The Capital's Richest Man, Starting with Marrying a Fake Playboy

[Currently devouring reference materials. I'll start once I'm done.]

Office worker Lian Yu transmigrates into the body of a woman at the crucial moment when her marriage is being arranged.

She has only two choices: become a concubine to the future Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace, or marry Zhou Mingzhuo, a former official of the disgraced crown prince and the youngest top scorer in the imperial examinations in the dynasty's history, who is forbidden from ever entering government service.

The matchmaker tries to persuade her: "The young master of the Zhou family certainly has a handsome face and an elegant manner, but he spends all day cockfighting and chasing dogs, and he even has an illegitimate child with a mistress. Daoist Lian, you know which choice to make, don't you?"

Lian Yu packs her things and marries into the Zhou family as its mistress.

*

On their wedding night, Zhou Mingzhuo speaks bluntly: "You, Daoist, married me to avoid trouble. I'm just a wastrel who knows how to eat, drink, and have fun. Let's each mind our own business and stay out of each other's way."

Lian Yu regards the dynasty's youngest and most handsome top scorer with interest. "Eat, drink, and have fun? Have you ever eaten instant noodles that fill the air with their aroma the moment you open the packet? Worn a coat as light as a feather yet warmer than fur? Or enjoyed a carriage that travels a thousand li in a day, no matter the weather?"

Zhou Mingzhuo: "...No."

Lian Yu is considerate. "Instant noodles, down jackets, cars. It's fine if you don't understand. Since we're married, let me use the kitchen and borrow your estate. I'll give you a thirty percent discount on anything good I make."

*

Ever since Zhou Mingzhuo handed the household affairs over to his convenient new wife, he has noticed that the capital has undergone tremendous changes.

Lian Yu uses Daoist medicine to save a delicate young woman from being abducted and forced into marriage. The miraculous medicine she brings out gives off a wonderful aroma from a thousand li away. Lian Yu says it's called distilled liquor.

With a simple calculation, Lian Yu can tell where foreign crop varieties can be found overseas. She never leaves the capital, yet knows the shape of the world. Lian Yu says it's called world geography.

The Lian family restaurant is packed with customers. Its menu is full of delights: pork rib noodles, double-crisp stir-fry, egg-yolk pastries, hibiscus chicken... Lian Yu smiles warmly and slides the ledger toward Zhou Mingzhuo. "Top scorer, would you like to learn what mathematics is?"

Years later, the fake wastrel emerges from his long-hidden plans, welcomes the disgraced crown prince back, and uses his merit in helping the prince ascend to become a renowned chancellor.

The so-called illegitimate child turns out to be the disgraced crown prince's only son. When the prince returns to the capital and takes the throne, he makes the boy crown prince.

Everyone says Daoist Lian must have known the Mandate of Heaven all along. Only Zhou Mingzhuo knows the truth.

He once thought his life would amount to raising his lord's orphaned heir and scraping by under an incompetent old emperor.

Until his new wife proposed: "Since you're just sitting around, why not come work for me for free? I mean, help me out. I want to become the richest person in the capital."

What use could there be in bringing together a disloyal, unfilial, useless man and the daughter of a disgraced official? He had no opinion either way.

But with her actions, she proved that flowers can grow even in mud, and rotten wood can still be put to use.

And he fell for her, wanting to stand by her side as her equal.

● A working woman's food-business ventures in an ancient setting.

● A fictional setting, with a touch of an ensemble cast.

Theme: Uphold justice, let good deeds be rewarded, and find the light at last