Confession!

"My name is Xu Yuanchu. In the 23rd year of Emperor Taizong's reign, I murdered the owner of a wine shop in Qingshan County and his three daughters and one wife!"

"I am guilty of all my crimes. Under the influence of my elder brother, I am willing to confess and accept punishment."

"My wife has been given to my elder brother as a concubine. I ask that you, my beloved wife Wan'er, treat my brother with the same humility and respect that you show me. Attend to him in all things, big and small, and never disobey him! Give birth to sons soon and perpetuate the Xu family lineage."

……

A confession detailing the events and recording the criminal process was crammed into the mouth of a young man tied with ropes, kneeling on the ground. He wore a patched coarse linen shirt, hemp trousers, a square headscarf, and straw sandals. At this moment, he was gasping for breath, his chest barely rising and falling.

Damp, humid, and slightly wet....!

What place is this?

Xu Yuanchu spat out the confession paper in his mouth, a fit of hurried coughs racked his body. Suddenly, a strange yet familiar memory flashed through his mind.

He traveled through time.

Back to an era never seen in history, the Great Victory Dynasty!

In his past life, Xu Yuanchu came from a poor family and had to drop out of school to seek his fortune in the city. He worked his way up from a kitchen helper to head chef, opening his own restaurant in the big city before he was thirty. His business was doing well, just as he was about to make a name for himself...

Little did I expect.

A popular internet personality added a rat's head to his signature dish, beef tripe hot pot, as a publicity stunt. This landed him on the trending topics and forced him to kneel and apologize publicly. He was then exposed by the entire nation.

He was speechless, and when he got home, he discovered that his wife had run off with all the money, along with a fitness instructor. Afterward, their child found out that he wasn't biologically theirs.

He couldn't think straight for a moment and bought two bottles of Erguotou. He drank them and fell asleep.

When he woke up, he arrived in this world. The owner of this body was also named Xu Yuanchu.

Shi Qing Shan was an honest and hardworking farmer from Qingshan Village. He had just gotten married but hadn't even consummated his marriage when his older brother called him over for a drink, which turned out to be poisoned. This was done to frame him.

After integrating all the memories in his mind, he couldn't help but sigh.

"Are you an honest person? No matter where you are, you will be bullied!"

"The elder brother poisoned his younger brother, and even after he died, he tried to use it as an excuse. He received his younger brother's wife, yet still acted humble and respectful, claiming to carry on the family line! The women of this era are truly pitiful and tragic!"

He could feel the rage and resentment of his past life as he died. Perhaps it was this hatred that, despite being poisoned, kept him alive until he transmigrated.

Suddenly, a sharp pain pierced through me.

Xu Yuanchu's face twitched, he let out a muffled groan, feeling a churning in his stomach.

With a plop!

He couldn't help but collapse to the ground, his nose hitting the muddy soil. He sniffed the damp earth, which smelled of mildew, and blood trickled from the corner of his mouth as his breathing became increasingly labored.

The poison within this body has now fully erupted!

"If God gave me another life, I would never die so miserably again."

Xu Yuanchu gritted his teeth, thanks to his experience as a chef for over ten years in his past life. His cookbook had numerous poisonous snakes and pufferfish recipes, and he knew quite a few detoxification methods that were not known to outsiders.

He glanced at his attire. It should be summer now, but a chill permeated the air around him.

This should be a countryside cellar. In the past, ice blocks cut from rivers in winter would be stored here to be used during the summer for cooling.

He looked around desperately, the darkness was all-consuming, only a chill emanating from the corner.

He followed the coolness, crawling towards it step by step.

In one corner of the cellar, there were heaps of neatly arranged cabbages, potatoes, carrots and some less common wild vegetables. On the other side were two wooden barrels, radiating a chill.

Xu Yuanchu exerted all his strength, with a loud clang.

The wooden bucket suddenly tipped over.

With a roar, large sheets of snow, ice and slush rushed out.

He was splashed right in the face by a wave.

He shivered all over, a wave of icy coldness washing through him, which surprisingly cleared his head.

He found a sharp piece of ice from the scattered shards and with effort cut through the ropes binding his hands and feet. A short while later, he plunged his head into the bucket and drank greedily from the icy water.

Glug glug

He was so scared his insides turned to ice!

Since its predecessor could hold on for so long, it means the poison wasn't too severe. As long as it vomits it out in time, it should be better half-way. Time is of the essence, though. Who knows when the predecessor's good brother will arrive.

...until my stomach was full.

He thrust his index finger into his throat, bending over and frantically poking it around, stirring violently. His stomach churned like a tempest. Suddenly, he twisted his head like an arrow and spat out the contents of his bowels, only after which did the agonizing pain in his gut lessen.

At this moment, the sound of footsteps, tap-tap-tapping, echoed from outside. Shortly after, the wooden planks covering the cellar entrance were lifted, and a shadow, stretched long and thin, slowly descended.

Under the cover of night, there was a man who looked exactly like him. The two were just like reflections in a mirror.

He wore a blue long robe, black cloth boots on his feet, and in his hand he carried a lantern, its dim light swaying gently, illuminating only a small area.

"In the beginning, do not hate your elder brother."

"In this cruel world, living is a torment. It's better to go down and serve my parents with filial piety."

"Rest assured, I will take good care of your wife."

A cold, emotionless voice rang out, "The person here is Xu Yuansheng. He's your brother from your previous life."

"Brother, I don't want to die!" Xu Yuanchu struggled to raise his head, his face contorted in a plea.

"Don't you want to live?"

"What kind of nonsense!" 23s.com

"What's the point of living your life this way, spending it all farming, paying taxes, and living in a straw hut that even dogs wouldn't want to stay in? What's the meaning?"

After your death, I can use your life to become a formal county official and the pride of the Xu family.

"This is the greatest meaning of your life!"

"Back then, your parents favored you, sending me to the army. I was forced to the front lines, and I died once already. This time, it's your turn to die for the Xu family!"

Xu Yuansheng put down the lantern and squatted down, looking at his younger brother kneeling on the ground. He sneered and patted his face, his eyes full of disgust and dissatisfaction. He had gone to the front line and fought for his life. Back then, his parents actually sent him to his death.

But leave this useless junk!

"Bro!"

"What if we switched places?"

Would you willingly die for the Xu family!

Xu Yuanchu lowered his head, a hint of coldness at the corner of his mouth. When he raised his head again, his dull face was pale with bitterness, his voice weak and lifeless.

“Of course I will, everything is for the Xu family, so rest assured and die.” In the dim cellar, Xu Yuansheng didn't notice his younger brother's strange expression. He followed up with a hypocritical smirk.

"Brother...!"

"Then you die, sister-in-law! I'll take good care of her!"

Suddenly, a cold light flashed in Xu Yuanyu's eyes. The sharp ice shard he held behind his back pierced into the neck of his elder brother, Xu Yuansheng, who was kneeling before him without hesitation. Blood gushed out, spurting and splattering everywhere.

"Bro!"

Everything is for the Xu family, rest assured and die!

Xu Yuanchu looked calmly at his struggling elder brother, killing him was for himself! It was also for the unfortunate predecessor.

At the moment the icicle pierced his body, he felt no fear, only a barely concealed excitement beneath his calm facade.

He lived two lives, both betrayed by those closest to him. His heart has long since fallen silent.

In this life, he only lives for himself!

He stared at his feet expressionlessly. Brother Xu Yuansheng's eyes were filled with unwillingness, anger, regret, and a deep plea for mercy.

"From now on, I am Hsu Yuan-sheng!"

The woman sleeping in the room outside will be my wife.

Xu Yuanchu calmly said, "He bent down and took off Xu Yuansheng's clothes and put them on himself."

Looking at my elder brother who was dying from blood loss.

Get your brother to put on your clothes and then stuff that confession into his mouth.

I saw him die with my own eyes!

Immediately, the body was dragged to a wooden tub filled with ice and covered with a layer of straw matting for concealment.

This body, even though it confessed, can't be used immediately. After all, it's a fake. We need to figure out the situation first before we can do anything.

After he calmly finished everything, he picked up the lantern from the ground and walked out of the cellar step by step along the stairs.

From today onwards, in the Great Victory Dynasty, he will begin his new life. This lifetime, he doesn't seek fame and fortune, but a life lived to the fullest.

"The air smells so good!"

"It's good to be alive!"

"Sister-in-law, hello, my name is Xu Yuansheng!"

Xu Yuansheng looked at the unfamiliar place under the night.

At first glance, it is a low courtyard. In the courtyard stands a tall locust tree about ten feet high, fragrant with acacia blossoms, its branches green and lush, sheltering three brick-and-tile houses on the north side. The room on the west side is where my sister-in-law sleeps.

In the east wing was a low kitchen.

There are hundreds of courtyards dotted around, mostly made of adobe brick. But compared to the house of Big Brother in front of you, they're simply not as good.

This is Qingshan Village!

The night was quiet, and the evening wind blew gently, taking away the stifling heat left over from early summer.

This is the refreshing feeling that only comes with being alive.

Back then, when the draft was called, through memories of his past life, as the elder brother, he naturally should have enlisted according to tradition.

It's not that parents favor their younger siblings.

It is a pity that the elder brother harbored resentment because of this, thinking that his parents were partial.

The good brother luckily survived from the front lines and secured a position as an auxiliary clerk in the county government. Due to this status, with the help of his colleagues, he successfully married the daughter of a merchant in the county town.

My sister-in-law's name is Fangrou.

This courtyard is mostly funded by the woman, it seems like the big brother is a freeloader. Well, at least he won't have to eat poorly from now on, reborn and met a wealthy sister-in-law, how good!

"As for what happened after Hao Ge entered the county government, the previous life didn't know much about it."

"I want to impersonate him, but just relying on a lookalike appearance probably isn't enough!"

"Go say hello to your sister-in-law first!"

Xu Yuansheng walked step by step to Fang Rou's residence on the west side, peering through the crack in the door and looking into the room. He couldn't help but breathe a little heavily.

(Editor in charge:gothic novels)