Ruin My Reputation? I’ll Tear the Marriage Contract! And Marry the Yandere Powerful Minister Instead

Jiang Yao was the biological daughter of the Guardian Princess, but she was switched at birth with Shen Yuanwu during wartime chaos. Raised as a merchant's daughter, she married Pei Muzheng, a penniless scholar she supported financially and academically. In her previous life, Pei Muzheng and Shen Yuanwu conspired to ruin her reputation. They drugged her and framed her for adultery with a stable hand. Pei Muzheng demoted her from wife to concubine, cut out her tongue, gouged out her eyes, and flayed her skin before she died in agony. Jiang Yao was reborn, retaining her memories and a special Heavenly Medical Bone that alleviates pain for those with chronic headaches.

Upon waking, Jiang Yao found herself back at the moment Hongxiu, Shen Yuanwu’s maid, forced the drugging soup down her throat at the Duke Dingguo’s banquet. Instead of resisting weakly as before, Jiang Yao overpowered Hongxiu, forced the potion down her throat, and knocked her unconscious. She then fled to a bamboo grove where Prince Ning, the future Regent Prince, was resting. Prince Ning suffered from debilitating chronic headaches and was known for his violent temper, killing anyone who approached him. However, Jiang Yao’s proximity to him immediately eased his pain due to her Medical Bone. She feigned fear and begged for his protection, successfully securing an ally.

Meanwhile, Shen Yuanwu and Pei Muzheng orchestrated a public scene to catch Jiang Yao in adultery. They led a crowd to a secluded courtyard where Hongxiu and a servant, both drugged, were entangled together. When the crowd opened the door, they were shocked to find Jiang Yao standing outside, completely innocent. Prince Ning arrived and ordered the drugged pair to be beaten to death, destroying the evidence of the frame-up. Jiang Yao publicly confronted Shen Yuanwu and Pei Muzheng, exposing their hypocrisy and planting seeds of doubt among the guests about their relationship. Pei Muzheng lost face in front of his colleagues and superiors.

Back at the Pei manor, Jiang Yao’s disloyal maid You Qin attempted to manipulate her, but Jiang Yao saw through the betrayal. She fired You Qin and severed ties with the Pei family’s financial support. When Pei Muzheng’s sister, Pei Xingyu, demanded Jiang Yao’s valuable pink pearl jewelry set, Jiang Yao refused. Pei Xingyu insulted her, wishing for Jiang Yao’s death so the family could inherit her dowry. Enraged, Jiang Yao splashed hot soup on Pei Xingyu and her mother, Liu Shi. She then formally surrendered her household management rights and keys to Old Madam Pei, cutting off the financial lifeline the Pei family had been stealing from her dowry for years.

Jiang Yao returned to her biological father, Marquis Wu’an, at the Wu’an Marquis Manor. She revealed the truth about the switched identities and the Pei family’s cruelty. Marquis Wu’an was furious and ordered Shen Yuanwu to apologize. Jiang Yao stayed at the manor, reconnecting with her noble birthright. She began investigating the truth behind the baby switch and the treason charges that had destroyed her Jiang family in her past life. With Prince Ning as her protector and her true family by her side, Jiang Yao prepared to dismantle the Pei family and seek revenge on those who had tortured her.