I Transmigrated and Already Had a Wife - Chapter 2

Lin Muwan didn’t know how long Jiang Zhou intended to keep up the act, so she endured her disgust, withdrew her hand, curled her fingers, and hid them under her sleeve. A suitable smile appeared on her face: “Husband, Mother is calling for you.”

Her voice was neither too loud nor too soft, just right to reach the ears of everyone present.

Jiang Zhou: “…”

Husband?

Jiang Zhou looked at her in shock, the shock in her heart no less than an eight-magnitude earthquake. Every organ was shaking precariously, in danger of collapsing at any moment. She didn’t even notice the intention behind her words.

Madam Jiang glared at her, clearing her throat and asking, “Why are you standing there frozen?”

She was extremely dissatisfied with her daughter’s dazed state, especially with the Second Branch present. Why couldn’t she be a little quicker on the uptake?

All she ever did was cause trouble. Now she looked so dull and foolish. How could she not take after her at all? Who did she resemble?

Madam Jiang felt contemptuous.

Lin Muwan stepped forward and curtsied to Madam Jiang.

Madam Jiang responded with a faint nod, equally displeased with her. If she had to remind her, why did she have to speak so loudly? Now the Second Branch had a good show to watch.

Jiang Zhou was still in shock, her gaze shifting back and forth between Lin Muwan and Madam Jiang.

Not only had she transmigrated, but she also had a wife, and her wife was a great beauty. The forty-something woman in front of her was her mother…

Jiang Zhou calmed herself down. She also had a father who hadn’t appeared yet. Who were these people opposite them? If she wasn’t mistaken, they should be her cheap father’s concubine and her half-siblings.

What a big family!

She pursed her lips, scanned everyone present, and, mimicking Lin Muwan, called out “Mother” to Madam Jiang.

Madam Jiang’s expression slightly softened, “Come over here to Mother.” she instructed.

“Oh.” Jiang Zhou replied casually, standing behind Madam Jiang along with Lin Muwan.

She glanced at Lin Muwan, who had her head lowered, clearly lost in thought.

Jiang Zhou was even more puzzled. She had called her “husband” just now, indicating they were already married, but why hadn’t Lin Muwan helped her just now?

Did she dislike the original owner?

It didn’t seem like it. Last night, she was clearly quite proactive and passionate.

Thinking of this, she felt a slight pang of disappointment. How could Lin Muwan not like the original owner? If it weren’t for her inadvertently arriving…

Did this count as interfering with their relationship?

“Since Ah Zhou married a wife, he’s truly become more considerate of his wife.”

Jiang Zhou followed the voice. The speaker should be her cheap father’s concubine. She looked younger than Madam Jiang, dressed in a dignified and luxurious manner, with fabrics that looked even finer than Madam Jiang’s. Behind her stood a man and a woman. The man was tall and had a fairly decent appearance, but the occasional glances he shot at Lin Muwan were truly annoying. Jiang Zhou glared fiercely at him.

As for the other woman, she was younger, probably only thirteen or fourteen. Both of them resembled the woman, and they didn’t look easy to get along with.

What should she call her?

Little Mother?

Second Mother?

She was instantly speechless. In ancient times, men having three wives and four concubines was truly exasperating for the children, wasn’t it?

Having one mother wasn’t enough; they had to call out Big Mother, Second Mother, Third Mother, and so on.

Madam Jiang’s Second Madam, Li Fangru, saw that Jiang Zhou didn’t respond to her, and smiled as she spoke to Madam Jiang, “Sheng’er is still an older brother, and he hasn’t married a wife yet. My heart is anxious.”

After saying that, she glanced at Jiang Zhou.

It was as if there was a hidden meaning in her words.

Jiang Zhou frowned, waiting to hear what she would say next.

“The master has his own arrangements for Sheng’er’s marriage; you don’t need to worry about it.” Madam Jiang scoffed, sidelonging a glance at her.

Who didn’t know that the Jiang Family Master favored his concubine over his wife? Less than a month after she married into the Jiang family, Jiang Dewen brought another woman into the house. The official wife hadn’t conceived a child yet, but the concubine had already given birth to the Jiang family’s eldest son. This would be unacceptable in any family. Her position in this household was in jeopardy, and how could she accept it?

However, the child she finally conceived turned out to be a girl, so she had no choice but to raise her daughter as a son. This was the only way she could maintain her position as the Jiang family’s matriarch.

Over the years, she had been focused on consolidating her status in the Jiang family and had neglected her child’s education. When Jiang Zhou was fourteen or fifteen, she often hung out with some dissolute young men and developed a whole host of bad habits, which gave her a major headache.

To prevent her daughter’s identity from being exposed, she bought a girl from a group of officials’ families who had been exiled from the capital, hoping that Jiang Zhou would settle down after marriage. Who knew that the trouble would only escalate?

She spent all her time carousing outside, and when she came back, she would beat her wife to vent her frustrations.

Li Fangru bringing this up now was undoubtedly an attempt to stab her in the heart.

Madam Jiang straightened up.

Li Fangru was about to say something more when the steward rushed into the main hall, “Madam, the Master is back. He’s already at the door.”

“The Master is back.” Madam Jiang stood up. “Quickly go and greet him.”

“No need.” A middle-aged man walked in from behind the steward, his face grim.

“The whole family is waiting for you, and you’re pulling a long face for whom?” Jiang Zhou thought to herself.

Suddenly, the man’s eyes fell upon Jiang Zhou. Their eyes met, and Jiang Zhou’s heart jumped. She had only complained a little in her mind. Could he have known?

“Rebellious son, why don’t you come over and kneel?” Master Jiang roared in anger.

?!

What was happening?

Jiang Zhou was speechless. Why was she involved everywhere?

Why should she kneel?

She was a little confused, and as a modern person, she couldn’t quite accept kneeling to others, not to mention that these weren’t her real parents.

Jiang Zhou shifted her gaze, looking out at the courtyard. The weather was really nice today!

“You…” Master Jiang was stunned. No one in the Jiang family had ever dared to treat him like this. He was so angry that he choked up, pointed a finger at Jiang Zhou, and glared at Madam Jiang, “Look at the good son you’ve raised, daring to disobey your father’s words.”

It was as if the matter of having children was solely Madam Jiang’s responsibility and had nothing to do with him.

Jiang Zhou rolled her eyes inwardly, not wanting to engage at all.

“Master, please calm down first. Ah Zhou has been reading at home every day these past few days and has made a lot of progress.” Madam Jiang interjected to smooth things over.

“She’s obedient? She just caused trouble and doesn’t dare to go out.”

Madam Jiang frowned and turned to look at Jiang Zhou, “Ah Zhou,” she called.

“Hmm?” Jiang Zhou knew nothing, and she wanted to just give up.

She was just having a drink, and now she’d woken up to find herself transmigrated to ancient times. This complex family relationship, and this cheap father who yells at her and demands her to kneel at the drop of a hat. Was she even allowed to live a decent life?

She had a bit of a headache. She glanced at Lin Muwan, who had her head bowed, acting as if the events unfolding had nothing to do with her.

Jiang Zhou: “…”

She had no choice but to resign herself, walk out, and stand in front of Master Jiang. Her tall figure made her a head taller than this cheap father.

Master Jiang was so angry that his hands trembled. He pulled out a stack of papers from his sleeve and threw them at Jiang Zhou. Jiang Zhou’s body reacted instinctively, and she quickly dodged.

The papers with black writing on a white background scattered all over the floor.

“You…” Master Jiang saw that he missed Jiang Zhou and raised his hand to strike, but Madam Jiang stepped forward and shielded Jiang Zhou.

“Master, what mistake did Ah Zhou make that you want to hit her?”

“What mistake? You ask her yourself. Spending all her time with those disreputable people outside, she even picked up gambling. The shops in her possession have all been lost. You pick them up and see for yourself; they are all IOUs from creditors coming to demand money.” After speaking, his body swayed slightly. Li Fangru quickly stepped forward, supporting his arm with one hand and patting his back with the other to help him calm down.

Madam Jiang squatted down, picking up the papers one by one. Upon seeing them clearly, her face instantly turned pale. Holding onto a sliver of hope, she asked tremblingly, “Is what your father said all true?”

Jiang Zhou: “…”

Oh my goodness, what a huge burden! Her name was signed on the black and white papers. She couldn’t even deny it.

She looked at Madam Jiang, then at Lin Muwan.

If she said now that she wasn’t Jiang Zhou, would they believe her?

As expected, Jiang Zhou was driven out of the Jiang family by Master Jiang.

She looked at Lin Muwan walking behind her, and Madam Jiang, who had voluntarily left the Jiang family. She felt like crying—what was going on?

Other transmigrators had golden fingers (special powers or advantages), but when she transmigrated, not only did she have nothing, she didn’t even have the original owner’s memories. Fortunately, Master Jiang, remembering their father-son relationship, gave her two thatched huts and two mu of farmland.

When they arrived at the thatched huts, Jiang Zhou couldn’t help but inwardly curse again. They truly were huts made of thatch. Fortunately, they were surrounded by a mud wall. Otherwise, she would worry about thieves breaking in while they slept at night.

If there were strong winds, she suspected the roof might be blown off.

Of the two huts, the larger one was given to Madam Jiang, and she and Lin Muwan would live in the smaller one.

“You two sit and rest for a while, I’ll tidy up.”

Between a wife and a mother, who should tidy up?

She chose to do it herself.

Jiang Zhou put down her luggage. This was just a bag of dry food and a few small pieces of silver that the steward had slipped to her when she left.

She was actually a little touched.

Jiang Zhou generally walked around the thatched huts. They were extremely simple. Besides a worn, faded round table and a long bench in Madam Jiang’s room, the other room only had a wooden plank bed covered in a layer of dust.

The house was crude, but the good thing was that she would be free from now on, not having to kneel to anyone at every turn, and free from those rules.

However, of the three people, Lin Muwan looked calm, and the most heartbroken was Madam Jiang, her mother in this world.

Jiang Zhou started cleaning. Fortunately, she had been physically strong and hardworking since she was a child, so cleaning the house was no problem. With Madam Jiang and Lin Muwan also helping, the house was basically tidied up after about an hour.

The house was clean, but now they faced the problems of eating and sleeping. There was still some food in the bag, so they didn’t have to worry about today. The problem was that it was autumn. While the sun was high during the day and they didn’t have to worry about the cold, the temperature would drop sharply at night. Without quilts for warmth, they probably wouldn’t be able to sleep at all.