Chapter 2: I Am a Bridegroom in a Wealthy Family

Where am I? Didn't I already turn to dust and ashes?

When Shen Lang opened his eyes again, he found himself in a completely unfamiliar environment.

He lay on a soft, intricately carved large bed, and everything around him was opulent and grand.

The meticulously crafted redwood table, the exquisite silver candlestick, the soft wool carpet—every detail indicated that this was a home of immense wealth.

Most importantly, everything in the room was ancient and elegant, with not a hint of modern Earth's style.

He looked down at his clothes, which were made of fine silk, but the style was definitely not from modern Earth, more like the ancient costumes seen in TV dramas.

Next to the bed was a large mirror, not very clear, which should be a bronze mirror.

Shen Lang struggled to get up, mustering all his courage to look at the mirror.

It wasn't his fault; since his disfigurement, every time he looked in the mirror, it felt like a nightmare, and he would be frightened by his own reflection.

Seeing the face in the mirror, Shen Lang was first shocked, then tears streamed down his face.

Although the face was haggard and pale, it was incredibly handsome, even bearing a striking resemblance to his pre-disfigurement self.

Shen Lang confirmed one thing.

He had traveled through time; his soul had crossed into this unfamiliar world, into the body of this unfamiliar yet familiar man.

Long-lost, the handsome and dashing face.

Shen Lang almost greedily gazed at the face in the mirror.

The heavens had truly given him a new life, restoring his handsome appearance, even in this completely unfamiliar world.

This was wonderful; after his parents' departure, he had no lingering attachment to modern Earth.

The feeling of being reborn was amazing!

At this moment, a complex set of information flooded his mind, the memories of the original owner of this body.

...

This was a world that was both familiar and strange.

Familiar because it was very much like ancient China, with similar culture, the same script, and a similar race.

Strange because it was not Earth, and the map was different.

This world had the Four Books and Five Classics, the works of ancient Chinese sages, and the foundations of Chinese civilization seemed to be present.

However, none of the Chinese dynasties existed—no Qin, no Han, no Jin, and so on.

This was very peculiar; the map and history were different, but the culture was the same.

This was because the world had once experienced a great cataclysm, and after civilization was reborn, these books were excavated and became the key to the revival of civilization.

Therefore, the Four Books and Five Classics and similar texts held an even higher status in this world.

Moreover, this world had martial arts, and personal combat skills were far more advanced than in ancient China.

The dynasty Shen Lang was in was called the Great Yan Dynasty.

It was a vast empire, with a territory exceeding 14 million square kilometers, surpassing any dynasty in ancient China.

This dynasty was different from ancient China; besides a central empire, it was surrounded by many vassal states.

These were vassal states, not tributary states, similar to the relationship between the Zhou emperor and the vassal states, but the central empire was much stronger, and all the vassal states revered the Yan emperor as the true dragon.

In terms of civilization, the Great Yan Dynasty far surpassed the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods of China, roughly comparable to the Tang and Song dynasties.

...

The country Shen Lang was in was a large vassal state in the south, the State of Yue!

The State of Yue had three provinces, forty-five counties, and one special administrative region, covering over 590,000 square kilometers, with a population of over ten million. It was commercially prosperous, with a sharp and fierce populace and flourishing martial arts.

The Ning family had ruled the State of Yue for over four hundred years.

Shen Lang was in the Tian Nan Province of Yue, in the Nu River County, in Xuanwu City.

The name of the original owner of this body was also Shen Lang.

The most critical point was that the two men looked about 70-80% similar, which seemed unlikely to be a coincidence. The exact complex reasons were unknown.

But after reading the memories of this body, he felt that this Shen Lang from the other world was a complete tragicomedy.

...

Shen Lang grew up in Xuanwu City, Hanshui Town, Maple Leaf Village.

His family was an immigrant, having moved to Maple Leaf Village when Shen Lang was just over two years old.

His parents were ordinary farmers. The entire Nu River County had many mountains and rivers but little arable land. Shen Lang's family of four had only two acres of farmland and two acres of mountain land. Despite their hard work, the annual yield barely met their basic needs.

Although he came from a farming family and was not an only child, his parents doted on him from a young age, never scolding him or making him do chores. Despite their poverty, they still sent him to school, so in a sense, he was a scholar.

However, his studies were quite poor. After ten years of schooling, he could recognize fewer than a thousand characters.

It wasn't because he was lazy; he was very diligent. His poor performance was due to his low IQ, not quite reaching the level of mental retardation, but similar to Forrest Gump, with slow speech, a dull expression, and slow reactions.

Apart from his handsome face, he was virtually useless, a synonym for a good-for-nothing within a few hundred miles.

His younger brother, Shen Jian, was a fallen household, having gained nothing from years of martial arts training and now reduced to a complete ruffian.

As his parents aged, the family's situation worsened, and they were truly destitute, with nothing but the clothes on their backs.

This year, he turned eighteen, having studied in the town for nine years, but his academic performance was still terrible. Some of his classmates had already passed the imperial exams, while he was still in the启蒙 class, attending classes with a group of ten-year-olds every day.

It was as if everyone else was in college, while he hadn't even finished primary school.

This was a disgrace to the Hanshui Town school, and the teachers no longer wanted to teach him because he was too stupid and too dull, like a piece of rotten wood that couldn't be carved.

So, he was kicked out.

His parents had always doted on him, and he was unable to do any physical labor, not even chopping wood, let alone farming.

So, after returning home, he spent his days drawing and writing on the muddy ground outside with a stick, eating for free at home every day.

His parents didn't abandon him and still cared for him warmly. Despite being a ruffian, his younger brother, Shen Jian, treated him very well, coming home every day with a bruised face to earn a few copper coins, supporting his useless older brother without complaint.

When these memories surfaced, Shen Lang felt a deep warmth in his heart.

As a child, Shen Lang ate white rice at every meal, while his parents and younger brother could only drink corn porridge.

Occasionally, his father would hunt a wild rabbit in the mountains, sell it in the market, but always leave a rabbit leg for Shen Lang to eat, while his younger brother, Shen Jian, would drool and eat the corn porridge.

His parents were really biased, treating the low-IQ Shen Lang like a treasure, while his younger brother, Shen Jian, was treated like a weed.

Moreover, because of Shen Lang's low intelligence, he was often bullied, and his younger brother, Shen Jian, had fought many times to protect him.

It was truly a happy and warm family.

So, the memories up to this point were very beautiful, even though the family was extremely poor, but they were very happy.

However, if Shen Lang was so poor, why was he living in such a luxurious room?

Because he had married a super-rich wife, or more accurately, he had become a bridegroom in a wealthy family.

...

Note: Put me on your bookshelf and raise me well. Thank you for the generous donation of 10,000 coins, and for your boundless grace. Amen.