I Traveled Back in Time to Raise the Top Scholar

Her husband brought home a little boy and asked Su Chunyu to raise him. He was the child of her husband's longtime friend, a timid boy with a pair of big eyes.

The boy's parents were both dead, and he was living under someone else's roof. He was exceptionally well-behaved and quiet, never asking her for help. Instead, he busied himself with chores and helped shoulder the burden of the household.

During the years her husband was away studying for the imperial examinations, Su Chunyu and the boy relied on each other. In winter, they ate roasted game he caught; in summer, they ate fresh river delicacies he hauled in.

Watching him hang the laundry, Su Chunyu smiled and patted his head. "Cheng'er is such a good boy. Auntie has raised you well."

The half-grown boy dodged her hand. He was already a head taller than her, his ears a little red even as he kept his expression stiff. He protested, "You're only five years older than me."

"We can call each other whatever we like. Auntie in front of people, big sister in private."

The boy was obedient and sensible, filial and hardworking. He made Su Chunyu lazy and greedy, pampering her into a life of good fortune.

Then, the year her husband came back, he called out the boy's name: "Shen Shouzhuo."

Only then did Su Chunyu vaguely remember. Wait, huh? Wasn't this the man from the book she'd read before she transmigrated into a book, the future top scholar who would rise to become chief minister, overturn the empire's fortunes, save it from collapse, and make his name in history as a powerful statesman?

In the book, he died a tragic death after being implicated while protecting the heroine.

From then on, whenever Su Chunyu looked at him, she seemed to see a fool, with a hint of worry in her eyes.

Even when she fell asleep in the shade under the eaves, she'd tell him, "Cheng'er, whatever you do, don't let love make a fool of you. Don't fall for those young ladies!"

The young Shen Shouzhuo's ears turned faintly red. He turned his head away and said softly, "I know."

Theme: Supporting each other through hard times