I Transmigrated and Already Had a Wife - Chapter 55

The wife is a resident of the capital and holds affection for the city. If they were to live in the capital in the future, she would not feel it was bad. Moreover, her foster mother and Aunt Miao have also come to the capital, so the family won’t have to be separated. She thought this was quite good.

Upon hearing this, Lin Muwan pressed her lips together. After a long pause, she raised her eyes and asked, “Where is my husband’s hometown?”

?!

Jiang Zhou was startled, and the hairs on her body stood up. For a moment, it felt as though her heart had stopped beating. She stared, wide-eyed and terrified, at Lin Muwan.

When did she find out?

Jiang Zhou was unsure what Lin Muwan was thinking. She swallowed hard, her fingers tightly clenched.

Lin Muwan smiled, lowered her gaze, and said softly, “I know my husband is not the original Jiang Zhou.”

So? Jiang Zhou looked steadily at her, awaiting her pronouncement.

Lin Muwan pursed her lips, “I will wait for the day my husband is willing to tell me.”

After speaking, she raised her head and gave Jiang Zhou a gentle smile.

Jiang Zhou’s heart caught in her throat. She instinctively reached out to take Lin Muwan’s hand, “Wife, I…”

Forget it. She’d have to tell her sooner or later, and there was nothing to hide anyway.

Just as she was about to explain everything, she saw Mother Jiang and the others stepping down from the carriage and walking toward them.

Jiang Zhou: “…”

Although she didn’t mind telling Lin Muwan, telling others…

She decided against it. Although she was using the original owner’s identity, she had developed affection for her foster mother over this time. If she were to tell her this truth, it would undoubtedly be telling her that her daughter was dead and that the person standing before her now was someone from another world. That would be too cruel. Since she had taken over this identity, she should fulfill the duty of filial piety on behalf of the original owner.

Jiang Zhou cleared her throat, and when they reached them, she settled the payment with the female escort. The group then entered the tavern together.

This time, Jiang Zhou did not want to reveal her identity. She had come to the capital as the Martial Wuzhuangyuan (top scholar in the military examination) and had no intention of staying long at the Mingpin Tower. She had only not yet found a suitable residence; once they found one, they would immediately move out.

Jiang Zhou directly requested three premium rooms: one for Mother Jiang and Butcher Miao, one for Mother Lin, and the remaining one for herself and Lin Muwan.

As they had been traveling constantly, everyone was quite exhausted. They went straight to their respective rooms without having dinner.

Jiang Zhou held the luggage with one hand and bolted the door from the inside with the other.

She tried the bolt several times, confirming it was secure, before finally feeling at ease.

She put down the luggage. “Wife, how about we go out for a stroll tomorrow?”

“Hmm?” Lin Muwan paused in her action, turning her head to look at her. “Does my husband want to go out?”

Jiang Zhou walked up to her, embraced her, and nestled her chin into Lin Muwan’s neck, saying contentedly, “Yes. It’s my first time in the capital, and I’ve long heard that there are many fun places here.”

Lin Muwan tightened her fingers. When Jiang Zhou embraced her, her body involuntarily trembled. She couldn’t help but give her a reproving look; this libertine hadn’t changed her habit of being handsy.

Never mind, Lin Muwan pressed her lips together and allowed herself to be held.

After a while, she thought it over and said softly, “That’s fine, but many places have changed since I left a year ago.”

“Such as?” Jiang Zhou prompted.

Lin Muwan was momentarily stunned. She looked at Jiang Zhou, her expression a little melancholic. Such as…

“For example, the Youdao Bookstore on Xuanwu Street has been replaced by a lamb soup restaurant. The Fuquan Clothing Store across from Mingpin Tower has also been replaced by something else, and furthermore…” Lin Muwan recalled in detail what she had seen along the way.

Jiang Zhou smiled. Her wife truly loved the capital. Although she didn’t say it, Jiang Zhou could see that Lin Muwan was completely relaxed after returning to the capital. In just this short journey, observing from inside the carriage, she had been this observant.

It showed her deep affection for the place.

Jiang Zhou pulled Lin Muwan to lie down on the bed with her and kept her talking about things related to the capital.

She listened with great interest.

“Then let’s go admire the peach blossoms tomorrow,” Jiang Zhou closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead affectionately against Lin Muwan’s neck, murmuring, “My wife must be a good tour guide, okay?”

“Hmm?” Lin Muwan tilted her head, finding it amusing. This person had actually fallen asleep. The warm breath on her skin was ticklish. She shrugged her neck but ultimately couldn’t bring herself to push her away.

What did this person mean by a ‘tour guide’?

Another strange word.

Lin Muwan’s thoughts drifted. She had finally given in and asked those questions in her heart today. From the look of terror in that person’s eyes, she understood that the person did not want her to know her secret.

She blinked. Since the person didn’t want her to know, she would simply pretend not to know, as long as that person never left her.

She didn’t mind that the person had a secret of her own.

Lin Muwan closed her eyes, and the corners of her mouth gradually curved into an arc.

Early the next morning, eager to go out, Jiang Zhou woke up early. She looked at the person sleeping in her arms, sighed lightly, leaned down, and planted a loving kiss on her forehead. Gently pulling out her arm, she decided to go down and find some food first so they could enjoy it together when Lin Muwan woke up.

As soon as she opened the door, she saw Mother Jiang and Butcher Miao standing outside.

“What are you doing here?” Jiang Zhou asked her foster mother cautiously.

Mother Jiang huffed, “Your Aunt Miao and I decided to go out for a stroll today. We came to ask if you wanted to join us.”

Hearing they also planned to go out, Jiang Zhou told them about her arrangement with Lin Muwan from the previous night. Since it was everyone’s first time in the capital, it was better to have someone familiar with the city with them when going out. They ultimately agreed to go on a spring outing to the outskirts to admire the peach blossoms.

Mother Jiang was a little disappointed. She had originally planned to go out and eat all sorts of delicious food. However, flower viewing was flower viewing—she couldn’t appear to have poor taste, could she?

She was a person of great taste.

Mother Lin, being a resident of the capital, was not interested and stated that she would stay at the inn to rest.

Once Lin Muwan was up, everyone ate breakfast downstairs and rode the carriage toward the outskirts.

Peach blossoms were in full bloom along the road, and the air was filled with the vitality of spring. People on the spring outing were sparse, mostly young folks—well-dressed, graceful young men, and elaborately adorned young women.

Jiang Zhou jumped down from the carriage and reached out to support Lin Muwan, “Wife, be careful.”

“Mm.”

Lin Muwan smiled, placed her hand in Jiang Zhou’s, and stepped off the carriage. Behind them, Mother Jiang and Butcher Miao also alighted.

Jiang Zhou and Lin Muwan walked in front, with Mother Jiang and Butcher Miao following behind, pairing off for the outing.

Jiang Zhou took Lin Muwan’s hand, her eyes full of smiles. The blooming peach blossoms in the outskirts truly made it a perfect spot for a spring outing, with laughter echoing all around. She carefully shielded Lin Muwan in front of her, following the crowd of spring-goers, slowly ascending towards the mountaintop. After walking for a while, Jiang Zhou looked back and could no longer see Mother Jiang and Butcher Miao.

She raised an eyebrow and paused with Lin Muwan beside a pavilion. “Wife, let’s rest here for a bit before going further.”

Lin Muwan nodded and sat down on a stone bench in the pavilion.

Suddenly, there was a commotion in the distance. Looking up, she saw a young man holding a willow branch following behind a young woman. The girl seemed shy and ran away, while the young man stood listlessly in place, surrounded by a group of people who appeared to be comforting him.

The distance was too great to hear what they were saying.

“Huh?” Jiang Zhou was curious.

“Since the founding of the Baisheng Dynasty, there has been a custom of breaking the willow to send a beauty,” Lin Muwan explained. “Every spring outing, a man would snap a willow branch and present it to the woman he admired. If the woman accepted it, it meant she accepted the man. Unfortunately…” Lin Muwan shook her head. That young man had clearly been rejected.

Jiang Zhou looked as if she had heard something marvelous. Her gaze swept the surroundings and landed on a willow tree not far away. A smile played on her lips. “Wife, wait for me here for a moment.”

With that, without waiting for Lin Muwan’s reaction, she dashed toward the willow tree. She stood beneath it, looked up, and selected one of the many drooping branches to snap off.

Satisfied, she nodded as she looked at the willow branch in her hand, her peach-blossom eyes brimming with laughter. When she turned back, her brow instantly furrowed.

The pavilion, which had only moments ago held just the two of them, was now surrounded by people. Lin Muwan sat calmly on the stone bench, her face frosty, looking at the people before her.

“Miss Lin, long time no see.”

Lin Muwan lifted her gaze, looking at the graceful young man before her. She frowned slightly, her stellar eyes sinking, her cool expression one of total rejection.

Seeing this, the man quickly held out the willow branch toward Lin Muwan. The few people who came with him started to cheer and jeer. Lin Muwan’s frown deepened. She stood up to leave, but the man immediately blocked her path, leaning in to whisper, “Miss Lin, give me some face. Everyone is watching.”

“Mr. Zhou, mind your decorum,” Lin Muwan stepped back.

Zhou Cheng pushed the willow branch closer to Lin Muwan.

Lin Muwan took a deep breath. “Mr. Zhou, I am already married. Please respect yourself.”

“Married?” Zhou Cheng was momentarily stunned. He scrutinized the woman before him. Even though she wasn’t wearing silk brocade, her temperament still stood out among the noble ladies in the capital, like a fairy emerging from a lotus, untouched by the mire.

He looked closer, and the woman’s hair was coiled up—clearly the style of a married woman.

Zhou Cheng’s face instantly darkened. Lin Muwan was once like the bright moon, someone he could only look up to. Now that the bright moon had fallen into the mud, he finally had the chance to trample her underfoot and make this woman submit to him.

She actually told him she was married. Zhou Cheng was furious. He suddenly grabbed Lin Muwan’s wrist. “Who did you marry?”

“Let go.”

Before Zhou Cheng could react, his wrist was firmly clamped by another hand. A searing pain spread from his wrist bone, feeling as if his hand was about to be crushed the next second. He involuntarily let go of Lin Muwan and instinctively looked at the owner of the hand.

Jiang Zhou shielded Lin Muwan behind her with her other hand, her peach-blossom eyes flashing with coldness. She asked in a low, chilling tone, “This is the hand that touched her, right?”

“Who are you? Do you know who I am?” Sweat was beading on Zhou Cheng’s forehead. He was in so much pain that he bent over. Seeing this, the few people who had followed him wanted to help but retreated in fear when they saw Jiang Zhou’s menacing expression.

They were used to acting arrogantly in daily life, but none of them had the courage for a real fight.

Jiang Zhou applied a little more force to her grip, and the curses tumbling from Zhou Cheng’s mouth instantly turned into wails.

Li Yan’er was stunned. After a moment, she pointed at Jiang Zhou, “You, you actually broke Mr. Zhou’s hand! Do you know who Mr. Zhou’s father is?”

Trying to intimidate her with a father?

Jiang Zhou snorted. Anyone who dared to covet Lin Muwan—even the King of Heaven would not be spared.