My Husband is a Drama King [Book Transmigration] 1

Chapter 1: Transmigrated

On a small road in Qishan Village, just as the sun was setting, many villagers were returning from the fields with hoes over their shoulders.

“Matchmaker Shen, I’ve long heard that the Song family and the Xu family are planning to unite by marriage. Are you just coming back from the Xu residence?” The speaker was Auntie Fang. Her family owned ten acres of prime paddy fields in the village and lived quite comfortably.

However, they were still a notch below the Song and Xu families, who were the two most prominent households in Qishan Village.

The Song family had two brothers. The elder was washed away during a rainstorm, leaving only the younger one alive. This Song Ye was now the sole male heir of the Song family, and he inherited all the family’s land.

Song Ye had two sons. The elder was a ge’er, and the second was a boy named Song Changxu. Song Changxu was exceptionally handsome, but his personality was not very agreeable. Because he was literate and studying, he was often arrogant and looked down on everyone else.

As the only male heir of his generation, he was spoiled by the entire family. He had a volatile temper but little ability; after so many years of study, he couldn’t even write a proper couplet. His handwriting was like chicken scratch.

Matchmaker Shen squinted her eyes into a smile. “I was just finalizing the match between the two families. The engagement is set. You all just wait for the wedding banquet.”

She had received a handsome sum of silver for arranging the match between the Song and Xu families. She was in high spirits and couldn’t help but say a few more words. “The betrothal gifts from the Song family were more than generous. The betrothal money was wrapped in red paper, and I could feel it was a thick stack. There were wedding cakes, a bronze basin, a mirror, scissors, salt, pork…”

Auntie Fang was dumbfounded. “The Song family really spared no expense.”

That Xu Zhizhou had some beauty and a fine figure, but it hardly seemed necessary to spend so much on such valuable gifts to marry him.

If these betrothal gifts were for the elder Xu ge’er, that would be understandable. Xu Zhizhou was not as virtuous or capable as Xu Zhici.

More people were coming and going from the fields now, and upon seeing Matchmaker Shen, they all came over to ask if there was some good news in the village.

“The moment I see Matchmaker Shen, I know something good is happening in our village,” one man said.

“Ah, it’s just the engagement between the Song family’s second son and the Xu family’s second ge’er. It’s natural for men to marry and ge’ers to be wed. It’s nothing rare.”

Several men laughed. “If those two families are holding a wedding, our village will be lively for days. We’ll have to go and enjoy a good feast.”

Just the mention of a feast made their mouths water.

Matchmaker Shen said, “I won’t dally any longer. I need to hurry back.”

With this matter settled, she was eager to get home and count her money.

When Auntie Fang returned home, she craned her neck to glance at the Song family’s courtyard, only hearing the sound of Song Ye herding the chickens and ducks into their coop.

She wondered if the Xu family’s second ge’er, with his temperament, would get along with the Song family after he married over.

The Xu family was also a prominent household in the village, so a marriage with the Song family was a good match in terms of social standing. Xu Zhici had been betrothed to Xie Huaichuan from the neighboring village, but Xie Huaichuan had gone to join the army, and the wedding had been postponed indefinitely. Otherwise, Xu Zhizhou would not be getting married before Xu Zhici. It wasn’t good to break the proper order of seniority.

As for Xu Zhizhou, Auntie Fang shook her head just thinking about him. Arrogant, fussy, and troublesome.

Both Song Changxu and Xu Zhizhou were proud. Putting the two of them together as a couple, their life would probably be utterly chaotic.

Auntie Fang went to the kitchen to wash the rice, planning to prepare dinner before the rest of her family returned.

At this time of day, it was usually the women and ge’ers of the household who returned first. The men would still have to go up the mountain to cut and chop firewood. Men had greater strength and were expected to do more work, while women and ge’ers busied themselves in the kitchen.

After penning the chickens and ducks, Song Ye walked into the kitchen and saw Song Mingyan stoking the fire to cook. He handed three eggs to Song Mingyan. “Make some steamed eggs later.”

Song Mingyan nodded. “I know, Father.”

It wasn’t proper for a man to linger in the kitchen, so Song Ye went outside to cool off. The family had plenty of firewood; he had cut a large amount from the back mountain a few days ago, enough to last half a month. He had also bought three catties of pork from town.

Buying the pork was incidental; the main purpose of the trip to town was to purchase the betrothal gifts for the Xu family. A marriage could not be treated casually. Song Changxu was the only son in the family, making this matter of utmost importance.

The Song family’s courtyard was kept tidy. A tall, old locust tree stood with lush branches and leaves. Song Ye lay on a chair with a cattail fan, fanning himself slowly.

The next day, in the fields.

“Song Changxu, you and Xu Zhizhou are already engaged. You’re fiancés now. Shouldn’t you be helping Zhizhou chop firewood?”

“You’re about to get married. Can’t you even help with something so small? Are a scholar’s hands really that precious?”

A group of ge’ers, carrying baskets on their backs, looked as if they were heading to the back mountain to cut firewood. They were all gathered around, speaking to one man.

“Song Changxu, can’t you just chop some firewood? You’re just like one of those young masters from the city, whose hands have never known a day of hard work.”

…

Xu Zhizhou looked both shy and annoyed. “Stop it, all of you. I’ll chop my own firewood. We’re not married yet. It wouldn’t sound good if word of this got out.”

With that, he turned and ran off with his basket.

“Zhizhou, that’s not what we meant,” a ge’er quickly said.

“Song Changxu, hurry up and chase after Xu Zhizhou!” another ge’er urged, raising an eyebrow and stomping his foot.

Song Changxu just felt a sharp pain in his head, which was buzzing loudly. Fragments of memories flashed through his mind.

I’ve transmigrated into a book. This book was about the love story between the protagonist gong, Xie Huaichuan, and the protagonist shou, Xu Zhici. Xie Huaichuan and Xu Zhici were engaged, but Xie Huaichuan joined the army, and their marriage was delayed. Later, Xie Huaichuan earned an official post, returned to his hometown, and married Xu Zhici. During this time, a ge’er from an official’s family who had a crush on Xie Huaichuan created obstacles for their marriage. In the end, the two overcame the challenges and got together.

Xu Zhici had a dramatic younger brother, Xu Zhizhou, who repeatedly played tricks on Xie Huaichuan. His behavior was boorish, greedy, and materialistic, causing the protagonist gong to despise him. However, out of respect for Xu Zhici, he still showed Xu Zhizhou some consideration.

And he had become Xu Zhizhou’s fiancé, who, later in the story, failed to pass the examination to become a xiucai. Unwilling to accept his failure, he squandered the family fortune on retaking the exam. After failing again, he descended into alcoholism and accidentally beat Xu Zhizhou to death.

This original body of his was not a good person. Having been spoiled by his family since childhood, he had developed a selfish personality. After Xu Zhizhou married him, his handsome appearance did cause the original owner to restrain his temper and indulge Xu Zhizhou a few times. But once the novelty wore off, he grew impatient with Xu Zhizhou.

He locked Xu Zhizhou at home and wouldn’t let him out, afraid he would go to the capital to complain to his brother. In the end, Xu Zhizhou died at the original owner’s hands.

The original owner’s evil deeds were eventually discovered, and Xu Zhici avenged his brother. But the dead cannot be brought back, and it was all for naught.

“Song Changxu, why aren’t you chasing Xu Zhizhou yet?” a ge’er prompted when he saw Song Changxu standing frozen in place.

The others joined in, their jeers growing louder.

Song Changxu: “…”

So the question is, should I chase after him, or should I chase after him? I’m a straight man. And homophobic.

He chose to go straight back home.

Under the stunned gazes of the group of ge’ers, Song Changxu left the fields and walked home.

Sun Ge’er watched Song Changxu’s retreating back and stomped his foot in anger. “Why didn’t that Song Changxu go after Zhizhou? He’s truly a heartless, rotten man!”

“They’re already engaged, yet he’s still so cold. Song Changxu really is as arrogant as they say. He can’t even take a little joke.”

“It looks like he won’t treat Zhizhou well in the future. What if he gets tormented after they marry?”

Sun Ge’er spat a few times. “Peh, peh, peh! What are you all saying such unlucky things for? It’s only just begun. Don’t jump to conclusions about the future so early. Zhizhou will definitely be happy in the future.”

“Let’s not talk about this. We should hurry and find Zhizhou.”

Sun Ge’er added, “We can’t joke like this anymore. I don’t think Song Changxu can take a joke. Besides, it’s their life to live together. We shouldn’t interfere.”

When it came to Song Changxu, the ge’ers of Qishan Village didn’t have a strong impression of him. The members of the Song family were all good-looking, but Song Changxu often looked at them with disgust, so they didn’t like to interact with him.

He spent most of his days studying at Scholar Li’s house in the neighboring Lingshui Village, so they rarely crossed paths.

Meanwhile, Song Changxu followed the memories in his mind back to the Song residence. The winding, brown dirt road, the occasional bark of a dog echoing through the village, the houses mostly made of mud, with crumbling bits of earth at their corners—all of them looked mottled and dilapidated.

The roofs were made of black tiles, and the village paths were uneven. Red snakeberries hid in the grass along the sides. A weeping willow in the village swayed with the wind, and the air carried the dry scent of earth.

It had been a long time since Song Changxu had seen such rural scenery. His family had become nouveau riche and moved to the city, and they rarely returned to the countryside.

He had been admitted to the graduate program for history at A University and was looking forward to his future. But then he got into a car accident on his way to register and transmigrated into this book.

Song Changxu was a straight man and wouldn’t normally read this kind of novel. His cousin had recommended it to him, saying it was fated for him and would be very useful for his future historical research.

Only after starting it did Song Changxu realize it was about a same-sex romance. When he saw a character with the exact same name as his, his obsessive-compulsive tendencies kicked in, and he forced himself to skim through the entire book.

There was no one else in the village at the moment. It was the spring planting season, so everyone was in the fields, hoeing, sowing seeds, and carrying manure.

He returned to his room and immediately poured himself a cup of water. The water had a sweet taste that soothed his throat.

Since I’ve already transmigrated, and there’s no way back for now, Song Changxu thought, I’ll first break off the engagement with Xu Zhizhou and then figure out the rest. His intuition told him that getting involved with the main characters of the original story would be very troublesome. Besides, he wasn’t gay; on the contrary, he was quite homophobic.

In the original novel, they were a miserable couple. There wouldn’t be a good ending this time either. It was better for them to go their separate ways. Xu Zhizhou could walk his perilous single-plank bridge, and he would walk his broad, open road.

The engagement was just settled yesterday, so it should be easy to call off, right? Song Changxu thought.

Song Changxu’s face was the same as his modern one: an elegant and handsome demeanor, with bright eyes, well-defined brows, a high nose bridge, and eyes as dark as lacquer.

Just thinking about Xu Zhizhou’s personality gave Song Changxu a headache.

I really don’t want to be annoyed to death. As Song Changxu thought this, his temples began to throb. That person was greedy and vain. Someone like him could never satisfy Xu Zhizhou’s appetite.

…

On the back mountain, the ge’ers had already started chopping firewood. Xu Zhizhou hadn’t run far. He found a large tree, sat down beneath it, and half-heartedly chopped at a few branches with his axe, wielding it as if venting his anger.

“That Song Changxu is so dead-set on not giving me face! There were so many people there. What’s wrong with chasing after me for a bit? I’m this good-looking, and so delicate and frail. Marrying me is his good fortune, and yet he still refuses to give me face. I’m so mad!”

Xu Zhizhou’s eyes seemed to be shooting fire. Who even wanted to marry him? If it weren’t for the fact that both families knew each other well, Xu Zhizhou would never marry this country bumpkin.

He had thrown tantrums and rolled on the floor at home, but nothing worked to break the engagement. And now Song Changxu was treating him like this today. Wasn’t he the one who came to his door to propose?

“Could he be blind?” Xu Zhizhou wondered doubtfully.

After all, he was so handsome. Even the young men in the village spoke to him in soft, gentle tones. Song Changxu must have studied until his brain turned to mush.

“So annoying.”

“Zhizhou…” Sun Ge’er’s voice called out.

Xu Zhizhou’s face immediately fell into a look of dejection. His skin was fair, almost glowing in the sunlight. He had a slender waist and a small, ethereally beautiful face.

He wasn’t lying when he said he was good-looking. Once, a young master from a wealthy family was passing through Qishan Village and, upon seeing him, wanted to take him as a concubine. The Xu family was the only reason it didn’t happen.

Xu Zhizhou wanted to roll his eyes. A concubine? Who on earth would want to be a concubine? As if that position is some prize. His future husband had to be brilliantly talented, young and handsome, with a boundless future.

He wanted to enjoy wealth and glory, to have no worries about food or clothing, and to live a life of bliss.

Sun Ge’er came forward and said, “It’s alright, Zhizhou. Once you’re married, Song Changxu will come to know how good you are.”

Xu Zhizhou lowered his head sadly, a beauty casting down his eyes. “He really didn’t come after me. Does he… not like me?”

Sun Ge’er sighed. “Song Changxu probably didn’t do it on purpose. Those scholars have a lot of rules. Maybe they’re not supposed to interact with their fiancés before the wedding.”

***

Author’s Note:

Little Song: I can break off the engagement, right? Right? [Pleading]

Little Xu: He’s blind. [Furious]