The Fake Daughter Refuses to Be a Concubine, Hoards Grain to Survive a Famine Year

Song Yuntang, a modern clinical physician specializing in traditional Chinese medicine, transmigrates into the body of a sixteen-year-old girl with the same name. The original owner was a false heiress, swapped at birth and returned to her biological Song family three years ago. Now facing a forced marriage to become the concubine of Huang Heyu, a wealthy landlord’s son, Song Yuntang refuses to accept her fate. She violently confronts her scheming aunt, Ma Zhaolan, and firmly declares her intention to sever ties with the Song family if pressured further. Her father, Song Jinbao, initially skeptical of her capabilities, agrees to break off the engagement after Song Yuntang asserts her independence with unusual boldness.

Song Yuntang travels to Cile Town with her reluctant second brother, Song Jinsheng, to sell her remaining silk clothes and jewelry. There, she encounters Lin Gengshi, the brother she once called "Second Brother" during her time in the wealthy Lin family. She treats him with cold formality, shocking him with her detachment and refusal to seek reconciliation. Instead of returning to the Lin family, she sets up a street stall, hawking her goods with practiced ease. She uses the proceeds to purchase fine cotton clothing and commissions a set of silver acupuncture needles from a blacksmith, revealing her plan to resume her medical profession. She also buys a large quantity of rice to support her family, demonstrating a pragmatic shift from her previous pampered lifestyle.

On her return journey, Song Yuntang shares an ox cart with Xu Qingye, a respected but sickly scholar and village teacher. She observes his pale complexion and coughing, recognizing the signs of a chronic lung condition. Despite his initial indifference, she persists in asking about his health, aiming to use his recovery as a credential for her future practice. Back in the village, rumors spread about the broken engagement and the Huang family’s retaliation. Song Jinbao and Song Jinyuan return with bruised faces after a confrontation with Huang’s men. The Huang family demands fifty taels of silver as compensation for the broken engagement, threatening the family’s livelihood.

Song Yuntang refuses to pay, stating she will handle the situation herself. She goes into the mountains to gather medicinal herbs, where she is ambushed by Huang Heyu and his attendants. Huang attempts to forcibly take her, claiming she still belongs to him. Xu Qingye, who was also in the mountains, intervenes. He threatens to report Huang’s coercive actions to the magistrate, leveraging his connections and the legal consequences of kidnapping. Huang, wary of Xu’s influence and the witnesses present, retreats but warns that Song Yuntang will not escape him forever. The Song family, alerted by Xu’s students, arrives to rescue her.

Following the incident, Song Yuntang’s status within the family begins to shift. When her pregnant sister-in-law, Liu Xiangyun, faints from stress and malnutrition, Song Yuntang diagnoses the condition and writes a prescription to stabilize the fetus. She pays for the medicine herself, proving her medical competence. The family, previously dismissive of her, begins to acknowledge her value. Song Yuntang continues to navigate the tensions with the Huang family while establishing her identity as a physician. She maintains a distant but cooperative relationship with her family, focusing on building her career and securing her independence in a society that offers women few paths beyond marriage.