Wen Wei transmigrated into a vicious supporting character in the Marquis of Zhenbei’s household. In the original story, the crown prince, Shen Yanzhou, joined forces with Northern Yan to massacre her entire family.
She had just opened her eyes and pretended to be ill to avoid a palace banquet when her inner thoughts were accidentally revealed:
“That lunatic Shen Yanzhou is going to let Northern Yan into the city on the winter solstice. The whole household will be executed!”
“My eldest brother is going to lose five hundred taels at the gambling house tomorrow. Get him to the military camp, quick!”
“My mother is going to humiliate Su Qingwan’s mother tomorrow. Apologize, quick!”
The marquis’s household took a sudden turn: her father ordered the whole family not to cause trouble, her eldest brother distinguished himself in the army, her mother went to make amends, and all three of her brothers joined her in opening shops and making money. The entire capital was dumbfounded.
Only Crown Prince Shen Yanzhou heard her deepest secret: “Your mother consort wasn’t killed by the emperor. The chancellor and Northern Yan framed him. You’ve been hating the wrong person.”
On the winter solstice, Northern Yan’s army reached the city walls. Shen Yanzhou threw down his sword and walked toward Wen Wei atop the city gate. “Wen Wei, I’ve lost.” Wen Wei smiled. “You didn’t lose. You chose me.”
The emperor wanted to make her empress, but Wen Wei knelt before everyone and refused. “I don’t want the throne. I want the Jiangnan salt route and Shen Yanzhou’s life. I want him alive, with his life in my hands.”
She took the deposed crown prince south to Jiangnan and opened the Weizhou Trading House. This time, she would write the script for the villainess herself.
