Chapter 1: Choosing a Wife
fragrant white rice or glistening pork belly, these were things they never dared to dream of before.And now, not only can I eat, but I can also eat my fill!"Child, you must remember that you ate your..."Yang Lin, you must get a wife today!"
"You're eighteen now. According to the Great Qi laws, if you don't get married, your taxes will double."
So, both morally and rationally, you should help your Uncle San with this, and choose a wife to come back.
The village head, Zhao Fuguì, spoke with a pained voice, pulling Yang Lin out.
Today is the day when the county government distributes refugees.
War in the north, floods in the south, refugees are a scourge.
The County Magistrate came up with a plan: all refugees who arrived in Jianghe County would have their men sent to join the army, and their women sent to the countryside to be wives for the local men.
After half a year of this, even the bachelors got married. But there are too many refugees, and the county office still has quotas. The mountain village has already refused to take in refugees three times. If they don't leave someone behind today, Zhao Fugui won't be able to meet his quota.
Yang Lin's mood was complicated.
Having just crossed over, I got myself a wife for free
Neither will do
Is this heaven making up for his regrets
In his past life, he toiled diligently in his studies, enduring the hardships of examinations for graduate school and a doctorate. After much struggle, he finally entered the Science Academy. However, due to his straightforward nature and lack of adaptability, even though he became a senior engineer through his hard work, he remained overlooked. Driven by the need for a house and dowry, he worked at the Science Academy during the day and streamed himself roasting sweet potatoes in the evening. This turned an honest science man into a shrewd businessman.
He may have tried every way to make money, but he still couldn't afford the astronomical dowry his fiancee wanted. He worked day and night, only to be involved in a car accident while half asleep. Even as he lay dying, he was still cursed by his former love as a poor wretch!
Looking back...
Bah, better not to look back.
"Uncle Three, do they want a dowry" Yang Lin asked.
Zhao Fugui glared at Yang Lin: "What nonsense are you talking about They're already burning incense with joy to have someone take them in, why do they still need a dowry It's the other way around!"
"No dowry, good idea!"
Yang Lin sighed.
He instinctively reached into his pocket, only to remember that he had crossed over and had no cigarettes.
In my past life, I was a heavy smoker. If I didn't smoke for a while, I would get really uncomfortable.
But under these circumstances, I can only quit.
Right now, his conditions are really bad!
He was an orphan, penniless and living in poverty. He was a poor and pedantic scholar.
He has a stubborn and obstinate nature, like a block of wood. Despite years of hard study, he hasn't even passed the entrance exam for scholars, yet he still only knows how to study blindly.
He has no achievements nor does he farm. He lives off the family fortune left by his parents, which is almost depleted. In the village, he is a laughing stock.
"Let me tell you, this time there are ten girls, each one fair and beautiful. You can pick any!" Zhao Fugu continued to urge.
"Still fair and beautiful"
Yang Lin's eyes lit up.
"Come on, what are you just standing there for" Yang Lin urged.
Zhao Fu貴 was stunned.
This kid shouldn't talk about poetry, and when he does speak, he criticizes romantic relationships between men and women as debauchery and human reproduction as vulgar. Is he not interested in women
This isn't what I expected.
Yang Lin strode towards the village entrance, his heart swelling with excitement.
The Great Reign was not part of recorded history, lasting for three hundred years. Its culture was lavish and similar to that of the Tang and Song dynasties, while its industrial technology only reached the level of the Qin and Han dynasties.
Here there are no gunpowder, glass, nor soap, steelmaking, or salt refining....
For travelers, it's like a blank slate.
With such a unique and advantageous environment, with his knowledge and skills, he has a vast platform to make his mark.
Previous lives with no attachments have passed, reborn this time, this life must be lived as an individual!
……
"Am I the only one"
When Yang Lin arrived at the village entrance with high expectations, he was stunned to find that he was the only one there.
Even the government giving out wives as a benefit, it's surprisingly deserted.
However, Yang Lin also understands that everyone is not wealthy. One more person means one more mouth to feed.
If there is not enough food, people will starve to death.
Besides the landlord's master, ordinary people would be content with just one wife and wouldn't dare to take a concubine.
At the village entrance, besides Zhang Wu, the leading officer, there was only a row of thin young girls.
They were all very young, the oldest barely over twenty and the youngest only in their teens. Their hair was tousled and their clothes ragged and worn. They were thin and frail, swaying slightly in the breeze.
I'm hungry!
But their eyes were bright, sincere and pure, just looking at them was comforting.
However, being chosen so arbitrarily made Yang Lin, who had received a modern education, feel rather uncomfortable.
“You guys came all the way from Yanshan Village” Officer Zhang Wu glared at Yang Lin with displeasure, frowning and saying, “Fine, pick quickly! The county government no longer provides food for you. Those who aren’t sent out today will be sent to the brothels!”
The women’s faces were filled with terror. “Choose me, choose me.”
I don't eat much.
"I can do the job!"
A pair of pleading eyes turned to Yang Lin, and they cried out eagerly.
In the crowd, a slender girl with thin lips lightly bit her red lips and clenched her fists.
She, Li Yuyao, the emperor's only daughter, is the reigning empress!
Before the previous emperor passed away, he had not designated an heir. In the haste, the throne was passed to her.
However, on the third day of his ascension to the throne, the King Yan rebelled, besieging the palace with troops. The courtiers defected to King Yan one after another.
In the blink of an eye, a generation of female emperors had lost their power. Under the desperate protection of her guards, she escaped the palace and fled south.
She didn't want to be ambushed and killed by bandits halfway through the journey. The guards fought desperately to protect her, and although she survived, she got separated from them and lost in the mountains and wilderness.
Without money, and afraid to reveal her identity, she who was always dressed in fine clothes and ate delicious food, almost starved to death.
Later, she encountered a band of refugees and followed them south all the way to Jianghe County. She was stopped by officials from the county government and treated as a refugee, sent to be a wife for idle men in the village.
A mighty empress, reduced to being defiled by a rustic village husband, is an unimaginable disgrace!
and now, she is to be sent to a brothel
No! You absolutely cannot go to the brothel!
She couldn't do what other women did, treating themselves as commodities to be sold.
But there was also a hidden hope that the other party would choose him.
The inner conflict and shame, boiled her cheeks red.
Until Yang Lin's gaze shifted away from her...
She finally panicked.
"Choose me!"
It was shouted out in an almost commanding tone!
Her voice is louder than other women's.
"I'm doing well, I'm nineteen years old, I play the qin, chess, calligraphy, painting... I... I can also spin yarn, and I can endure hardship!"
Li Yuxiang calmly combed her hair, revealing a captivating beauty.
She knows what beauty can bring to a woman who is powerless to protect herself.
Along the way, she deliberately messed up her hair and smeared dirt on herself, making herself look disheveled and dirty.
The moment her hair was tousled, the village head and the yamen servants beside her all stared in astonishment!
He swallowed unconsciously.
It's so beautiful!
Yang Lin couldn't help but be struck by the sight.
This aloof and cold temperament is breathtakingly beautiful!
Zhang Wu was filled with remorse.
Such a wonderful find, how come I didn't discover it earlier
No, I absolutely can't let this kid get away with it!
Zhang Wu's eyes turned, and he immediately urged: "Hurry up and choose, one girl, one hundred wen!"
"What" Village Chief Zhao Fuguai was taken aback. "Sir, didn't you say it wouldn't cost anything"
Zhang Wu glared at Zhao Fuguang: “That was in the past, I went through mountains and rivers to bring you women. What, is a hundred wen too much Think it's too much You can just refuse.”
This is clearly an attempt to make things difficult.
"This…"
Zhao Fu貴 looked worriedly at Yang Lin.
One hundred pieces of writing is no small amount.
Even with hard work, a peasant might only earn a few dozen coins per month. After paying all the various levies and taxes, and covering basic needs like food and clothing, it's unlikely they would save even a hundred coins by the end of the year.
And Yang Lin's poverty was notorious.
"Alas, I guess it's best to just forget it." Zhao Fugui sighed and shook his head.
"Just one hundred words."
Yang Lin didn't think much of it.
"I choose..."
Yang Lin drew out a long tone, stretching his finger and pointing from one woman to another in front of them.
Li Yuyao looked expectantly at the finger that could decide her fate, and it pointed to her.
Her heart was pounding.
It's me!
However, the finger flashed past her face.
In that instant, I felt a chill run down my spine!eration to say that they now have the strength to rival top families."So, my lady, are you going to honor your bet, or are you going to back out"Yang Lin looked at his beautiful wife with interest, pl...