Reborn for the 99th Time, the Pampered Salted-Fish Concubine Decided to Give Up

Shen Zhi is a modern corporate employee burdened by massive debt who is transported to the Great Zhao Dynasty by a rebirth system. Her task is to capture the heart of Crown Prince Pei Lian to earn enough money to return to her original world. Over nineteen previous lifetimes, she attempted to win his affection through various schemes, but each attempt ended in a tragic death, often implicating and killing her loyal maid, Suwen, and Nanny Zhao. In her twentieth rebirth, Shen Zhi decides to abandon the system's mission. She resolves to live a lazy, carefree life and avoid Pei Lian, whom she knows is obsessed with his first love, Side Consort Liu Yan. Liu Yan is a venomous woman who holds a grudge against Shen Zhi due to her beauty and status as a minor Fengyi in the Eastern Palace.

The story begins with Shen Zhi being forced to kneel in the hot garden as punishment by Liu Yan’s maid. Exhausted and suffering from heatstroke, she collapses and faints. When she wakes, she finds that Pei Lian has summoned her. In a shocking twist, Pei Lian reveals that he is also aware of the time loops and has retained memories of her previous nineteen deaths. He accuses her of having ulterior motives for approaching him and interrogates her brutally. When Shen Zhi attempts to reveal her system task, the system punishes her with severe internal pain and bleeding, causing her to collapse and appear dead. This triggers another reset, placing her back at the moment of her initial punishment. However, this time Pei Lian intervenes, summoning her to his study before Liu Yan’s maid can strike her again.

Pei Lian confronts Shen Zhi about her repeated deaths and declares that she is not allowed to die in this lifetime. He assigns two elite guards from the Secret Night Bureau, Qing Xue and Qing Yu, to protect her. Despite her desire for a quiet life, Shen Zhi finds herself increasingly entangled with the Crown Prince. Pei Lian visits her quarters, dines with her, and insists on staying overnight, much to the fury of Liu Yan. Shen Zhi reveals to Pei Lian that Liu Yan murdered her in previous lifetimes through poisoning, strangulation, and drowning. Pei Lian refuses to believe that his beloved Liu Yan is capable of such cruelty, dismissing Shen Zhi’s claims as misunderstandings or manipulation.

The conflict escalates when Liu Yan hosts a flower-viewing feast by the lotus pond, intending to have Shen Zhi drowned. During the event, a drugged cat causes chaos, and Shen Zhi is pushed into the water. As she struggles to stay afloat, Pei Lian arrives and leaps into the pond to save her. He performs CPR and mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, successfully reviving her. The other concubines, particularly Liu Yan and Jiang Nanxi, are consumed by jealousy and rage. After the incident, Shen Zhi develops a high fever due to trauma and nightmares of her past deaths. Pei Lian rushes to her side, ordering the imperial physician to treat her and vowing to investigate who pushed her into the pond. The story concludes with Shen Zhi recovering under Pei Lian’s protection, while Liu Yan plots further revenge, and Pei Lian begins to question the truth behind Shen Zhi’s accusations regarding his white moonlight.