In her previous life, she was the legitimate eldest daughter of the Duke of Shen's household.
When she was little, her birth mother accidentally lost her. Unwilling to search for her, her mother simply found Shen Tang as a substitute to take her place. Shen Tang assumed her identity, enjoyed a life of luxury, and basked in all the glory due to the legitimate daughter.
Meanwhile, she was left to wander the streets and fell into the hands of a cruel foster mother, living a life of unimaginable hardship. Disguised as a boy, she worked as a stable hand, dressed in filthy rags and reeking from head to toe. Shunned and driven away, she could only curl up in the straw and sleep alongside the horses.
There were no rules among the lowest of society, only fists and shamelessness.
She was cruelly tormented by Shen Tang, the girl who had taken her place. She endured endless suffering, powerless to fight back, and ultimately died with her name cleared of blame.
Reborn, she returned to the days when she was a lowly stable hand.
Having seen the warmth and coldness of human nature and the harshness of the world, she would never again let others control her or meekly accept her fate.
By chance, she saved the heir.
When he asked what reward she wanted, she had no interest in gold or silver, nor did she covet power. She only wanted to carve out a path for herself:
“I want to be free. I want to learn a skill, and one day petition to register my own household as a woman. I want to become a businesswoman who can make her own way in the world without relying on anyone.”
The author has great imagination and the plot is not cliché. I finished reading it in one go.