"Guest, here are your Phoenix Tail Fish Maw, Red Plum Pearl Fragrance, Kung Pao Wild Rabbit, Bean Flour Flatbread, Almond Tofu, and finally, our establishment's signature drink – Snow Mountain Green Tea!"
The waiter, as she served the dishes, recited a string of dish names. Finally, she held the tray to her chest and smiled:
"The dishes are all served! Please enjoy, guest!"
With that, she turned and withdrew.
"Come, eat! Eat more!"
Nian Mu constantly put food into Nian Jiaojiao's bowl.
After a few bites of food, the atmosphere at the table gradually warmed up.
Nian Jiaojiao relaxed and looked out the window.
The buildings on the street were ancient and quaint. Perhaps because of the cold weather and it being a small town, there weren't many pedestrians on the road, and most of them hurried along.
Although business was a bit slow, the small vendors by the roadside still sat shivering in the cold wind.
Different from her previous life, most of these vendors were women, and for the stalls with men, there were also women accompanying them.
Nian Jiaojiao felt that the scene before her was both familiar and strange, and for a moment, she didn't know if she was Zhuangzi dreaming of butterflies, or butterflies dreaming of Zhuangzi.
"Dabao? Dabao? Dabao!"
The calling in her ears brought Nian Jiaojiao's consciousness back.
She helplessly explained to Nian Mu again:
"Mother, I've changed my name to Nian Jiaojiao now."
Since they met, she had finally called her mother, and Nian Mu was so happy her smile almost reached her ears.
She said cheerfully:
"Alright! Jiaojiao, Nian Jiaojiao, that's a good name! I won't call you Dabao anymore, I'll call you Jiaojiao!"
As she spoke, she stroked her chin and continued:
"Jiaojiao is studying now, and she'll definitely be able to achieve fame. She should have had a proper name long ago, just like Zhenzhen, whose name was changed by a village scholar last year. However, the name you changed yourself isn't any worse than Zhenzhen's!"
"Zhenzhen?"
Nian Jiaojiao was confused. Who was Zhenzhen?
Nian Mu saw Nian Jiaojiao's puzzled expression and replied, nodding:
"Yes, it's your fourth sister! Wasn't she called Nian Erbao before? Later, a village scholar helped her change her name to Nian Zhenzhen!"
Nian Zhenzhen!!!
Boom—
It was like a bolt from the blue in Nian Jiaojiao's mind, and she felt a tingling sensation in her scalp.
The fragments from this period finally connected.
Nian Zhenzhen wasn't she the protagonist of the novel she read, "Nine Husbands Arriving: Husbands Are All Stunningly Beautiful"?
Her memory returned to before she transmigrated.
Nian Jiaojiao was a postgraduate student in Chinese Language and Literature. To complete her thesis, she went to the library to find materials.
She didn't know who had placed such a romance novel on the literature classification shelf. When she pulled the book out and saw its title, she was quite shocked.
However, whether out of curiosity or something else, she flipped through the novel. She found it a bit addictive and spent more than two hours finishing it.
Since she didn't know where the book originally belonged, she could only put it back on the shelf casually.
But who knew that when she turned around, the bookshelf inexplicably collapsed and knocked her unconscious.
Nian Jiaojiao took a deep breath.
She remembered that in the book, none of those who opposed the protagonist Nian Zhenzhen had a good end. She was the protagonist's wicked cannon fodder elder sister, with few scenes, a long life, and a tragic death.
Nian Zhenzhen passed the imperial examination, ranking in the top three, entering the Imperial Academy, and gaining the appreciation of a high-ranking official, obtaining a fifth-rank official position. The first thing she did upon returning home in glory was to have her elder sister Nian Dabao arrested and imprisoned.
Nian Dabao, who had pushed her younger sister into the river since childhood, stole chickens and dogs, and acted tyrannically, was listed one by one.
However, these crimes were not punishable by death. One of her nine husbands was the son of a郡王 (jùnwáng - prince of a commandery), who held a high position and power. He designed a trap to lure Nian Dabao into committing a crime, and eventually, she was caught red-handed and sentenced to beheading.
As the only relative executed by the protagonist, the book's description of Nian Dabao's death was:
In the clear autumn sky, Nian Zhenzhen sat in a high position at the execution ground, accompanied by two of her husbands on her sides, while the county magistrate watched from below.
Nian Zhenzhen coldly watched her extremely wicked birth sister. Following the order, "Execute!"
The moment the vermilion token fell, Nian Dabao's head was severed.
After Nian Dabao's death, the citizens of Shanshui Town applauded, calling Nian Zhenzhen righteous in exterminating her own kin and a scourge to the people, worthy of being called a "Just Official Lady!"
By stepping on the good reputation gained from Nian Dabao's corpse, Nian Zhenzhen's path in officialdom became smooth and she rose rapidly!
Recalling the fate of her original body in the book, Nian Jiaojiao took a big gulp of her drink, although she couldn't taste anything.
"Wife? Wife?"
Hearing the voice beside her, Nian Jiaojiao looked at Yu Chuan next to her.
Seeing the concern in his eyes, Nian Jiaojiao felt her heart grow cold.
How much sincerity was there in this concern?
In this tragic ending, Yu Chuan was the only husband who escaped unscathed.
This was because Yu Chuan was involved in one of the schemes he designed.
Because the original owner died, her four husbands in the family all became widowers.
And with Nian Zhenzhen's help, Yu Chuan successfully separated from the Nian family. After a year, he even met his true love and married her as her third husband.
As for the other three husbands, they did not have such good luck.
Because they became widowers, and at that time, the Great Yue dynasty was conscripting soldiers, the third husband Nan Qing and the fourth husband Xing Yun avoided this calamity due to their physical impairments.
However, the second husband Xuan Yi was not so lucky. He was captured and forced to become a male prostitute.
The remaining two husbands had no ability to earn money. Soon, Xing Yun died of overwork and illness, and later passed away due to lack of funds for treatment.
With the death of his third brother and the perilous situation of his elder brother, Nan Qing, filled with resentment towards the protagonist, completely blackened.
And it was precisely because of Nan Qing's blackening that his full talent was unleashed.
With a flip of his hand, he could summon the clouds and overturn the rain, manipulating many women in high positions and with great power.
In secret, Nan Qing formed a killer organization composed of men. Within a few years, the organization had become a force to be reckoned with, stirring up storm after storm in the Great Yue Dynasty.
Who could have imagined that the person behind it all was a man with poor eyesight?
As his influence grew, Nan Qing began to launch one action after another against the protagonist, causing her considerable trouble, and even putting her life in danger once.
But the protagonist was, after all, a daughter of destiny, saved by her eighth husband.
This eighth husband was a prince from a foreign country. Moreover, the protagonist's other husbands were also extraordinary. Under their combined efforts, Nan Qing, the instigator, was finally captured.
When the truth was revealed, it caused quite a sensation in Great Yue.
Everyone was astonished that a man from the countryside, with a physical ailment and a weak disposition, could have such a significant influence.
Recalling up to this point, Nian Jiaojiao felt a sense of awe.
She never expected that the man she called "yin and yang strange" possessed such great capabilities.
He was probably the male villain with the most scenes in the entire book, apart from the main female villain...
Nian Jiaojiao felt a sense of respect for Nan Qing.
He alone could contend with the protagonist's eight husbands!