The System assigned me to redeem the villain. But when I time-traveled, I became a sixty-year-old woman. Looking at my gray hair and aged body, the System fell into deep thought. "Host, how about... we use points to exchange for a young, beautiful body first?" I said confidently, "Think bigger. Redemption doesn't always mean romance." Later, I opened a small eatery by the roadside. In the snowstorm, I called out to the battered boy and gave him a bowl of hot soup. Ten years later, he became the Prime Minister, personally requesting a title of nobility for me from the Emperor. 1 "Beat him to death!" A thin boy in ragged clothes suddenly fell in front of my shop. A group of people surrounded him, kicking and punching. The boy's face was pressed into the ice shards, his expression twisted in pain. "What are you doing!" I walked out with a rolling pin and scolded, "If you want to fight, go somewhere else! Don't do it in front of my shop!" The man who started it said, "This kid stole my buns! I'm going to beat him to death today!" I was speechless. "He stole a bun, not your wife. Is it worth beating him to death?" "Hey—you old hag—" "Alright, alright." I waved my hand. "How much is it? I'll pay for him. Don't let him die at my door; it's bad luck." The men looked at each other and thought for a moment. "Two coppers." I took two coins from my purse and threw them over. "Catch." After the crowd dispersed, I looked at the boy lying in the snow like a dead dog. "Can you get up?" He struggled hard a few times but eventually collapsed weakly, his voice faint: "I... I'll pay you back." I looked helpless and stuck the rolling pin back into my waist. "Forget it. Let me help you up first." The fifteen-year-old boy looked only twelve, thin as a chicken. I lifted him up and dragged him into the house. The hot aroma of bone broth drifted from the large pot, isolating us from the biting wind and snow outside. I asked him, "Are you a thief?" He didn't speak. I continued asking, "A beggar? An orphan?" "I'm not! I have a family!" He pursed his lips stubbornly, his eyes full of anger and grievance. "Alright." I smiled. "Then why do you look like this, without even a decent jacket?" He glared at me for a long time but ultimately didn't curse the old hag. The System inside me was anxious: "Host, why are you provoking him? Give him food and clothes quickly!" I said slowly, "What's the rush? I'm not related to him. Suddenly being nice to him, does that make sense?" The boy propped himself up and limped away. I shouted from behind, "Drink some soup before you go." His ears twitched, but he didn't look back. 2 In the original world, the villain Caleb remembered the female lead Elena for half a lifetime because of a bowl of rice. After becoming the third-place scholar, Caleb rose step by step to become the Prime Minister, holding immense power. Elena was the white moonlight he loved but couldn't have. Caleb persecuted loyal officials and drove the Grand Tutor to death. Just to get rid of the Crown Prince and snatch the female lead from him. So I opened an eatery, offering food and drink. I counted the days in the shop. It had been two days since I last saw Caleb. I deliberately opened the shop near his home to monitor him. But I hadn't even seen Caleb's shadow. Thinking of Caleb's gray face, bony body, and scarred skin. I couldn't help but pace back and forth. He wouldn't really be dead, right? Bang— The door was violently crashed open. Caleb stumbled in. He was hurt even worse this time, blood on his nose and mouth. "Granny," he murmured. "Does the offer for soup still count?" As soon as he finished speaking, he fell heavily and fainted. "What a sin." I sighed softly. Caleb's tragic youth was now vividly displayed before my eyes. I suddenly understood his obsession with Elena's bowl of rice. That wasn't just a bowl of rice; it was the only light and redemption in the boy's darkness. I tore open his inner clothes to check. New wounds layered over old ones, not a single patch of good skin. I patiently applied medicine for him and poured soup into his mouth. Caleb choked and coughed with his eyes closed. He seemed to be dreaming. After a moment, he cried out, "Mom." I watched him quietly, suddenly feeling a bit sour. Even if he would hold monstrous power in the future, unspeakably noble. Right now, he was just a pitiful little cub. When Caleb woke up and met my gaze, he instantly avoided it like a frightened animal. Feeling the warm bedding and touching the ointment on his collarbone. The whole person was very uneasy. He lowered his head, even stuttering a bit: "Th... thank you, Granny." Then he immediately promised: "I will definitely pay you back for the medicine and soup." I couldn't help but want to laugh, asking him back: "Am I a bank to you?" Caleb's face turned scarlet instantly. "Sorry, but I really don't have money." He was very ashamed. "I'll go to the docks to carry cargo right now and earn money to pay you back." Saying this, he actually propped himself up, wanting to get out of bed. I pushed him back down: "Forget it. With your body, you'll die before you earn any money. Who will I ask for the debt then?" Caleb had no choice, looking at me with red eyes filled with tears. What a pity-inducing beauty. I didn't expect the big villain to have such a delicate side when he was young. I hooked my lips: "My shop is short of a helper. You stay and work to pay off the debt." Light suddenly ignited in his eyes. 3 A moment later, the light in his eyes went out again. Caleb shook his head and promised me: "Three days. I'll pay you back in three days." After saying that, the boy scrambled up, not even bothering to say goodbye, and fled in panic. Looking at his desolate back, I fell into deep thought. "System, what is the situation with Caleb's family now?" "I don't know." The System said honestly, "The original book glossed over his tragic youth." I looked up at the sky speechlessly: "What use are you!" Helpless, I had to ask around myself. When neighbors mentioned Caleb, everyone had something different to say. "He was originally a good kid, but unfortunately dragged down by his crazy mother." "That brat, I kindly took him in to work before, but he ran away after working for less than two hours. What a piece of trash!" "That's nothing. He stole my chicken the other day. I'll drag him to the magistrate sooner or later." "..." I keenly grasped a key point. Maybe this was why Caleb was unwilling to stay and help. Something was dragging him down, preventing him from focusing on work. A fifteen-year-old boy with sound limbs forced into this state. I didn't rashly go to Caleb's house but waited quietly for the third day. I believed that the future Prime Minister who could cover the sky with one hand would not disappoint me. Sure enough, Caleb arrived as promised. The boy had changed into a clean shirt. Although patched, it was much neater. He put a small piece of silver into my palm and bowed solemnly. "Paid back in full." I asked him: "Did you really go to the docks to carry bags?" He didn't look like it. Caleb seemed to have been spoken to about an embarrassing secret. His lips moved slightly, but he didn't respond for a long time. I gave the silver back to him: "I don't want money from improper sources." "No!" Afraid I would misunderstand, he immediately retorted loudly: "This is what I got from copying books for the squire's son." "Why didn't you do such a good job before?" My eyes glanced at his slender fingers. Although rough and chapped, I could vaguely see thick calluses on the pads of his index fingers. He had been secretly studying. Without paper and pen, he carved on the ground with stones. I suddenly probed: "It seems you are quite talented. How about I send you to study? If you pass the exams in the future, just provide for me in my old age." "Are you willing to make this deal?" Caleb looked up suddenly, his eyes full of disbelief. But he quickly shook his head again. "No, I don't like studying at all." 4 If I hadn't known the original plot, I would have really believed his nonsense. I was still planning how to go to Caleb's house to investigate. Who knew something would happen that night. Not long after Caleb returned from my place, his mother held a knife, wanting to die with him. The woman's shrill screams echoed in the late night, drawing everyone out with lanterns. I hurried over too and saw the emaciated woman holding a rusty kitchen knife in the ice and snow. Her hair was disheveled, eyes sunken, but burning with terrifying madness. She slapped Caleb hard while cursing heartbreakingly. "You went to copy books for others again! I said no, don't you understand!" "Righteousness is often found in dog butchers; scholars are the most heartless!" "If you want to be like your heartless father, why don't you die with me right now!" The boy knelt straight in the snow, neither blocking nor dodging, letting her slaps fall on him. As if even if that knife fell, he would willingly accept it. I always thought he was physically weak and couldn't fight back, so he submitted. Now I finally knew, it wasn't that he couldn't, but that he wouldn't. I could see that this woman was terminally ill. She wouldn't live long. After she died, Caleb would still take the path of the imperial examination. But he was not as heartless as his biological father. Instead, his infatuation with the female lead was frightening. Perhaps his paranoia was also due to his mother. I suddenly took a deep breath of cold air, pushed through the crowd, and stepped forward. Under everyone's astonished gaze, I raised my hand and gave this crazy woman a solid slap. "That's enough. If you want to die, die yourself. Don't drag your son." "The grace of birth is not as great as the grace of raising. Caleb didn't beg you to give birth to him, and you have no right to control his life and death." Caleb's mother was even frailer than Caleb. I slapped her, and she staggered two steps. The kitchen knife in her hand also fell with a clang. It was Caleb who seemed to be struck by lightning, instantly coming to his senses. He lunged forward to hug his mother, looking up at me pleadingly, his eyes full of tears. "Granny, don't hit my mom." "She's not a bad person. She's just sick; her mind isn't clear." "It's all my fault. I made her angry, that's why she's like this." I looked calmly at the mother and son in the snow, and my previous doubts were answered. I suddenly let out an untimely laugh. "Caleb, oh Caleb, there should be a place for you in the Twenty-Four Filial Exemplars." He didn't understand what I meant, looking blank, just hugging his mother tightly. Small, pitiful, and helpless. Neighbors pointed at them, with pity and ridicule. I picked up the mother and son, one in each hand. Surprisingly light, as if lifting two shells hollowed out by suffering. "Let's talk inside. No need to let others see the joke." Then I said to the crowd: "Everyone go back. I'll watch over these two tonight. I guarantee no one will die, and we won't disturb you." 5 Caleb's house leaked wind from all sides, with only a broken bed and a rotten thin mattress. There wasn't even a place to sit. I took both of them directly back to the shop. Caleb's mother seemed to regain her sanity at this moment, her eyes becoming clear. Looking closely at her, she was actually extremely beautiful. Even though she was sallow and emaciated, looking like a madwoman. But quiet now, one could vaguely see the peerless elegance of the past. I don't know who Caleb's father was to drive a great beauty and a prodigy to this state. I stood up, planning to stir-fry two dishes for them. Who knew Caleb's mother would plop down and kneel in front of me. I was startled instantly. Heavens. Then I rejoiced that I was currently in an old woman's body. I could accept this bow. "I am Susan. Thank you, Auntie, for helping us today." Such a formal bow was definitely not just a simple thank you. I watched her quietly, waiting for her to continue. "I know my time is limited. Seeing that you are kind and reliable, and treat Caleb sincerely, I want to entrust him to you." "Although Caleb has no possessions, the boy will be older in two years. Chopping wood, carrying water, waiting tables, and guarding the door for you won't be a problem." After speaking, she looked at me expectantly. It seemed she wanted to do one last thing for Caleb in this short and precious moment of clarity. But I sneered and rejected her directly. "You wish." Susan was a bit surprised, lips slightly parted, seeming unbelievable. Caleb, having interacted with me a few times, was used to my virtue. Wooden-faced, he met my gaze indifferently. I reached out and pulled him in front of Susan. She was puzzled, but the next second, I ruthlessly tore open Caleb's shirt. Scars and bruises densely packed, bloodily thrust into Susan's face. All this was because of her! "Look at what you've done." I pointed at Susan mercilessly. "You got sick, and Caleb had to take care of you day and night, unable to leave, causing him to be unable to find even a decent job. He could only steal, rob, and beg." "Let me ask you, you didn't let him study and learn etiquette, cutting off his path, because you were afraid he would become like his scumbag father who abandoned his wife and son." "But did you prevent these things? Instead, because of you, he has truly become a lowly creature that everyone shouts to beat, willing to risk his life for a bite of food!" "Is this what you wanted? If so, there's no need to pretend. Better to cut off the mother-son relationship here and now. From now on, you two have nothing to do with each other!" Caleb was manipulated by me like a rag, always keeping his eyes lowered and submitting. Only when I said "lowly creature" did his body tremble slightly, and a flash of hard-to-detect embarrassment passed through his eyes. How could someone who read the classics not know shame? He could disregard his own life. But to buy food and medicine for his mother, he had no choice. Stimulated by me, Susan covered her head in pain, seeming about to lose it again. But I grabbed her collar, staring straight at her, voice loud as a bell. "Susan! The bad debts in this world can't be muddled through by going crazy. You hide in madness, leaving the sober pain to Caleb. Is this fair?" "Don't think about leaving the mess to me. If you've gone crazy enough, get up. Avoiding won't solve the problem. If you have guts, face it uprightly." Caleb stared at me blankly, the dead silence on his face gradually cracking. A different light flickered in his eyes, like a bright lamp suddenly lit in the long dark night. I don't know if Susan understood this sentence. But I knew Caleb did.
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