Chapter 1

The Little Aunt was adopted since childhood, grew up to be graceful and poised, and inherited a million-dollar fortune from her adoptive parents.

After a long-awaited family reunion, Grandpa and Grandma wanted to marry her off to my brother.

On the afternoon of the engagement, Little Aunt was forced to spike the wine with pesticide.

To save the family, I knocked the wine bottle out of Little Aunt's hand.

My parents stripped me bare, made me kneel at the door in the dead of winter, and Grandpa and Grandma beat me with a red-hot iron rod.

The Eldest Aunt stripped me of my clothes, leaving me to freeze to death in the snow!

When I awakened again, I found myself reborn before Little Aunt administered the poison.

This time, I didn't stop them, watching as they went down a doomed path, drinking and celebrating!

When I opened my eyes again, flames flickered before me, and my mom was placing the family's only old hen into the pot.

My pupils constricted; I had actually been reborn, reborn to the day before Little Aunt's engagement.

Seeing me staring blankly at the stove, my mom slapped me hard.

She used all her strength in that slap, causing half of my face to swell.

"You worthless thing, can't even watch a fire properly. If you mess up the chicken soup I'm making for your brother, see if I don't beat you to death!"

I quickly bowed my head and fed firewood into the stove; I knew in this family, nothing was more important than my brother's matters.

The rich chicken soup was delivered bowl after bowl into my brother's stomach; I didn't take a single glance, just lowered my head, eating the leftover rice in my bowl.

After all, in my previous life, because I swallowed a gulp of saliva while watching my brother's chicken soup, my father poured a bowl of boiling water forcibly into me.

This time I learned my lesson, keeping my head down, eating quietly.

"Obedient son, drink a few more bowls of soup; tomorrow, you'll be engaged, and once you have a wife, it'll take a toll on your body, you'll need to replenish!"

My brother is twenty-eight this year, has a chubby face, and dropped out of elementary school, living off our parents ever since.

Oddly enough, my parents thought their son was a phoenix among men, having gone on dozens of blind dates but fancied none.

"Though she's a bit older, she's quite pretty, and with so much dowry, just take a small loss."

My brother giggled, his mouthful of yellow teeth embedded with meat shreds.

"I don't mind taking a loss; she's pretty, I like her."

Seeing my brother say he liked her, my mom smiled with satisfaction.

In my previous life, I had no idea that the person engaged to my brother was Little Aunt.

I foolishly hoped for a gentle and considerate sister-in-law to save me.

But I didn't expect that what awaited me was not an understanding sister-in-law but a Little Aunt covered in wounds!

Since Little Aunt returned to the family a month ago, she had been living with Grandpa and Grandma.

When I saw Little Aunt again, she had changed from a bright and generous young lady to a village girl.

The pair of eyes that used to be full of smiles and words now appeared hollow and lifeless.

The beautiful woolen coat she returned home in had turned into a rustic floral cotton jacket.

But even so, her beauty was undeniable.

In the previous life, when I saw Little Aunt again, I rushed over to hold her hand, calling her.

The people around teased me, saying I should change the term, now call her sister-in-law.

They pushed Little Aunt towards my brother, and my brother reached his dirty hand into the gaps of her floral cotton jacket.

I only dared to shrink back and watch from behind the crowd.

This time it was different, I proactively stepped forward, held Little Aunt's hand, looked up at her with a sweet voice.

"Little Aunt is so pretty, I want Little Aunt to be my sister-in-law."

Sure enough, this statement brought satisfied smiles to Grandpa, Grandma, Dad, and Mom.

I was granted a special privilege, to fetch the red string tied around Little Aunt's neck for her.

When Grandma asked me to fetch the string, I hesitated for a moment, and Mom angrily dragged me by the ear inside.

While she watched me fetch the string, I stood on tiptoe and took the red string on the table, hiding the paper with the phone number in my pocket.

When I came out, they were already pressing Little Aunt to kneel before my brother.

I handed them the red string, and they looped it around Little Aunt's slender neck.

This was a Chen Family tradition. During the engagement, the groom must place a red string around the bride's neck.

Then he would lead her crawling in three circles around the yard, symbolizing the man's supreme position in the home.

It also indicated that the bride brought into the home would henceforth be his exclusive slave!

It was precisely because of this bizarre custom that the marriages in Chen Family Village had to be sorted internally since no outsider woman could accept such a thing.

The family dared to hold the wedding for Little Aunt and my brother so publicly because the entire village did the same.

Not only aunts marrying nephews, but uncles marrying nieces were also common.

Here, there was no ethics or morality, only reproduction and survival.

Little Aunt was forced by them to wear the string, and brother stood up, pulling her forward.

As she crawled the first step with all fours on the ground, I saw Little Aunt cried, her gaze filled with hatred for everyone around her.

Seeing her hesitate, Grandpa, holding a whip, mercilessly lashed it down.

Little Aunt's frail body was beaten to the ground, then she got up again.

The string choking her neck turned her face blue, but brother had no intention of letting her go.

Not only did he pull Little Aunt to crawl three rounds in the yard, he even made her kneel and bark like a dog.

Grandpa looked proudly at his grandson, speaking proudly to those around.

"It must be the youth, look at how many tricks they have, they know how to tame a wife."

The villagers around echoed in agreement.

While everyone got excited, I clutched the phone number in my palm, quickly running towards home.

On the way, someone called my name, but I ignored them.

Soon after reaching home, I immediately found an old phone that my brother no longer used.

Because of the engagement, Mom specially got him a new phone.

The old one was tossed in a cabinet by her bedside.

I charged the phone, and it soon powered on.

I texted the number on the slip of paper.

That was Little Aunt's foster brother!

I thought since her adoptive parents treated her so well, her brother must also cherish her and would certainly come to save her!

But at that moment, I had no idea just how terrifying human nature could be!

This action almost brought me utter disaster!

Back at the engagement scene, Little Aunt had been dragged to the new room by brother.

One end of the red string was tied to the door latch, allowing barely two meters for movement, just enough to wander inside the room.

According to the custom, post-engagement, the girl must always wear the red string until after marriage when it can be removed.

A bottle of pesticide was placed on the windowsill outside, and I moved, intending to go over and take it away.

I'm not mourning the lives of these people; I just don't want Little Aunt to walk down her fatal path.

But before I could get there, my mom grabbed my collar with one hand and pinched me hard several times.

"You wretched girl, where did you run off to? Such a big event at home, and instead of helping, you're off running around."

With that, she dragged me to the entrance of the new room.

"Stay put here and watch her, don't wander off. Do you hear me?"

I shrank my neck to indicate that I understood.

In the front yard, everyone was chatting and laughing loudly. I sat on a small stool, watching Little Aunt who sat with her head bowed by the bedside.

Her once long, smooth black hair had lost its shine, and her slender fingers were marred with many chilblains.

I moved to her side and pulled out a butterfly hair clip from my pocket and pinned it on her head.

She glanced up at me, and I cautiously looked around before whispering to her.

"Little Aunt, I've found someone to rescue you, don't be afraid!"

Upon hearing my words, she sneered coldly.

"What? Still not satisfied with me being bound, and sending a little kid to test me?"

I shook my head desperately, wanting to say more, but I only heard Grandma calling me from the front yard.

I dared not disobey Grandma's command, so I hurried to the front yard, telling Little Aunt to wait for my return as I left.

However, upon reaching the front yard, I realized my brother was missing.

I pulled someone aside and asked, "Where did my brother go?"

My cousin, only a year younger than my brother, revealed a smirk.

"He's gone to the bridal chamber, of course. Why else would Grandma call you out?"

I felt a chill in my heart and immediately retraced my steps.

Before I reached the new room, I heard my brother's lewd laughter.

"Such a good day, why not give everyone a live performance?"

Upon hearing this, many men from the village cheered.

I looked through the crowd, seeing that Little Aunt's floral cotton jacket had been torn open, exposing her fair skin.

With a flick of his foot, my brother shut the main room's door.

Only then did I notice that Grandma and Grandpa, Dad and Mom, Aunt and Uncle, the whole village—young and old—were there.

Listening to the sounds, their faces were brimming with excitement they couldn't suppress.

"Guodong, make the Zhao Family proud and hurry up to give us a great-grandchild. Grandpa is waiting to hold him."

My dad was laughing triumphantly.

"See? How capable my son is—already entering the bridal chamber at noon."

"I had someone calculate it; this hour is the most auspicious. The child conceived will definitely be promising."

Mom watched the room proudly; I hid behind others, trembling, as the DDT on the window sill had vanished.

I suddenly remembered something and ran to the kitchen, spilling all the wine for the evening on the floor.

Last time, due to fear, I knocked over Little Aunt's wine glass meant for toasting; Mom spanked me, and in panic, I blurted out Little Aunt's plan to drug them.

But Little Aunt remained calm, downing the whole jug herself. Everyone thought I was talking nonsense, and Grandma and Grandpa branded me with a red-hot poker from the stove.

Aunt kicked me in the chest, and I coughed up blood.

My parents were indifferent to my injuries; instead, they made me strip and crawl outside to kneel at the door.

As I shivered and knelt in the snowy ground, my consciousness blurred, I saw Little Aunt staggering as she dragged herself to open the door.

A swathe of people in the yard fainted, and she took off the floral cotton jacket, the only garment she had, to cover me.

But alas, I was already beyond saving!

The icy wetness of my shoes soaked in wine woke me from the memory.

In the distance, voices were heard.

I quickly hid in the woodpile.

Fortunately, my frail frame hid me well.

Someone entered the kitchen and discovered the overturned wine vat, and chaos erupted outside.

I seized the disorder to escape, while Grandma and Mom kept yelling and cursing, rousing my brother.

He emerged, tugging up his pants, looking unsatisfied, with a rope in his hand, dragging Little Aunt out like an animal.

Her neck bore bluish-purple marks, and her disheveled hair hung down. The butterfly clip I gave her had one wing snapped.

With the news of the smashed wine vat, my brother was irritable, "We planned a feast tonight, and it's too late to buy more wine."

He impatiently scratched his crotch and then slapped Little Aunt.

"You wretched woman, ruining me on your first day in our home! I tell you, tomorrow you better transfer all your inheritance to me, if one penny is missing, I'll beat you to death!"

Little Aunt's delicate face turned red and swollen from the slap, as she looked at my brother with eyes full of resentment.

Grandma immediately rushed over, stepping on her hand.

"Such bad luck, how did I give birth to such a thing? Dare to look at the men of this house with such eyes; surely, you've picked up bad habits out there all these years."

"If you don't shape up, you'll end up beaten to death."

Mom watched the spectacle on the side, not forgetting to sternly warn me.

"See? Disobedient women deserve such punishment. When you grow up in a few years, I'll marry you off to Aunt's son. Dare to disobey, you'll suffer!"

Mom poked my head; it should hurt, but I felt nothing now.

No wonder Aunt's cousin always smirked at me, complaining I wasn't tall or grown enough.

Turns out my parents had long decided to marry me to him!

Thinking of cousin's pock-marked, crooked face made me want to puke.

Somehow, it began to snow, whitening the earth in a blanket of white.

Having Grandma crush Little Aunt's hand left her struggling in agony.

Red streaks stained the snowy ground, like a beautiful painting, quickly concealed by the falling snow.

Little Aunt crawled to the kitchen, where my brother tied her rope to the kitchen pillar.

"We can't buy anything in the snow; you have to make do with whatever you find in the kitchen to cook a meal for everyone!"

It was like this in the previous life; forced by the snow's fallout, Sister-in-law cooked for everyone, pouring DDT into the wine...

I looked at the room full of people and volunteered, "I'll help Sister-in-law cook."

No one cared why I suddenly wanted to help.

They all went to the front room to warm themselves, leaving only Little Aunt and me in the kitchen.

Watching the white sky, uncertain if her foster brother could still come, I tried to prevent Little Aunt from rashly acting.

"Little Aunt, let me cook, you just rest."

As I attempted to take the spatula from her hand, she suddenly looked at me.

Feeling an ominous premonition, I tried to escape, but she grabbed me!