the village, who led his men to put her in a pig cage in public, and her reputation was ruined.

The vulgar widow who dared to provoke the male protagonist naturally had a bad ending. After becoming notorious, she was involved in some dirty affairs with gangsters. In the end, she jumped into the river for some unknown reason. As a result, her body was taken away by her gambling father and arranged a ghost marriage for someone. It was both ridiculous and pitiful.

And she, the 21st century doctor Shen Ning, has now become this romantic widow seeking her own death...

Opposite was the self-conceited Pei's mother. Further inside, in a poor but tidy house, a beautiful woman in a plain white dress was taking the pulse of a handsome man in a green robe.

Shen Ning quickly matched the names: this man was the future Prime Minister Pei Yuanzhou, and the woman who took his pulse should be the female supporting character Li Yushi in the book... The current scene should be that Li Yushi's father, the old scholar, had just passed the imperial examination.

She quickly sorted through the memories she had received.

The supporting actress Li Yushi and her father, a juren, also live in the village. Li Yushi had always had a crush on Pei Yuanzhou, but her father, a juren, had failed to pass the imperial examination for several years and had never been able to find a good career path as a juren.

Pei's mother looked down on the Li family's poverty, and Li Yushi was also weak and not very strong, so she always kept her distance from Li Yushi.

After all, the Li family is a family of juren, and if you provoke them, you may have to marry them.

But Chen Ning is different.

Chen Ning is hardworking and has her own husband, so there is no need to worry about being entangled by her in the future. Moreover, if Chen Ning comes to her door and shows her courtesy, it will only ruin her own reputation.

Her son had to study hard, and she was in poor health and unable to do housework. The mother and son could not make ends meet, and they always needed someone to work like a slave.

In this way, Pei's mother tacitly allowed Shen Ning to come to the house every day under the banner of "getting along well with her aunt", took on all the housework and even gave her some money. It is no exaggeration to say that she supported them and their son. She took care of them for more than two years.

During this period, Pei's mother pretended not to know Shen Ning's intentions.

But just recently, Li Yushi's old father, who had failed the imperial examination several times, passed the imperial examination without any warning and was going to stay in Beijing. This made Pei's mother become interested.

Her son is about to take part in the autumn examination, and passing is a sure thing. He needs someone to take care of him when he goes to Beijing to take the exam... If he has a relationship with the Li family, then Mr. Li, who is an official in Beijing, will definitely be able to take care of him.

Just like that, Pei's mother changed her previous attitude of avoiding Li Yushi and began to warmly invite Li Yushi to come home for dinner.

As a result, Shen Ning, who had worked hard for more than two years, became an eyesore... It was also at this time that Shen Ning's husband Zhao Mu, who had no news for more than two years, came back.

But what came back was a corpse.

Chen Ning became a pretty widow, and Pei's mother was even more afraid of being pestered by this widow, especially since this widow came to the Pei family in red and green, regardless of her husband's body being still warm. This made Pei's mother speechless and annoyed.

So, she changed her usual warm attitude and directly blocked Shen Ning at the door, not even letting her in.

"Chen Ning, you should go back quickly to take care of Zhao Mu's funeral. The brother he brought back is still a fool, and the funeral cannot be done without you!"

Pei's mother suppressed her annoyance and pretended to coax her.

Shen Ning came back to her senses, looked at the impatient village woman in front of her, lowered her head to look at the red clothes on her body, and then she remembered that the head of the village was on the way to catch her with his men.

She was about to become a slut who had an affair with her husband while his body was still warm, and she was going to be caught and thrown into a pig cage.

No, she has to get through this disaster first, otherwise, in this era, it will be difficult for a woman with a ruined reputation to survive.

It was at this time that she saw a group of people walking quickly not far away, led by the head of the village of Qingyuan.

"Let's go and take a look. Zhao Mu's body hasn't even been buried yet, but she's already dressed up in red and green and trying to be attentive to men. She deserves to be thrown into a pig cage!"

"She has no sense of shame. It was fine that she loved to go to the Pei family in the past, but now that her husband's body is still warm, does she still have any humanity?"

"That's right. Zhao Mu brought back Zhao Nan, who had been lost for many years. Poor Zhao Nan has become stupid and doesn't know anything now. As his sister-in-law, she doesn't care about the living or the dead in her family, but she is so shameless as to sneak into other people's homes..."

"The Pei family is a family of scholars, how could they look down on her? Shameless."

The crowd was filled with indignation and talked about it incessantly.

Seeing that the group of people were about to arrive, Shen Ning looked up at Pei's mother, and her expression instantly became sad...

"Aunt, I came here today just to tell you something."

Mother Pei glanced at the approaching villagers, her expression uneasy and her eyes full of vigilance: "What's going on?"

Shen Ning blinked, and tears began to fall. She deliberately raised her voice and said with a sobbing tone: "I know that my aunt actually looked down on me in the past. The reason I shamelessly tried to establish a relationship with her was because I had something to ask of her... I wanted to ask my aunt to find out the whereabouts of my Zhao Mu for me when she goes to the capital with Master Pei to take the imperial examination."

Mother Pei was stunned when she heard this. Behind her, the villagers brought by the head of the village also vaguely heard what Shen Ning said, and the indignant voices began to fade.

Shen Ning wiped away her tears and smiled sadly: "But now, Zhao Mu has returned. I came here just to tell my aunt... I don't need to come again in the future, and I don't need to trouble you to help me find out."

Behind him, the villagers who had stopped looked at each other.

"Feelings, isn't Chen Ning here to show her courtesy?"

"This...seeing that she's crying like this, she must be telling the truth."

"That's right. My husband's body hasn't even been buried yet. Who could be so heartless as to pay attention to someone else? Aren't you afraid of being drowned in spit?"

The attitudes of the villagers who came with great momentum softened, and the expression of the village head also changed a little. After all, if a slut who was thrown into a pig cage appeared in his village, he, as the village head, would lose face.

But at this moment, Li Yushi, who had just been taking Pei Yuanzhou's pulse, stood up and walked out.

Although she was down and out, her grandfather came from a family of scholars. Li Yushi was different from other girls in the village. She taught herself medicine and often treated people, which earned her a lot of praise. She usually looked aloof and cool.

Now, she was standing in front of Shen Ning, looking at Shen Ning, and smiled faintly: “Sister Shen’s dress is really gorgeous and beautiful.”

As soon as she finished speaking, the villagers behind Shen Ning suddenly realized.

"She was still wearing red."

"That's right. She's wearing such gaudy clothes for a funeral. She's obviously heartless."

"You must have been lying. If you really cared about Zhao Mu, why would you wear red when your husband died?"

"Yeah, who says it's not..."

The village head's relaxed expression suddenly turned cold. After a pause, he said in a deep voice, "Chen Ning."

Shen Ning glanced at Li Yushi opposite her, then turned around: "Uncle De."

The head of the village was called Zhao De, a relative of Zhao Mu, so according to seniority he was called uncle.

Zhao De said with a cold face: "Zhao Mu's body is still warm, yet you are wearing all kinds of red and green..."

Shen Ning lowered her eyes and smiled, then interrupted him: "Uncle De, I wear this dress because Zhao Mu said that I look good in red. He likes to see me in red."

Zhao De frowned and was about to speak, but Shen Ning didn't give him a chance to speak. She walked back directly, took a few steps, and then jogged.

The villagers were confused by this, and some even whispered, "Did she know we were here to arrest her and try to escape?"

"Let's go, follow her and see where she can run to."

The group left the Pei family in high spirits. Mother Pei quickly closed the door, turned around and patted her chest: "That idiot is finally gone. Fortunately, he didn't bother us."

She said to her son, who was sitting silently at the table, "My son wants to be the top scholar, but he must not let himself be relied upon by that kind of person."

After saying this, he looked at Li Yushi next to him and said with a smile: "Only a girl like Miss Li is suitable to be taken home as a wife."

Li Yushi blushed slightly: "Aunt, you're joking. Where did this young lady come from?"

Mother Pei stepped forward and said, "Lord Li has stayed in Beijing to serve as an official. Our Yushi is now an official's daughter. I said it before, a girl like Yushi shouldn't be doing housework and hard work. She deserves a life of luxury and happiness."

Li Yushi blushed slightly: "Aunt, please stop talking. Brother Pei will laugh at you."

Mother Pei feigned anger: "How dare he! Yuanzhou...did you say yesterday that you had something for Yushi?"

Pei Yuanzhou, who had been silent the whole time, lowered his eyes and took out a hairpin from his sleeve. He then raised his head and said softly, "The capital is different from the countryside. This jade hairpin was left by my grandmother. Yushi, take it with you."

Li Yushi hurriedly said that it was not possible, but Pei's mother stuffed the ball into her arms without giving any explanation.

"My dear girl, I treat you like my own daughter, so don't be polite... Yuanzhou hasn't passed the imperial examination yet, so I won't say anything more. But remember, if Yuanzhou can pass the imperial examination in the future, I will definitely not allow him to marry anyone else."

Li Yushi finally took the jade hairpin with a blushing face...

Pei Yuanzhou lowered his eyes, his expression indifferent.

He naturally knew his mother's intention, and similarly, he didn't think there was anything wrong with driving Shen Ning away.

When Chen Ning came to show his affection, he asked his mother to refuse several times. However, the country woman had no self-respect and even made an excuse that she was bored at home and got along well with his mother and came to kill time.

She had no shame in winking at him several times and being treated coldly by him, let alone now that she was a widow.

Such a shameless woman should be avoided.

As for her excuse just now, Pei Yuanzhou thought it was all lies, but he had never realized before that the country woman had such thoughts and acting skills.

The Pei family was in harmony, while on the other side, Shen Ning ran back to the dilapidated house with her face covered. When she saw the coffin parked in the main room, she opened the lid and was about to jump in.

While she was "struggling" to crawl into the coffin, she was crying heart-wrenchingly.

"Zhao Mu, wuwuwu... I've been waiting for you for almost three years, almost three years. You promised me you would come back."

"I believed you would come back. I waited and waited, but you left me. I refused, I refused... Woohoo, look, I'm wearing your favorite clothes. Please take me with you!"

The villagers who followed the head of the village chased into the Zhao family's yard and saw this scene.

The pretty widow who was said to be planning to have an affair cried bitterly and even tried to crawl into the coffin regardless of the bad luck. The person who was walking fast quickly grabbed her.

"No, no... Zhao Mu's family, the dead cannot be resurrected, you have to think it through."

Two soft-hearted women nearby quickly stepped forward to stop them.

After all, this is an era of fear of ghosts and gods. Most people dare not talk nonsense about ghosts and gods, and have many taboos and fears. Seeing that Shen Ning was wearing a red dress and trying to crawl into the coffin, they almost immediately believed that she really wanted to follow her deceased husband.

Who would have thought that there would be such a person who doesn't care about ghosts and gods...how could I be suspicious anymore?

In addition, Shen Ning herself had been bedridden for several years and suffered a lot before her death. She was full of grievances and discomfort, and added a bit of acting skills... For a while, she cried so hard that everyone was stunned.

Even the usually cold and dignified headman had tears in his eyes.

“Who said Shen Ning’s style was not right?

If anyone starts gossiping again, I will never let him go.”

"Oh, God have mercy on me, Chen Ning has a miserable life. She was mistreated by her gambling father since she was a child. After Zhao Mu finally bought her home, she has only had a few years of good life and now she has to become a widow..."

"Who says it isn't? Alas, it's pitiful that they have become widows before they even have a wedding. It's too bad for anyone."

"Hush, didn't Zhao Mu bring back a stupid little brother? He said it was Zhao Nan who got lost when he was a child. He's stupid and foolish. Not only does he not have a husband, but he also has to take care of his stupid uncle... Chen Ning will suffer in the future."

"Well, I'll help if I can. It's a hard life, too."

Just as several women were frantically trying to "force" Shen Ning down from the coffin, the look of a man in ragged clothes and a disheveled appearance, who was holding a chicken and standing there in the corner of the courtyard outside the main house, suddenly changed.

The moment he regained consciousness, he stared at the rooster in his arms. Xiao Nanchen subconsciously exerted force with his hands and easily broke the neck of the rooster with its feathers standing on end in his arms.

Looking at himself covered in chicken feathers, he had no expression on his face, only numbness in his heart...

No one would believe that this fool holding a big rooster with a look of embarrassment... was actually the God of War of Daxuan, Prince Ding Xiao Nanchen.

The wound on his leg was excruciatingly painful. It had festered and festered due to the toxins, and the toxins had entered his brain. During this period, he was sometimes lucid and sometimes confused.

The last time he was conscious was yesterday when he brought Zhao Mu's body back to the Zhao family... At that time, he clearly saw indifference in that woman's eyes.

Apart from telling her foolish "uncle" to get out, she did not show any sadness about her husband's death. She did not even look at Zhao Mu's body and hurried out to show her affection to another man.

But now, she is crying so heartbreakingly?

This village woman's acting skills are truly superb...

Xiao Nanchen stood up and, while no one was paying attention to him, dragged his injured leg and walked towards the other room with difficulty.

I don't know when those useless people under him will be found.

He dealt a heavy blow to those people last time. I'm afraid those guys in the capital who have been in high positions for a long time and have high-sounding names would like to chew him up and eat him alive... Before those useless people under his command come, this place is the safest for him.

Passing by the chicken coop, Xiao Nanchen threw the rooster with a broken neck in his hand into the chicken coop with an expressionless face.

The rooster fell limply to the ground, and a group of hens beside him all looked up at him.

Xiao Nanchen suddenly discovered that there seemed to be only one rooster in the chicken coop.

He also broke his neck.

The look in these hens' eyes...isn't it a little resentful?

Walking towards the front room, Xiao Nanchen thought about how Zhao Mu had asked him to take care of his wife before he died, but such a dissolute village woman was not worthy of such a loyal and brave man...