Lady Lin’s Everyday Life in Ancient Times

Lin Wu transmigrated into a novel and was forced to watch the entire story unfold as a bystander. Only when it came to an end did she truly become the owner of this body.

Newly free, all she wanted was to find a quiet corner, live an ordinary life, eat and drink well, and enjoy her peace.

But a fire bound her fate to a child with a very special identity, and the two were forced to flee from place to place.

She buried her past and opened a little food shop in a faraway land.

All kinds of steamed buns, stuffed buns, pancakes, and more: with a pair of clever hands and a few humble staples, she made a living for the two of them.

To outsiders, she was simply a widow with a knack for cooking, raising a child on her own.

All she hoped was that this once extraordinary child would grow up safe and sound, and, ideally, become a little more ordinary. The more ordinary, the better.

But the capital was in turmoil, and old acquaintances eventually found their way to her.

A young man in finery passed through the bustle of the marketplace and headed straight for her shop, utterly out of place amid the surrounding throng.

“Sir, the steamed buns and pancakes are coming fresh off the griddle, so there’s a line. We’re busy up front, so please wait at the back.” Lin Wu didn’t even look up as she deftly lifted the lid of the steamer.

The young man in fine clothes and a jade belt paused, then silently turned and went to the end of the line.

Let the world rage like a storm. She would stay by her little stove, safe and sound, year after year.

[Reader’s Guide]

1. This is a fictional setting with plenty of creative liberties. Please don’t overanalyze the details.

2. The story is a slow burn, and the male lead appears later on.

3. The story focuses on everyday life. The female lead does not get involved in political schemes.

[, Upcoming story: Everyday Life of a Poor Couple,]

Add it to your favorites if you’re interested~

In her previous life, Ye Qiutang was hounded so relentlessly to get married that she was at her wits’ end. After she transmigrated, she was ten years younger, but people were still pressuring her to marry.

A poor farmer’s daughter, she had a father who didn’t care for her and a mother who didn’t love her. Her marriage prospects were dismal, and her suitors were either ugly as sin or lifelong bachelors.

Ye Qiutang was worried.

She thought the disgraced illegitimate son whom her cousin’s family looked down on seemed like a pretty good match.

His father had fallen out of favor in official circles, and the whole family had returned to their hometown. No one else wanted him.

With a little scheming, Ye Qiutang married him without a hitch.

Her whole family hoped the marriage would bring them greater status.

The day after the wedding, her mother-in-law split up the family and threw the couple out. They ended up huddled in a dilapidated old house.

On the third day, her father-in-law dropped dead. Her husband had to observe three years of mourning, leaving Ye Qiutang to live like a widow.

Great. Along with “poor,” she now had the labels “jinxed” and “bad luck” to her name.

An illiterate farm girl said to bring misfortune, and a discarded illegitimate son who couldn’t do a lick of work or tell one crop from another: their little household seemed doomed.

But Ye Qiutang didn’t think so.

Look at this supposedly crumbling old home: its brick house was far better than those ramshackle thatched huts. She thought they had plenty to look forward to.

And look at her useless husband, the cast-off son. He went hunting in the mountains in the morning, planted rice seedlings in the fields at noon, and sat by lamplight copying books at night.

Ye Qiutang: Oh, so the one who’s always hustling is right beside me.

Theme: Eating well is living well.