"Daughter, wake up! Don't scare your mother!"
“If anything happens to you, your mother won’t live either.”
Suddenly, a mournful cry reached my ears.
Chen Qingqing slowly opened her eyes and found herself being held by a woman who was crying and gently covering her forehead with her hand.
"My daughter, it's all my fault. I'm so useless. If you leave me, how am I supposed to live...?"
"You gave birth to a worthless child, and you still know how to cry? Shut your stinking mouth!" A sharp, piercing voice rang out.
"Mother, Qing'er is bleeding so much from her head, she's fainted. I beg you, please get her a doctor!"
“I don’t have the spare money to call a doctor. Let her die. Look at this good-for-nothing you gave birth to. She’s so picky about finding a husband for her. Let me tell you, I’ve already taken the bride price. Even if she dies, she’ll die in the Li family.”
"Mother, Butcher Li is a notorious beast. By betrothing Qing'er to him, aren't you pushing her into a pit of fire?"
"Nonsense! Although Butcher Li is a bit violent and looks rough, his family has meat to eat every day and money to spend. It's a blessing that Qingya can marry him. How is it a pit of fire?"
Besides, you three brothers are about to take the prefectural examination. How can you pass without money to bribe your way into officialdom? No matter what, this brat has to marry him off to me.”
Chen Qingqing's breath hitched, as if she had just woken up from a nightmare.
Looking around, I found myself lying in a dilapidated courtyard, with a run-down thatched hut in the middle...
Not far away stood an old woman with a fierce face, hands on her hips, spitting as she cursed.
The woman beside him sobbed softly, her thin face streaked with tears, and she wore coarse cloth clothes patched upon patched.
Chen Qingqing frowned; she really had been reborn.
But they don't look like the family of kings and nobles. Could it be that those two ghost brothers made a mistake?
Is it possible to fake a resurrection by possession?
Forget it, it's better not to believe those lies.
Suddenly, many memories that didn't belong to her flooded her mind.
This is a fictional ancient dynasty called the Da Ning Dynasty, and the place where she lives is called Nanshan Village.
The original owner was also named Chen Qingqing, and she had just turned sixteen this year. The crying woman was the original owner's mother, Lin, and the one cursing was the original owner's grandmother, Old Lady Chen.
The original owner's grandfather, Old Man Chen, was originally named Chen Zhonghou, and the old woman Chen who is crying in front of him is originally named Wu Fang.
The couple had three sons and one daughter.
The eldest son, Chen Zhanshan, who was also the original owner's father, married a woman named Wu, who is the one crying in the photo. The two had two sons and one daughter.
The eldest son, Chen Feng, is eighteen years old and works as an apprentice in the kitchen of a restaurant in Qingshui Town. He doesn't get paid, but he is provided with three meals a day. Because his family is poor, he is not married.
The daughter, Chen Qingqing, is sixteen years old. She is honest and not good at talking. In order to support her third uncle's education, she is about to be sold to Butcher Li.
The second son, Chen Han, is eight years old.
The second son, Chen Zhanliang, had a wife surnamed Sun, and they had two sons.
Eldest brother, Chen Dabao. Second brother, Chen Erbao.
The third son, Chen Zhancai, is a student who has passed the imperial examination. He is married to a woman surnamed Liu and is currently taking the county-level imperial examination. He is the hope of the whole family and they have a son and a daughter.
Daughter, Chen Ruolan; son, Chen Jiye.
One of my daughters, Chen Chunni, is married and we don't see each other often.
There weren't many people in her family, so Chen Qingqing had a general understanding of them and remembered most of them.
Old Mrs. Chen sold the original owner to Butcher Li in Qingshui Town as a concubine for fifty taels of silver.
Butcher Li, in his forties, was a brutal and sadistic man. He had beaten his first three wives to death; he was a notorious wife-abusing psychopath...
The original owner was afraid of being tortured to death, so she refused to marry.
Enraged, Old Mrs. Chen swung her stick and struck her on the forehead, instantly killing the original owner of this body...
Just as she was thinking about it, she heard Lin crying and pleading with Old Madam Chen, "Mother, don't let Qing'er marry Butcher Li. Even if you force her to marry, you must find her a good family that is of equal social standing!"
Old Mrs. Chen spat, "You make it sound nice, but there aren't that many perfect matches. Even if there were, who could come up with fifty taels of silver? In a few months, the third son will be taking the imperial examination."
"Without this money, how will he take the exam? Our family is counting on Zhancai to bring honor to our ancestors. You can talk a good game today, but Qingya has to get married."
Chen Qingqing knew that Zhancai, whom Old Lady Chen mentioned, was her third uncle. He had passed the imperial examination at the age of twelve and was a candidate for the highest degree. Old Lady Chen and her husband would tell everyone that their third son was clever and quick-witted from a young age and would definitely become an official in the future. So they devoted all their resources to supporting his studies.
However, since Chen Zhancai passed the preliminary examination, more than ten years have passed, and he has taken the exam every year, but he has not even passed the county-level examination.
The Chen family, however, were not discouraged. They spent every last penny they had on Chen Zhancai's education.
Whenever the eldest son, Chen Zhanshan, and the second son, Chen Zhanliang, expressed their dissatisfaction, the old lady and her husband would try to persuade them by saying that their youngest son would pass the imperial examination, become a high-ranking official, and bring honor to the family.
The two men dared not speak out against their anger and could only continue to support the elderly man's education.
Due to the severe drought this year, the family had no surplus food. In order to ensure that the whole family had enough to eat and that Chen Zhancai could continue his studies, they had to work hard.
That's why he sold his eldest granddaughter, Chen Qingqing, to the cruel butcher Li as a concubine.
Chen Qingqing's anger flared up instantly. This was utterly inhuman! How could she have such a heartless and despicable idea to harm her own granddaughter? What a bizarre grandmother!
She's a bright young woman from the 21st century who's never even been in a relationship. Why would she let someone else arrange her marriage?
Suddenly, she sat up.
Seeing her daughter regain consciousness, Madam Lin stopped crying and smiled, gently stroking her forehead with a face full of heartache, "Qing'er, does your head still hurt? You scared your mother to death."
Chen Qingqing felt a warmth in her heart. In her previous life, her parents divorced and each started a new family. She was like a ball being kicked around and never experienced her mother's love.
Seeing the concern in Lin's eyes, a warm feeling welled up in my heart.
"Mom, I'm fine, don't worry."
Madam Lin gently brushed the stray hairs from her forehead. "It's good that you're alright. Let me see your wound."
Seeing this, Old Mrs. Chen curled her lip in disdain and sneered, "Alright, enough with this mother-daughter sentimentality. Just give me a straight answer: are you going to marry or not?"
Lin helped Chen Qingqing up and held her behind her, pleading, "Mother, I beg you, as long as you don't marry Qingqing off to that butcher Li, I'll do anything you ask, I'll serve you like a slave."
Old Mrs. Chen scoffed and snorted, "Stop talking nonsense. When your third brother passes the imperial examination, our family will have plenty of maids and servants. Just wait and enjoy the good life!"
"Mother, Qing'er is my only daughter. I can't just watch you sell her. If you insist on selling her, then kill me first!"
"Don't threaten me with death or anything like that. If you dare to say another word against it, when the boss comes back, I'll have her divorce you and send you back to your parents' home."
Hearing these words, Lin felt as if her heart was being torn apart.
She always accepted whatever came her way, never retaliating when hit or scolded, and never daring to disobey her mother-in-law.
If it weren't for my daughter, I would never have dared to talk back to my mother-in-law, but I never expected her to be so heartless...
Her face turned deathly pale. "Mother, you're trying to kill your daughter-in-law!"
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