[Dream of the Red Chamber + Qing Dynasty Time Travel] Lin Ruhai’s Wife-Chasing Road to Redemption

Tao Yaoyao is a little fox spirit. After finally cultivating a human form, she accidentally ate a spirit fruit belonging to a mighty demon and was slapped into a spirit spring, where she passed out.

When she woke up, she found herself in a whole new world: the fourth year of the Yongzheng era of the Qing dynasty.

As it happened, she shared a name and face with Princess Tao Yaoyao. But the princess was arrogant and tyrannical, guilty of every kind of wickedness, while she was a food-loving little sweetheart who was very good at acting cute and cuddly.

After the princess fell off a cliff and died, she impersonated her and entered the palace. She spent all day in the imperial kitchens, feasting on delicacies, and whenever she was in a good mood, her cultivation advanced by leaps and bounds.

She figured that in another hundred years, she would become a mighty demon and bring glory to her ancestors. But then...

One time, she caught a bad cold and sneezed out her inner core.

The core fell to the ground and split in two. One half vanished without a trace, while the other fused with Lin Ruhai, a Grand Secretary of the Cabinet. The only way she could fully restore the core inside herself was to dual cultivate with Lin Ruhai ninety-nine times.

It was said that after Lin Ruhai's wife, Jia Min, passed away, the real princess fell in love at first sight with the refined, elegant Lin Ruhai at her funeral and pursued him by any means for a full three years.

Lin Ruhai had not the slightest interest in her, and even his eldest daughter, Lin Daiyu, looked down on her. Getting Lin Ruhai to dual cultivate with her would be harder than sending a pig into the sky.

But she had to get at least half her inner core back before she could continue cultivating! Ahhh! She had to become a mighty demon and bring glory to her ancestors. She absolutely could not become a disgrace to the fox clan!

So she took up where the real princess had left off and kept chasing Lin Ruhai like crazy. She was clearly a fox, yet she lived like a lovesick puppy.

Later, she even begged her imperial father to issue an edict betrothing her to Lin Ruhai.

Lin Ruhai treated her with impeccable manners, but remained distant and formal. Aside from touching her once on their wedding night, he rarely shared her bed.

It was all right. She would slowly win him over.

When Lin Ruhai fell ill, she cared for him day and night.

As Lin Daiyu grew ever more frail, Tao Yaoyao risked her life climbing a snowy mountain to catch a silkworm and make her a healing soup. When Lin Ruhai was falsely accused and imprisoned, Tao Yaoyao took the blame and went to the execution ground in his place...

At last, a hint of affection appeared in the man's eyes when he looked at her.

Lin Daiyu also began asking after her with concern, braving the heavy snow to bring her soup, and often pouting as she said, "Mother, why are you wearing something so thin again? What if you catch a cold?"

Tao Yaoyao could only explain that her fox fur was too thick and she was hot.

Later, Tao Yaoyao discovered that the other half of her inner core was inside the regent.

The regent was a fan of her looks. Getting him to dual cultivate with her would be as easy as beckoning him over.

Yeah! She wouldn't have to be a lovesick puppy anymore!

That very night, she left a letter of divorce and ran off to the regent's estate, ready to get intimate with the dashing, carefree, muscular young man...

But just as she climbed into bed, Lin Ruhai came charging in with Lin Daiyu.

His handsome face dark with anger, he said, "Tao Yaoyao, get over here!"

Tao Yaoyao blinked innocently. "But... but I've already fallen in love with the regent. Please, Master Lin, go ahead without me."

Lin Ruhai: "..."

He's gradually turning dark.

Lin Daiyu scoffed. "You couldn't be bothered with Mother before. Now it's your turn to chase her, isn't it?"

P.S. One-on-one romance, with the male lead chasing his wife after losing her. This is an alternate-universe Qing time-travel story, so the men wear queues but don't shave their heads, and sometimes tie their hair up with a crown.

Theme: Keep working hard and never give up