After transmigrating as the second wife of a crippled scholar, brought in to bring him good fortune, Shen Qingzhi produces a contract on their wedding night: “I’ll heal your legs and support you through the imperial exams. Once three years are up, we’ll each go our own way!”
So she gathers mushrooms, makes straw paper, sews down jackets, develops movable-type printing… She goes from dirt poor to the richest woman around, and even helps the entire Xie family village achieve prosperity.
When her former husband, who married his childhood sweetheart, comes asking her to be his concubine, Shen Qingzhi smiles. She turns and points to the village’s brand-new workshop and her handsome, dashing contract husband:
“See that? He’s my man, and this is my kingdom.”
She thinks she can finally focus on making money and enjoying the company of a handsome man, but the jade pendant reveals her true identity: she is the missing daughter of a marquis’s household.
And her half-sister, who shares the same father, is sharpening her knives, hoping to steal the top-scoring scholar husband Shen Qingzhi raised herself.
Shen Qingzhi taps her abacus. Fine, then. We’ll settle the old and new scores all at once.
Very good novel worth reading
Beautiful and worth watching.