Chapter 1

Li Qinghe was roused by a sharp crowing rooster. The room was dim; when she moved, a fierce pain shot through her chest.
She froze for a moment, squinting in the weak dawn light at her surroundings, strange yet familiar; this seemed to be the room she had lived in before marriage.
Outside, roosters crowed in succession with the occasional dog bark, and the stabbing pain in her chest reminded her this was no dream.
She had died once.
Not only had she died, she had been married. The thought of the marriage filled her chest with sudden resentment and anger, making the wound ache all the more.
The Xu family's eldest son, Xu Changjie, was handsome and had received a few years of schooling. He now worked as an accountant in a shop in town, coming and going between town and the village. Easygoing and well connected, he wore a blue long robe with a rakish air, and countless girls secretly adored him.
Li Qinghe had been one of them in her past life.
She had only seen him from afar and didn't know him. Their connection began with the time she was injured.
Returning from town, she happened upon someone thrusting a knife at Xu Changjie. Seeing the man she loved in danger, she felt she still had some strength and ran over to struggle with the attacker; in the scuffle her chest was wounded. The commotion drew others and the assailant fled. Afterwards the Xu family came to offer their thanks.
As the stories go, one repays a life-saving favor with marriage. Facing the handsome young master who came to thank her, her heart fluttered and she boldly refused gifts, proposing instead to be betrothed to her beloved.
Everyone present was stunned. The Xu family said they'd consider it, and two days later they came to present a small betrothal.
Because she had volunteered to marry, the Xu family's betrothal gift was meager, nearly nothing, but she didn't mind; the joy of marrying the man she loved made those details seem unimportant.
After the wedding, Xu Changjie would go to town for a month or two at a time. The jade-like young master remained out of reach; even marriage didn't bring her closer to him. Their relationship was cold, and her thrilled heart felt doused with a bucket of cold water.
The Xu household was large and busy, and she had daily chores to attend to. Mother Xu often found excuses to berate her, and during planting and harvest she had to go out to the fields with them.
All her pre-wedding dreams were shattered by the reality of married life, and her youthful innocence was gone. She had thought Xu Changjie different, but if he was like everyone else, what then? Whose life isn't filled with the everyday grind of food and family?
Later...
Only later did she learn Xu Changjie had a sweetheart before marrying her. A year after their marriage, the shop owned by that family was schemed against and they lost everything overnight; they had to sell off their possessions and move to the countryside, ending up living next door to the Xus. Xu Changjie looked after them often, especially the owner's daughter, Yang Lanrou.
Seeing Xu Changjie's tenderness toward someone else, she realized he could be warm and gentle, soothing people with soft words. He would even send over portions of meat or vegetables; if she spoke out, he would shut her up by citing how others had once helped him. He would say meaningfully, "You know me, I repay kindness."
At those words, Li Qinghe was left speechless. If he was a man who repaid favors, then how could there be room between them?
Such attentions gradually wore down her affection, leaving only jealousy and hatred.
The heavy chores ruined her health. Two years after the marriage she suddenly fell ill and could not get up. No one in the Xu household thought to call a doctor. After being sick for more than half a month, it was only by chance that her mother learned of her illness and hired a doctor who prescribed medicine, but even that couldn't save her.
After she died, she entered a white space where a book lay before her. Opening it and seeing the familiar simplified characters, she suddenly realized she wasn't originally from An Guo, her previous world was one of gender equality and free love. No wonder she, a farmer's daughter from a remote village in An Guo, had expectations about romance and had thought that because the Xu family didn't refuse the match, Xu Changjie must have had some affection for her.
Reading that book made her furious down to her core. Xu Changjie was the male lead; the other family's daughter Yang Lanrou was the female lead; and she, Li Qinghe, was the secondary female lead who, out of repaying a debt, insisted on marrying the male lead and caused endless misunderstandings, a meddlesome stick wedged between the lovers, preventing them from ending up together. Only after she died two years into the marriage were the lovers finally able to be together.
At the end of the novel, Xu Changjie still often regretted that he had agreed to his family's plan to marry Li Qinghe, forcing Yang Lanrou to become the second wife.
She was lost in thought when the door creaked open and a slender figure slipped quietly in. "Sister, does it still hurt?"
It was her younger sister, Zhao Wanwan, who came to the bedside and handed her a bowl of water. "Sister, have a sip."
Li Qinghe was indeed very thirsty; she sat up despite the pain, took the bowl from her and drank a mouthful, then asked softly, "Wanwan, why aren't you asleep?"
Zhao Wanwan didn't answer. In a low voice she said, "Sister, I heard the Xu family will come to offer thanks at dawn, you..."
Li Qinghe clutched her chest, her voice dark. "My life nearly slipped away. If they didn't come, I doubt the Xu family would ever want to stay in this village again."
In the farmhouse's main room, Li Qinghe sat propped up in a chair with her hand on her chest. Li Fu sat at the head; bustling about serving tea was her stepmother, Madam Qian, who was also Zhao Wanwan's mother.
Sitting below were Mr. and Mrs. Xu and Xu Changjie.
When Li Qinghe's gaze passed over Xu Changjie, she felt a tangle of emotions she couldn't name, but unlike in her previous life, there was none of that anxious, hopeful shyness.
Xu Changjie's mother wore a kindly face. "We've come by today to specially thank your family for Li Qinghe's help. She was so badly injured. If there's anything our family can do to help, please tell us, even if we can't manage it, we'll try our best."
At her words, Li Fu's expression softened. "Qinghe's hurt and can't do the town work anymore, she may be let go. You could pay her wages and cover her medical bills..."
Li Qinghe held her chest with one hand and a bowl of pitch-dark medicine in the other; even from a distance the bitter smell stung her nostrils. She was filled with regret, no matter how good a man is, isn't your body more important than anything?
When it hurt like this, no one could take her place.
Hearing that, he quickly added, "And there's the cost to restore her health and the fear she felt when that blade struck, some compensation for that, too."
Mother Xu's expression stiffened. She had offered politeness without expecting the Li family to be so practical. Secretly pinching Father Xu, she forced a smile. "Our families didn't interact much before, but now with a lifesaving debt between us, we should be closer from now on. Qinghe is a good, loyal girl, how about I take her as my adopted goddaughter? When she marries, I'll add a dowry as a token of my goodwill. Would that be agreeable?"
Li Qinghe raised an eyebrow. Just as she thought, Mother Xu was the same as before, generous with words, but when money was mentioned she suddenly played on people's feelings. That earlier phrase, "marry," had been especially forceful, heavy with implication.
She felt a sudden clarity. In her previous life she had been an ordinary girl; suggesting a bride-taking like that was wildly out of line, perhaps she had been led to blurt it out because of hints like Mother Xu's. She remembered how shocked Li Fu and Madam Qian had looked back then; even Zhao Wanwan, who had been boiling water in the kitchen, ran out.
"No." Li Qinghe refused immediately. "I've been so badly hurt, who knows if anyone will want to marry me afterward? Maybe because of this wound I won't be able to marry at all. Then would you still have to compensate? Would that make my being slashed for nothing?"
Mother Xu couldn't hide the surprise in her eyes, but she quickly regained her composure and looked at the silent Xu Changjie. "Changjie, you haven't thanked Qinghe yet."
Xu Changjie stood and bowed to her properly. "Thank you, Miss Li, for stepping in to save me. That you were injured leaves me deeply unsettled. If you have any conditions, we can discuss them."
Those words were more pleasing to hear; Li Qinghe felt satisfied.
But Mother Xu's face grew even stiffer; she shot him a barely concealed glare before forcing a smile. "Our elders are old and we have many children; we are not well-off. No one wants misfortune like this, it's like a disaster fallen from the sky. I don't know why those people came to cause trouble for Changjie..."
Li Qinghe held up one finger to cut her off. "Ten taels of silver."
"What?" Mother Xu looked astonished. Xu Changjie's expression shifted, and Father Xu's brow furrowed as he glanced at Li Fu. "Brother Li, isn't this going too far?"
"Is your son not worth ten taels of silver?" Li Qinghe, pinching her chest against the pain, counted on her fingers. "They say he earns three qian a month, a little over three taels a year. That's only three years, and a person has many such three-year periods in a lifetime. But if that blade had struck him, he'd have died on the spot. I don't think it's excessive."
Li Fu, who had been about to speak, was cut off by her sharp retort and fell silent.
Mother Xu couldn't help feeling there was a point to what she said, but ten taels wasn't a small sum. In the whole of Luoyue Town, few households could muster that amount; she was naturally unwilling. Her gaze shifted as she forced a smile. "Qinghe is fourteen this year, right? Regarding marriage..."
"I promise!" Xu Changjie interrupted his mother urgently.
Li Qinghe smiled with satisfaction, she had known Xu Changjie would object to the match. She looked at Zhao Wanwan, who was peeking in from outside. "Wanwan, go get paper and ink, let's write it down as proof!"
Mother Xu's face soured. She grabbed the pen from Xu Changjie and looked at Li Qinghe. "They say one who saves a life should repay it with herself. You must have some feeling for Changjie to have risked yourself, why not settle the marriage now? It would make a beautiful story."
"Beautiful story, my foot," thought Li Qinghe. She'd been to the Xu house once before, even hearing the offer from Mother Xu now, she never wanted to go back.
Xu Changjie likewise resisted; he pushed his mother's hand away and quickly wrote, "Hereby owe the Li family..."
Li Qinghe hurriedly interjected, "Li Qinghe of the Li family. The silver must be repaid within half a month."
Hereby owe Li Qinghe of the Li family ten taels for injury and medical expenses, to be repaid within half a month!
August 13, Year 32 of Shunping, Xu Changjie
Li Qinghe took the paper, satisfied, folded it and tucked it into her bosom. Father Xu's face darkened; he couldn't bring himself to argue with his son in front of everyone and said in a low voice, "Your younger siblings grow older year by year, I'm not going to pay that silver."
Having said that, she took the indignant Madam Xu by the arm and left. Even as they walked away, Madam Xu's muttering could still be heard: "It's only to heal an injury, why would it cost ten taels? And if she doesn't care for Changjie, why leap in to save anyone…"
"I'll get the money to you as soon as I can," Xu Changjie promised, then warned, "If my mother shows up talking about marriage or the like, you mustn't accept."
Li Qinghe smiled. "I was afraid you'd change your mind."
Xu Changjie was silent for a long moment, studying her closely. The tenderness that used to live in her eyes was gone; he looked puzzled.
After sending Xu Changjie away, Madam Qian glanced several times toward Li Qinghe's chest as if about to speak, then fell silent. Li Qinghe ignored her and was about to return to her room when someone came to the yard outside the fence.
A young man in simple clothes, tall and upright, hurriedly swung his leg over the fence and leapt into the yard. In a few strides he reached her and cried, "Qinghe, are you all right?"
Li Qinghe: "…We do have a gate."