Chapter 1

Great Undertaking Dynasty, Huachi Du Cun.

Zhang Shen forcibly yanked Gu Xixi up from the bed, while kindly persuading:

"These men are assigned by the Government Office by headcount; our village has eight people, unmarried girls sixteen and older, plus widows—one radish per pit."

"Even if you don't go, whoever is left over after others pick will still be you."

Gu Xixi pulled the blanket over her face and muttered, "Don't advise me; this is absolutely unacceptable!"

Two days ago she got off work at the botanical research institute, went home, and boiled a wild-collected taro.

She was listening to the farming webnovel she'd been following, and absentmindedly dipped a bit of soup to taste.

Then she lost consciousness.

When she woke up, she had become the female supporting character with the same name and surname in the book, Gu Xixi.

Gu Xixi clearly understood that the husband she was about to buy today was the fatal cause that would prevent her from resting in peace.

In the book, the female supporting character's mother died early, and her father, Gu the Elder, passed away last year, leaving behind a small blue-brick courtyard and thirty-two mu of land.

Unfortunately, the harvest was poor and war broke out; the local grain supply had been short for years.

The female supporting character doesn't know how to farm, the remaining grain will soon run out, and she can't pay wages.

The long-term workers all fled, leaving only the widowed old woman Zhang Shen to manage the kitchen.

But the female supporting character didn't think of reviving the family business; instead, she became obsessed with the male lead, Mu Nan Zhao, as if gone mad.

For him she erased her servile status, sought medical treatment, and didn't hesitate to sell her property at a low price.

Ten years later, Mu Nan Zhao became the youngest Regent Prince of the Great Undertaking Dynasty, wielding power over the court and the realm.

As his first wife, the female supporting character was cast out to a suburban villa, where she suffered endless abuse and beatings from servants, living worse than a pig or dog.

Even when she died of illness, Mu Nan Zhao never went to see her.

Zhang Shen saw that she couldn't drag Gu Xixi away and sighed.

"You're almost seventeen—overdue by one year unmarried—so the fine is thirty taels of silver, or one mu of paddy field."

"If you go over another year…"

"Thirty taels?!" Gu Xixi exclaimed in shock and threw off the blanket.

Zhang Shen nodded sympathetically.

If you said it out loud, nobody would believe it—Gu Xixi's father, known as Gu the Skinflint, left behind only thirty copper coins when he died.

He had been frugal his whole life, saving whatever he could to buy land.

Who would have thought he'd die suddenly in middle age, before he could recoup the money spent on buying land.

At this point, two days had passed since Gu Xixi entered the book, and she had been thinking about how to survive.

The basic survival problems were already being addressed.

But the biggest crisis—Mu Nan Zhao—she wanted to avoid, yet in the end she couldn't escape!

Gu Xixi sighed, lay on the floor and felt around for a while, then pulled out a black wooden box from under two floor tiles.

This was Gu the Skinflint's money box; formerly only the Gu father and daughter knew where it was.

Now Gu Xixi didn't avoid Zhang Shen either, and dumped all the copper coins onto the table.

After counting twice, there were exactly thirty coins.

Zhang Shen worried, "I've inquired—other families take at least forty coins, and some take more; what if this isn't enough…"

When the talk turned to not enough money, Gu Xixi's eyes lit up.

She swept aside her earlier reluctance and quickly dressed herself.

"Aunt Shen is right—each family has its own circumstances; transactions should be conducted according to one's means."

She picked up a copper coin and said, "Anyway, I can only afford these."

Zhang Shen stared for a moment, then urgently warned, "Aside from that, I'm afraid of offending the government runners…"

Gu Xixi said solemnly, "We're hard up now; if we spend all the money and then run into an emergency, that'll be real trouble."

Under the big locust tree at the village entrance, the government runners had already delivered the eight men assigned to Huachi Du Cun.

The onlookers—young girls and newlywed wives—gazed ahead, either pushing and giggling or blushing with springtime feelings.

Gu Xixi couldn't help but shake her head and sigh.

She knew without looking that it must be the sickly Mu Nan Zhao attracting bees and butterflies.

In the crowd, a clear female voice rang out with a touch of playful innocence:

"My sister Xixi likes handsome men—none of you should try to steal her!"

The crowd laughed, "Don't worry—we don't have Gu Xixi's fortune; we couldn't afford a pretty but useless one!"

Gu Xixi broke out in a cold sweat.

This girl is far too earnest.

Although she meant to speak up for her cousin, she actually invited ridicule.

She herself seemed completely unaware.

In the book, the female lead Gu Qingye is the most beautiful girl in Huachi Du Cun, fourteen years old, with a kind and pure character.

She is the daughter of Gu Xixi's paternal uncle and also Mu Nan Zhao's true white moonlight.

Mu Nan Zhao always remembers her lifesaving grace, doesn't mind her remarried status, and promised her the position of mistress of the manor.

While the female supporting character suffered torment in the villa, Mu Nan Zhao married the female lead…

"Qingye." Gu Xixi raised her tone.

The girl in pink cloth turned her head, blinking her almond eyes, lovely and charming.

Especially that snow-white, tender face is rare among country girls.

"Come on, Sister Xixi—I've saved you a spot!"

Gu Xixi smiled at her, squeezed to the front, and at a glance recognized Mu Nan Zhao.

After years of war, the border of the Great Enterprise saw more than half of its male population killed or wounded.

The Imperial Court could only nearby select exiled criminals and marry them to women of marrying age, hoping to increase the population.

These criminals mostly had coarse bearing and dark complexions.

Only Mu Nan Zhao.

This face, having endured the wind and frost of Xi Bei and the scorching sun, remained extraordinarily handsome.

He stood there in tattered cloth clothes, his demeanor indifferent like a banished immortal descended to the world.

Just as Gu Xixi was sizing up Mu Nan Zhao, his gaze shifted, and their eyes met.

It was as if she had jumped into a cold pool in midsummer; Gu Xixi shuddered.

The fear of the fate of a female side character stirred ripples in her heart.

Fortunately, at that moment a government clerk began calling out prices, diverting everyone's attention.

"This one, thirty-five wen; that one, fifty wen..."

This was originally a benevolent measure of the Imperial Court.

The local government office merely collected a token fee to cover the criminals' food expenses along the way.

In Huachi Du Cun, aside from Gu Xixi, most people were quite willing about this.

After all, farming households most needed heavy labor.

For this little money you can't buy livestock, but you can buy a strong young man.

As long as one is tall and sturdy, literate he can get on the bed and bear children, martial he can till the land and outwork an ox; truly a great profit.

When they brought him before Mu Nan Zhao, he suddenly coughed, covering his mouth with his hand, his face turning pale.

The women all scattered in fright, saying, "He's just a sickly weakling, no wonder he's the cheapest!"

"Look at his frail build—he can't even pull a plow; he'll probably need someone to wait on him!"

Yet even the cheapest, Mu Nan Zhao, was priced at thirty-five wen.

Gu Xixi had no intention to buy; she waited until everyone had finished choosing, then spread her hands to show a single wen coin.

"Brother, I can only come up with this much cash; otherwise, wait..."

She had originally intended to use the "delay word tactic," saying she'd buy next time.

Who knew the clerk would seize the copper coin and, with a backhand, push Mu Nan Zhao in front of Gu Xixi.

"It's just an unwanted embroidered pillow; one wen is a bargain for you."

He revealed a knowing smile, "Little miss, you've waited until now just for his face, haven't you?"

The clerk left.

Gu Xixi froze on the spot, not daring to look at Mu Nan Zhao's expression.

How could she have expected that a single wen would provoke such harsh words!

Mu Nan Zhao spoke coolly, "Feigning poverty and playing the pitiful, using others' mouths to humiliate me—miss, you have quite the scheming mind."