Summer nights are short, and the break of dawn arrives at the third crow of the roosters.
From the western room of Xue's family, a rustling sound could be heard.
Lin Xiurong, the eldest daughter-in-law, crept out of the room, washed her face briefly at the well, and was about to light up the stove to prepare breakfast for the entire household. However, Xue Yaer, her two-and-a-half-year-old daughter, tugged at her pants pocket suddenly, crying out loudly.
Lin Xiurong’s face turned pale; she quickly swung around to cover her daughter's mouth, chiding in a low voice, "Don't wake your grandma!"
No matter how soft Lin Xiurong tried to keep her voice, it still reached the north room - a place where soundproofing was non-existent.
Qiao Yuluo heard everything clearly. She was lying on the brick bed, staring at the neglected roof and feeling very annoyed.
Her annoyance did not originate from Xue Yaer's crying, but from her current predicament.
All she did was read a novel to pass her leisure time, and offhandedly criticized a character in the book, yet when she woke up, she found herself transmigrated into the book!
And the character she had transmigrated into was none other than the unconventional old woman from the Xue family that she had criticized - they even shared the same name.
A vibrant 27-year-old office lady in the peak of her life suddenly jumped a decade to 37. She had a son, widowed, and never experienced a man. Qiao Yuluo, who had never been a mother or a mother-in-law, woke up to find herself both!
This unexpected "surprise" suffocated Qiao Yuluo, leaving her wanting to cry, but without a place to do so.
She closed her eyes, hoping to sleep again, and perhaps she would wake up back in her original world.
However, she couldn’t get her peace for long before the noise started outside again.
"Elder Sister-in-law, why are my clothes wet?"
The one who spoke was her second son, Xue Tingyuan, and dissatisfaction was evident in his tone.
Lin Xiurong had just finished dealing with Xue Yaya's pants, squatted in the kitchen to start a fire, heard Xue Tingyuan's voice, she hurriedly wiped her hands on her apron, and rushed out to meet him, stammering in apology "Sanlang, I apologize... I had washed them last night and hung them in the yard. I forgot to move them under the eaves before sleeping, I didn't expect that it would rain at night. Otherwise, should I wash them again for you?"
Xue Tingyuan frowned, grumbling "I have to go back to the academy today, if you wash them again how can I wear them? You cannot even handle such a trivial task!"
For Qiao Yuluo, who was still struggling to adjust to her new identity, the conversation between the two just made her feel even more choked up.
The previous body wasn't the original wife, she was the cousin of the original wife.
After her cousin Qiao Yumei gave birth to a son Xue Tingxu for the Xue family, she was physically damaged and got a debilitating disease.
As Qiao Yumei knew her days were numbered and feared that her young son would be mistreated by a stepmother after her departure, she entrusted her three-year-old son Xue Tingxu to her cousin Qiao Yuluo on her deathbed.
The man, Xue Huaishan, was a scholar with a gentle personality.
After Qiao Yuluo got married, the scholar treated her quite well.
However, the original person was narrow-minded and always felt that Scholar remembered her cousin in his heart. As a result, she would put on a front but secretly bully and vent on Xue Tingxu.
After the scholar's death, the original personality became more intensified. She called Xue Tingxu studying in the county and preparing for the scholar examination back home, telling him that the family was tight enough to support only one person's study. As the elder brother, he should let his younger brother Tingyuan study.
Furthermore, she found a job for Xue Tingxu as a bookkeeper in the town. The little silver that Xue Tingxu earned each month was basically spent on Xue Tingyuan's studies.
Not only that, the original also took every opportunity to pick on Xue Tingxu's wife Lin Xiurong.
When Lin Xiurong was pregnant with her first child, she was busy all day with a big belly. She had to cut grass to feed the pigs, do laundry, cook and worry about the meals and drinks for the whole family. Consequently, due to overwork, she could not keep the baby.
It was not until the second child that she had a daughter, which gave the original a reason to continue to abuse her. Dirty and tiring tasks were all pushed to her, always picking on her, and never showing a friendly face.
Her husband was away in the town for most of the year, and Lin Xiurong was not successful in giving birth to a son, she could not hold her head up in the family. She lived a subservient life in the house, always fearing that she would displease her brother-in-law or anger her mother-in-law with any slight mistake.
The ones who were speaking in the courtyard just now were Xue Tingxu's wife, Lin Xiurong, and their third son, Xue Tingyuan, who was studying in the county.
The laundry and meals were all taken care of by the elder sister-in-law. Even the money for stationery was provided by the elder brother. Xue Tingyuan could be so arrogant, and it was all thanks to the original owner of this body.
Thinking about how she has ended up in the body of such a terrible old woman, Qiao Yuluo wished she could just die.
But she only dared to think about it, not daring to actually attempt it.
If she closed her eyes and died, the loss would outweigh the gain.
Though this body was of considerable age, it was still better to live than to die.
Taking a deep breath, Qiao Yuluo threw off the blanket, put on her shoes, and walked over to open the door.
The voices of the brother-in-law and his wife in the yard stopped abruptly when they heard the movement.
Xue Tingyuan's clean and handsome face broke into a smile as he walked over, "Mother, you woke up so early?"
Xue Tingyuan was 17 this year. The sudden call of "mother" made Qiao Yuluo's temple throb.
She hadn't even touched a man's hand yet! And then she woke up to find she had a 17-year-old son...no, four! The eldest, Xue Tingxu, was already 22!
Qiao Yuluo's vision blurred for a moment, but she tried to keep her composure, mimicking the tone of the original body as she glared at Xue Tingyuan, "Stop chattering so early in the morning, what do you want?"
Xue Tingyuan glanced at Lin Xiurong, and complained: "Elder sister-in-law didn't collect my clothes last night. I have to go back to the academy today, and my uniform is still wet. How am I supposed to wear it?"
Hearing her brother-in-law snitching, Lin Xiurong's face turned pale. With her head hanging low and a look of helplessness, she stood there waiting for her mother-in-law to scold her.
Her demeanor of accepting whatever came her way immediately showed that she had been heavily poisoned by the feudal society's dreadful male-dominant ideology.
Jade Qiao felt a sudden headache.
With an exasperated look, she glared at Tingyuan Xue once again, "Who used to wash your clothes at the school?"
Tingyuan Xue seemed taken aback.
As there were only two sets of school uniforms and they could only rest once every ten days, he, being a neat freak, obviously couldn't wear those clothes for ten days, so he usually had to wash them himself.
But when he returns home, doing laundry, cooking meals, and tidying up the room were all tasks for the da-sao
oldest brother's wife
. Wasn't it always this way before?
Relying on the original body's memory, Jade Qiao could tell what Tingyuan Xue was thinking the moment she laid eyes on him. She really wanted to slap him! But she just couldn't fit into the original body's role, and everything felt infuriating. Rolling her eyes, she responded, "Your da-sao has already lit the fire in the kitchen. You can take your clothes there and dry them yourself!"
"Mother?" Tingyuan Xue almost thought he heard her wrong.
Scholars were highly regarded, especially in DeShui Village where, besides his dad, he was the only young scholar.
His mother always stuck to the notion that everything was inferior, only reading was superior; she put him on a pedestal at home, not only was he freed of all tasks, but he also had the best meals.
Every time he returned, everyone in the house had to watch their language, not to disturb him.
However, now his mother was asking him to dry his own clothes?
He had never set foot in the kitchen before!
Seeing that Tingyuan Xue didn't move, Jade Qiao shot him a cold glance, "Drying your clothes seems to be life-threatening for you, what's the matter, are your hands broken?"
