[The story is fully outlined, so it won’t be abandoned. Please add it to your collection, and feel free to let it build up!]
A savvy, money-making heroine who is no shrinking violet VS a seemingly cold, secretly devoted husband
Cui Wanli was a baking blogger until a car accident sent her transmigrating into the body of a concubine-born daughter of the Cui family.
The emperor arranged her marriage to Yu Wenshao, deputy commander of the Palace Guard. On their wedding night, the original owner died of illness.
Yu Wenshao was said to be decisive and ruthless, exactly the kind of person Cui Wanli least wanted to deal with. But on their wedding night, she waited all night and he never came back.
When Cui Wanli returned to her maiden home alone, she found her birth mother gravely ill and neglected by the household. To pay for her mother’s treatment, she struck a deal with her family: she would work hard to earn money and repay the family’s debts, and they would take good care of her mother.
Cui Wanli returned to her old trade, transforming a failing old shop with a complete renovation and developing new kinds of pastries. Business soon began to boom.
Her fondant cakes were especially popular, since they could be made in all kinds of shapes. With the imperial exams approaching, why not order a fondant cake depicting the God of Exam Success to bless you with a high ranking?
Not sure what to give someone for their birthday? Order a custom fondant cake made just for them, one of a kind.
Even the emperor heard about her cakes and sent people to buy them.
She opened more branches, took on apprentices, wrote books, built roads and bridges, and expanded her business empire while never forgetting to give back to society.
Her business flourished, and Cui Wanli took her love life in stride. Since Yu Wenshao had no interest in romance, she planned to divorce him once her mother was settled.
But the supposedly cold and ruthless Yu Wenshao, deputy commander of the Palace Guard, repeatedly deigned to visit Cui Wanli’s shop and even volunteered to work as a server.
Yu Wenshao had come from the battlefield. He had seen injured veterans return home with meager pensions, unable to find new work.
One day, he suddenly discovered that his new wife had taken in these veterans and their families.
When he visited the shop, he saw a lovely young woman teaching people how to make pastries. He couldn’t help watching her for a while. After that, he could never look away.
[Reader’s Guide]
An alternate Northern Song setting, with some original worldbuilding. By law, the head of the household and his wife cannot mistreat concubines at will.
Theme: Love life, love food
