Ouch!
Her head hurt so badly!
Why did drinking a little alcohol make her head feel like this?
Lying on the bed, Jewel felt terrible. She frowned and tried to open her eyes. But just as she managed to open them a bit, the bright sunlight forced her to shut them again. She rubbed her tired eyelids, and after a moment, she slowly opened her eyes.
"Wife, you're awake?"
Jewel heard a gentle male voice beside the bed. It was soft and warm, making her feel at ease. Her tightly furrowed brows relaxed slightly, and she answered with a soft "Mm."
Wait—"wife"? Wasn't that what husbands called their wives in those female-dominated world stories she'd read before?
Jewel looked around the room she was lying in. The furniture was old but had a traditional, classic style. The man sitting at her bedside was wearing ancient-style clothes…
Could it be that she had time-traveled into a matriarchal society because she got drunk last night? And now she even had a husband?
Jewel focused her gaze on the handsome young man holding a handkerchief, ready to help clean her up.
He wore a plain dark blue robe that made his skin look fair and smooth. His black hair was tied up neatly with a wooden hairpin, giving him a clean and fresh appearance.
Noticing her stare, the man looked a little embarrassed and lowered his head slightly. A blush crept onto his face, making him look even more delicate and charming.
"Wife, Father has been hoping you'd wake up soon. I'll go tell him right away," he said softly before leaving the room.
The young man—Xavi—was relieved and happy that she had finally woken up. He had agreed to marry her to bring luck and happiness to her family, hoping his own mother could get money for medical treatment.
Before the wedding, he had been full of worry. He had no idea what life in the Jewel family would be like. But when he saw the beautiful and quiet woman lying in bed for the first time, he couldn't take his eyes off her.
Even though her face looked pale and lifeless, her features were elegant. Despite never having met her before, he felt a sudden wave of sympathy and care.
Every day since then, he had carefully wiped her body and fed her, hoping one day she would open her eyes.
Now that she was awake, he believed things would be different. With her by his side, he wouldn't be alone anymore, and his father wouldn't need to live in fear.
Jewel had been a CEO in the 21st century. After getting drunk one night, she opened her eyes to find herself in this world.
She had gained the original owner's memories but didn't know why she ended up here. Still, since she was already in this world, it seemed there was no going back. All she could do was accept it and adapt to this new life.
While she was thinking, she suddenly heard someone crying out, "My daughter! You're finally awake!"
A middle-aged man rushed into the room. From the memories in her head, Jewel knew this was the original owner's father—and now hers too.
He wore patched clothes and looked worried and tired. Even though age had worn him down, she could still see traces of his younger beauty.
"Jewel, you nearly worried me to death! You've always been weak, and a few days ago you fell and hit your head. You've been unconscious for days. If you hadn't woken up, I wouldn't want to live either!"
He spoke through tears, clearly heartbroken about the suffering his daughter had endured.
"Don't worry, Dad. I'm okay now." Jewel gently comforted him.
She could see how much he loved his daughter. Even though it wasn't originally her he loved, she now occupied this body. It was impossible not to feel touched by this man's sincere concern.
Not wanting him to stay sad, Jewel quickly changed the topic.
"Dad, who was that young man just now?"
He looked so young—about eighteen or nineteen years old.
"He's the youngest son of the Nan family from Dongying Village. His name is Xavi. You were in a coma and we were out of options, so I went to pray at the temple. There, I met a monk named Master Kongshan. He said that if you married Xavi, you would wake up. It was called a 'marriage to bring good luck,' and it really worked! Just three days after he moved in, you woke up."
Jewel listened as her father rambled on, explaining everything that had happened in the past few days. She was shocked.
What the monk said was true—but the one who woke up wasn't the original Jewel. It was her—someone who had traveled through time into this body.
Her father continued, "Xavi seems like a good boy. Now that he's part of the family, you should stop running around with those bad friends. I think they're the reason you got into all this trouble in the first place!"
He sighed with relief when he saw his daughter wasn't reacting with impatience like she used to.
Jewel searched her inherited memories and discovered the truth: the original owner had secretly gone gambling with a bunch of shady "friends." After losing money, she got into a fight with them and ended up falling and hitting her head. She passed out from blood loss.
Then she remembered—there was still gambling debt! From the memories, it seemed to be at least ten silver taels!
Oh no!
In this world, three silver taels could feed a family for a year. Her family was already poor. Paying back ten silver taels would be a huge burden.
Well, no use crying over spilled milk.
She had taken over this life, so she had to find a way to pay off that debt as soon as possible. Otherwise, the interest would grow and the consequences could be disastrous.
In her past life, Jewel had never owed anyone money. But now, for the first time, she felt the real pressure of debt—and not being able to pay it back right away!
Sigh…
One step at a time. For now, she needed to get her life together.
"I understand, Dad. From now on, I'll live a good life with my husband and take care of you. I won't hang out with those people anymore," Jewel said seriously, looking into her father's eyes. "I was foolish before. I'm sorry for all the worry I caused you."
She knew the original Jewel had lost her mother early. Her father had raised her alone and surely suffered a lot.
"That's good to hear. If you're finally settling down, I can feel at ease." He nodded, pleased. Then he paused. "By the way, let me ask one last thing—did you really borrow money from those friends of yours? When they brought you home, they said you owed them silver. Is it a lot?"
He sounded concerned. "If we can pay it off sooner, we should. It's never good to owe people money."
He was worried the debt might be too big. After all, Jewel had just married, and if the debt scared off her new husband, that would be terrible.