After the Tongfang Faked Her Death, the Abstinent Shizi Searched Bitterly for Three Years

Yu Ying, a lowly flower room maid in the Jingyuan Marquisate, dies in her previous life after being used and discarded by the Heir Apparent’s Wife, Cui Yichu. Cui Yichu, unable to bear children due to a past injury, orchestrates a scheme known as borrowing a womb to bear a child. She drugs Yu Ying and sends her to the bed of Zhao Xuanyou, the Shizi of the marquisate, while posing as herself. Yu Ying becomes pregnant and is secluded in a manor estate, where she is suffocated by Cui Yichu’s servants after giving birth to a son. The child is taken, and Yu Ying’s mother, whom Cui Yichu claimed to be treating, had actually died months prior. Reborn on the morning after her first night with Zhao Xuanyou, Yu Ying retains her memories and resolves to exact revenge.

Upon waking, Yu Ying finds herself confronted by Cui Yichu’s head maids, Mama Zhou and Baochuan, who accuse her of seducing the Shizi. Instead of panicking, Yu Ying plays the part of a frightened, ignorant maid, feigning memory loss and begging for mercy. Cui Yichu, maintaining her benevolent facade, offers Yu Ying a choice: punishment or serving as her substitute in the Shizi’s bed at night. Yu Ying accepts, knowing this is her only path to power. She is moved to a side room in the rear courtyard and instructed to conceal her identity from Zhao Xuanyou. Meanwhile, Cui Yichu secretly feeds Yu Ying fertility medicines and plans to send her to the manor estate once she is pregnant, repeating the fatal cycle of her past life.

Yu Ying, however, has other plans. She requests leave to visit her mother at Yunshui Nunnery, using the opportunity to purchase anti-conception medicine and secure the help of an old acquaintance, Chen Da Niu, to care for her mother. Back in the marquisate, she deliberately encounters Zhao Xuanyou in the gardens, capturing his attention with her beauty and resemblance to Cui Yichu. That night, she enters the bridal chamber again, but this time she is sober and aware. She subtly manipulates Zhao Xuanyou, complaining about the aphrodisiac tonics prepared by Cui Yichu’s family and suggesting that his wife is being overly influenced by her natal family. Zhao Xuanyou, who values independence and suspects interference, becomes sympathetic toward Yu Ying, whom he believes to be his wife.

The tension escalates as Cui Yichu grows increasingly paranoid. She watches from the corridor as Yu Ying and Zhao Xuanyou converse intimately, her jealousy mounting. Yu Ying skillfully navigates the dangerous game, balancing her subservience to Cui Yichu with subtle acts of defiance that win Zhao Xuanyou’s favor. She refuses the sleeping draught meant to keep her unconscious, ensuring she remains alert to every interaction. When Baozhu discovers that Yu Ying has not taken the medicine, Cui Yichu slaps her maid in a fit of rage, revealing the fragility of her control. Yu Ying uses these moments to gather information, learning that Cui Yichu was not a virgin before marriage, a secret that could destroy her if exposed.

As the nights pass, Yu Ying’s relationship with Zhao Xuanyou deepens. She acts as a confidante, listening to his concerns about military duties and court politics, while carefully avoiding any slip that would reveal her true identity. Cui Yichu, desperate to maintain the illusion, continues to drug Yu Ying but grows more suspicious of her maid’s increasing cleverness. The marquisate becomes a battlefield of whispers and glances, with Yu Ying standing at the center. She knows that to survive, she must not only secure her own position but also dismantle Cui Yichu’s scheme from within. With Zhao Xuanyou’s growing affection and her own wits, Yu Ying begins to turn the tables, setting the stage for a confrontation that will determine the fate of the marquisate and her own destiny.