Chapter 1
Ye Jiao was awakened by the sound of firecrackers.
She opened her eyes somewhat bewildered, then saw that her vision was covered by a large patch of red.
She instinctively reached out to grab it, but before she could touch her face, Ye Jiao suddenly froze.
She... had hands?
This surprised Ye Jiao greatly. She hadn't forgotten that not long ago she was still worrying about taking human form.
Her true form was a ginseng plant. After cultivating for a thousand years, she still couldn't transform into human shape.
Watching as the little fox who cultivated alongside her could already go seduce men, the tiger spirit ruled over the forest as king, and even the stupidest little black bear could transform into a human, she was the only one left behind.
Ye Jiao had worried about this constantly, especially since that fox spirit always bragged to her about how prosperous the human world was, with delicious food and drink and handsome men, even more blissful than being an immortal.
The little ginseng spirit didn't think men were anything special. She just wanted to not be buried in the dirt, and preferably to enjoy good food and drink, to experience the thrill of being human.
But who could have imagined that after just one sleep, without even going through tribulation, she had actually become human?
Ye Jiao stared at her hands in a daze, turning them over and over, finding them more beautiful the more she looked.
Look at these hands, so pretty and lovely, not inferior to that little fox's hands at all!
But before she could finish admiring herself, she saw another hand reach over and grab hers.
Only then did Ye Jiao realize she was sitting in a sedan chair. The cloth curtain on the window had been pulled open, revealing an unfamiliar face.
Second Sister-in-law Ye looked at Ye Jiao, whose face was covered by the red bridal veil, crying on her face while laughing with joy in her heart.
This Ye Jiao was the youngest daughter of the Ye family. Her parents had died early, but fortunately she still had two older brothers.
Eldest Brother Ye was accomplished, both scholarly and martial. You couldn't find anyone as heroic as Eldest Brother throughout the entire village.
But five years ago he left home and never returned. Besides sending money home for the first two years, not a single copper coin came after that. Recently someone brought word that Eldest Brother Ye had died on the battlefield after joining the army, without even leaving bones behind.
Compared to Eldest Brother Ye's abilities, Second Brother Ye was truly useless. He failed at farming and lost everything in business. After Eldest Brother left, Second Brother Ye was like throwing money away, and before long he had squandered the Ye family's already meager assets completely.
With no money left at home, and Second Sister-in-law Ye not being someone who could endure hardship, she set her sights on Ye Jiao.
Ye Jiao was born beautiful. Second Sister-in-law Ye felt that in terms of looks, her little sister-in-law was no worse than those young ladies from wealthy families in the city.
It's just that Ye Jiao was timid and rarely went out. Eldest Brother Ye also feared her beauty would cause trouble, so he kept her at home helping with household chores, never letting her do any farm work. Though she was a farmer's daughter, Eldest Brother Ye had spoiled her into a pampered young lady.
But in Second Sister-in-law Ye's eyes, she was just a burden who ate for free.
Now that Eldest Brother Ye couldn't return and Second Brother Ye was unreliable, it just so happened that the wealthy Qi family in another village had a sickly son, Qi Yun, who looked like he wouldn't make it much longer. The Qi family was looking for someone to bring good fortune through marriage. Second Sister-in-law Ye sweet-talked Second Brother Ye and deceived the Qi family into thinking Ye Jiao was willing, took the Qi family's silver, and prepared to marry off this burdensome little sister-in-law wholesale.
The tears on her face were for the neighbors to see.
But with heavy silver ingots in her embrace, Second Sister-in-law Ye had to cover her mouth with her hand to hide her upturned corners.
So what if others said she was selling her sister-in-law to a sickly man?
They were probably just hating themselves for not having a daughter beautiful enough to catch the Qi family's eye!
She gripped Ye Jiao's hand tightly, looking into the sedan from outside, saying in a low voice: "Jiao Niang, don't blame your brother and sister-in-law. The Qi family is also a wealthy household. Just be obedient when you get there, and don't cry or make a fuss."
The subtext was that no matter whether Qi Yun lived or died in the future, Ye Jiao had nothing to do with the Ye family anymore.
Even if Ye Jiao became a widow in the future, she shouldn't think about coming back to freeload!
Ye Jiao said nothing, mainly because she didn't understand a single word of what Second Sister-in-law Ye was saying...
But Second Sister-in-law Ye took Ye Jiao's silence as agreement. She felt smug inside, thinking, so what if this Ye Jiao shut herself in her room crying all day yesterday and even threatened to kill herself? Now that she's in the bridal sedan today, isn't she still accepting her fate?
So she squeezed Ye Jiao's hand again and said: "Now that you're in the bridal sedan today, you're part of the Qi family. Don't come back in the future, understand?"
Ye Jiao still didn't speak, gently trying to pull her hand back.
Just at this moment, Ye Jiao's wedding dress sleeve slid down her arm, and Second Sister-in-law Ye's sharp eyes immediately spotted the gold bracelet on her wrist.
Second Sister-in-law Ye recognized this bracelet. It was a relic from Old Lady Ye.
She had thought that when the old lady died, this item was buried with her. Who knew it was actually with Ye Jiao!
Second Sister-in-law Ye naturally wouldn't let Ye Jiao take away even a copper coin from the family, let alone this gold bracelet that looked quite substantial. She didn't know how Ye Jiao had hidden it, managing to keep it until now!
Seeing that the bridal sedan was about to depart, Second Sister-in-law Ye reached out to grab Ye Jiao's arm, her voice urgent: "Jiao Niang, this belongs to your maternal family. You can't just take it to someone else's house. Take it off for me!"
Ye Jiao, who had already switched souls, looked at this sallow-faced woman with some disgust. She wanted to pull her hand back, but found that this woman was quite strong, and she couldn't break free despite struggling.
This made Ye Jiao's expression change.
She had long heard the fox spirit say that humans always harbored malice toward spirits and monsters. If discovered, they would most likely be burned to death.
She didn't understand a word of this woman's nonsense, but her strong survival instinct made Ye Jiao struggle even harder, even reaching out to scratch Second Sister-in-law Ye viciously!
"Ah!" Second Sister-in-law Ye screamed and stumbled back several steps.
What had been fake wailing for show now became real howling, and tears flowed unstoppably.
But the neighbors around all thought Second Sister-in-law Ye was putting on another act. After all, this woman could even sell her husband's little sister to bring good fortune to a sick man, what couldn't she do?
Second Sister-in-law Ye was furious, but the bridal sedan had already been lifted up. Firecrackers exploded, gongs and drums sounded, leaving only Second Sister-in-law Ye behind covering her hand and grimacing in pain.
Ye Jiao had originally wanted to scratch her and then run away, but the moment the sedan was lifted, her head was suddenly filled with memories belonging to Ye Jiao.
The little ginseng spirit took some time to finally understand that she hadn't transformed, but had entered someone else's body...
Now, she was being packaged up to marry a man who was about to die?
Anyone else would probably lament the unfairness of fate.
But the little ginseng spirit was very happy.
She didn't quite understand what marriage was, so she didn't care whether her future cheap husband lived or died.
She only knew that she had a legitimate identity. She could finally be human!
However, Ye Jiao soon learned that being human wasn't so easy.
Why did she have to be carried into the house?
Why did she have to step over a fire basin?
Why... was there a rooster crowing?
After all the commotion, Ye Jiao finally stood in the main hall and looked somewhat bewildered at the big rooster beside her. She looked at the red ribbon tied on the rooster, then at herself holding the other end of the red ribbon, and suddenly felt that being human was so difficult, with so many random and chaotic things.
But this rooster was quite fat. She wondered if it tasted good.
The little ginseng spirit, who had never eaten meat, admitted that she was tempted.
But the Qi family elders looked at Ye Jiao standing there stiffly, their expressions rather unpleasant.
They had bought this Ye Jiao from the Ye family, but what they valued wasn't her looks or figure, but because only the Ye family in the entire village was willing to marry their daughter to their family.
Their second son Qi Yun indeed didn't have many years left to live. No one wanted their daughter to come over and wait to become a widow.
Having found someone willing to bring good fortune through marriage, the Qi family elders didn't even have time to look at Ye Jiao properly before hurriedly setting a date and bringing her over.
Since it was for good fortune, it had to be done grandly and joyously.
Although the Qi family couldn't compare to the wealthy people in the cities and towns, they were still considered rich in the village. They were now hosting a grand feast, inviting quite a few people.
Who knew that this Ye Jiao had been standing there for so long without moving at all!
Liu Shi's smile was becoming hard to maintain. She naturally knew it was normal for a good girl to be unhappy about marrying over to become a living widow, but if you weren't willing, you should have said so earlier. Now that you're already here, who are you showing this attitude to?
But when Liu Shi's eyes moved to that rooster, her anger couldn't quite flare up.
Her poor Yun'er, why couldn't he live long...
Liu Shi covered her mouth wanting to cry, but feared disturbing this auspicious day, so she could only hold it in, her face turning red from the effort.
An old woman from the village who often helped with wedding ceremonies walked to Ye Jiao's side, grabbed her arm, and said in a low voice: "Bride, kneel down. Time for the wedding ceremony."
Ye Jiao's eyes were still fixed on the big rooster, not reacting for a moment.
Just then, there was suddenly some commotion in the crowd.
Liu Shi looked at the newcomer and suddenly stood up, her eyes wide with shock.
Ye Jiao soon felt her other hand being grabbed by someone.
This person's hand was somewhat cold, ice-cold, making Ye Jiao instinctively tighten her fingers.
Then she heard a low voice beside her ear: "Take the rooster away. I'm not dead yet."