Farming to Defy My Fate 1

Chapter 1: Transmigrating into the World of a Book

“Li Xiuye, I beg you, stop hitting my younger brother. I’ll go back to the palace with you right now.”

To the accompaniment of the woman’s mournful and desolate voice, Zhao An opened his tear-blurred eyes. Snowflakes drifted down from above. His limbs were stiff, and the whip marks on his body burned with a fiery pain.

He raised his head and saw a man dressed in ancient-style black robes adorned with a dragon pattern, gripping the chin of a woman in white. “So you finally know how to beg for mercy? All you think about day in and day out is running from the palace to fool around. How could I not teach you a lesson?”

The strikingly beautiful woman in white gritted her teeth. “I just wanted to come back to pay my respects on the anniversary of my mother’s death.” She did not cry aloud, but resolute tears still fell, drop by drop, landing on the hand of the man in dark robes.

What a classic scene of forced possession. Zhao An leaned his full weight against the soldiers restraining him and bit down hard on his tongue. As he sorted through the original body’s memories, he finally understood his current predicament.

He had transmigrated, and into a romance novel he had dug out from the ruins of an old city just last night.

Because he couldn’t get a signal from the New City Base while searching for variant plants in the wild, he had gotten bored and opened this angsty romance novel titled Tears of a City-Toppling Beauty. He had discovered that a cannon fodder character inside was also named Zhao An, and had then proceeded to curse the male and female leads in his heart with genuine feeling, calling them both lunatics.

The female lead’s parents and younger brother were all killed by the male lead, yet she remained deeply in love with him, grieving for him and shedding tears for him. Not only did she use the resources of various supporting male characters to fight tooth and nail against the male lead’s harem, but she also bore him three children. In the end, the female lead, having become the empress, even abdicated the throne to live in seclusion with the male lead.

The male lead was no saint, either. As the emperor, he spent all his time revolving around the female lead; Zhao An had no idea how his country managed to function at all.

Even as a lover, the male lead was unlikable. In the beginning, when he was still the heir of a vassal king, he concealed his marital history and tricked the naive female lead into eloping with him. This not only caused the female lead’s father to be ridiculed but also led to him losing his position as Prime Minister, eventually dying of depression. But then, because his own mother, the consort, was displeased, the male lead couldn’t even grant the female lead the status of a concubine, forcing the pregnant female lead to marry her betrothed cousin instead.

Five years later, the male lead became emperor, had the female lead’s husband killed, and brought her into the palace to keep her in a gilded cage. He then angered the female lead’s mother to death. It was only to appease the female lead that he made her a consort. However, the female lead gave the male lead the cold shoulder for a year while mourning her mother. To spite her for the neglect, the male lead deliberately doted on other women. As expected, the female lead was so enraged that she escaped the palace with the help of the Captain of the Guards to offer incense to her parents and pour out her grievances, which in turn implicated her younger brother, Zhao An, who was then flogged twenty times.

Zhao An, who had just read the book, was well aware of how the story would unfold next. Sure enough, he heard the long-faced male lead, described in the book as having a gloomy disposition, say to the female lead, “Zhao An took these twenty lashes for you, but his crime of knowing and not reporting cannot be forgiven. We decree that he shall be punished to escort your parents’ coffins back to your hometown, and he is forbidden from ever taking a single step out of Changxi County.” Li Xiuye wanted Zhao Qingcheng to belong to him and him alone.

The original Zhao An had died from those twenty lashes. Although this Zhao An could draw on a little wood-elemental energy to sustain his life, he was ultimately a spent force. After watching Li Xiuye and Zhao Qingcheng leave without a backward glance, he could no longer hold on and fainted once more.

Due to his whip wounds becoming infected, combined with the long, bumpy journey, Zhao An remained in a semi-conscious state the entire way, even with his ability protecting him. He vaguely remembered being escorted by a hundred able-bodied soldiers back to Changxi County, located at the border of Shuzhou and Jiaozhou. The soldiers buried the two coffins, then returned to the capital without a moment’s delay to report back, leaving only a young servant named Qin Tong and an old steward named Hai Bo to care for him.

Once they were settled, Hai Bo immediately went to fetch a doctor for him that very day. After acupuncture and medicine, Zhao An lay in bed for another ten days or so, recuperating while absorbing his wood-elemental energy. At the same time, he secretly observed Qin Tong and Hai Bo, discovering that they were both loyal and hardworking people. They had followed him all the way from the capital to Changxi County and had spent all their savings on his treatment. Upon returning to this drafty house, they began repairing it the very next day.

From his perspective as someone from the era of spiritual energy revival, Qin Tong and Hai Bo were undoubtedly constrained by a slavish mentality. But it was precisely because of this that he was able to recover in peace until his body slowly healed.

By March, he was already able to get out of bed and walk around, but Hai Bo and Qin Tong still insisted he continue to rest. He had been taking medicine for a month, and his body was indeed weak. After just two laps around the front and back of the house, he went back to rest.

Lying in bed, his weak body quickly pulled him into a deep sleep. Just as he was once again dreaming of being pierced through the heart by that ninth-rank Jade Lotus, he suddenly heard the young voice of Qin Tong from outside. “Cousin Young Master, I can’t give you this bag of grain. Our young master has already used up all his travel money. If you borrow this grain, our young master will starve.”

Zhao An climbed out of bed, wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, and heard a cheerful, careless voice say, “How could he starve? Your young master is the son of the Prime Minister and the blood brother of Consort Li. He wouldn’t care about a little bit of grain.”

Zhao An put on his shoes and opened the door. In the courtyard outside, he saw a tall, heavyset man dressed in the lake-green silk robes of a wealthy squire, trying to snatch a bag of grain from Qin Tong’s hands.

Hai Bo stood to the side, looking like he wanted to pull the man back but not quite daring to. Although Qin Tong held onto the grain sack for dear life, his face was full of nothing but pleading as he looked at the man.

Seeing this scene, Zhao An finally remembered that in the book, Zhao An had starved to death, not been whipped to death. He blamed his muddled mind during this period for not having considered these issues at all.

When he read the book, it was from Zhao Qingcheng’s perspective. It only mentioned that she fainted from shock upon hearing the news of her brother’s starvation. When she awoke, she learned she was pregnant. What followed was a series of plots by various consorts and the empress to harm her unborn child, and her chaotic struggles to protect it. After that, there was no further mention of the aftermath of Zhao An’s death.

It wasn’t until he possessed the original body’s memories that he understood: Zhao An’s family had a feud with their relatives back in their hometown. Being sent back and forbidden to leave, he must have suffered both overt and covert bullying and suppression. Lacking any skills of his own, he ultimately met his end by starvation.

When Zhao Tongming saw that the gaunt-faced, sickly Zhao An still carried the air of a frail young master, he seethed with anger. With a forceful shake of his hands, he threw Qin Tong aside. Once the grain was in his grasp, an idea struck him, and he pretended to lose his grip, spilling the entire sack onto the ground.

Only then did he raise his head and say to Zhao An with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes, “Cousin, you’re awake. My apologies. My family happened to be short on rice to make porridge for your little nephew. When I saw your Qin Tong coming back from buying rice, I said I’d borrow a little from him, but he refused no matter what. See? The rice is spilled. This boy is just a cunning, mischievous slave. I’ll teach him a good lesson for you right now.” As he spoke, he raised his foot to kick Qin Tong, who was squatting on the ground picking up the grains.

How could Zhao An let him hurt someone right in front of him? Pushing off with his feet, Zhao An tackled Zhao Tongming, knocking him to the ground. Even though Zhao An himself collapsed into a pathetic heap, having exhausted all his strength, the expression on his face remained utterly ferocious.

Being a large man, Zhao Tongming’s tailbone slammed into the ground, causing him immense pain. “Aiyo~!” he cried out. He couldn’t even maintain his superficial smile anymore. His eyes wide with fury, he pointed an accusing finger at Zhao An and roared, “You disrespectful brat! Just like your father, you have no respect for family or elders! You’ll die a horrible death!”

“Your father is the one who’ll die a horrible death!” Due to the excessive exertion, Zhao An felt his heart was about to leap out of his chest. Still, he fiercely spun around on the ground and raised his leg to kick Zhao Tongming.

This time, he wasn’t fast enough, and the other man was prepared. Zhao Tongming scrambled up and ran for the gate.

After running out of Zhao An’s home, Zhao Tongming painfully patted the dust off the seat of his brand-new silk robes and limped his way home, shocked that this young master, who had spent his life reading and writing, could be so wild and savage when he fought. He walked a dozen steps, then turned back and spat on the ground. Only then did his mood improve. He had spilled the last of Zhao An’s family’s grain and had even stomped on it a couple of times before leaving. He’d like to see if his dear cousin and his two servants would resort to robbery or just cry for their parents now.

By this time, Zhao An had been helped up from the ground by Hai Bo and was sitting back in the house. Qin Tong was still outside picking up the grain. Hai Bo served Zhao An a sip of water, hesitating before finally speaking cautiously, “Young Master, the cousin’s family is large and influential. It’s better if you don’t fight with him in the future, or we’ll be the ones to suffer.”

Zhao An put down the coarse porcelain teacup and said solemnly to Hai Bo, “We are weak and alone. Softness will only lead to worse bullying. From now on, I’ll beat him every time I see him. Let’s see if he still dares to come near me.”

Zhao Tongming’s father had been beheaded for accepting bribes in the name of Zhao An’s father, the Prime Minister, and getting embroiled in a major corruption case. By the time Zhao An’s father found out, the investigation was already underway. To protect himself, he chose to uphold justice even against his own kin. However, Zhao An’s father had spared Zhao Tongming and his mother, and even gave them all the family land in their hometown.

Therefore, Zhao Tongming was the son of a criminal whose direct descendants were barred from participating in the imperial examinations. Although he had a bit of money, no one with any official standing in Changxi County was likely to associate with him.

The other relatives of the same clan were much more distant. Zhao An figured that as long as he beat Zhao Tongming into submission, the others wouldn’t dare to barge into his home.

Zhao An’s limbs felt weak, and he needed to lie back down to rest. Just then, Qin Tong walked in with the sack of grain, his face crestfallen. “The last bag of grain is all dirty. What will the Young Master eat tonight?”

Hai Bo shot the tactless Qin Tong a displeased glare before turning to Zhao An apologetically. “Although the grain is dirty, it can still be eaten after a good wash. Young Master, now that you’re feeling better, I’ll take Qin Tong out to find work tomorrow and earn some grain.”

Aside from this dilapidated house left by their ancestors, all other properties were in Zhao Tongming’s hands. Hai Bo could only think of finding labor work himself. He had lived in Changxi City with the old master when he was young and knew where to find short-term jobs.

Zhao An looked at Qin Tong, who was not yet thirteen, and Hai Bo, who was only fifty but already had a full head of white hair. He couldn’t bear to exploit child and elderly labor.

He said to Hai Bo, “Don’t be in a hurry to find work. Once I’ve fully recovered, I can write letters or teach reading for others. Wouldn’t that earn more than you two selling your strength? I’ve been looking around the house these past two days. It’s spring, the perfect time for wild vegetables to sprout. Why don’t we go to the back mountain tomorrow to gather some? We can get through this current famine first.”

He knew neither how to write letters nor how to teach, but that didn’t stop him from using it as a pretext to reassure Hai Bo. He wanted to go to the mountains not just to find wild vegetables, but more importantly, to use his wood-elemental ability to find some medicinal herbs. Since he had fallen ill, most of their money had been spent on medicine.