A Wealthy Household, Heh Heh

The Xu family of Xuanwu City dealt in silk and cloth. They possessed ten thousand mu of mulberry fields and cotton fields, and their wealth rivaled that of an entire region.

Xu Qianqian, the Xu family's eldest daughter, was one of the foremost beauties in all of Xuanwu City. Accomplished in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, she stood out not only in Xuanwu City but even among the celebrated ladies of all Nujiang Prefecture.

From the age of fifteen, she had helped her father manage the family business. Shrewd and capable, she had also befriended the daughters of many high-ranking officials and nobles, allowing the Xu family to smoothly rise from a merchant household into the upper circles of Nujiang Prefecture.

A young lady blessed with beauty, talent, and wealth like this was the dream lover countless outstanding young men yearned for day and night. Even if the position was that of a live-in son-in-law, it should never have fallen to a dull-witted fool like Young Master Shen. Though he was exceptionally handsome, he and Xu Qianqian were as far apart as heaven and earth.

Yet no one had expected that Xu Qianqian would suddenly fall gravely ill a year ago. Rich Man Xu sought out every physician in the surrounding area, but none could cure her. She was on the verge of fading away like a flower.

Then a Taoist priest came to the Xu Family Head and said that Xu Qianqian was not ill at all, but had been afflicted by evil. There was only one way to save his daughter: marry her off to ward off misfortune, transferring the bad luck and sinister aura onto the live-in son-in-law.

Naturally, the Xu Family Head did not believe such things. But Xu Qianqian was about to die, and he could only treat a dead horse as though it were alive. He publicly announced a son-in-law recruitment for Xu Qianqian throughout Nujiang Prefecture.

Had this happened before, countless outstanding young men would have smashed their heads fighting for this marriage. Even if Xu Qianqian were dying, countless people would still have vied to become her live-in son-in-law for the Xu family's vast fortune alone.

But the Xu family was recruiting a son-in-law to ward off Xu Qianqian's misfortune and transfer away the evil aura. Who would dare come forward now? One and all, they avoided it as though it were the plague.

Everyone loved beauties and gold, but their lives mattered more.

As for the dim-witted Young Master Shen of this other world, he had happened to see Xu Qianqian once two years ago, and had yearned for her ever since.

Other outstanding young men might have merely admired Xu Qianqian, but Young Master Shen had practically worshipped her as a goddess.

After being expelled from the Academy and sent back home, he spent every day scribbling and drawing in the dirt. Most of what he drew was Xu Qianqian's face.

When he heard that Xu Qianqian had fallen gravely ill and needed a man to marry her to ward off misfortune and transfer away the evil aura, he rushed straight to the Xu residence without hesitation. He declared that he was willing to marry Xu Qianqian and ward off her misfortune, without discussing it with his parents at all.

His parents and Younger Brother naturally refused. They rushed to the Xu residence to stop it all, but they were too late. Young Master Shen had already bowed in marriage with the barely conscious Xu Qianqian. Even so, his parents and younger brother insisted on taking Young Master Shen home, only to be driven out by the Xu family.

At the time, the Xu residence's steward gave Shen Wan fifty gold coins, but his father threw them right back. He said he would never take money earned by selling his son.

And so, Young Master Shen became the Xu family's live-in son-in-law.

A handsome village boy from a poor family, with an intelligence buried underground, had entered a household of immense wealth.

Of course, Young Master Shen had not become the Xu family's live-in son-in-law for glory and riches. He only wanted to save Xu Qianqian, the woman of his dreams, even though marrying to ward off misfortune sounded utterly absurd.

But something bizarre happened. After the marriage, Xu Qianqian truly recovered her health—and became even more beautiful and captivating.

The entire Xu family could scarcely believe it and was overjoyed beyond measure.

Young Master Shen took no credit for it. Every day, he still remained in his little courtyard, reading, writing, and drawing.

The Xu family's attitude toward him became somewhat complicated as well. Naturally, they were delighted that Xu Qianqian had recovered, but Young Master Shen was, after all, a foolish and stupid country boy from a poor family. He was not worthy of even one of Xu Qianqian's fingers.

Thus, the servants and maids of the Xu family gossiped more and more. Words like "a toad lusting after swan meat" and "a poor boy indulging in wild fantasies" often rang in Young Master Shen's ears, while the contempt in the servants' eyes grew ever more naked.

The meals sent to him became worse and worse. At first they were cold; later, they simply turned rancid. Young Master Shen had been born poor, but his parents had doted on him since childhood. In this wealthy Xu household, he ate worse than he had at home in the countryside.

Not only that, he was driven to live in the woodshed. He did not even have a bed, only a mat spread directly over the floor.

Young Master Shen was slow-witted, foolish, and kind-hearted. He would never complain, much less report anyone. When others bullied him, he only endured it in silence.

Later, Xu Qianqian discovered it and flew into a rage. She ordered the servants who had mistreated Young Master Shen punished, each receiving more than a dozen lashes. Before everyone, she announced that if anyone dared bully Young Master Shen again, they would be driven straight out of the Xu family.

Thus Young Master Shen returned to living in a splendid courtyard, and his meals became excellent every day. Xu Qianqian even came to speak with him once every day or two. To Young Master Shen, those days were like living among immortals.

Though they had been married for several months, let alone shared a bed, he had not even touched one of his wife Xu Qianqian's fingers. Yet so long as he could often see her and hear her voice, Young Master Shen was already incomparably content and happy.

But half a month ago, Young Master Shen suddenly fell gravely ill. Xu Qianqian found several renowned physicians for him, but none could cure him. They did not even know what illness he had. With each passing day, he grew weaker and more lifeless.

Until today, when he breathed his last. Only then did Earth's Young Master Shen's soul transmigrate and take over this body.

Thus, his brief life had been a complete and utter tragedy—a stupid tragedy, at that!

Young Master Shen sighed inwardly.

Then he discovered that besides the memories of the two men, there was something else inside his mind.

Something filled with mysterious, wondrous profundity. He could not help concentrating his thoughts, wanting to investigate it within his mind.

Just then, footsteps sounded outside.

"That piece of trash should be dead by now, right? He really could hold on—he actually lasted so many days before dying!"

"Good riddance. At least he won't keep holding our young lady back."

"Exactly. Such a useless piece of trash, and a poor country boy at that—yet he dreamed of marrying our family's eldest daughter? How could his wretched life possibly bear such a blessing? Sure enough, his fate snapped."

"But even if he's dead, it was worth it. Our young lady is practically a heavenly being, yet she checked on him every day, caring for him in every possible way."

"Our young lady is simply too kind. For someone with a broken mind like him, she actually spent half an hour talking with him every day."

Xu Qianqian had once ordered that no one was to bully Young Master Shen, or they would be driven out of the Xu family. Therefore, these servants and maids had not dared mock Young Master Shen so openly before. But these past few days, seeing that Young Master Shen was about to die and would not hear them, their courage gradually returned.

Laughing mockingly, the servants and maids opened the door. Every half hour, they had to come in and check Young Master Shen's condition.

"Go see whether he's breathed his last," a maid said as she covered her nose after entering.

The next instant, the maid let out a cry of alarm and stared at Young Master Shen in disbelief.

She had checked on him just over half an hour ago. Young Master Shen had clearly been hanging by a thread, his face filled with the pallor of death. Yet now, not only was he alive, he was sitting upright in bed. Though his body remained weak, he actually looked rather spirited.

"Y-you're not dead?" the maid blurted out.

"Yes, I'm not dead," Young Master Shen said.

Several servants stared at his face in shock. After a long while, the leading maid said, "Quickly, tell the master. Tell the young lady. Young Master Shen isn't dead."

Then the servants and maids hurried out.

Author's note: Thank you, macuy, for the ten-thousand-coin reward. Please vote and add this to your collection!