"Is this even fit for human consumption? Are you trying to choke me to death?"
The sky was overcast, and in the pouring rain, Xu Yuehuai, dressed in a long padded jacket and skirt, shoved the slender Zhou Wan to the ground and yelled:
"You jinx! It's all because you married into our family that we've suffered so much. You killed your husband and your father-in-law, and now you want to kill me too!"
She got louder and louder, attracting the attention of the neighbors, who couldn't help but sigh and try to persuade her:
"Second Aunt, don't make a fuss in the yard on such a rainy day. If you get sick, we'll have to call a doctor."
The second branch of the Jiang family was alright in the early years. The men in the family were capable and even after becoming widowers, they were still able to marry Xu Yuehuai, such a beautiful woman, as their second wife. Unfortunately, last year, Jiang Er took his son to the mountains to hunt and they were killed by a brown bear. This left behind an orphan and a widow, who couldn't help but cause trouble every day.
At this moment, a five or six-year-old boy ran out of the yard. This was Zhou Wan's youngest son, Jiang Shichen.
The child rushed into the rain, put his little hands over Zhou Wan's head, stared at Xu Yuehuai with wide eyes, as if he wanted to say something, but was gently pulled back by Zhou Wan.
Suddenly, a muffled thunderclap sounded in the sky, and the ground trembled and shook!
Someone stared wide-eyed in terror, exclaiming, "The...the flash flood is coming—"
Before Xu Yuehuai could react, Zhou Wan suddenly pulled him up the mountain!
"Mother, hurry!"
Just as I reached the top of the mountain, the floodwaters rushed over my feet and instantly submerged the small village.
Zhou Wan was covered in sweat and hadn't even had a chance to catch her breath when Xu Yuehuai shoved her away with a disgusted slap, and she almost fell into the floodwaters, but Jiang Shichen pulled her back in time.
Jiang Shichen, still shaken, patted his chest and said angrily, "Mother, why did you save her? She should have been swept away by the flash flood!"
Upon hearing this, Xu Yuehuai immediately raised her eyebrows: "You little ingrate, what nonsense are you talking about? Don't forget whose rice you ate to grow up! If it weren't for your mother, that jinx, causing the flash flood, I wouldn't have run this far!"
"You shameless jinx! If your mother is a jinx, your son is a heartless scoundrel too!"
After she finished speaking, she avoided Zhou Wan and her son and walked to another big tree to take shelter from the rain, cursing as she went.
Zhou Wan sighed, held her son in her arms, and sheltered from the rain under the earthen slope.
Suddenly, a heart-wrenching scream came from afar!
"ah--"
Suddenly, the sky flashed for a moment, and Zhou Wan's pupils contracted. She turned around sharply to look.
Then they saw that the tree under which Xu Yuehuai had taken shelter from the rain had been charred black by lightning, and Xu Yuehuai was lying unconscious under the tree!
"mother!"
Zhou Wan exclaimed in surprise and rushed forward to embrace Xu Yuehuai.
Xu Yuehuai's skin was cracked, and he stood stiffly upright, without making a sound!
Mother...is dead...?
At this moment, Xu Yuehuai, who was being held in her arms, suddenly twitched her eyelids.
Xu Yuehuai felt incredibly suffocated, as if she couldn't even breathe properly.
Suddenly, a memory that didn't belong to her flashed into her mind, causing her to whimper in pain and her body to stiffen slightly.
Zhou Wan noticed the movement in her arms and was so frightened that she almost let go. She stared at Xu Yuehuai as if she had seen a ghost!
No, not dead?!
It's come back to life!
Xu Yuehuai was jolted, and her head started to hurt even more. It took her a long time to recover. Looking at the gloomy sky and desolate mountains around her, she felt as if the sky was about to collapse!
She, a highly talented inheritor of an ancient martial arts family, actually traveled back to ancient times!
She was not a princess, nor a noblewoman, but a wicked mother whose family had just been destroyed by a flood and who was about to flee her home!
For ten taels of silver, the original owner's family married her off to a widower in another village. The widower had a son who resisted the marriage and never consummated it. After the widower died, the original owner even beat and verbally abused her daughter-in-law. Now, she has been struck dead by God!
Sure enough, talking nonsense will get you struck by lightning!
Xu Yuehuai opened her eyes and saw Zhou Wan looking at her cautiously.
She sighed. Although the original owner treated Zhou Wan badly, Zhou Wan had always been a filial and good girl.
He wanted to comfort her, but then he suddenly thought that if she changed too quickly, people might think she was possessed by a ghost. After all, some people in ancient times did believe in such things. So he pushed Jiang Zhouwan away and frowned.
"Why are you crying? I'm not dead yet."
Zhou Wan was taken aback, then glanced at Xu Yuehuai cautiously.
She had just cried so hard that tears and snot were streaming down her face, and her mother hadn't scolded her? Could it be because she hadn't recovered from being struck by lightning?
At this moment, Jiang Shichen, who had been left behind by Zhou Wan, also ran over. He immediately rolled his eyes when he saw Xu Yuehuai pushing away her mother.
Hmph, I don't know why Mother always takes such good care of this stinky old lady!
Zhou Wan shielded Xu Yuehuai from the rain and whispered, "Mother, are you alright?"
"fine."
Xu Yuehua frowned, wiped the mud off her clothes, and led them down the slope to avoid being struck by lightning again!
The heavy rain subsided slightly, but the floodwaters below the mountain were still trapped in the valley, and the houses and fields in the village were completely submerged!
Xu Yuehua frowned and said to Zhou Wan and the other person, "It's so badly damaged that it's probably difficult to clear the water. Moreover, there's a high probability of drought after the flood. Instead of staying here, let's go somewhere else."
Zhou Wan moved her lips, but still replied, "I'll listen to Mother."
Xu Yuehua nodded, seemingly lost in thought, and said, "Then let's head north. Chang'an is the most prosperous city in Da'an. Let's go there and take a look."
Kyoto is full of high-ranking officials and nobles; she could run two small businesses, which would be better than the two women struggling in the fields.
Just then, a sarcastic voice came from the side. An old woman with a pockmarked face rolled her eyes and said, "Chang'an City, my foot! What a pipe dream. You'd rather be a god in heaven."
Xu Yuehuai sneered and said, "Then Second Aunt, don't come along."
Upon hearing this, Liu Cuiming's expression immediately changed, and she jokingly said, "What are you saying? Second Aunt was just joking. A family should naturally be together, and we can help each other out when we encounter difficulties."
She's all alone, and with the floods getting worse, she's likely to die if she's on her own. No matter how difficult things get, she can't let this family get away from her.
Xu Yuehuai just scoffed when he heard this.
Despite being an elder, Liu Cuiming was sharp-tongued, mean-spirited, and shameless. While eating and drinking at her house, she also sowed discord between the original owner and Zhou Wan, and joined the villagers in gossiping about the original owner.
Helping each other out?
ridiculous.
Xu Yuehuai gave her a cold glance. Let her follow if she wants; she wouldn't care what happened anyway.
She led Zhou Wan and Jiang Shichen along, saying, "Let's go."
Liu Cuiming immediately followed after him eagerly.
The villagers all watched them walk away with expressions of utter disbelief.
"This is outrageous! They're going to Chang'an? They'll probably starve and die of exhaustion before they even get halfway there."
"That's right, it's better to wait here for the officials to come and help us rebuild the village."
...
As soon as Xu Yuehuai's family set off, they encountered a large group of refugees. Most of them were dressed in rags, and some of the children were so thin and pale from hunger that they looked like dried-out ribs, with no light in their eyes.
Xu Yuehuai frowned repeatedly as she watched.
This year, natural disasters have been frequent, resulting in poor harvests. Many areas in the south have suffered from severe drought. The village of the original owner was originally located in a very good area and was not severely affected by the disaster, but a heavy rain washed it away!
They had just emerged from exile and were naturally different from those who had been starving for a long time. In particular, the original owner of this body was a woman who loved beauty, dressed exquisitely, with an apricot blossom hairpin in her hair bun, and had fair and beautiful skin, making her stand out from others at first glance.
Upon seeing this, the refugees swarmed forward like wolves seeing meat.
"Kind person, please give me something to eat..."
A child gently tugged at Liu Cuiming's clothes, crying, "Auntie, please give me some food, my mother is starving..."
Liu Cuiming screamed in fright and slapped the child's hand away while cursing!
"Get out of here! You filthy beggar! You don't even bother to wipe your muddy hands; you've gotten it all over my clothes!"
Zhou Wan fearfully pulled Jiang Shichen into her arms, shielding him in front of Xu Yuehuai.
Seeing the child, and then looking at her son in her arms, she felt a pang of sorrow in her heart.
"This child is so pitiful, he's so thin he's just skin and bones."
They traveled north without food, and she was truly afraid that Jiang Shichen would end up like that.
Upon hearing this, Liu Cuiming immediately retorted sarcastically, "You're starving to death yourself, yet you still have the mind to pity others. You're like a clay bodhisattva crossing a river."
Upon hearing this, Xu Yuehuai immediately put her hands on her hips and said, "What do you care who she pities? She's my daughter-in-law, not yours. Why are you saying so much? If you don't want to stay with our family, then get out!"
Liu Cuiming immediately felt embarrassed and dared not say another word.
Zhou Wan's eyes widened slightly as she looked at Xu Yuehuai in surprise.
In the past, when Liu Cuiming scolded her, her mother would always ignore it and occasionally even join in the scolding with disgust. But this time, she actually defended her!
Even Jiang Shichen looked like the sun had risen in the west, muttering under his breath, "Did Grandma get her head struck by lightning?"
Zhou Wan angrily smacked him on the head: "Don't talk to your elders like that!"
Xu Yuehuai glanced at Jiang Shichen, and the child immediately stiffened his neck and looked at her.
Xu Yuehuai knew that Jiang Shichen wasn't a bad kid; he was just trying to protect his mother, so she didn't say anything, but she certainly wouldn't give him a friendly look.
She's an elder now!
Even so, Xu Yuehuai still felt a stomachache at the thought of becoming a grandmother at such a young age!
She turned her head away coldly.
Turning around, he saw several familiar faces!
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