The Mystic Stepmother Plays for Keeps, and the Ailing Chief Minister Begs for Her Affection

Overnight, metaphysics expert Shen Gantang transmigrates into the body of a wicked stepmother to three children. Her husband is bedridden, their scheming neighbors are as fierce as tigers and wolves, and the family is so poor their pockets ring hollow. Shen Gantang pulls out a handful of talismans and declares she has nothing to fear! At home, she beats the family’s troublemakers and kicks out the wicked neighbors, turning the tide of fortune and saving her husband. Outside, she catches little ghosts, banishes evil spirits, and earns silver. The onlookers won’t be allowed to sit idle, either. Her husband writes plays and opens a teahouse, her mother-in-law and eldest sister-in-law set up an embroidery workshop, her second brother-in-law and his wife open a restaurant, and her eldest brother-in-law clears land to grow chili peppers... Later, the whole family climbs out of poverty and makes a fortune. Her husband also comes first in the imperial examinations and becomes the chief minister. Shen Gantang tries to slip away, but someone pulls her into his arms. The man, stern and cold to everyone else, as aloof as a flower atop a high peak, turns as gentle as a little white flower in her presence. “Don’t go, darling. The people in the capital are so complicated. I can’t handle them all by myself.”