Zhulan tried her hardest to keep her eyes closed and feign sleep, her ears perked up, listening carefully to the movements around her. Despite being awake for quite a while without any noise, after waiting for a bit, she could distinctly feel someone staring at her intently as if trying to see flowers bloom from her gaze.
Zhulan dared not move an inch, yet couldn't help feeling a bit odd. She'd been married to her husband for over twenty years; no matter how strong their affection, it wouldn't warrant such intense scrutiny first thing in the morning.
A knock at the door.
"Mother, are you up yet? It's time to make breakfast."
According to Zhulan's memories, this eldest daughter-in-law was greatly favored by her original self, since she shared a similar temperament to her sister-in-law. The only downside was her tendency for minor scheming.
From Lady Li's cautious call, it was clear the original self's status in the family was unshakable.
Now, Zhulan couldn't pretend to sleep even if she wanted to. She didn't want to be discovered as a different soul, didn't want to be burned as a demon. Bad death was worse than clinging to life!
Doing her best to mimic the original owner's tone, "I'm up, I'll be out in a moment."
Upon hearing a response without showing anger, Lady Li grew bolder, crisply replying, "Alright!"
But then she muttered, "Acting all lovey-dovey despite being grandparents already."
Zhulan, "....."
Is she lacking in sense? Doesn't she know there's no soundproofing here? Could her muttering be any quieter? With a darkened face, it was likely not just the eldest daughter-in-law who harbored such thoughts.
If only she had known to get up earlier, but regretting it now was too late.
Stirred by irritation, Zhulan snapped open her eyes and sat up, only to be stunned. Her husband, who had clearly been awake just moments ago, had closed his eyes again. His furrowed brow revealed he was feigning sleep. Was it embarrassment from hearing their daughter-in-law's words?
As Zhulan put on her gray coat, she observed her original husband. Ancient men favored beards. Thankfully, he didn't have a handlebar mustache. His skin was somewhat dark, yet his features were well-proportioned. Upon estimating his height, he was over one meter seventy—a tall stature given the generally short average height in ancient times.
Zhulan didn't care whether her husband was pretending to sleep or not. She quickly put on her shoes and stepped down to the ground. She truly feared her gossipy eldest daughter-in-law couldn't keep her mouth shut. If the neighbors knew, it meant the whole village would know, and she couldn't afford that sort of embarrassment.
Trying her best to act like her original self, Zhulan rubbed her face before going out. She saw the eldest daughter-in-law chatting with the neighbors in the yard and gave her a glare, "Hurry and come take the grain to make breakfast. If you don't want to cook, I'll let the second daughter-in-law do it in the future."
Lady Li shrank her neck. How could she let the second daughter-in-law take over? Cooking was an easy, clean, and untiring task that even allowed sneaking bites. Eager to please, she quickly ran over, "Mother, you look really radiant today. They say beauty outshines the flowers, and they must be speaking of you."
Zhulan, "...."
She shouldn't have allowed Lady Li to start this. Just look at the neighbor's knowing glances. It was too late to prevent this. Whatever Lady Li had spread around, jumping into the Yellow River wouldn't wash her clean now.
Zhulan shot Lady Li a sharp look, "Hurry up and make breakfast."
She couldn't stand the neighbors' stares any longer.
Zhulan unlocked the storeroom and scooped a bowl of rice from the jar, also taking the usual amount of cornmeal needed for breakfast according to memory. She wanted rice porridge.
Then, instead of returning to the bedroom, she sat down on a chair, recalling the original owner's memories. She needed to sort things out properly.
The dynasty the original self lived in didn't exist in the annals of history. The new dynasty had been established only eleven years ago. The succession of dynasties, the unrest at the end of the previous dynasty, and the wars that raged for over a decade meant that, from birth, the original self never had a peaceful day. Even after the new dynasty was established, life didn't improve much.
With the new dynasty's establishment, the eleven years of recuperation didn't bring prosperity back to the war-torn land. Even with reduced taxes, the common farmers were barely making ends meet.
The original self was married off at fifteen, right at the start of a decade of war. It was the turmoil of war that gave her the chance to marry her husband, a fifteen-year-old scholar. Unfortunately, her husband's prime years coincided with the end of the previous dynasty, a time when demons seemed to run rampant, the imperial examinations were halted, and war lingered for ten years. By the time the new dynasty was founded, they had a string of children, and her husband was too old to harbor any ambitions, focusing all his hopes on their sons instead.