Chapter 1: A Family Reduced to Beggary

Winter of the Twenty-Sixth Year of Yongkang.
The Da Liang Dynasty, Hanyang City.

The biting cold wind howled relentlessly, and the vast expanse of snow blanketed the earth in a silvery frost.

A gust of frigid wind swept into the thatched hut, piercing and bone-chilling.

Jiang Yi suddenly opened his eyes and looked around the room. A bed laid with straw and a quilt stuffed with reed flowers and cattail fluff stood before him.

“What’s going on?”

Upon waking, Jiang Yi saw the bare walls and his own feeble, near-death body.

“Have I transmigrated? And I was a prince before?”

Jiang Yi was astonished; he hadn’t expected a prince to fall so low.

Previously, he was the thirteenth prince of Da Liang. His mother had been a lowly palace maid.

Three years ago, during a catastrophic purge, he witnessed his mother beheaded at the execution ground.

This January, an imperial edict demoted Jiang Yi to commoner status and exiled him to Hanyang City.

His fate could hardly be described as anything but tragic...

As his body regained a little warmth and mobility, Jiang Yi got out of bed, leaning against the wall as he moved toward the door.

According to his memories, he had a wife named Shen Rong.

Shen Rong was eighteen, from Li Family Village in Shuangma Township. Orphaned from a young age, she was raised by the kindness of many households.

She was diligent, virtuous, and kind-hearted, but her life was full of hardship.

In July that year, the Hanyang Prefectural Office arranged marriages between unmarried men and women aged eighteen.

Jiang Yi, also eighteen and unmarried, was paired with Shen Rong.

Jiang Yi felt cold and hungry; his wife had gone up the mountain and had not yet returned.

Before leaving, Shen Rong had left some food at home, originally enough to last Jiang Yi a day.

But the stored food had been stolen by Niu Er and his gang—infuriating!

His body was too cold and weak to move freely; he could barely take a few steps leaning on the wall.

Worrying that his wife might be in danger on the mountain, and imagining her suffering the same hunger and cold, his heart ached deeply.

“I’m so hungry, it’s unbearable.”

If he couldn’t solve the problem of food and warmth soon, death by cold and starvation would not be far off.

Jiang Yi struggled to the door; the old wooden door creaked under the biting wind.

Opening it, the icy wind struck him fiercely.

“Since I’ve transmigrated here, I have to find a way to make money quickly and improve our lives.”

His mind brimmed with knowledge, and he was determined to find a way to prosper.

But some things, though profitable, were strictly regulated by the government or required too much time and expense to produce.

His immediate focus was to earn money quickly, solve the basic needs of food and warmth, and only then consider other matters.

Jiang Yi wrapped his thin clothes tighter around himself, shivering as the bone-piercing wind blew.

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He crossed his arms and stepped out of the hut, moving outside the fenced yard to see if his wife had returned.

The wind and snow made it difficult to keep his eyes open, but Jiang Yi strained to gaze down the road to the east of the village.

“With such a fierce snowstorm, little Rong still isn’t back—it’s truly worrying.”

He stood outside the fence for a while, indifferent to the piercing cold brought by the wind and snow.

After some more waiting, a thin figure appeared through the storm.

Confirming it was Shen Rong, he hurried to meet her.

“It’s good you’ve come back safely!”

Jiang Yi approached his wife, examining her for any injuries.

“I went up the mountain yesterday afternoon to gather wild vegetables, but a sudden snowstorm struck. It was too dangerous to descend, so I sheltered in a cave until this morning.”

Shen Rong had been worried about Jiang Yi as well, since there was no one else to care for him at home.

Hand in hand, the couple returned to the hut. Jiang Yi noticed that her hands were cold and rough.

Inside, after closing the door, he saw the house was empty.

“Was the house robbed?”

She had been away only a day, yet everything had been stolen?

“The things were taken by Niu Er and his gang. I planned to wait for you to come back before reporting it to the village chief.”

Jiang Yi scrutinized Shen Rong, ensuring she wasn’t hurt.

“They even stole the cooking pot. Those scoundrels are infuriating.”

He helped Shen Rong take off her raincoat and remove her bamboo hat.

She placed her basket aside—she had found no wild vegetables during her mountain gathering.

“Ah! How are we supposed to get by? The ground is frozen, and there are no wild vegetables to be found.”

She hadn’t expected Niu Er and his gang to even steal their cookware—it was utterly heartless.

“I’ll borrow a bow, arrows, and a knife from Aunt Li to hunt on the mountain. Meanwhile, I’ll inform the village chief about the theft so he can report it to the authorities.”

“I heard wild beasts howling in the cave last night—it was terrifying! You better not go hunting. I’ll borrow some buckwheat flour and millet from Aunt Li; I’ll pay her back once we have money.”

Jiang Yi clasped Shen Rong’s cold hand, full of tenderness. “You haven’t eaten meat in a long time; you’ve lost so much weight. I’ll hunt some wild rabbits and chickens to nourish you.”

Their eyes met, and they held each other’s hands tightly.

The room fell silent, stirring Jiang Yi’s memories of Shen Rong’s meticulous care.

“I will make sure you live a good life. No matter how rich or noble I become, I will never betray you.”

Shen Rong sensed a great change in Jiang Yi today—he spoke more and showed more concern for her.

She recalled how, shortly after their marriage, he told her he was the thirteenth prince demoted to commoner, and that his mother was wrongfully executed.

Shen Rong had thought her own life was full of misfortune, but Jiang Yi’s fate was even more tragic.

The blow left Jiang Yi despondent and indifferent to everything.

Yet Shen Rong never once resented him after marrying him.

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Even if Jiang Yi did nothing, she was confident she could support him.

Shen Rong was skilled in washing clothes and cooking, and she would gather wild vegetables from the mountain whenever she could, enduring hardship without complaint.

If there was any good food—no matter how little—she would give it all to Jiang Yi.

She ate little herself and, due to long-term malnutrition, was especially thin.

Shen Rong recalled one night when Jiang Yi suddenly had a high fever, his body burning up.

That had been the most dangerous time of his life, and Shen Rong was terribly anxious.

In the dead of night, it was impossible to enter the city or see a doctor.

She sought help from Li Cuiyun, hoping to treat Jiang Yi.

Li Cuiyun brought herbs from her home, which helped reduce the fever after taking the medicine.

Shen Rong stayed by Jiang Yi’s side, barely removing her clothes, praying silently for his recovery.

Heaven did not disappoint her efforts; under her devoted care, Jiang Yi’s illness finally subsided.

Jiang Yi never forgot Shen Rong’s thoughtful nursing and vowed never to betray her.

“To have such a virtuous wife is truly my blessing across three lifetimes. Thank you for taking such care of me.”

Jiang Yi gently pulled his wife into his embrace, deeply grateful for her meticulous care over these past months.

After a long moment, they separated.

Jiang Yi moved to the door and opened it, facing the biting cold wind once again.

“Close the door first.”

Shen Rong called after him, urging him to shut the door.

Jiang Yi turned to see her taking off her clothes.

“You’re going out dressed so lightly—you’ll catch a cold. Wear my clothes underneath.”

“Don’t take them off. You don’t have many clothes either; don’t freeze.”

Jiang Yi reached out, holding Shen Rong’s cold hand to stop her from undressing further.

“I’m very resistant to the cold. Once I earn money, I’ll buy you a sheepskin coat and a wool quilt.”

“It’s too cold outside. You should stay home.”

Dressed in his raincoat and bamboo hat, Jiang Yi opened the hall door and stepped out, closing it behind him.

He was an outstanding First-Class Sergeant from the twenty-first century, widely known as a “Soldier King,” having won numerous honors in service.

The sergeant was nicknamed the Panda Soldier, adept at maintaining and using all kinds of equipment, with exceptional skills in marksmanship and hand-to-hand combat.

He needed to make money quickly and give his wife a better life.

Jiang Yi strode forward with determination, nearly slipping several times in the snow.

He didn’t stop or look back at his wife.