Chapter 1

Li Su was being beaten.

A black-purple vine was held in his father's hand, swung with such force that it seemed to cut through the air, exuding a fierce aura as if slicing through the ranks of a thousand horses. One strike of the vine landed heavily on Li Su's buttocks, producing a sharp crack.

Li Su cried out in pain, struggling to defend himself. He dodged the rain of blows, circling around the only old table in the house, trying to evade his father.

"Scoundrel, stand still and let me beat you to death!" his father panted, glaring at Li Su with a fierce expression.

Of course, Li Su didn't stand still. He sighed from the other side of the table, "Father, can we talk this out?"

His father sneered. He was a typical man from Guanzhong, preferring action to words.

"Talking is not my strong suit. Today, I just want to beat you to death!" His father swung the vine again, the sound of it cutting through the air making one's face change.

The two of them circled the table, the situation at an impasse.

This couldn't go on, so Li Su decided to break the deadlock.

"Father, if you think I've done something wrong, can't you just say it?" Li Su tried to reason with his unreasonable father, his tone sincere.

After a few angry grunts, his father's expression softened slightly. His son was as slippery as an eel, and after a while, he was tired of chasing him. He seemed to be looking for a way out.

"If I tell you straight, will you change?" His father's eyes showed a hint of hope.

"Of course not, I'm just afraid you'll get sick from holding it in..."

The two fell into a brief silence...

A moment later, the dilapidated house erupted with a roar that shook the earth, in a clear and resonant Guanzhong accent.

"Die, scoundrel!"

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Li Su finally fled from the house, walking unevenly along the village path.

Villagers passed by, smiling at Li Su. The smiles made him want to slap them with his shoe.

At the end of the path was a small hill, with a few large ginkgo trees. Next to the hill was the famous Jing River, where thin ice floated on the surface, drifting quietly.

Li Su stood by the river, watching the flowing water, feeling somewhat depressed.

The reason for today's beating was simple.

Early in the morning, he went to the well to fetch water, intending to fill the water jar at home. After a few buckets, Li Su suddenly saw his reflection in the water. In those hard times, poor families couldn't afford mirrors. Seeing his handsome face ripple in the water, Li Su was captivated. He found himself not only handsome but also fair-skinned, and to his surprise, he had a touch of melancholy.

Who could resist such a stunningly handsome face, no matter where or when they saw it?

So Li Su looked again, and again...

He was lost in his own beauty for half an hour, completely unaware of his father's face twitching on the threshold.

In a poor farming family, having such a shameless, no, overly self-conscious son, how could his father not be furious? So he grabbed the nearest vine and prepared to beat his son to death.

A father beating his son is considered natural in any era. There are many such unreasonable but accepted practices, like "beating children on a cloudy day because you have nothing else to do," "a good son is beaten into shape," and "you can't catch a wolf without risking your child."

Look at these ridiculous sayings that have been passed down for generations. What have the children done to deserve this?

Even if a father beating his son is considered natural, Li Su had only been in this strange era for three days, with a thirty-year-old soul in a fifteen-year-old body. More importantly, he and his current father were not familiar at all. Two strangers shouldn't resort to such violence.

No manners!

...

An accident had brought a spirited middle-aged man to this strange era, into the body of a fifteen-year-old boy.

It was the tenth year of the Zhen Guan era of the Tang Dynasty, a magnificent and grand time. Six years ago, Li Shimin had washed away the humiliation of the Wei River Alliance with blood and swords, capturing the arrogant Khan of the Turks, and the military might of the Tang Dynasty had begun to show its terrifying edge.

In the same year, the spirited Li Shimin lost his beloved Empress Changsun, the woman with the highest positive evaluations in history, who had always been known for her kindness and gentleness.

In the winter of that year, Li Su arrived.

The village was small, with only a hundred households. It was located downstream of the Jing River, under the jurisdiction of Jingyang County, just sixty miles from the capital Chang'an. The village had no name at first. It was founded over a hundred years ago during the Northern and Southern Dynasties, when people from the north fled the Turkic invasions and found this fertile plain by the Jing River. From a few families, it grew to over a hundred, and the village was named "Taiping" (Peace) by the respected elders. The name was officially recorded by the government during the Sui Dynasty and has been used ever since.

What could be more important to refugees than peace?

By the river, Li Su found a smooth stone, wiping the fine dust off its surface until it was clean. He then squatted by the river to wash his hands thoroughly. After all this, he sat on the stone, lost in thought.

His mind was in turmoil. He still wasn't used to his young body, feeling uncomfortable all over.

There was no denying that it was a healthy body, young and full of energy, with no bad habits like smoking, drinking, or indulging in pleasures. It was much better than his previous body, which had been weakened by such vices. However, it was still too unfamiliar.

Everything around him, from his body to the plants and trees, to the purely agricultural society, felt as strange as a dream. He felt like a mere observer, coldly watching the joys and sorrows of the world.

Lost in his complex thoughts, Li Su didn't know how long he had sat by the river. As the sky grew dark, he finally came to his senses, sighed, and stood up.

Despite his rude and uncultured father, they were still father and son, and he couldn't let him starve.

Reluctantly returning home, Li Su cautiously checked the situation and found his father lying on the bed, fully clothed, seemingly asleep.

...

Li Su's father, of course, was also surnamed Li, named Li Daozheng. It was strange that an ordinary farmer had such a cultured name, which was a significant point of suspicion. Li Su once suspected that his background was extremely noble, and his father and the prominent family had deliberately placed him in this poor household to test his character. After completing the tests of "hardening his will, laboring his body, and starving him," they would take him back to enjoy a life of luxury and power, and he would live a life of bullying and seducing village girls.

Three days later, Li Su realized he had overthought it. The shattering of his beautiful dreams made him cry.

This was a broken home, very poor and hard, described as "bare walls."

A simple bed, an old low table, a broken plow, a chipped iron pot, two earthen bowls, and two pairs of chopsticks...

These were all that made up a family.

Honestly, Li Su thought his father should reflect on why a man nearly forty had failed so miserably, with such meager possessions that even a beggar on the street could look down on them.

There were no women in the house. His mother had died in childbirth, and his father had no intention of remarrying.

—He might have had the thought, but with their miserable situation and Li Su as a fifteen-year-old burden, no woman would want to marry into such a household.

He should be grateful to his father for not throwing him into a well as a baby and remarrying, showing the kindness and righteousness of a farmer.

Thinking of this, the resentment from the beating earlier in the day faded.

It couldn't stay, after all, he was his father, and throwing him into a well would be too impolite...

...

Holding an earthen jar, Li Su sighed and walked to the rice bin to prepare dinner.

When he opened the lid, his face changed.

It was empty, not a single grain of millet to be found.

In the tenth year of Zhen Guan, Guanzhong suffered a severe drought, and the harvest was poor. Despite the government and landlords reducing rents, the farmers were still struggling to feed themselves. Emperor Li Shimin led the court in a ceremony at the Taiji Palace, burning incense and praying for rain, crying and begging the heavens to show mercy. Despite his emotional plea, the heavens did not grant him this favor.

This directly led to the family running out of food before the spring planting even began.

Standing in front of the empty rice bin, Li Su's expression was uncertain.

"I am so handsome and fair, yet my family has run out of food!" Li Su muttered, his face dark.

Despite the lack of logical connection, this was how he felt.

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A new, cute, and adorable author seeks your support, your recommendations, and your love. Thank you!

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