[Traditional historical romance + transmigration + household intrigue and political scheming + raising children and farming + a heroine who's sweet on the outside, dark on the inside, and good at disguises + a loyal-dog hero]
Xie Xuan transmigrates into the body of a noblewoman whose entire family has died. Her fiance has been murdered, her nephew is still young, and her clan won't let her live in peace as they fight over the main branch's estate.
After marrying and returning to her clan as its senior aunt, she immediately donates the main branch's estate to the imperial court, leaving everyone else empty-handed.
The emperor receives the silver and sobs in the empress's palace. The next day, he grants Xie Xuan the title of County Lady of Yongjia at court.
The noblewomen laugh themselves silly: She traded a mountain of gold and silver for an empty title. The Xie family is doomed to fall under her leadership.
They never imagined that Xie Xuan would take over as clan head at the age of fifteen, turn the tide when the Xie clan teetered on the brink of collapse, and find a new path that would make the whole world admire the Xie family.
What's more, at the Longevity Festival, she asks the emperor to bestow Mingzhi Tower upon her, declaring that she will gather talented people who “dare to be the first under heaven” to serve him loyally.
The emperor sobs at the birthday banquet, upgrades her title to Commandery Princess Wenmin, and bestows upon the Xie clan an imperial plaque honoring their “loyalty and integrity.”
The court officials mutter to themselves: How can I get a young lady like her to marry into my family?
And so the men swarming around Xie Xuan become even more shameless.
Lu Lingjun: I can never repay you for saving my life, so I'll just have to give myself to you.
Wen Yixun: You and I share the same interests. We'll make a perfect couple.
Yang Yunheng: Marry me, and you'll be the lady of the Yang household.
After escaping the overwhelming attention of all those handsome men, Xie Xuan grumbles to Bai Jing, who's been by her side from the start and stood with her through countless brushes with death: “Isn't being the senior aunt good enough? Who wants to be some little wife who gets pushed around?”
Bai Jing pours her a cup of tea, his foxlike eyes crinkling with a smile. “As you say, Auntie.”
