A glimpse of opportunity: Start by marrying a mermaid bride.

Zheng Xuan was busy for half a day, and finally it got dark. Zheng Lixia was also tired from all the work. She, as the eldest aunt, had been in charge of everything today.

The bride had already been led to the bridal chamber, and Zheng Lixia watched as Zheng Xuan eagerly tried to rush in.

Before leaving, he instructed me, "Be moderate!"

What?

Zheng Xuan's mind was filled with the golden legend, and he didn't hear his aunt's instructions at all. Zheng Lixia shook her head and left. They had all been young and impetuous, so she could understand Zheng Xuan's eagerness. In fact, it wasn't a bad thing; it was a good thing to have more children for the Zheng family.

Seeing that his aunt had left and there was no one else in the courtyard, Zheng Xuan went into his humble room, bolted the door, and got down to business.

Zheng Xuan lifted the bamboo curtain blocking the inner door and entered the room, where the bride was sitting on the kang (a heated brick bed).

The city Zheng Xuan traveled to was a rural area of ​​Tianjin. It was cold in the north, and farmhouses used heated brick beds to keep warm.

At this time, the bride sat on the kang (a heated brick bed), with a cushion under her bottom and an axe under the cushion. This is a folk custom called "sitting for good fortune," as the word for axe is a homophone for "fortune."

"My wife, I'm here."

Zheng Xuan sat on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) and leaned closer to the bride.

Unexpectedly, when Zheng Xuan leaned forward, the bride seemed startled and retreated to the corner of the wall. When Zheng Xuan leaned forward again, he heard the bride say in a trembling voice, "You, you go and blow out the oil lamp..."

Zheng Xuan frowned slightly, sensing something was wrong; the bride seemed afraid of him.

"Don't be afraid, we've already gone through the wedding ceremony, we're husband and wife, legally married, let me see!"

As Zheng Xuan spoke, he reached out and grabbed the red veil, "Let me see, my golden legend!"

The veil was lifted, and the next moment a thin, tear-streaked face appeared before her. She stared at Zheng Xuan with terrified eyes, her face full of fear and helplessness, just like a frightened rabbit!

Huh? Zheng Xuan was stunned when he saw that terrified little face!

She wasn't the fiancée arranged for him by his grandfather. He had seen that woman before; she had big breasts and a big butt, while the one in front of him was clearly much thinner.

Who are you?

Zheng Xuan frowned and asked. Hearing Zheng Xuan's question, the bride could no longer hold back her tears, which fell down in a stream. She trembled all over, and her small face was pale with fear.

"Please, please don't send me away! If you send me back, my uncle will beat me to death!"

As she spoke, she began to clumsily undress—outer garment, underwear, bodice…

"Please, I... I'll do anything!"

Zheng Xuan watched as the bride took off all her clothes, revealing her fair skin and the whip marks all over her back. It was obvious that she had been abused for a long time!

What surprised Zheng Xuan even more was that there was a patch of pink, transparent scales growing on her fair back...

Scales?

Zheng Xuan's brain wasn't quite working properly. Do humans grow scales?

is this real?

Driven by curiosity, he couldn't help but touch the scale with his finger. The bride was stimulated and couldn't help but let out a soft moan, her face turning slightly red.

At that moment, a voice suddenly rang in Zheng Xuan's mind.

Hey~

[You touched the target, activating the Opportunity System!]

[Chance Hint: You have discovered a half-human, half-mermaid woman. Chance Level: Legendary]

【Opportunity Name: Mermaid's Love】

[Opportunity Description: By engaging in marital relations with a mermaid, one can obtain a half-mermaid body, increasing physical attributes by 50%, swimming ability by 100%, and gaining the mermaid racial talent (water lungs)]

Listening to the system's voice and looking at the text on the panel, Zheng Xuan glanced at the bride in front of him, who was trembling with fear like a little rabbit.

He really wanted this opportunity, but he couldn't bring himself to force himself on a young woman.

"What's your name?"

"Fisherwoman!"

The fisherwoman answered timidly. Upon hearing this, Zheng Xuan looked at her and said, "You know what will happen after you enter the bridal chamber, right? You can still back out now."

The fisherwoman, her eyes brimming with tears, said, "As long as my husband doesn't drive me away, I'll do anything."

"Then blow out the oil lamp!"

……

[Congratulations, host, you have obtained the body of a half-mermaid!]

……

Nothing happened that night. The next day, as soon as it was light, the fisherwoman tiptoed out of bed, enduring her discomfort, and went to the fields to start a fire and cook, braving the cold autumn dew.

In her simple understanding, becoming someone's wife meant taking care of household chores, doing laundry and cooking. If her husband didn't beat her like her uncle's family did, that would be the best outcome.

Fisherwoman, fisherwoman, you must behave well. You must not make your husband angry, and you must not let him send you back to your uncle's house.

The fisherwoman's face turned pale at the thought of her uncle's house.

For her, that place was nothing short of hell.

The reason she suffered so much torment can be traced back to her mother, Yang Juan. Eighteen years ago, Yang Juan was a famous beauty in the surrounding villages. Later, she encountered river bandits and was kidnapped for a month. After returning, Yang Juan became pregnant.

Pregnancy before marriage is a major taboo in this era. Her family thought she had disgraced the family and forced her to abort the child, but she refused. Later, she had a falling out with her family and moved to a shack by the river.

Later, she gave birth to Yu Niang, but due to overwork and malnutrition, she fell seriously ill when Yu Niang was five years old. Before she died, she found her own brother and hoped that he would raise Yu Niang out of consideration for their sibling relationship.

After that, Yang Juan died, and her uncle's family always believed that the child Yang Juan left behind was the bastard child of those bandits. They beat and scolded her constantly, and she became a slave in her uncle's family at a young age.

Until half a month ago, Zheng Lixia went to her uncle's house and asked him to marry her cousin Yang Huiniang to her nephew Zheng Xuan, to fulfill the marriage agreement made years ago.

My uncle's family received thirty silver dollars from Zheng Xuan's grandfather back then. If they didn't marry off their daughter, they would take the money back. However, if they did marry off their daughter, Zheng Xuan was clearly disliked by Zheng Daguo's family. Moreover, he was a useless scholar who couldn't lift a finger. Wouldn't their daughter suffer if she married him?

Yang Huiniang cried and made a scene, and finally, her aunt came up with a solution.

"Husband, why don't we marry that bastard child off to that good-for-nothing Zheng?"

Upon hearing this, the uncle looked at his aunt and said, "Is it going to work? Should we find someone else? Is the Zheng family capable?"

My aunt chuckled and said, "That Zheng kid is a good-for-nothing, and Zheng Daguo's family doesn't care about him at all. Why don't you go ask them? Maybe that will work?"

The fisherwoman didn't know what happened next. All she knew was that she was told the next day that she had been found a husband and would be married off in a couple of days. If she didn't serve him well, she would be sent back. Her uncle took out a leather whip and looked at her menacingly.

The fisherwoman knew that if she were sent back, her uncle would definitely beat her to death!

Therefore, the fisherwoman must behave well and never displease her husband, and she must never let her husband send her back!