Great Zhou Dynasty, during the summer of the first year of a new imperial reign. Dawn was just breaking, the sky slowly brightening.
In Zhao Village, inside a farmer's bedroom, a drama was unfolding.
Sun Mei and Zhao Dong woke up almost at the same time. They both sat on the bed, staring at each other with wide eyes, neither speaking first.
In the end, Sun Mei couldn't help it. She had read many novels and had figured out the situation by then. She had time-traveled!
Her eyes flashed, and she immediately reached up to hold her head, feebly saying, "Ouch, my head hurts so much. What happened to me? Where am I? Who are you, and who am I? Why can't I remember anything?"
As for Zhao Dong, who was staring right back at her, his heart, which had just been pounding, suddenly calmed after seeing her 'over-the-top' acting. "Honey, it's me. I'm your husband."
Sun Mei continued her act. "Ah, are you my husband? But I don't remember. What happened?"
Zhao Dong: "..."
After quietly watching his wife perform for a while, Zhao Dong finally couldn't take it anymore and interrupted her. "Alright, Honey, stop acting. With that dramatic flair of yours, I recognized you right away. Honey, it's me, Dongzi."
This familiar way of speaking instantly put Sun Mei at ease, and she said excitedly, "Darling! You time-traveled here too! That's great! I thought I was the only one; it scared me to death."
She wasn't lying. While reading novels, she always longed to time-travel, but when it actually happened, suddenly ending up in an unfamiliar place, all she felt was fear and helplessness.
Just as the two of them recognized each other, a familiar child's cry suddenly came from beside them. Both their expressions changed as they looked over.
They saw a four or five-year-old child sitting at the head of the bed, crying and wiping her tears, calling for her Mom and Dad.
"It's Tongtong! It's our Tongtong!" Sun Mei exclaimed, unable to contain her excitement.
However, Zhao Dong had already moved, picking up their daughter and patiently coaxing her.
The reunion of their family of three in this strange world felt like an immense blessing to Zhao Dong. As long as his wife and child were with him, no matter where he was, he would not be afraid.
After calming the frightened Zhao Zhitong, their memories of the bodies' original owners gradually began to return.
They now found themselves in a dynasty called Zhou, which seemed to be in a peaceful era without any wars.
Their names hadn't changed, and they were still an ordinary farming family in Zhao Village.
The three of them familiarized themselves with the room and agreed on how to speak and address each other. In particular, Zhao Dong repeatedly told Zhao Zhitong that she could no longer call them Papa and Mama; instead, she had to call them Father and Mother.
Because they had the memories of the bodies' original owners, it wasn't difficult to adapt. However, Zhao Zhitong's mind was still in chaos from the influx of memories.
As the three of them were sharing information, the bedroom door was suddenly banged on loudly, followed by a woman's cursing voice.
"Get up! What time do you think it is?! A family of lazy bums!"
As the familiar scolding rang out, Sun Mei instinctively shrank. This is my mother-in-law, Mrs. Wang. In my memories, the original owner of this body was often beaten and scolded by her. She hurriedly responded, "Mother, we're up."
Then, another torrent of curses came from outside, followed by loud knocking on the adjacent door.
"A lazy hen lays lazy eggs! The whole lot of you are gluttonous and lazy! Get up and move out now. Today, you're moving, and don't expect me to feed you anymore!"
After banging on their door, Mrs. Wang returned to her room, cursing all the way.
"Let's get up quickly." Sun Mei sighed and hurriedly found clothes to wear. "Today seems to be the day we're moving."
Her mother-in-law was Zhao Dong's stepmother, who frequently berated the families of Zhao Dong and his older brother—both sons of Mr. Zhao's previous wife.
Just recently, the older brother had gone hunting in the mountains and disappeared. When Zhao Dong went to look for him, he accidentally injured his leg. With the family suddenly losing two laborers but still needing to be fed, the stepmother's face turned even darker.
Finally, she had convinced Mr. Zhao, and they had divided the household yesterday.
Actually, from Sun Mei's perspective, dividing the household was a good thing; she didn't want to live constantly watching her mother-in-law's moods.
Sun Mei, Zhao Dong, and Zhao Zhitong quickly got dressed and went out.
Upon opening the door, they saw the eldest brother's wife, Mrs. Zhu, standing in the courtyard with her three children.
Sun Mei politely nodded at her, but the other woman remained expressionless and even turned her face away, making Sun Mei feel quite embarrassed.
At this moment, the fifth brother's wife, Mrs. Sun, came out of the kitchen. Seeing Sun Mei, she smiled kindly. "Second Sister-in-law."
Before Sun Mei could speak, Mrs. Wang's explosive scolding erupted from behind her, "You good-for-nothing, hurry up and cook! Grinning like that! You grin more eagerly than a streetwalker!"
Mrs. Wang's curses were incredibly vile. Mrs. Sun's eyes immediately welled with tears, and she lowered her head, hurrying to fetch water.
"Crying, crying, crying! Can't even lay an egg, and all you do is cry!"
Good heavens, Mrs. Wang had really covered all the bases with her cursing.
Sun Mei's eyes widened. It was one thing to know from her memories how fierce and unreasonable Mrs. Wang was, but hearing it firsthand was another matter entirely.
"And you lot, what are you dawdling for? Hurry up and move; don't think about mooching off me!"
Just as Mrs. Wang turned her verbal assault towards Sun Mei, a loud, clear female voice sounded from the doorway, "Well, well, my dear in-law! I just arrived at your gate and already heard you caterwauling in the courtyard. Anyone who didn't know better would think someone in your family had died!"
Sun Mei subconsciously looked over and saw a capable-looking woman in her late thirties or early forties standing at the entrance, hands on her hips. Sun Mei's eyes widened instantly. "Mom... I mean, Mother!"
No wonder she was so shocked she almost slipped up; this woman looked almost exactly like her mother from her previous life!
Seeing Sun Mei, the woman's expression softened instantly. She rushed over, grabbing Sun Mei's hand like a mother hen protecting her chick. "Don't be afraid, Mother is here to back you up!"
With that, she shot a glare at Mrs. Wang and snorted, "We have our maternal family to back us up; we won't stand by and let her be bullied."
Mrs. Wang was so angry her nostrils flared. "Zhao Guifen, you can't say a decent thing to save your life! This is my home! What gives you the right to barge in here acting all high and mighty? You're all a shameless bunch!"
Ignoring her, Zhao Guifen first comforted Sun Mei, then planted her hands on her hips and shouted, "Mrs. Wang, you've always been harsh to my son-in-law's family. You make him work like an ox day in and day out, feed him scraps, and treat him like a slave! I haven't said anything because, even though you're a second wife, you're still his mother, and I considered it them being filial.
"But what's this now? My son-in-law just injured his leg, and you can't wait to kick him out? Head of the Zhao Family, don't hide in your room! We're talking about your own son here! Aren't you afraid of people condemning you behind your back?"
Mrs. Wang was fierce and unreasonable, but Zhao Guifen was no pushover. Her words tumbled out, fast and sharp, leaving Mrs. Wang unable to get a word in edgewise.
Being reminded she was a second wife was a particularly sore spot for Mrs. Wang, and her face darkened further. She immediately began yelling, "Zhao Guifen, you filthy hag! A married daughter is like spilled water! What are you doing running to my house early in the morning to curse at people—"
Inside the house, Zhao Baishan couldn't bear it any longer and came out, his face livid. "Enough, enough! It's early in the morning! What's all this ruckus? Soon the neighbors will be here to watch the spectacle! Aren't you ashamed?"
Mrs. Wang was instantly furious and burst out wailing, "Me, creating a ruckus? Who's really making a ruckus here? That despicable Zhao Guifen barges into our house, and not only do you not protect me, you scold me too! Zhao Baishan, are you even a man?" She sobbed, "My life is so bitter! I don't want to live anymore..."