Chapter 1: A Dizziness Called Fate

When Wei Lan woke up, all she felt was dizziness and a pounding headache.

She struggled to prop herself up, only to realize she was lying on an old wooden bed.

Looking around the room, she saw a square tea table set in the middle, two long wooden benches, and against one wall stood an old carved wooden cabinet.

The craftsmanship was actually quite delicate, but it was clearly very old, its surface darkened with the kind of patina that came from years of handling.

Wei Lan was still a little dazed.

The night before, she had been carving jade in her studio, working nonstop until three in the morning.

After that, she had lost consciousness, and when she woke up again, she was already here.

She pressed her fingers to her brow, stretched her stiff and aching body, and finally got out of bed.

Only then did she notice that she was wearing an inner robe and trousers of the sort she had previously seen only in historical dramas.

The house was shabby and rundown, yet near the window there was still half of a broken bronze mirror left behind.

Curious about her current appearance, Wei Lan leaned closer and saw a face in the mirror that looked exactly the same as the one she remembered.

She leaned against the wall and gauged her height.

It was about the same as before, roughly 173 centimeters.

Wei Lan let out a small sigh of relief, since she was quite fond of her own looks.

She took a slow walk around the room, but still couldn’t make sense of where she was.

Just then, a sharp pain suddenly stabbed through her head, and she nearly collapsed to the ground.

Fortunately, she managed to grab the edge of the table and barely lowered herself into a seat.

Once she sat down, Wei Lan sensed that something extra had appeared in her mind.

It was a book.

In that book, the original owner of this body was the live-in wife taken into the home of the female protagonist, Lu Zijin.

A ready-made life of comfort had practically been handed to her, yet the original owner never cherished it.

Step by step, she schemed and calculated, constantly pushing her boundaries with Lu Zijin.

In the end, she even attempted to swallow up the Lu family’s assets and force Lu Zijin into submission.

All of it, however, was seen through by Lu Zijin.

The original owner had her legs broken by Lu Zijin and her childhood sweetheart, was thrown out of the Lu household, and died only a few days later.

That was where the contents of the book abruptly ended.

Wei Lan shivered uncontrollably.

No, seriously.

Was the original owner out of her mind?

With such an easy life right there, she chose not to take it and instead went looking for death by provoking the female lead.

Wei Lan thought that, for the sake of staying alive, it would be best to keep her distance from both the male and female leads.

She was a craftswoman, and even if she really had transmigrated, she should be able to survive on her skills alone.

On that point, she was quite confident.

After all, she had studied under a nationally renowned jade-carving master.

Despite her young age, she was already considered a top-tier sculptor in the field, and her works were highly sought after.

With that thought, Wei Lan tried to reach out within her mind again.

She wanted to see whether, aside from that book, there might also be something like a system.

There was nothing.

Other than that incomplete book, her mind held nothing else.

Just as she was about to head outside, someone came in through the door.

Wei Lan lifted her gaze.

The newcomer was a woman in her forties.

“You’re awake?” she asked anxiously.

“How do you feel?

Are you uncomfortable anywhere?”

“I’m fine,” Wei Lan replied calmly.

As she spoke, she quietly observed the woman.

The fabric of her clothes was silk, clearly expensive.

If the garments hadn’t been washed to the point of fading, Wei Lan might have thought she’d woken up in a wealthy household.

The woman let out a sigh, her eyes reddening as she looked at Wei Lan.

“Xiao Lan, your father and I have failed you.

Our family has fallen to this state, and all we have left is this small courtyard.

Letting you marry into the Lu family was the only option we had.”

Wei Lan hadn’t expected the plot to start this quickly.

Was there really no way for her not to marry in?

She genuinely felt that getting close to protagonists like those was a recipe for disaster.

“Is it really necessary for me to marry in?”

Wei Lan asked.

The woman wiped her tears with a handkerchief and cried, “In the end, it’s your father and me who owe you.

Your father lost even more silver in this last business venture.

Without the money from the Lu family, we’re finished.

Even if we sold this courtyard, we still wouldn’t be able to pay off the debts.”

Hearing this, Wei Lan felt utterly numb.

Fine then.

So there was no escaping marrying into the Lu family after all.

Still, if she had to do it, then so be it.

She could just focus on her own work, avoid offending the female lead, and live quietly off that soft life.

It didn’t actually sound that bad.

She could even use the time to continue carving jade.

That said, this was a new body.

If she wanted to carve quality jade pieces, she’d probably need a few days to adjust.

“Alright,” Wei Lan said at last.

“If that’s the case, I’ll marry in.

But from now on, you really shouldn’t do business anymore.”

The original owner’s family had once been considered a wealthy household in Panyang City.

Back in her grandfather’s generation, they had even ranked among the city’s top ten richest families.

But ever since her father, Wei Wenyuan, took over the family business, things had steadily gone downhill.

After the family split, it only got worse.

One could say that the harder Wei Wenyuan tried to do business, the more money the family lost.

The more effort he put in, the more unfortunate the outcome.

Even living off their old savings, the family shouldn’t have ended up like this, yet her overly “hardworking” father had single-handedly driven them into decline.

Zhao Xinlan wiped her tears after hearing Wei Lan’s words.

“Don’t worry.

There’s no silver left for your father to squander anyway.

It’s just that you’re the one suffering for it.

A perfectly fine Qianyuan, having to marry into someone else’s household…

Xiao Lan, have you really thought this through?”

Wei Lan nodded.

She didn’t really have a choice.

“I’ve thought it through.

Please don’t worry.”

“Good, good.

As long as you’ve thought it through,” Zhao Xinlan said.

“The Lu family will come to escort you tomorrow morning.

They’ve already sent over the agreed silver, and I’ve had your father use it to repay the debts.

Xiao Lan… in the end, it’s still our family that’s wronged you.”

Zhao Xinlan lowered her head guiltily and wiped away her tears.

“It’s nothing,” Wei Lan replied lightly.

“I’d like to go out for a walk.”

“Xiao Lan, you’re getting married tomorrow.

Nothing must go wrong,” Zhao Xinlan said worriedly, afraid that Wei Lan might spiral and go drinking with her unsavory friends again.

After all, this whole incident had started because Wei Lan drank herself unconscious and ended up bedridden for days.

“Don’t worry.

I’m just going out for a bit,” Wei Lan said.

She went to the mirror and tidied the bun atop her head.

The original owner had no valuable hair ornaments.

Only a few cheap jade hairpins lay on the table.

Wei Lan picked one at random and slid it into her hair to secure it.

She straightened her faded silk clothes and then stepped out of the room.

Outside was a small courtyard.

Three main rooms stood in front, with four side rooms to either side.

She quickly exited the courtyard.

Patting herself down, Wei Lan didn’t find a single copper coin.

Alright.

The original owner was truly, completely broke.

Walking through the streets, Wei Lan felt an unreal sense of detachment, as if she were merely a passerby in this world.

After a long while, she finally memorized the location of her home and headed toward the bustling streets.

The street was lively, crowded with people out shopping.

After walking for a bit, someone suddenly called out to her.

“Wei Lan, we’re heading out to drink.

Want to come along?”

The one who stopped her was a young man with a roguish demeanor.

Wei Lan took a step back the moment she saw him.

“No.

I have things to do.”

“What’s this?

Just a few days ago you were drinking with us.

Now you’re acting distant?”

Wang Zhen said, looking at her.

“Exactly.

You were saying just the other day that once you made it big, you’d take your brothers along with you.

And now you won’t even drink with us?”

Feng Hua chimed in from the side.

“I really can’t,” Wei Lan said.

“I’m getting married tomorrow.

You all do as you please.

I’ll be leaving.”

She turned to go.

Wang Zhen was so angry he almost lashed out, but Feng Hua hurriedly pulled him back.

“Forget it, forget it.

We’re all friends.

Wei Lan has things to do today.

We’ll get together another time.”

Wei Lan gave them a brief glance and walked away.

After she’d gone some distance, Wang Zhen spat in her direction.

“Bah.

What kind of thing is she?

That Lu Zijin must be blind.

Of all people, she chose that useless Wei Lan.

There are plenty of Qianyuan in Panyang City.

Why didn’t she choose me?”

“Hey, what nonsense are you talking?”

Feng Hua laughed. “Sure, the Lu family is the richest in Panyang City, but being a live-in spouse is still humiliating.

Your family wouldn’t agree either.”

“That’s true,” Wang Zhen snorted.

“Only trash like Wei Lan would marry into a Kunze household.

Forget her.

Bad luck.

Come on, let’s drink.”

With his arm around Feng Hua’s shoulders, Wang Zhen called over their group of cronies and headed off.

Wei Lan continued strolling along the street, mainly observing the small vendors and shops lining the road.

“Boss, how much is this jade hairpin?” she asked.

She held up a white jade hairpin.

The jade quality was poor, riddled with cottony inclusions.

She wasn’t actually planning to buy it.

She just wanted to know the price.

“Miss, you’ve got a good eye,” the vendor said with a broad smile.

“This white jade hairpin is two hundred wen.

Look at the bird carved on it.

It’s so lifelike.”

Wei Lan looked at the carving and truly couldn’t bring herself to smile.

In her eyes, this didn’t even qualify as a defective piece.

The jade quality was bad enough, and the carving was far too crude.

Calling it a bird was generous.

It looked more like a pig.

The polishing was sloppy as well.

She put the hairpin down and prepared to move on.

Seeing her about to leave, the vendor hurriedly lowered the price.

“Hey, miss, wait.

How about this?

I’ll sell it cheaper.

One hundred wen.

What do you say?”

“Thank you, boss.

I’ll keep looking,” Wei Lan said politely.

The vendor cursed under his breath at her back.

“Putting on airs.

Can’t afford it but still browses forever.

Bad luck.”

Wei Lan heard him, but didn’t care.

In this world, the only thing that truly mattered to her was jade carving.

In her previous life, whether it was her teacher or her senior and junior apprentices, they all called her a jade maniac.

Once she saw jade, her mind held nothing but carving.

She could even forget to eat.

Perhaps that was why she’d come to this world.

After all, carving until three in the morning, she suspected she had simply died from overwork.

As she let her thoughts wander, a group of people emerged from the Lufeng Rice Shop across the street.

Leading them was a Kunze woman.

A layer of white gauze veiled her face, revealing only her eyes.

Yet from her figure and eyes alone, it wasn’t hard to tell that she was quite beautiful.

Several maidservants followed behind her, along with more than a dozen armed guards.

A carriage was parked at the entrance of the rice shop, with the driver standing respectfully, clearly waiting for the woman to board.

After the Kunze woman finished giving instructions to the shop manager, one of the maidservants beside her seemed to notice Wei Lan and pointed in her direction.

“Miss, look over there.

Isn’t that Wei Lan?

She’s marrying in tomorrow.

How does she still dare to wander around today?”

Lu Zijin followed the maidservant’s gesture and looked over.

Sure enough, she saw Wei Lan strolling along the street.

Or rather, Wei Lan seemed to be standing there, lost in thought.