The An Family

January of the 27th year of Chongming Era, heavy snow.

Many places across Great Ya Dynasty were blanketed in heavy snow, wrapped in silver garments and breathtakingly beautiful. Though the weather was frigid, it could not conceal the festive atmosphere of the New Year; in towns large and small, almost every household hung red lanterns.

Anyuan County was one such small county town in Great Ya Dynasty. The third day of the lunar new year should have been a joyous holiday, with every household full of cheer and decked out in festive decorations, yet the doors of one prominent estate had two strings of white lanterns hung before them, and the entire household was shrouded in a gloomy atmosphere.

This household was the largest landlord in Anyuan County—the An Family!

The An Family Estate

The sky was dim and not yet dawn, with the crowing of roosters occasionally audible.

A maid dressed in white plain-attire had gotten up early, carrying a basin full of hot water in both hands as she hurried along the long corridor with brisk steps.

Other maids and servants had likewise risen early, every last one of them rushing about busily since dawn. The atmosphere that should have been bustling and lively was instead dead silent, with almost no one speaking. Everyone kept their heads down, and upon running into others they did not even nod, simply hurrying past as if trying to avoid speaking unless absolutely necessary, lest they commit some taboo.

The maid carrying the water basin finally reached the main house of the An Family. Entering the front gates, she walked toward the side courtyard on the left, passing through a garden covered in heavy snow, and knocked on the bedroom door. Only after receiving the consent of someone inside did she push the door open and step in.

The maid first placed the steaming basin of hot water onto a wooden stand, then walked behind the folding screen, cast a swift glance at the young master still lying in bed, and lowered her gaze, saying with a calm expression, "Young master, the hot water has been brought."

The young master gave a faint acknowledgment. "Understood, you may step outside first."

The maid did not dare to say more. She had already grown accustomed to the young master's current slightly cold attitude, and moreover, with such matters having occurred, even if the young master did not wish to change, he had no choice but to change, otherwise... The maid shook her head, thinking no further, and stepped out with light and cautious steps.

When only the young master remained in the room, he clumsily sat up from the bed, took a full quarter of an hour to put on his clothes and shoes, and then walked over to the hot water prepared by the maid.

Through the clear water, the young master caught sight of a face so fat it was practically dripping with oil. Even though he had been looking at it for three days, he still could not help but twitch the corner of his mouth.

A once handsome and dashing face had been replaced by a pig-like visage; no one could accept that immediately.

The young master was named An Ziran, born of the An Family's primary branch, sixteen years of age, the legitimate eldest son and rightful heir, with a flower-like younger sister and a... younger brother born of the same mother further down the line.

At this moment, the young master was not the real An Ziran. Even he himself did not know why he had become An Ziran; he had only woken up three days ago, after which he discovered he had turned into An Ziran.

By now, he had already accepted the fact that he had become another stranger, but that did not mean he could accept An Ziran's physical bulk. At only sixteen years old, he actually weighed seventy-eight kilograms, with fat all over his body and a sickly constitution that severely exceeded normal limits, causing him to find everything he did extremely difficult right now. Otherwise, whose family took a whole quarter of an hour just to put on clothes?

Thus, upon arriving in this world on his very first day, An Ziran determined his first life goal—weight loss!

Yet his weight loss plan had not even begun to be implemented when a whole basketful of An Family matters came crowding in one after another.

The An Family was the wealthiest landlord household in Anyuan County, possessed of a vast fortune. An Changfu was An Ziran's father, the person with the most absolute authority in the An Family whose word was law, a very capable man. He looked well-off and plump, though not ugly, and the An Family's massive estate could be said to have been carved out entirely by his own hands.

An Changfu had taken a total of four wives. The primary branch was An Ziran's biological mother Liu Meixiang, the wife he had openly and ceremoniously married during the early stages of his rise to wealth. She had witnessed with her own eyes the An Family transform from a small-time operation into the wealthy and powerful status it now held, bearing two sons and a daughter for An Changfu.

The greatest success of her life was giving birth to two male children for the An Family, because she was the only one among An Changfu's wives and concubines who had birthed male children to pass down the incense and fire for the An Family. Therefore, she was deeply respected by An Changfu, and their marital relationship had remained harmonious for more than a dozen years. Even though An Changfu later took a second, third, and fourth wife, his feelings for Liu Meixiang never changed.

Logically speaking, An Ziran ought to have lived a very happy life.

Three days ago it truly had been very happy, until the news of the deaths of An Changfu and Liu Meixiang arrived. That happiness was just like a mirror, shattering with a gentle drop.

From then on, the An Family plunged into dire straits.

An Ziran had accordingly plunged into 'dire straits' right along with them.