Chapter 1: Awakening to Become a Live-in Son-in-law

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[Once again, a solemn reminder: this novel is a slow-burning, character-driven, alternative history, not a fast-paced tale of ruthless action and instant gratification. It contains many elements that are often considered "poisonous" in online fiction—please choose carefully.]

A parallel world.

The twenty-fifth year of the Taihe era in the Great Liang, the eighth day of the fourth month.

In the imperial capital of Great Liang, the emperor passed away in the Palace of Zhāngtái.

From the princes to the nobles and ministers present in the capital, from princesses to titled ladies, all set up altars in the palace, burned incense, knelt to offer wine, and mourned. In an instant, from the capital outward, the entire realm was draped in white, the nine provinces resonated with grief.

Tang Yu, the thirty-six-year-old second prince who had served as crown prince for eleven years, was overcome with sorrow and lost all composure. Before the ministers could even urge him to ascend the throne, he had already wept himself into unconsciousness.

On the day of the grand burial, the emperor’s coffin was moved to the Palace of Qianqing for all officials to pay their respects.

The chief minister of the Inner Cabinet, Xiao Yi, appealed to the empress, saying that with the emperor gone, the nation was in peril. The throne stood vacant, the crown prince lay ill, and the people were anxious. The empress, favored by the late emperor, must set aside her grief for the sake of the nation, settle the realm, restore order, and bring peace.

The second empress of Taihe, twenty-eight-year-old Nangong Yingyue, could only nod in silence.

The following day, the crown prince Tang Yu, still weak and bedridden, was half-carried by the assembled ministers to the coffin in Qianqing Palace and declared emperor, ushering in the new era of Chunde.

The new emperor, frail and perpetually unwell, was incapable of governing, causing the machinery of empire to grind to a halt. The former empress, now the revered Empress Dowager Nangong Yingyue, was begged by the court to preside over state affairs as regent. Thus, the young empress dowager, forced into leadership, gradually set the empire’s central administration back to motion.

Yet, after more than a decade of profligate rule under the late emperor, the outward calm of Great Liang masked an undercurrent of unrest.

The Great Liang Empire, founded a hundred and fifty years past, was now swept by winds of change.

……

Jiangbei Circuit, Jiangzhou Prefecture, Jianglin.

Spring rains had fallen for days, leaving the streets nearly deserted and the shops on either side tightly shuttered. Only the occasional laughter of children playing by puddles at street corners lent a touch of vitality to this southern city, which had fallen into silence with the emperor’s death and the arrival of the rainy season.

Following the main thoroughfare, Vermillion Bird Street, westward and crossing the White Stone Bridge, one would see a grand estate enclosed by white walls and blue-tiled roofs—the famed Shen Residence, Shen Garden of Jiangzhou.

Shen Garden lies west against Green Hill, south facing the Lan River, covering over a hundred acres. Within, pavilions, towers, and corridors are linked, and rare flowers and exotic plants grow in profusion. Amidst the misty rain, the garden exudes the graceful charm of the south.

To the northwest of Shen Garden is a lake, on which stands a pavilion. The lake is called the North Sea, the pavilion, Listening to the Sea Pavilion. The North Sea connects to a brook, which eventually joins the Lan River.

On the wooden bridge extending from the pavilion, a young man in a rain cloak sits quietly by the water, as if frozen in a painting.

The youth is remarkably handsome, tall and lean without seeming frail. His hair is thick, his skin fair, and his face sharply defined yet gentle. Beneath his dark brows, his eyes are bright and deep, long and spirited. A high nose and well-shaped lips lend refinement to his features—a blend of masculine strength and youthful charm.

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The fishing rod in the young man’s hand trembles slightly, sending ripples across the water in harmony with the raindrops. Yet the youth does not move; his elegant face remains tranquil, his brows gently furrowed, and his once-bright eyes now seem devoid of spirit as he stares absently into the distance.

“Sir, let’s go back. The rain is getting heavier.” A young maid in pale violet, sitting in the pavilion, frowned at the figure outside and called out.

Hearing the maid’s words, Lu Jin slowly lifted his head to gaze at the distant water and sighed softly. The endless rain was like a curtain, shrouding the entire world—just like his current predicament, with nothing clear in sight.

Upon waking, an office worker from the modern world found himself inexplicably transformed into the newlywed son-in-law of the Shen family, having just spent his first night in this role. He knew neither his past nor his future.

Having read countless novels, Lu Jin was well-versed in the mechanics of transmigration. On the very day he arrived, he stayed up all night in excitement, eyes wide open, awaiting the fabled moment of sudden enlightenment, the awakening of memories, the start of his grand destiny.

Yet when the maid knocked the next morning, Lu Jin, with dark circles under his eyes, could only sigh—there were no memories, not a single drop!

Still, Lu Jin was not discouraged. When Heaven closes a door, it always opens a window, right? Surely he would receive some kind of golden finger, some special cheat.

…

But the golden finger never came. Instead, he was greeted with the news of the emperor’s death. Not that it concerned him much; the chosen one had yet to awaken, so why care about a mere mortal emperor?

And so, for the past ten days, he wandered aimlessly. Others ignored him, and he was content to ignore them. He was not the sociable type to begin with. As for miraculous memory downloads and golden fingers, he’d given up hope—most likely, they simply weren’t coming.

Just like in his previous life, any good fortune always passed him by. Truly, his bad luck was legendary!

Leaving aside the lack of cheats, Lu Jin’s situation was not ideal. He’d been at the Shen residence for over two weeks—hadn’t seen his bride, nor even met any other members of the Shen family.

He was like a ghost, an invisible man—if not for the few maids attending to him, he would have doubted his own existence.

Yet Lu Jin was not anxious. On the contrary, for a transmigrator with nothing—no memories, no backing, no cheats—he now had time to observe, to learn about his new identity and the world around him.

This country was called Great Liang, bordered by the Fisherman’s Sea to the east, Cang Mountains to the west, Liyang to the south, and the northern wilderness—it was the central land. The royal family was surnamed Tang; it was the twenty-fifth year of Taihe, and the recently deceased emperor was the Taihe Emperor. Lu Jin searched his memory—there was no such unified dynasty in history.

He was now in the Shen residence of Jianglin, Jiangzhou Prefecture, Jiangbei Circuit. He had just become the top scorer in the recent local exams, a certified scholar. Yes, the young man daydreaming by the water was none other than the newly minted first-place scholar of Jiangzhou Prefecture—Lu Jin, Star of Tomorrow.

But how did he become a son-in-law? And where was his own family? Under the odd gazes of the maids, he dared not ask further.

At present, Lu Jin’s state was somewhat ostrich-like. In his previous world, transmigration always sounded wonderful—if not instant sainthood, then at least the power to command the world and the company of beauties. Problems should have been minimal.

But now that it had come true, all he felt was confusion and helplessness. Still, he was in no hurry. Though ignored by all, he wanted for nothing in food or clothing—he would not starve just after transmigrating. That was enough to let him idle away his days fishing.

Lu Jin deeply admired those protagonists who, upon transmigration, could instantly rise to every challenge and sweep all before them. He could not do the same.

Though his current attitude was evasive, his mind was always running. For example: what of his own family? What were those relationships like? Should he return home? Unlike those who carried original memories, he knew nothing of this family, felt no affection, and even subconsciously resisted the idea.

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Should he just ignore it all? But living over thirty years had taught Lu Jin that life is full of compromises—rarely can one do just as one pleases.

Is there perhaps an old, blind mother waiting in a dilapidated house, longing for her son to return, to bring honor to the family with his academic success?

Even if he could ignore such bonds, how could he justify himself? In this ancient world, an unfilial son would struggle to survive—Lu Jin could not accept being that person.

But if he returned home, how could he explain himself? Now, inexplicably, he was a son-in-law to another family—how was he to account for that?

Beyond returning home, there was also the complicated marriage with the Shen family. Even if Lu Jin knew little of ancient life, he could tell this marriage was odd. Wasn’t he here just for the exams? He’d done well—so why become a son-in-law? Such a promising future awaited the original Lu Jin.

And this Shen family was strange, too. Just look at this garden—it was so grand that even a well-traveled man from the modern world was awed. What a wealthy family—how could they afford such extravagance?

But the Shen family could indeed afford it.

The Shen clan of Jiangzhou—generations of nobles, a family of scholars and officials. Since their ancestor, the Marquis of Martial Achievement, Shen Fu, they had prospered through five dynasties without decline—a true super-clan. Though located in Jiangbei, their proximity to the Lan River tied them closely with the aristocratic families of Jiangdong, forming the Five Great Clans of the South along with the Xiao family of Wujiang, the Pei family of Gusu, the Zhou family of Yuzhang, and the Dantai family of Jinling. The Shen clan produced high officials and nobles, their reputation renowned, their power unmatched. In Jiangzhou, the Shen family was akin to local royalty, their word law.

The ancestral home of the Shen clan was not Shen Garden, but the Shen village of Wulingyuan under Jianglin County. Shen Garden was always the residence of the direct line, descendants of the eldest grandson Shen Huaitang. Since Shen Huaitang built the garden, it had grown over many generations into its present magnificence.

In contrast to the flourishing branches elsewhere, the direct lineage at Shen Garden had few heirs, and in recent generations, only single sons were born. It was not until the present matriarch—grandmother to Lu Jin’s notional wife—gave birth to three sons and one daughter that this was remedied. Lu Jin’s mother-in-law, in turn, had two sons and one daughter, plus several cousins—no shortage of heirs now.

Which made it all the more puzzling. In such a powerful, prosperous family, with many sons and a clear line of succession, why bring in a son-in-law? Ruling out all other possibilities, only one remained: there must be something wrong with his bride.

And now, with the Shen family ignoring him entirely, what did that mean? Was this precious new groom to be left to waste away?

As a former office worker, he didn’t mind living off his in-laws. But living like this—how could one feel at ease?

Lost in thought, he was startled by urgent voices approaching.

“Sir, sir! The young lady wishes to see you—please come with me quickly!”

Lu Jin turned to see, on the other side of the pavilion, a little maid in pale yellow dashing toward him through the rain.

Suppressing his inner anxiety, Lu Jin reeled in his fishing line, shook the rain from his cloak, and strode toward the pavilion.

Would all the mysteries be unraveled this time?