Married to the Eldest Son of a Hunter: The Wicked Stepmother Regrets Deeply

Lu Zhaozhao, a twenty-eight-year-old obstetrician from the twenty-first century, is killed by rioters in a hospital and transmigrates into the body of a ten-year-old peasant girl with the same name. The original owner is sold by her cruel stepmother and useless father to a matchmaker for ten taels of silver. Lu Zhaozhao wakes up in the back of a cart, heading to her new life as a wife in the Gu family. She arrives at a dilapidated thatched house at the foot of Xinghua Village, where she meets her new husband, Gu Yan, a tall hunter with a disfiguring scar on his face. Gu Yan explains that he bought her to help care for his sick mother and two young nieces and nephews, An An and Momo, whose parents died in a flood. He promises they will sleep in separate rooms, and Lu Zhaozhao, relieved by the lack of marital expectations, agrees to stay.

Upon entering the Gu household, Lu Zhaozhao discovers she has been granted a Spiritual Spring Space, a cheat ability that allows her to cultivate plants in a magical dimension. She immediately begins using it to grow wild vegetables, improving the family's diet from thin porridge to nutritious meals. Her cooking skills quickly win over the children and the frail Madam Li. Gu Yan, who had been living a sparse life after his family's fall from noble status in the capital, is surprised by her competence. He hands her control of the household finances, recognizing her practicality compared to his own ignorance of daily management. Lu Zhaozhao takes them to town to sell his hunting goods, where she exposes a local shopkeeper who has been underpaying Gu Yan for years. She negotiates a fair price for snake gall and meat, earning eight taels of silver, which she uses to buy pork, rice, and seasonings.

Back home, Lu Zhaozhao renders lard and makes wild vegetable buns, a meal that brings rare joy to the household. Her kindness extends to their neighbor, Sister-in-law Zheng, whose abusive, alcoholic husband, Wang Daniu, frequently beats her. When Wang Daniu returns home drunk and assaults Sister-in-law Zheng again, Lu Zhaozhao and Gu Yan intervene to comfort the weeping woman. Lu Zhaozhao privately wishes for the man to die, and the next day, Wang Daniu falls into a ditch and dies from a head injury. Sister-in-law Zheng is freed from her torment, and the village accepts his accidental death. Gu Yan begins to suspect that Lu Zhaozhao possesses some form of good fortune, noting how her arrival has transformed their struggling household into one of stability and warmth.

As Lu Zhaozhao settles into her new role, she focuses on nurturing the children and managing the family's resources with her spiritual space. She learns that the Gu family fled the capital due to political troubles, leaving them with hidden enemies and a need for secrecy. Despite the poverty and the scarred appearance of her husband, Lu Zhaozhao finds a sense of peace and purpose. She is no longer the isolated doctor who died tragically but a matriarch building a home. The story follows her efforts to improve the family's livelihood, using her modern knowledge and supernatural gift to overcome the hardships of feudal life while navigating the delicate dynamics of her new relationships.