The Prince Regent is Frail and Helpless

An Xia, the sole heir to an ancient lineage of medicine and poison experts, transmigrates into the body of a girl with the same name in a rural village. The original host was abused by her grandmother, Old Lady Qian, and stepmother, Zhang Cuihua, suffering a disfiguring scar on her face after being pushed into a fire pit. Her father, An Laifu, is a cowardly man who enables the abuse, while her two younger sisters, An Chun and An Qiu, are also victims of the household tyranny. Upon waking from a suicide attempt orchestrated by the Liu family to force a marriage, An Xia immediately asserts her dominance, refusing to marry a crippled and foolish man from the Liu family. She physically overpowers her abusers, shocking the villagers and her family, who are unaccustomed to her previous submissive nature.

The Liu family arrives to cancel the engagement, claiming An Xia is injured and unfit for marriage. An Xia, however, reveals that her grandmother had sold her into a slave contract for ten taels of silver, turning public opinion against Old Lady Qian. After the Liu family withdraws, An Xia devises a plan to escape her fate. She and her sisters apply a medicinal paste to their skin to simulate the symptoms of smallpox, causing potential buyers from a neighboring poor village to reject them in fear. When Old Lady Qian and Zhang Cuihua attempt to sell the girls anyway, An Xia threatens to expose the smallpox outbreak to the village, forcing her grandmother to agree to a formal family separation. An Xia ensures the document is written correctly, securing their legal independence.

Following the separation, An Xia demands the return of her biological mother’s dowry, which includes silver jewelry. Old Lady Qian, fearing the spread of disease and the arrival of officials, reluctantly hands over the items. The three sisters move into an abandoned, supposedly haunted house on the east side of the village. Despite their dire circumstances, they receive kindness from a neighbor, Sun Taohua, who provides them with food. An Xia uses her medical knowledge to treat her sisters' malnutrition and scars while exploring the nearby mountains for resources. During a hunting trip, she encounters Rong Yan, a mysterious and beautiful man suffering from chronic poisoning. She temporarily relieves his pain using acupuncture, an act that does not go unnoticed by his attendant, Hua Wumian.

An Xia’s hunting skills prove exceptional, yielding a large roe deer, a rabbit, and a pheasant. She sells the roe deer in town, earning enough money to buy rice, flour, and other necessities. However, upon returning home, she discovers that her grandmother and stepmother have broken into their new house and stolen her mother’s dowry. Enraged, An Xia leads her sisters back to the An family home, smashing down the door. She confronts Zhang Cuihua, who is wearing the stolen earrings, and physically retrieves them. The conflict escalates as An Xia threatens Old Lady Qian, demanding the return of the stolen bracelet. The story concludes with An Xia establishing herself as a formidable force who will no longer tolerate abuse, setting the stage for her journey to rebuild her life and uncover the mysteries of the ring she brought with her from her past life.