Can a Little Chef Rebel Too?

At fifteen, Shen Lingyi took over her family's restaurant for her fiance, Xu Zheng.

At eighteen, the restaurant had become a renowned establishment called the House of Delicacies, and Xu Zheng had passed the metropolitan examination. Shen Lingyi thought her hardships were finally over, but her beloved repaid her with a letter breaking off their engagement.

"I know I owe you a debt of gratitude, but the capital is full of noble young ladies. You, a cook who shows her face in public, will never fit in."

"Why not let me go? I'll repay you double for every coin you've spent on me over the past three years."

Before she could voice her hurt, Xu Zheng couldn't bear it and tore the letter to shreds. "Never mind. I wasn't thinking clearly. How could I betray you after you supported my studies for three years?"

"You can be my concubine. Rou'er may outrank you, but we can still be together."

Shen Lingyi fell silent, suddenly deciding that she would rather have the money.

Before he'd paid it all back, the world fell into chaos.

To protect herself and fight injustice, she traded her kitchen cleaver for a butcher's blade. With blood, she carved out a road to the capital. It was a treasonous road, fraught with hardship and danger, yet somehow she succeeded.

When the new emperor ascended the throne, the metropolitan examination was held in the Hall of Excellence. Everyone expected the top scholar to be the son-in-law of the Chancellor, Xu Zheng. Xu Zheng thought so himself.

But when he summoned the courage to look up and face the emperor, he saw the young ruler deferentially asking his former fiancee, the woman he had always looked down on: "Regent, who do you think should be named the top scholar?"

Shen Lingyi raised her chin and pointed at Xu Zheng. "Anyone but him has the makings of a top scholar."

Male lead's perspective:

Xie Yan transmigrated as the puppet crown prince in a novel, and he was both shocked and terrified. The worst part was that he had run into Shen Lingyi, the story's great villain!

Shen Lingyi might look like an insignificant cook now, but Xie Yan alone knew how terrifying she would become after turning evil. Not only would she become a tyrant who slaughtered innocents, she would also wipe out most of the protagonist's group.

If the novel hadn't ended abruptly, it would probably have been called The Legend of Shen Lingyi.

Xie Yan promptly decided to cling to the villain's coattails. He used his modern knowledge to offer plans and invent things, and when necessary, even offered up his sensitive, handsome self. Sure enough, he easily won Shen Lingyi over and became the ultimate master of borrowing someone else's influence.

Later, someone advised him, "Your Majesty is the emperor, yet a woman has you under her thumb. Are you truly content with that?"

Xie Yan put on a mysterious air. "You don't understand. She could have killed me and made herself emperor, but she let me remain on the throne. What does that tell you?"

"Shen Lingyi loves me far too much."

Theme: Have the courage to say no when you're in a difficult situation.