Lucky Despite Herself

In her previous life, wealthy heiress Mu Wan worked herself to death. In this life, all she wants is to eat, drink, have fun, and enjoy herself; But as the daughter of a merchant, she has money but no power, making her an easy target. Fortunately, her far-sighted mother trained a top-scoring scholar for her from an early age. Then her mother died, and after observing three years of mourning, Mu Wan returned to find that the scholar looked down on her for being ignorant and extravagantly indulgent. He wanted to replace his fiancée with the daughter her stepmother had borne. Mu Wan: ... Right after that, an imperial decree betrothed her to the Marquis of Zhenbei, whose achievements were so great they overshadowed the emperor. The decree was meant to humiliate him. Mu Wan: ??? Is she doomed? Then she learned from her reborn stepsister that, two years later, the Marquis of Zhenbei would die young after helping his own nephew ascend the throne. In other words, in two years she'd inherit an emperor for a nephew and the entire Marquis of Zhenbei's estate?!!! Mu Wan decided things were looking up again. When he came to ask for her hand, the Marquis of Zhenbei laid down three rules: he would give her no children; she would not manage the household; and she should not come looking for him without a reason. Mu Wan wept, deeply moved: No need to serve a man, run the household, or have children. In two years, she could become a wealthy, powerful, and carefree noblewoman! What kind of heavenly life was this... Later, Xie Heng came home exhausted from a hard day's work. He saw Mu Wan lounging in a chair, eating tribute fruit peeled by her maid, listening to music and watching dancers, as comfortable as could be. Suddenly, he felt annoyed... @ Xie Heng lived for revenge, with barely half a life left to him. He planned to leave the court's corrupt parasites with a realm in turmoil, beset by internal strife and foreign threats. Marrying Mu Wan was merely a convenience. If she could behave herself and serve as a pretty ornament, he might arrange a good future for her before he died. But later, watching the woman beneath the lamplight, he decided he should leave her a peaceful and prosperous world. Later still, seeing other men pursue her, jealousy gnawed at him to the bone. Why couldn't he be the one by her side... They say Marquis Xie Heng of Zhenbei is cold and ruthless, and despises cowards and those who live for pleasure. But when death came for him, his first thought was: if he died, where would the little cat at home find tribute fruit? Would she be bullied? Who could take good care of her? He thought he had to survive, so he could personally protect her and give her a long life of wealth and glory. #You died for me once. This time, let me live for you.# Short-lived, ruthless powerbroker VS clear-headed, catlike merchant's daughter A note: The heroine was conceived into her current life. In her stepsister's previous life, the heroine was also conceived into hers. New serial: The Daughter of a Civil Official Cui Li, born into a family of martial artists, has always envied those who are graceful and composed. After transmigrating as the daughter of a civil official, she thinks she can finally become learned, talented, and elegant, a refined young lady at last. But her father spends every day fighting with people at court. Even after being demoted, he won't quit, and eventually earns the charge of having his family home confiscated. Her elder sister is gentle, graceful, and well-read, the dream sister Cui Li always wanted. But she's too clever for her own good and thinks force can solve anything. She makes the whole family train in martial arts and plans to marry a military officer to save their father, even saying that if all else fails, they'll storm the execution ground. Cui Li is speechless. Since ancient times, when have military officers ever been able to beat civil officials, unless they were rebelling? Of course they should get help from a powerful court official. So she knocks out a prince and brings him home. "See? This is how you solve the problem at its root. A prince can't have a father-in-law who's been convicted of a crime." Of course, the most important thing is that the prince's family has the best etiquette tutor. Grandmother Cui: ... Wonderful. They were only going to have their home confiscated before. Now it looks like the whole family will be executed. She might as well make her escape first. Theme: Love yourself before you can love others.