After Breaking Off the Engagement, I Became the Chief Minister’s Painter

[Transmigration + criminal investigation + antiques appraisal + magical brush + sweet romance]

Modern China’s top forensic sketch artist, Jiang Huayi, transmigrates into the body of an “ugly” concubine-born young lady whose engagement to a prominent family in the capital has been broken off.

The moment she wakes, she is faced with a cruel stepmother, a sneering “real heiress,” and plans to send her off to a rural nunnery to “cultivate herself.”

Jiang Huayi gives a cold laugh. “The engagement is off? Perfect. I never wanted it anyway.”

A string of unsolved cases strikes the capital. With no clues to be found, everyone is on edge.

Who could have guessed that a wanted-poster sketch she dashed off on a whim would look almost exactly like the real culprit, causing a sensation across the capital?

Everyone is astounded: How could an “ugly woman” possess such a miraculous skill?

From a discarded girl whose engagement was broken off to the capital’s renowned magical-brush artist, Jiang Huayi uses modern criminal-investigation knowledge and extraordinary artistic skill to appraise treasures and solve cases. She cracks one strange case after another, captures every facet of life in her paintings, and wins countless accolades.

The prominent family that once broke off her engagement regrets it deeply. The real heiress burns with jealousy, and her stepmother begs on her knees for her to come home.

Jiang Huayi smiles calmly. “Sorry, I only work for the Grand Secretary.”

And the Grand Secretary, a cold and aloof man with power over the entire court, not only clears the way for her career but also holds her close every night, whispering tenderly, “Huayi, no beauty in the world can compare to the way you frown or smile. Why not paint me a picture of us carrying on the family line?”