Chapter One: Trouble Always Finds the Widow

Thud!

The arrow embedded itself deep into the wooden post inside the house, its sharp head sinking firmly into the timber.

A black-haired boy of sixteen or seventeen, holding a rough wooden crossbow, leapt up in excitement.

“I did it! I did it!”

Qin Zhen dashed over to Liu Juan, his voice trembling with exhilaration. “Sister-in-law, with this thing, I can go into the mountains and hunt rabbits for you! We’ll never go hungry again!”

Liu Juan, just past twenty, wore a tattered dress patched all over with scraps of cloth—the only dowry she had brought when she married into the Qin family. The world was harsh, and human life was worth little.

Liu Juan’s origins were poor; rumor had it she was a convict’s daughter who had wandered here alone. When she arrived at the small fishing village, she was destitute and friendless. Qin Zhen’s elder brother, moved by pity, had taken her in, thinking they might simply scrape by together. But then, water demons wreaked havoc, and many villagers died.

Qin Zhen’s brother died protecting his neighbors, leaving only Liu Juan and the young Qin Zhen behind.

The villagers all said she would run off—women from other places were said to be selfish—but Liu Juan stayed. Alone, she raised Qin Zhen, and in a blink of an eye, ten years had passed.

For a decade, the two relied on each other to survive. With no way to earn a living and no fields to tend, they could only beg fate for sustenance. When hunger struck, they scrounged for wild greens in the hills, and after the floods, collected dead fish along the riverbank. Remembering Qin Zhen’s brother’s sacrifice, the villagers would occasionally help—a handful of rice from one family, a few fruits from another. It was not much, but just enough to scrape by.

“Wild rabbits are quick as the wind. Even the hunters in the village can’t catch them—how are you going to manage?” Liu Juan’s body was frail, her once-fair face now touched by hardship, yet her eyes remained bright, filled with gentleness and warmth. “Don’t end up hurting yourself just to chase a rabbit.”

“I’m not like everyone else!” Qin Zhen hugged his crossbow and announced proudly, “I’m a good shot!”

After all, how could a modern man not shoot straight?

As it happened, the owner of this body was also named Qin Zhen.

Since the day he’d crossed into this world, sixteen years had gone by. In that time, Qin Zhen had witnessed the cruelty of a feudal society and the bitter struggle for survival of the poor at the bottom. As a child, he had no power to resist—he could only accept his lot.

But now, at last, he was grown.

“Liu girl, are you home?”

An aged voice called out.

The white-haired village chief pushed the door open and entered.

“So Zhen is here too. What’s that in your hands?”

He was immediately drawn to the wooden crossbow Qin Zhen was holding.

—

“This is a repeating crossbow I made myself! For hunting rabbits!” Qin Zhen declared with pride.

“You think that thing can hunt rabbits?” The old village chief pursed his lips, shook his head, and scolded, “Do you take hunting for a game? You’re just wasting good wood!”

“Chief, you can’t say that. I believe Zhen can do it…” Liu Juan protested, displeased.

“Toys ruin ambition!” The village chief bristled at her retort, glaring. “Zhen is sixteen already! He doesn’t go out with the fishing team, doesn’t help chop wood for the fences, just fiddles with his useless toys all day! Is that how he honors his dead brother?”

Their so-called fishing team amounted to a few dozen villagers tied together with rope, fishing barehanded with neither net nor spear. In the chief’s words, it was a fishing expedition. To Qin Zhen, it was suicide.

As for chopping wood, that was even more absurd. There wasn’t even a carpenter in the village; the only iron tools were a few hoes for tilling. How were they supposed to chop wood? Even the wood for Qin Zhen’s crossbow he had scavenged himself from the forest.

Of course, Qin Zhen wouldn’t say any of this out loud—he only grumbled to himself. He knew the old chief meant no real harm; his scolding came from disappointment.

“I didn’t come here to argue with you today!” The village chief took a deep breath, and his next words made both Qin Zhen and Liu Juan’s faces fall.

“A notice went up at the county yamen a few days ago: any woman of marriageable age who hasn’t wed must marry, or pay a head tax of one tael of silver.”

In this world, silver was scarce—a single tael was a common farmer’s yearly income. For someone like Qin Zhen, who had no land, it was an astronomical sum.

“But what does that have to do with us?” Qin Zhen asked, confused.

“When your brother married Liu Juan, they held a ceremony, but the household record was never sent to the county to be registered. Before it could be done, he…” The chief sighed, his voice heavy. “The officials say Liu Juan is unmarried and unregistered. They won’t recognize the marriage unless we pay the head tax for all these years.”

Ten years meant ten taels of silver.

It was a fortune beyond the wildest dreams of ordinary folk.

“This is outrageous! How can they just refuse to acknowledge it?” Qin Zhen was furious.

“I’ve lived with the Qin family for ten years. How can I not be their daughter-in-law?” Liu Juan was anxious. “Chief, can’t you reason with the officials? This is too unfair!”

“There are only two options now. One, pay the sum, and quickly find someone for you to marry. Two…” Here, the chief looked at Liu Juan, biting his lip, “The officials say if you can’t pay, then according to the Great Zhou laws, you’ll be conscripted.”

Conscripted—sent to serve the military as a camp woman.

Dragged off to be at the disposal of the soldiers, waiting on them hand and foot, and, if need be, sent into battle as expendable fodder.

For a woman in this dynasty, conscription was the most tragic fate imaginable.

“She cannot be conscripted!”

—

Qin Zhen stood up, eyes red, veins bulging on his face.

After years of relying on one another, he saw Liu Juan as his only family. How could he allow her to be dragged away to such a fate?

Liu Juan collapsed to the ground, her face ashen, unable to accept the blow.

“The officials will be here at the end of the month. You…should prepare yourselves.” The old chief hesitated, then left with a heavy sigh.

After he was gone, Liu Juan could hold back no longer. She buried her face in her hands and wept bitterly.

“Hey, what’s all the crying for?”

A leering figure tiptoed up to the mud wall, peering in.

It was Wang Wu, the village scoundrel, notorious for his shamelessness.

He stared at Liu Juan, eyes roving greedily over her.

“It’s just ten taels of silver! What’s the big deal? I just won that exact amount at gambling! Liu Juan, why not come with me? Serve me well, and not only will you avoid being sent to the border to serve those brutes, you’ll live in comfort!”

This vile dog had long lusted after the beautiful widow of the Qin family.

“Get out!” Liu Juan cried out, both grief and anger in her voice.

“Get lost, now!” Qin Zhen hurled a stone straight at Wang Wu’s face.

“Hah! You don’t know what’s good for you! A ruined woman, thinking you’re some sort of fairy? Useless!” Wang Wu sneered and slunk away.

“Sister-in-law, don’t worry. With me here, I won’t let them take you,” Qin Zhen said, helping Liu Juan to her feet and gently wiping away her tears.

“But…ten taels of silver…” Liu Juan’s tears began to flow again.

Even if she sold herself, it wouldn’t fetch that kind of money.

Qin Zhen gripped his crossbow, his young face filled with unwavering resolve.

“Don’t worry. As long as I’m here, I’ll find a way.”