OL CH42

After reviewing the plot, Chen Tian knew that the plane he was currently in was indeed set in an ancient era, and the overall story direction could roughly be categorized as a farming and empire-building tale.

The female lead of this small world, Li Xiaochan, was originally an ordinary peasant’s daughter in the Li Family Village. She was intelligent, hardworking, and kind from a young age. As she grew up, she displayed a boldness rarely seen in women of this era, surpassing even men as she improved agricultural tools, built fish ponds, and ventured into business.

Along the way, the female lead encountered many setbacks and even persecution from villains. Yet, she was resilient, never discouraged by failure, and relied on her wit to make her family’s life increasingly prosperous. Later, Li Xiaochan and her family left the village to expand their business in the city, eventually reaching the capital. They connected with government officials and became imperial merchants.

During this process, Li Xiaochan’s uniqueness attracted the free-spirited young Marquis, Qi Teng, and the two fell in love. Although their difference in social status was vast and their relationship was frowned upon, Qi Teng did not care and remained devoted to her. Through a twist of fate, the female lead was discovered to be the Emperor’s bloodline left behind among the common people. Consequently, Li Xiaochan was restored to her status as a princess and married in grand style.

In the story, the female lead achieved double success in love and career, becoming the absolute winner in life.

According to the original plot, the Li family’s smooth development in the capital, their rise from rootless wealthy merchants to imperial merchants, and even Li Xiaochan’s encounter with Marquis Qi Teng were all thanks to a key figure: the Second Prince, Huo Tianchen.

In the earliest parts of the story, back in the Li Family Village, the female lead had rescued a severely injured man by the water. The man woke up with amnesia but quickly recovered under Li Xiaochan’s care. Then, one day, he suddenly left a note saying he had urgent business and departed. Though barely mentioned, this man had a massive background. His true identity was the current Second Prince of Dongye, Huo Tianchen.

Huo Tianchen was Dongye’s God of War, invincible on the battlefield. As the old Emperor aged, the First Prince, Huo Kangcheng, saw Huo Tianchen’s immense prestige as a thorn in his side. After exhausting his schemes, the First Prince finally found an opportunity to send assassins after him. The situation was sudden, and no matter how formidable Huo Tianchen was, two fists could not match four hands, especially since the assassins sent by the First Prince were all highly skilled death knights.

After all of the Second Prince’s guards were slaughtered, Huo Tianchen was severely injured and fell into the water. While floating ashore unconscious, he was saved by the female lead. At first, Huo Tianchen truly lost his memory, but once he finally recovered it, he hurried away to contact his subordinates. Although Huo Tianchen had an overwhelming amount of matters to handle and couldn’t immediately return to thank the Li family in person, he sent his people to secretly protect them. Therefore, Li Xiaochan’s smooth sailing and ability to turn danger into safety were at least half due to Huo Tianchen, even if not entirely.

At the end of the story, Huo Tianchen also became the Emperor of Dongye. Unlike past emperors who looked down on agriculture and commerce, he respected them equally, considering them the foundation of the nation. With his support, the Li family’s business blossomed everywhere, making them the wealthiest in Dongye. In return, they gave back to the nation, helping Huo Tianchen usher in a new golden age.

Everything was supposed to be beautiful, but unfortunately, after the small world became distorted, a reincarnator named Li Zixiu appeared.

Li Zixiu was from the Li Family Village. Originally, he was one of only two scholars in the area, holding a somewhat respectable status in the village. What a pity that he thought too highly of himself. After failing to advance in the imperial examinations for several years, he resorted to crooked methods. He actually attempted to cheat during the provincial exams and was caught by the examiner. Not only was he stripped of his scholar title, but he was also banned from all future exams.

Li Zixiu was beaten with boards in front of a crowd, his official career ruined, and he became the laughingstock of the village. Yet, he didn’t believe he was at fault; he merely thought he had bad luck, filling him with resentment. He still fancied himself an intellectual and refused to do the manual labor of “muddy-legged” peasants. At first, he simply shut himself indoors, living a decadent life. Later, somehow, he took up heavy drinking and gambling, eventually losing his family’s entire fortune before being beaten to death by the casino’s thugs.

Originally, Li Zixiu was just a minor character who happened to live in the same village as the female lead, Li Xiaochan. He used to be extremely arrogant, looking down on a peasant woman like her. But living a second time, he knew many more things because he had lived several years longer in his past life. Although Li Xiaochan’s royal bloodline was only revealed after Li Zixiu’s death, he remembered how the Li family’s business grew massive, how they moved to the capital, and became imperial merchants—wealth and glory he couldn’t even dream of.

Reborn, Li Zixiu understood that no matter how much he studied, he couldn’t advance. He figured it would be better to marry Li Xiaochan so he could enjoy a life of luxury. Thus, he actively courted her. Since he was the village’s rare intellectual, and even though Li Xiaochan didn’t initially like him, his persistent advances eventually moved her, as she was just at the age of first love. They got married.

After successfully marrying Li Xiaochan, Li Zixiu followed the Li family to the capital. When Li Xiaochan’s identity as a royal princess was restored, he became a prince consort, reveling in wealth and honor. Yet even so, Li Zixiu was never satisfied. He coveted the Li family’s business. Knowing Li Xiaochan wasn’t of the Li family’s bloodline, he wanted to seize all their assets for himself. However, Li Xiaochan was grateful to her adoptive family and always protected them, refusing to let Li Zixiu touch their properties.

The female lead had her own mind and wouldn’t be swayed by him, which only made Li Zixiu more bitter and resentful towards her. Consequently, the already malicious Li Zixiu was easily swayed by the First Prince, Huo Kangcheng’s casual overtures, and agreed to collude with him.

They exploited Huo Tianchen’s trust in Li Xiaochan. While the Second Prince was away providing disaster relief, they secretly cut off the Li family’s military supply chain to the frontlines. They even forged evidence to frame the Second Prince for treason. In the end, the framed Second Prince was executed, the First Prince Huo Kangcheng ascended the throne, and Li Xiaochan was confined to the inner courtyard.

Li Zixiu, banking on his “merits,” was granted a high official title. He suppressed and murdered anyone who had ever opposed him. After ruining the Li family and swallowing all their businesses, he lived a life with three wives and four concubines. But Li Zixiu didn’t know he was merely a target propped up by the First Prince. His good days didn’t last long. Once the imperial court was stabilized, the new Emperor killed him to prove his own virtue to the masses. As for all the Li family’s businesses, they naturally fell into Huo Kangcheng’s hands.

And Chen Tian’s identity this time was exactly the Second Prince, Huo Tianchen.

The original host could have ascended the throne and given the people of Dongye a prosperous era, but instead, he was killed early and branded with the stigma of a traitor. Therefore, the original host’s wish in exchanging his identity was to become the Emperor of Dongye, protect the people, and ruthlessly trample the First Prince and Li Zixiu underfoot.

Chen Tian certainly hadn’t expected to be such an important character in this life. In contrast, his lover, Xiao Bai, was treated as pure cannon fodder, barely showing his face in the main text. If one had to dig deep, his only real mention was probably lumped under the line: After the reborn man gained power, he suppressed and murdered all those who opposed him.

Early plot lines stated that Li Zixiu was one of only two scholars in the Li Family Village area. The other scholar was Bai Su.

Because he had little involvement in the main plot, it was only briefly mentioned that the Bai family were outsiders. Initially, their circumstances were decent, but later, Father Bai fell seriously ill. Medical bills and medicine drained almost all of the family’s savings, and Father Bai couldn’t hold on for more than a few years before passing away. Because of this, the Bai family became utterly destitute. Mother Bai worked hard on embroidery and sold patterns to subsidize the household, ruining her eyes in the process.

Fortunately, Bai Su was determined. Unafraid of hardship, he found ways to do odd jobs to support the family from a young age. Once he saved some money, he continued his studies and gradually revealed his extraordinary talent. Ironically, Bai Su’s later tragedy stemmed from this very talent.

In the entire Li Family Village, only he and Li Zixiu were intellectuals. Initially, Bai Su didn’t stand out much because of his family’s burdens; both were merely child scholars in the village. Later, Bai Su passed the examination to become a full scholar (Xiucai) a step ahead, inciting Li Zixiu’s jealousy, who felt Bai Su stole his thunder.

After that, it took Li Zixiu two more years to pass the scholar exam, but he had exhausted his talents. Bai Su, however, began to show his brilliance, securing first place (Jieyuan) in the provincial examinations. In the original timeline, Bai Su passed every hurdle and was handpicked as the new top scholar (Zhuangyuan) in the palace examination by the newly ascended Emperor, Huo Tianchen. He earned the appreciation of the cabinet ministers, rose rapidly through the ranks, and was ultimately appointed Prime Minister, assisting the Emperor. Alongside Huo Tianchen, they became a wise ruler and capable minister whose names echoed through history.

But Li Zixiu had been reborn. Not only did he make things difficult for Bai Su, but before the provincial exams, he secretly hired thugs to break Bai Su’s leg, causing him to miss the test. Bai Su was resilient. He refused to give up, and after his injury healed, he went to take the exam again—only to be spotted in the capital by Li Zixiu, who had followed the female lead there.

Thinking of Bai Su’s glory right before his past-life death, Li Zixiu’s eyes turned red with jealousy. He was terrified of being overshadowed by Bai Su again in this second life. Now backed by the Li family’s wealth, he was no longer what he used to be. Deciding to go all the way, he spent a massive fortune to hire assassins to kill Bai Su.

What a pity that a wise ruler and his capable minister were both murdered in such a way by a reborn nobody. Seeing this, Chen Tian’s eyes turned completely cold. He would never let anyone who dared hurt his lover off easy. But to think he and his lover shared the exact same miserable fate in this life—was this some alternative form of destiny?

Calculating the current timeline, Li Zixiu must have just been reborn and hadn’t done anything yet. Bai Su was currently the only scholar in the area, while Li Zixiu was still a mere child scholar. However, this intellectual status afforded Li Zixiu quite a few conveniences, earning him a fair bit of respect from the villagers.

Now that Chen Tian had transmigrated to replace the original host, some plot details had naturally shifted. Originally, he was supposed to be saved by the female lead, but somehow, he had been rescued by Bai Su instead. Though he didn’t know why this happened, Chen Tian was obviously much more satisfied with this outcome. All the suffering he endured upon arriving in this world was automatically ignored.

What could possibly be more delightful than this heaven-sent destiny! Sure enough, he and Xiao Bai were a match made in heaven!

Considering his current sensitive situation, the original host’s severe injuries and accidental fall into the water might have been a stroke of luck since the river washed him up here. But the First Prince’s men would definitely not give up so easily and were probably still searching this area for his tracks, so it was best not to act rashly for now. Fortunately, the borders had been peaceful lately. The original host was only lured out here because he had been deceived by a spy of the First Prince lurking by his side. There wasn’t anything truly urgent that needed immediate attention.

Contacting his subordinates could wait; it was better to stay in the Li Family Village to recover from his injuries for the time being. Besides, that way he could spend day and night with Xiao Bai!

At that thought, Chen Tian quickly had System 009 heal the more critical internal injuries, but deliberately left the minor wounds and the horrific-looking external cuts completely untouched. Are you kidding me? If his wounds were all healed, how could he get Xiao Bai to personally nurse him!

Although Chen Tian seemed to have thought a lot, in reality, only a fleeting moment had passed. Having finalized his plans, Chen Tian calmed down, focused his mind, and listened closely to the sounds outside. The original host’s martial arts were already superb, giving him exceptional hearing, and now with Chen Tian in control, his five senses were even sharper.

Thus, he easily picked up the conversation outside the yard. It turned out someone had come to act as a matchmaker for Bai Su.

Outside the house, the matchmaker stood at the door without ever stepping inside. Bai Su was smiling and talking to her, but he was standing exactly at the threshold, clearly having no intention of letting her in. The matchmaker had no choice but to stand there, keeping a sycophantic smile as she tried to persuade him.

“I say, Scholar Bai, that Liu family from the neighboring village is one of the rare wealthy households for miles around. Their daughter is uniquely virtuous and hardworking, and her looks are quite charming too. I think she would be a perfect match for you.”

Hearing these words, Bai Su’s expression remained entirely unchanged; he was long accustomed to this. In the early years, after his father’s illness drained their savings, many mocked their family for being destitute. If a local girl even spoke a single word to him, she would be dragged away by her family, as if terrified of being leeched off of. Bai Su had never taken this to heart.

But now that he had earned his scholar title, matchmakers came calling endlessly. It was laughable how the very people who used to avoid him like a plague now wanted to scheme their way into his life. Bai Su had heard of that Liu family’s only daughter. He didn’t know anything about her being virtuous or hardworking, but he had certainly heard that she was unreasonable and shrewish. And allegedly, she was not endowed with good looks, yet because her family’s assets were considered abundant in the area, her eyes were fixed high above the clouds, turning her nose up at ordinary men.

Thinking of this, the corners of Bai Su’s lips curled up slightly, and he smiled at the matchmaker. “Auntie, I have actually seen the Liu girl you speak of, but she seems quite different from how you describe her.”

The matchmaker’s face changed at those words. She obviously knew exactly what kind of girl she was trying to set him up with. She thought since Liu Family Village wasn’t exactly close to Li Family Village, the two shouldn’t have ever crossed paths. She hadn’t expected Scholar Bai to have already seen her. Didn’t that mean all her lies about the girl being hardworking, virtuous, and charming were instantly seen through!

But to be a matchmaker, one naturally needed thick skin. Matchmaker Wang’s mind raced, and she immediately continued with a smile, “Oh my, Scholar Bai, you have to spend time with a person to truly know what they’re like! The Liu girl is actually quite nice, she just needs to be understood better. Furthermore, the Liu family has plenty of land. If you marry his daughter, her maiden family will definitely support you, and this…”

But this time, Bai Su didn’t wait for Matchmaker Wang to finish. He interrupted, “Thank you for your good intentions, Auntie. But I, Bai, do not believe I have fallen so low that I must rely on taking a wife and having her maiden family subsidize my livelihood.”

Seeing the smile vanish from Bai Su’s face, Matchmaker Wang knew she had misspoken. No matter what, he was still a titled scholar, and it made her a bit anxious. Yet, many young women from the surrounding villages harbored affection for this elegant, jade-like scholar. Many people had asked her to be the matchmaker and had offered quite a lot of silver.

She had come many times without a single success, leaving her rather unwilling to give up, so she couldn’t help but urge him again. “Scholar Bai, you study so hard every day. Wouldn’t it be better to marry early? Once you’re married and deeply in love, you’ll have someone by your side to know when you’re cold or hot. That’s when life gets comfortable! I say, Scholar Bai, just what kind of girl do you like? Auntie will go find her for you immediately!”

Hearing this, Bai Su inexplicably flashed back to the face of the stunning beauty he had rescued and brought into his room. Deep marital love, knowing when one is cold or hot… if it were that person, it actually wouldn’t be so bad.

For some reason, a bit of impatience crept into his heart. Seeing the matchmaker about to keep talking, Bai Su raised an eyebrow and said flatly, “Auntie, to tell you the truth, I am but a superficial man. I do not expect a wife to be considerate; I only hope they are a peerless beauty. They must be unforgettable at first sight and a feast for the eyes. But alas, the beauties found in books rarely exist in reality. Unless I find such a beauty, I absolutely will not marry.”

“This, this…”

These words left Matchmaker Wang choking. Who would so bluntly say they didn’t care about a wife’s virtues and only wanted a pretty face? She had previously tried to match him with the most beautiful girl in the Li Family Village, and Scholar Bai hadn’t agreed. Clearly, she hadn’t caught his eye. Going by Scholar Bai’s words, even the Emperor might not have seen a beauty of that caliber. Where on earth was she supposed to find one?

But seeing his entirely serious expression, he didn’t seem to be joking at all, leaving Matchmaker Wang utterly at a loss for how to continue.

Inside the room, Chen Tian had naturally heard their entire conversation. Upon hearing that Bai Su liked beauties, he hurriedly called out to the system in his mind, “009, quickly project an image of myself for me to see.”

As soon as he spoke, his own appearance materialized in the air before him. He turned his head, carefully inspecting his current self.

The man in the projection had his hair draped loose, lying on the bed. Perhaps due to his injuries, he looked slightly haggard, yet it still couldn’t conceal his magnificent, peerless beauty. Slanted, sword-like eyebrows swept into his temples, his long, narrow eyes gleamed with a seemingly affectionate light, his nose was high and straight, and his thin lips were slightly pressed together. His bright, vivid features were truly unforgettable at first sight.

To say it was somewhat androgynous wouldn’t be entirely wrong, but in reality, this flawless face didn’t look purely feminine. Rather, it possessed a beauty that transcended gender. Perhaps because he had commanded troops outdoors for so long, enduring the wind and sun, his skin wasn’t excessively pale. Once he put on a cold expression, it exuded a chilling aura of death that only someone who had weathered countless battlefields would have, looking thoroughly unapproachable.

However, Chen Tian was extremely satisfied with this face. Such stunning looks would surely win Xiao Bai’s favor.

But on second thought, he remembered them constantly talking about “marriage” and “taking a wife” just now. Could it be that Xiao Bai liked women in this life and wanted to marry a girl?

Subconsciously, he lifted his blanket to take a peek at himself. The proud capital he usually possessed suddenly filled Chen Tian’s heart with a profound sense of crisis.

When he was first born, Chen Tian was just a mass of energy, naturally genderless, and had merely chosen to take on a male form. He loved Bai Su so deeply that, in truth, as long as his lover wanted it, he would willingly lie down and take the bottom role without a second thought. But if Xiao Bai liked women now… was it still too late for him to go back to the factory and get a sex change?

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Author’s Note:

Chen Tian: Baby likes women now, what do I do? Should I get a sex change?

(Beauty sighs) Bai Su: I am not! I don’t! Stop talking nonsense!