Yan Qingqing sat on a dilapidated bed, staring blankly at the bare walls that let in drafts. She kept thinking, "This can't be real, this can't be real," but the truth was undeniable.
She covered her face with her hands and let out a painful wail.
What sins did she commit to deserve such misfortune? In her past life, she was betrayed by a scumbag and finally got a divorce. She went out to celebrate with her best friend, but accidentally drank too much and fell headfirst into a sewer.
If she had just died like that, that would have been one thing, but instead she transmigrated and was reborn.
Yan Qingqing transmigrated to a dynasty called Great Yan that did not exist in history.
She is currently in a remote mountain village called Canghe Village, a corner of the Great Yan Dynasty.
According to the original owner's memories, in previous years, due to years of war, the lives of ordinary people were extremely difficult. In recent years, things have finally gotten a little better, but most people are only managing to make ends meet.
Of course, none of these things mattered to Yan Qingqing; what mattered to her was the identity of the body she had transmigrated into.
She was a widow whose husband had just died!
Of course, she didn't care whether she was a widow or not. After all, she had been divorced in her previous life, and in her view, divorce was no different from widowhood.
What bothered her was that the original owner actually had a group of children, the oldest of whom was already seventeen years old, and she also had a two-year-old granddaughter, which meant that she had now become a grandmother.
My 33-year-old grandmother really can't accept it.
In this era where mothers-in-law are in charge and have absolute authority, she is at the top of the food chain. However, the original owner's mother-in-law is still around, and she is a formidable figure. In her memories, the original owner was very afraid of her mother-in-law.
In other words, although the original owner had endured many years of hardship to become a mother-in-law, she was ultimately useless. Moreover, the original owner had a pushover personality, lacking both initiative and cowardice.
With a large family of dozens of people, including elderly parents and young children, they often struggled to make ends meet. Just thinking about such a life made Yan Qingqing feel heartbroken.
Yan Qingqing couldn't help but let out another wail, almost burying her head in her crotch.
Perhaps Yan Qingqing's pitiful screams were too frightening, because a woman with her hair in a bun quickly walked in from outside. She was none other than Yuan Huiniang, Yan Qingqing's eldest daughter-in-law.
Yuan Huiniang was dressed in patched clothes, faded and washed to a pale white. She had no hair ornaments whatsoever.
Yuan Huiniang was just seventeen years old. Yan Qingqing thought that seventeen or eighteen was the perfect age for a beautiful young woman, but Yuan Huiniang looked like she was twenty-seven or twenty-eight.
Upon seeing Yan Qingqing awake, Yuan Huiniang quickly said, "Mother, you're finally awake. I know you're saddened by Father's passing, but you can't commit suicide."
Besides, you're pregnant now. How could you bear to let your younger brother or sister go with you?
Yan Qingqing nodded absentmindedly, still thinking to herself whether the original owner was stupid. So what if a man died? The earth will keep turning no matter who leaves.
But when she realized what Yuan Huiniang had said, her eyes widened in horror, and she asked, "You, you, what did you say? What happened to me?"
Yuan Huiniang thought Yan Qingqing was happy, and thought that this was good, at least her mother-in-law had something to look forward to and wouldn't try to kill herself again.
So she smiled and said, "Mother, you don't know yet, do you? You're pregnant again. This must be Father's spirit in heaven protecting you."
Upon hearing this, Yan Qingqing's pupils dilated continuously, and she fainted again before she could catch her breath.
Yuan Huiniang was terrified when she saw this. She quickly ran out to call for help.
She didn't know how much time had passed before Yan Qingqing woke up amidst a cacophony of noise.
But she didn't open her eyes because she really didn't want to face the fact that she had traveled through time.
But it was too noisy around her, so noisy that she couldn't sleep.
Yan Qingqing heard an old, mean voice say, "You jinx, you're good for nothing except having a child."
They give birth to litters of babies, more frequently than hens lay eggs.
Don't you know what kind of state your family is in now? You even cursed your second son to death, and now she's pregnant, and I don't even know whose child it is..."
Yuan Huiniang, standing to the side, cautiously defended herself, "Grandma, the doctor said my mother is two months pregnant, and my father has only been dead for a little over a month. The child must be my father's."
The mean-spirited old woman snorted and said, "How could I not know that this is your father's child? If she really did something to betray your father, then she should be drowned."
If it's a boy this time, that'll be fine. But if it's a girl, we can just raise her for two years and then sell her. The family needs money right now anyway.
Yuan Huiniang opened her mouth but couldn't say anything in rebuttal. She also thought about how she had given birth to a daughter as her first child, and she was afraid that her daughter would be sold.
But her mother-in-law was a hopeless case; what could she do?
Yan Qingqing didn't want to face all of this, but when she heard the harsh words from Old Lady Li, she felt a little embarrassed.
The original owner did indeed have quite a few children, six in total, plus the one in her belly, making it seven.
Moreover, the original owner already had a granddaughter, yet she was still able to get pregnant, which made Yan Qingqing feel embarrassed.
I'd only ever heard of mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law having postpartum confinement at the same time. But I always took those as jokes. Now that it's happening to me, I know what it's like.
But the old woman's idea of selling the child was something she absolutely could not tolerate.
Yan Qingqing opened her sharp eyes and looked at Old Lady Li, saying, "Let's see who dares to touch my child."
Old Mrs. Li was startled when Yan Qingqing suddenly woke up.
Yuan Huiniang quickly helped Yan Qingqing up and said, "Mother, you're awake. Xiangping went to the city to fetch a doctor again because you weren't awake for a long time."
The Xiang Ping that Yuan Huiniang mentioned was the original owner's eldest son, who was seventeen years old this year and, like the original owner's husband Li Erniu, was an honest man.
The original owner had six children: four boys and two girls. The boys were Li Xiangping (17 years old), Li Xiang'an (13 years old), Li Xiangjian (13 years old), and Li Xiangkang (6 years old). The two girls were Li Xinniang (14 years old) and Li Yueniang (9 years old).
Li Xiangping went to fetch a doctor, while Li Xiang'an and Li Xiangjian worked in the city. The two were twins and had just turned thirteen this year.
Li Xiangkang went to the mountain to dig for wild vegetables with Xinniang and Yueniang.
Yan Qingqing had naturally heard Yuan Huiniang's words defending her, and smiled at her, saying, "No need to waste money, I'm fine."
Grandma Li then realized that she had actually been intimidated by her most useless second daughter-in-law. She suddenly felt embarrassed.
So he put his hands on his hips, glared at her, and said, "You little slut, you think you're all grown up now? Trying to rebel?"
"Now that your husband is dead, you're all relying on the Li family. Be careful, or I'll kick your whole family out."
Yan Qingqing thought to herself, "Perfect timing! That's exactly what I was planning. It's like a godsend!" She wondered what the original owner was thinking. Those bloodsuckers in the Li family—if they had separated early on, their lives would have been much better. But the original owner and Li Erniu hadn't even mentioned it.
However, based on the original owner's understanding of Granny Li, it was still a bit too early to smoothly separate the family.
Yan Qingqing thought for a moment, her eyes darting around, and a plan came to her mind.
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