Chapter 2: I am a son-in-law

Where am I? Haven't I been blown to pieces already?

When Shen Lang opened his eyes again, he found himself in a completely unfamiliar environment.

He was lying on a soft carved bed, surrounded by grandeur and opulence.

Exquisite mahogany tables, delicate silver candlesticks, and soft wool carpets—all these details indicated that this was a wealthy household.

Most importantly, everything in the room exuded an ancient charm, devoid of any modern earthly home decor.

He glanced at the clothes he was wearing, made of fine silk but definitely not of modern earthly style, more like something from a period drama.

Next to the bed, there was a large mirror, not very clear, probably a bronze mirror.

Shen Lang gathered his courage and looked into the mirror.

It's not surprising that since his disfigurement, every time he looked into a mirror, it felt like a nightmare, frightening even himself.

Seeing the face in the mirror, Shen Lang was first shocked, then tears streamed down his face.

Although the face was pale and haggard, it was exceptionally handsome, bearing a striking resemblance to Shen Lang before his disfigurement.

Shen Lang was certain of one thing.

He had crossed over. His soul had crossed over to this unfamiliar world, into the body of this unfamiliar yet familiar man.

It had been a long time since he had seen such a handsome and dashing face.

Shen Lang almost greedily gazed at the face in the mirror.

He couldn't believe that he had been given a new lease on life, that he had actually regained his handsome face, even in a completely unfamiliar world.

This was great, especially since he had no attachment to modern Earth after his parents' departure.

The feeling of being reborn was amazing!

At that moment, a complex set of information flooded his mind, the memories belonging to the original owner of this body.

...

This was a familiar yet unfamiliar world.

Familiar because it resembled ancient China, with similar culture, language, and people.

Unfamiliar because it was not Earth, with different geography and history.

This world had the Four Books and Five Classics, the works of ancient Chinese sages, as the foundation of its civilization.

However, there were no Chinese dynasties here, no Qin, no Han, no Jin, and so on.

This was strange. The geography and history were different, but the culture was the same.

This world had experienced a great destruction in its history, after which civilization was reborn, and these books were unearthed, becoming the key to the revival of this world's civilization.

Therefore, books like the Four Books and Five Classics held an even higher status in this world.

Not only that, this world had martial arts, with individual martial prowess far more advanced than ancient China.

The era Shen Lang found himself in was called the Great Yan Dynasty.

It was a vast empire, with a territory of over 1.4 million square kilometers, surpassing any dynasty in ancient China.

This dynasty was different from ancient China, as it had a central empire surrounded by many vassal states.

These vassal states, rather than being subordinate, were akin to the relationship between the Zhou dynasty and the feudal lords, but the central empire was much more powerful, and all these vassal states revered the Yan Emperor as the true Dragon Emperor.

In terms of civilization, the Great Yan Dynasty far surpassed the Spring and Autumn Period of China and was roughly equivalent to the Tang and Song dynasties.

...

The region where Shen Lang currently resided was a major vassal state in the south, the State of Yue!

The State of Yue had three provinces, forty-five counties, and a special treatment zone, covering an area of over 590,000 square kilometers with a population of over ten million. It was prosperous in commerce, with a sharp and flourishing martial culture.

The Ning family had ruled the State of Yue for over four hundred years.

The place where Shen Lang was located was the Southern Heaven Province of the State of Yue, the Nu River County, and the Xuanwu City.

He had taken over the name of the original owner of this body, who was also named Shen Lang.

The fact that the two people looked so similar was unlikely to be a coincidence, and the reasons behind it were completely unknown at this time.

But after reading the memories of this body, he felt that the Shen Lang of this otherworldly realm was truly a tragicomedy.

...

Shen Lang grew up in the Maple Leaf Village of the Xuanwu City, Nu River County.

His family was an outsider, having arrived in the Maple Leaf Village when Shen Lang was just over two years old.

His parents were the most ordinary self-sufficient farmers. In the mountainous and watery Nu River County, the Shen family, with a total of two acres of farmland and two acres of mountain land, could barely produce enough to feed themselves.

Despite being from a farming family and not being the only son, his parents doted on him, reluctant to scold or make him work. Despite being extremely poor, they still sent him to school, so in a sense, he was considered an educated person.

However, his academic performance was quite poor. After ten years of schooling, he could recognize no more than a thousand characters.

It wasn't due to laziness; he was actually very diligent. His poor grades were because of his low intelligence, not even reaching the level of a simpleton. He was probably similar to Forrest Gump in "Forrest Gump," with a mild manner of speech, a vacant expression, and slow reactions.

Apart from his handsome face, he was almost worthless, a byword for waste within a few hundred miles.

His younger brother, Shen Jian, was from a declining family, having practiced martial arts for several years with no achievements. He had now become a complete ruffian.

As their parents grew older, the family's situation worsened, and they were truly destitute.

He turned eighteen this year and has been studying in the town school for a full nine years, but his academic performance is still very poor. Some of his classmates have even passed the imperial examination, while he is still in the elementary class, attending classes with a group of ten-year-old children every day.

It's like everyone else has gone to college, while he hasn't even graduated from elementary school.

This is a complete disgrace to the town school, and the teachers there are unwilling to teach him because he is just too stupid and incapable of improvement.

So, he was kicked out.

His parents have spoiled him since he was young, never letting him do any work, and he is so weak that he can't even carry a chicken, let alone chop wood or do farm work.

So when he returned home, he spent his days outside the door, writing and drawing in the muddy ground with a stick, living off his parents' support.

His parents didn't despise him and continued to care for him. Even though his younger brother was a ruffian, he treated him very well, coming home every day with a few copper coins and supporting his useless brother without complaint.

As these memories surfaced, Shen Lang felt a pang in his heart.

When Shen Lang had white rice for every meal, his parents and younger brother could only drink corn porridge.

Occasionally, his father would hunt a wild rabbit in the mountains and sell it at the market, but he always left a rabbit leg for Shen Lang to eat alone, while his brother, Shen Jian, drooled and ate dry corn rice from his bowl.

His parents were really biased, treating Shen Lang, the mentally challenged child, like a treasure, while his brother, Shen Jian, was like a weed.

And because Shen Lang was intellectually disabled, he was often bullied, and Shen Jian had fought with others many times to protect him.

It was really warm and happy.

So, up to this point, all the memories have been beautiful, even though the family was extremely poor, they were truly happy.

However, since Shen Lang is so poor, why is the room he is living in so luxurious?

Because he married a super-rich wife, or more accurately, he married into a wealthy family.

...

Note: Please put me on the bookshelf and take good care of me. Thank you for the endless blessings and rewards. Thank you.