Reborn as an Evil Woman in Ancient Times, I Led the Whole Village to Prosperity

[Ensemble Cast + Ancient-Era Farming and Infrastructure + Strong Female Lead Who Never Gets Pushed Around + System + Romance (a Cool, Distant Hero with a Loyal-Dog Side)]

Village official Ye Xi is taken to ancient times by the "Redemption System" and becomes a notorious villainess.

A villainess? No, no! She's a heroine with rock-bottom expectations.

The moment she opens her eyes, she sees a creditor trying to seize her niece as payment for a debt. The original owner had stolen the house deed and taken out a loan at exorbitant interest to scrape together tuition for a scumbag scholar to attend the county academy. Unable to repay the debt as the interest piled up, the original owner was about to flee in the middle of the night.

Ye Xi stays calm and exposes the scumbag scholar who had been hiding behind the original owner all along.

She leads a group of people to the scholar's home, takes on her "villainess" persona, and starts shifting the blame.

"You beast dressed up like a scholar! You deceived me in love and stole my money, then tricked me into doing all those bad things and made the villagers hate me!"

To the scholar's sanctimonious mother, she says, "Think carefully before you stick out that forked tongue of yours. Your family's latrine is waiting for you to find out just how foul it is!"

To the debt collectors, she says, "If I owe you money, go collect it from Scholar Zhou. He's a scholar and cares about his reputation, so he's afraid of a public scandal. You'll have an easier time getting your money that way. Me... well, I have nothing anyway."

A few days later, Ye Xi starts by butchering pigs, then sets up a pork stall and opens a butcher shop. She helps the Ye family become major pig farmers, develops crop cultivation, and proves herself a shrewd businesswoman.

Step by step, year after year, Ye Xi is appointed the foremost imperial merchant by the emperor. Then she turns around and leads people in building ships for maritime trade, while opening a Silk Road across a thousand miles of desert, following in the footsteps of the ancients.

Everyone calls Ye Xi a good person, a capable woman, and a role model.

As for her reputation as a villainess, great scholars will make the case in her defense.

*

"My lady, I would gladly make the case for you, too."

Ye Xi glances back at him as he furiously writes, the corner of her mouth twitching. "You've already written twenty essays praising me. You still want to write more?"

He frowns and looks up. "That's far too few. I'll write faster. I swear I'll cover the whole city with them."

He wants everyone under heaven to know that he is Ye Xi's husband.