The Heir

Huizhоu, thе first mоnth оf thе lunar yeаr, аt mao hоur (5–7 a.m.). Thе оld tigеr stоvе аt the citу gate tunnel was steaming with а vаst, white mist.

"Тhe wаtеr’s bоiling, thе watеr’s bоiling! Fеtсh it whilе it’s hot." Тhe rhythmic сlаcking оf bamboo сlapрers, aссоmраniеd bу a hoаrsе, agеd vоiсe, еchоеd through the dееp, shаdowy tunnel.

Instаntly, the residеnts оf thе entirе tunnel stirred to lifе.

Аt thе far еnd оf thе tunnеl wаs thе Li housеhоld.

Zhaо Shi boltеd upright in bed, shоving hard аt Li Jingfu, whо lаy bеsidе hеr slеeping like а pig. But Li Jingfu merely grumblеd, rolled ovеr, and cоntinued slееping. А sudden fury flared in her heart. She spat heavily. "That damned man."

Then, wrapping herself in half an old blanket, she got out of bed and strode to the middle of the room, yanking aside the cloth curtain that divided the space.

On the other side of the curtain was a bunk bed. The lower bunk was occupied by the Li family’s fourteen-year-old second daughter, Li Zhenniang, while the upper bunk housed their eight-year-old youngest son, Xi Ge’er.

What family still had a fourteen-year-old girl sharing a room with her parents, and even sleeping in bunk beds with her eight-year-old little brother? But there was no other way. The Li family had only two rooms. The other room was occupied by their eldest son and his wife. They couldn’t very well have the younger siblings squeezing in there with them.

Seeing Li Zhenniang curled up under a thin quilt on the lower bunk, Zhao Shi’s anger surged even higher. Gritting her teeth, she rushed to the bedside, threw off the quilt, and pinched Li Zhenniang’s ear, screeching, "You damned, worthless girl! All you know is sleeping! Get up now and fetch hot water! If there’s no hot water for the house later, I’ll skin you alive!"

The chill of early spring, combined with the pain, jolted Li Zhenniang awake. Her heart was filled with grief and indignation. Her eyelids felt as heavy as lead, impossible to open. Last night, her father had gambled late into the night again. When he returned, her mother, Zhao Shi, had dragged him into a torrent of scolding. In the end, her father counterattacked, pinning Zhao Shi to the bed and "dealing with her" for a good while, making Zhao Shi’s cries sound like a pig being slaughtered.

Thus, separated from her own parents by only a curtain, Li Zhenniang naturally had a sleepless night. Even with cotton stuffed in her ears, she couldn’t block out those grating, heart-clawing sounds.

"I’m up, I’m up," Li Zhenniang repeated hurriedly, then forcefully broke free from Zhao Shi’s grip, leaped out of bed, and began dressing swiftly.

"Heh heh." Xi Ge’er, sleeping on the upper bunk, woke up. Seeing his second sister suffer at their mother’s hands, he snickered gleefully.

Li Zhenniang glared at him. The brat stuck his tongue out at her, then rolled over to go back to sleep, leaving Zhenniang fuming.

"Hmph, hurry up! Don’t dawdle!" Seeing Li Zhenniang was up, Zhao Shi, her face dark and stormy, scrambled back into her own bed. But the stream of curses and scolding would never cease now.

And such tirades were already commonplace for Li Zhenniang.

With the family struggling in poverty, everyone’s temper seemed especially foul. Cursing to vent frustration was the most normal expression for ordinary folk. Moreover, every member of this family was truly a piece of work.

Her father, Li Jingfu, spent his days either drowning in drink or gambling until heaven and earth turned dark. Add to that swindling and cheating—in the eyes of the tunnel residents, he was simply a rotten man, a damned good-for-nothing.

Her mother, Zhao Shi, was fierce, stingy, sharp-tongued, and money-grubbing. People in the tunnel dodged her when they saw her—not because they feared her scolding, but because they were afraid of accidentally letting her take advantage of them.The eldest brother, Li Zhenliang, lived up to his name as the best person in this family, but he was too honest. Not only could family members order him around, but even outsiders could easily make him do things. Coupled with his wife Du Shi, who was a match for Zhao Shi in sharpness, Li Zhenliang became synonymous with incompetence and cowardice in the eyes of the people of Chengmendong.

As for the eight-year-old youngest brother, Xi Ge'er, the little rascal was full of mischief—better not to mention him, as thinking about him only brought tears of sorrow.

Of course, even the original owner of Li Zhenniang's body was an extreme case—gluttonous, to the point that in the first month of the year, she would pour cold water over herself just to eat a scallion pancake. After falling ill from the cold, she would go to her grandparents, who lived alone, to swindle money. Even after getting the money, she didn’t think of seeing a doctor, only caring about eating scallion pancakes. In the end, she ate the pancakes but died from the illness, which was how the current Li Zhenniang came to occupy her body.

What kind of people were these?

A lined jacket, a pair of wide-legged pants, and a horse-face skirt tied at the waist—in the early spring morning, such an outfit couldn’t block the biting cold wind. Li Zhenniang had no choice but to stomp her feet vigorously and bounce up and down for a while. Then, she scooped water from the large water jar outside the kitchen door to wash her face.

Squinting her eyes, she listened to her mother’s colorful curses from inside the house, finding amusement in her hardship. Since her rebirth, Zhao Shi’s curses had become Li Zhenniang’s morning accompaniment, a source of entertainment.

After washing up, Li Zhenniang picked up a large copper kettle and was about to go out to fetch hot water.

"Zhenniang, take Xiao Guan with you. He cried most of the night, keeping me awake. I need to catch up on sleep." At that moment, Li Zhenniang’s sister-in-law, Du Shi, came out holding her one-year-old son, Little Official Xiao, along with a long carrying strap, which she shoved directly into Li Zhenniang’s hands. Then, still drowsy-eyed, she turned and went back inside to continue her morning nap.

"Your sister!" Even with Zhenniang’s usual calm, she couldn’t help but mutter a low curse. Seeing Little Official Xiao laughing carelessly in her arms, she felt both amused and exasperated.

In the end, she had no choice but to use the carrying strap to support Little Official Xiao’s bottom and carry him on her back. Xiao Guan, however, stared with his dark, shiny eyes and began tugging at her hair. Li Zhenniang irritably swatted his little hand away, but the little rascal simply switched to his other hand and continued pulling, making her scalp ache.

In short, this entire family, even the baby, was nothing but trouble.

Li Zhenniang grumbled inwardly as she headed out.

Although it was already the hour of Mao and the sky had brightened, inside Chengmendong, it remained as dark as deep night.

Chengmendong Alley was a passageway for transporting goods into the city, built beneath the city gate tower. Only a few sections intermittently revealed a patch of sky, while the rest was like a tunnel. Moreover, the path was narrow, so even on sunny days, the environment here was dark and damp. Such a place was not only unappealing to the wealthy but even to families who were moderately well-off. As a result, Chengmendong Alley eventually became a settlement for day laborers and idlers.

In modern terms, this was a slum, a shantytown.

Over the past hundred years, it had gradually formed the unique living scene of Chengmendong Alley.

And fetching hot water from the Tiger Stove in the morning was a distinctive sight of Chengmendong. At this time, people from every household came out carrying wooden buckets or copper kettles, gradually merging into a bustling stream of people.Li Zhenniang carried a large copper kettle, with Little Official Xiao strapped to her back, following the flow of the crowd. Before long, she spotted the distinctive tiger-head lantern hanging at the entrance of the Tiger Stove. Its dim, yellowish light diffused through the rising steam like an ink wash painting, evoking a sense of nostalgia and warmth.

In front of the Tiger Stove, several aunties and sisters-in-law waiting in line to fetch hot water chatted idly, gossiping about this family or that.

Inside, Uncle Shui was bustling about nonstop—one moment fetching water for customers, the next adding firewood to the stove, and then refilling the emptied cauldrons with cold water.

Li Zhenniang watched from outside before placing her copper kettle in the queue. There was no need to worry about anyone cutting in line; in this era, such matters were far more orderly than in later times. Once a kettle was placed, others would naturally help move it forward, and no one would ever jump the queue.

After greeting the people around her with a smile, Li Zhenniang squeezed through the crowd into the Tiger Stove. Without hesitation, she began helping Uncle Shui with his tasks. After refilling the large cauldron with water, she settled by the stove to add firewood.

Although her parents were not well-regarded by the neighbors, the community still offered some help to their impoverished family. For instance, when she came to fetch hot water, while others paid two coins per bucket, Uncle Shui always charged her family only one. That was the kindness of their bond.

“Oh, isn’t that Li family’s second daughter, Zhenniang? That girl used to be a carefree glutton, but now she’s actually helping others?” remarked an older sister-in-law outside, watching Li Zhenniang tending the fire with a look of surprise.

“Yes, for the past ten days or so, I’ve seen her helping Uncle Shui every day. She seems much more sensible than before,” added another auntie.

“With parents like hers, if she doesn’t grow up soon, she might not have a future. Have you all heard about the Tian family’s matter?” chimed in a nearby auntie, her tone mysterious.

“What happened?” several curious voices asked around her.

“A few days ago, the Tian family’s eldest son, Tian Benchang, invited some classmates to visit Huangshan and accidentally fell off a cliff,” the auntie said, widening her eyes.

“Ah…” the crowd gasped in unison. “He must be dead, then?”

“Not just dead,” the auntie shook her head sorrowfully. “I tell you, they might not even recover his body. Think about it—has anyone ever retrieved a body after falling from Huangshan’s cliffs? It’s tragic.”

“Oh dear, then Zhenniang is done for. Didn’t Zhao Shi recently pressure the Tian family to set a wedding date? Now, Zhenniang will become a widow before even entering the family. It’ll be hard for her to marry into a good family after this,” the first auntie lamented, her expression full of pity.

“Pah! With the kind of family Zhenniang comes from, even if she weren’t a widow-before-marriage, no decent family would want her,” retorted the seemingly well-informed auntie. Lowering her voice, she added, “I have a sister who works in the Tian family’s kitchen, and she told me the Tians are already spreading the word that Tian Benchang’s accident was caused by Zhenniang’s ill luck. They don’t even want her as a widow-before-marriage—they’re planning to break off the engagement, even though he’s dead.”

“Breaking off the engagement might actually be a good thing for Li Zhenniang. But that Zhao Shi from the Li family is obsessed with money. Wasn’t she pressuring the Tians to set a wedding date just for the betrothal gifts? By now, Li Jingfu has probably squandered them all. How could the Li family possibly return them?” the older sister-in-law remarked."Exactly." Hearing the old woman say this, the people around sighed. Speaking of it, Zhao Shi really had no self-awareness. The marriage between Zhen Niang and Tian Benchang was just a casual remark made years ago by Li Jinshui and Old Master Tian. Now, Old Master Tian had long passed away, and Li Jinshui was no longer the head manager of the Li Family Ink Workshop—just an old man running a small grocery store. Times had changed. Although the Li family was still considered a prominent household in these parts, Li Jinshui’s branch had long faded from the family’s affairs. How could the Tian family possibly look favorably upon them now? Originally, everyone understood this implicitly. If no one mentioned it, it could be treated as if it never happened. But Zhao Shi, driven mad by greed, actually forced the Tian family to fulfill the promise, making the whole town aware of the matter. She threatened to sue the Tian family for breach of trust if they did not honor their word. The Tian family, being one of Huizhou’s notable timber merchants, relied on principles of benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and integrity—the very foundation of Huizhou Merchants’ survival. No one dared to violate these. Left with no choice, the Tian family sent betrothal gifts. Unexpectedly, shortly after the wedding date was set, Tian Benchang met with misfortune, leaving poor Zhen Niang in a difficult position.

Sitting by the stove adding firewood, Zhen Niang couldn’t help but tap her head in frustration.

Although the women spoke softly, the tiger stove area was only so large, and Li Zhenniang could vaguely make out their words. She knew a little about this Tian fellow she was engaged to, but having only been in this world for about ten days and being just fourteen years old—since women in this dynasty typically married after seventeen—she hadn’t been in a hurry to think about such matters. Who could have imagined something like this would happen?

"Hmph, the Tian family has also made it clear: if the Li family doesn’t return the betrothal gifts, they want Zhen Niang to be buried with their son. I’ve figured it out—the Tian family’s talk of breaking off the engagement is just a pretense. Everyone knows that Li Jingfu, that gambler, has long since lost all the betrothal gifts. What engagement is there left to break? Their real goal is likely to have Zhen Niang buried alive. How cruel!" The woman raised her voice slightly, glancing at Li Zhenniang as if deliberately speaking for her to hear.

Li Zhenniang understood perfectly well. Although this woman seemed like a gossipy busybody, her intentions were genuinely good—to give Zhen Niang a warning so she could prepare early.

It was this same woman who, just a few days ago, had scolded Zhen Niang fiercely when her carrying pole broke while passing the woman’s door, spilling two buckets of water at the entrance. The woman even extorted three copper coins from Zhen Niang’s elder brother. When Zhen Niang’s mother, Zhao Shi, found out, she stormed over to the woman’s house, made a scene, and stubbornly retrieved the three coins.

Because of those three coins, the two families had become enemies. But enmity aside, now this woman was using this method to give her a heads-up.

That was how people in the city gate district were. They might bicker over trivial matters daily, neither side giving an inch, but when something serious happened, they wouldn’t just stand by and watch.

These were all struggling households, making a living together in the city gate district. If they didn’t support each other a little, wouldn’t they be bullied to death by outsiders?

At this moment, Li Zhenniang stood up and said to the woman, "Thank you, Auntie."

"Hmph, don’t flatter yourself." The woman refused to accept Li Zhenniang’s gratitude—she wouldn’t show any softness toward Zhao Shi. Then, she picked up her hot water and left.At this moment, Uncle Shui had already prepared hot water for Li Zhenniang and said to her, "The hot water is ready. Hurry back and discuss it properly with your family."

"Mm." Li Zhenniang nodded, picked up the copper kettle, and walked out the door. On her back, Little Official Xiao had unknowingly fallen asleep, softly snoring.