I Transmigrated and Already Had a Wife - Chapter 3

Life had to continue no matter how tiring it was. After cleaning up, all three looked exhausted, especially Madam Jiang, who had been sitting listlessly in the courtyard since they finished tidying up, her expression defeated, as if she had suffered a huge blow.

Jiang Zhou felt a pang of pity.

Having a disappointing daughter and being stuck with a husband who didn’t care for conjugal affection—who wouldn’t feel miserable in that position?

Jiang Zhou pursed her lips, feeling a bitter taste in her heart. In her previous life, her parents were deeply in love and never once had a serious fight. To enjoy their life as a couple, they had essentially set her free once she was capable of living independently. Later, even when her younger brother was born, their love for her hadn’t diminished in the slightest.

Her parents must be heartbroken knowing she was gone.

Wait, she had transmigrated as a soul. What was the situation with her original body in her original world?

If her soul was gone, she must be dead, right? Could she ever go back?

Her whole being sank into confusion.

The emotion on her face visibly darkened. When she looked up again, her eyes were slightly red. She unexpectedly felt an emotional resonance with Madam Jiang, and suddenly wanted to go comfort her. However, they were not her real parents after all, and she truly couldn’t act spoiled toward her like she did with her own mother.

Yet, she kept thinking of something to say, even if it could only comfort her a little bit.

Thinking this, she walked forward and handed over the water pouch she was holding.

Madam Jiang snapped back to reality, looking at the water pouch. Perhaps because she hadn’t felt her daughter’s concern for many years, her eyes instantly turned red, and she spoke with a touch of urgency, “You drink it, I’m not thirsty.”

A smile—her first of the day—appeared on her face, filled mostly with joy.

“Mother, don’t worry. Even if we leave the Jiang family, I will take good care of you and my wife,” Jiang Zhou said.

After speaking, her gaze involuntarily went to Lin Muwan, and their eyes met for an instant. Her heart tightened. Before she could speak, Lin Muwan had already looked away, as if the glance had been entirely unintentional.

She paused, her expression a little lost.

“I’m not worried about that. Seeing you well makes your mother happier than anything. What does living here matter?” Madam Jiang said, smiling and patting her hand.

A parent’s love is boundless. Jiang Zhou’s heart clenched again. How terrible the original owner must have been, for Madam Jiang to be so deeply touched just by being offered a drink of water.

“I will treat you with filial piety from now on, Mother.”

“Good child.”

Both of their eyes welled up.

The sky gradually darkened. Tired from the day, the three of them retired to their respective rooms. Madam Jiang took the larger room, while Jiang Zhou and Lin Muwan went to the smaller one. Pushing the door open, the entire room contained only an empty wooden plank bed. Compared to the carved bed and warm curtains of last night, it was truly a world of difference.

Alas! After transmigrating to this world, not only did she not get a cheat ability, but she was also stripped of a life of luxury. If she had arrived under these circumstances from the start, her current psychological gap wouldn’t be so immense.

Jiang Zhou pouted.

The empty wooden plank bed looked uncomfortable just to see, let alone sleep on for a whole night. She secretly glanced at Lin Muwan, who was following behind her. Lin Muwan seemed very calm, her cold, placid face showing no cracks, and she hadn’t said a single word the whole time.

Didn’t she find it prickly?

Jiang Zhou muttered inwardly. She opened the bundle the housekeeper had given her when they left the Jiang estate, took out the money pouch, and without hesitation or shame, poured its contents onto the bed with a hua-la sound, right in front of Lin Muwan.

There were five silver pieces of varying sizes, and two hundred round copper coins with square holes. She looked at Lin Muwan, who was standing beside her, opened her mouth, but then swallowed the words that reached her throat.

How could the original owner not recognize money? If she asked, it would be the same as telling Lin Muwan that she wasn’t the original owner.

That would definitely frighten her.

What if she then asked where the original owner went? How should she answer?

As a newcomer, she had to continue living under the original owner’s identity for now. She had to maintain the status quo until she was capable of living independently, without letting anyone know her true identity.

Since she couldn’t ask, and was worried about being cheated because she didn’t recognize the currency, and since she still had to rely on Lin Muwan for the time being, she might as well just let Lin Muwan manage the money. She could also earn a reputation for being a loving husband. In the future, if she needed to buy something, Lin Muwan wouldn’t refuse her the money.

Lin Muwan didn’t seem like the type to withhold it.

With this thought, she pushed the money toward Lin Muwan, “Wife, please keep this money safe.”

Her eyes were clear, and her expression was frank.

Lin Muwan frowned, her delicate eyebrows knitted together. Her face was pale, which added a touch of fragile beauty. She watched Jiang Zhou warily, a flicker of suspicion crossing her face.

She was slow to accept it.

“What’s wrong? Is there something wrong with my wife managing the money?” Jiang Zhou’s heart jumped. She nervously cleared her throat. Had Lin Muwan seen through her plan? Her tone became more uncertain. “Wife,” she called again.

Lin Muwan stared at her, then, after two seconds of silence, bent down to put the poured-out money back into the pouch. Her fair, slender fingers fluttered before Jiang Zhou’s eyes, and her heart fluttered with them.

Suddenly, she felt a little thirsty.

“If Husband needs money, you can tell me,” Lin Muwan said.

“Mhm, I will.” Jiang Zhou came back to her senses, her face inexplicably flushed. She scratched her head and looked away.

It was a residual effect from last night.

At the same time, she let out a sigh of relief in her heart and nodded.

The atmosphere just now was truly tense. She really thought her little plan had been seen through.

She smiled with genuine sincerity.

Lin Muwan’s frown deepened. She was finding Jiang Zhou more and more baffling. The Jiang Zhou of the past wouldn’t have used her leftover wash water, wouldn’t have held her hand, wouldn’t have called her ‘Wife,’ and certainly wouldn’t have handed over money for her to keep.

This Jiang Zhou was a compulsive gambler, for whom money was more important than life itself. If she hadn’t gambled away all the shops under her name, Master Jiang wouldn’t have angrily driven them out, no matter how unfavored she was in the Jiang family.

Lin Muwan lowered her gaze. Could an evil habit like gambling be dropped just like that?

She herself was penniless, and her purity had been taken by this person last night. What else was there for Jiang Zhou to covet? Was she perhaps worried that Lin Muwan would expose her secret of being a woman?

Right now, that was probably the only thing that concerned whether Jiang Zhou could inherit the Jiang family fortune in the future.

To avoid angering Jiang Zhou and to go along with her intentions, Lin Muwan tucked the money into her sleeve, lowered her eyes, and stood silently aside. She watched Jiang Zhou wander around the room twice before saying, “It’s getting late today. It’s definitely too late to buy bedding. I saw some dry grass when I was cleaning the yard earlier. Let’s make do with that for the night, and tomorrow we’ll go buy two quilts.”

Without waiting for Lin Muwan’s reply, she continued with her plan, soon returning from the courtyard with a bundle of dry grass. She carefully spread a thick layer of it on the bed, and finally lay down to test it. Satisfied, she said, “It’s soft enough, but still a bit prickly.” After a moment’s thought, she continued, “How about this: when we sleep tonight, I’ll take off my outer clothes and spread them out for you. That should keep it from scratching.”

A flash of wariness crossed Lin Muwan’s eyes. She looked up at her, unsure of what Jiang Zhou meant. The events of last night were still fresh in her memory. Now that they were sharing a room, what was Jiang Zhou planning?

Her fingers curled tightly into her palm. If Jiang Zhou dared to act inappropriately again today, she would kill her, even if it cost her own life.

Suppressing the hatred in her heart, she secretly kept her eyes fixed on Jiang Zhou’s every move.

Having solved the issue here, Jiang Zhou went and laid a layer of grass for her nominal mother as well.

After finishing all this, her mood suddenly lightened for some unknown reason.

Did she like this life of coarse beds and broken stoves? Of course not.

It was just that life here felt a bit more unrestrained. As for how to live in the future, as long as she had hands, she wouldn’t starve to death.

Therefore, her next step was to find a job to support this family.

A family.

Jiang Zhou grew quiet. If she truly couldn’t go back, would she have to be the original owner’s substitute for the rest of her life?

She wasn’t willing to do that.

To occupy someone else’s mother, occupy someone else’s wife, and forever be someone else’s substitute.

She admitted she had a favorable impression of Lin Muwan, but she couldn’t rule out the possibility that it was a chain reaction from last night’s events. Furthermore, Lin Muwan’s beloved wasn’t her. She didn’t want to be a substitute; she wanted her own life more.

The more she thought about it, the more suffocated she felt.

Forget it, she wouldn’t think about it anymore. She’d deal with the present first. In any case, she couldn’t live independently here right now, so they might as well stick together for a while. Once things settled down, she would find an opportunity to leave and live her own life completely.

However, before looking for a job, she needed to understand the rules of this place. The channel for this information, she planned, would be Lin Muwan. Just as she turned her head, she met Lin Muwan’s gaze, and saw her take a step back, looking at her with extreme vigilance.

?!

Jiang Zhou felt stifled. Did Lin Muwan see her as a monster?

She gave Lin Muwan a resentful side-glance, said nothing, retracted her gaze, and took out the steamed buns the housekeeper had given her from the bundle. She handed them over, “Let’s eat first.”

Without waiting for Lin Muwan to take them, she grabbed her hand and shoved the buns into it. She then took two more from the bundle, “I’ll go take two to Mother. You eat first.”

After she left, Lin Muwan looked at the steamed buns in her hand and pursed her lips. Her raised heart slowly settled down. What happened just now was too sudden. She hadn’t expected Jiang Zhou to look over so abruptly, and the emotion in her eyes hadn’t been withdrawn in time, allowing Jiang Zhou to see it clearly.

She had thought Jiang Zhou would hit or scold her again, like before. But unexpectedly, she said nothing and even gave her a bun. Lin Muwan lowered her eyes and slowly began to eat. She didn’t finish until the whole room had darkened. Only then did Jiang Zhou return, having found a candle from somewhere. She lit it, and the dark room instantly brightened. With the light, the previously somewhat chilly room miraculously felt less cold.

“Let’s get into bed quickly. I borrowed the candle from the neighbor’s house. While borrowing it, I found out an old grandma lives next door. She’s very nice. When she heard I wanted a candle, she just gave us two. I took one to Mother’s room, and we’ll use this one,” Jiang Zhou said.

Lin Muwan stood by the bed, her hands clasped behind her back, clutching a wooden hairpin tightly in her palm. If Jiang Zhou dared to approach, she would stab her without hesitation.

“Why aren’t you speaking?” Jiang Zhou saw her silence and thought she was waiting for her to make the bed. She smiled and took off her outer robe. Lin Muwan’s heart instantly tightened when she saw the movement. She clutched the hairpin even harder, and a light sweat broke out on her palms.

Jiang Zhou moved past her. The familiar woody scent made Lin Muwan’s body stiffen. She only saw Jiang Zhou spread the robe onto the dry grass, then pat the bed, “Go to sleep.”

After speaking, she shook her head and yielded the space to her.

Seeing that she didn’t move.

She thought: She’s quite delicate. She clearly hasn’t suffered before.