The Salted Fish Princess Loves to Eat Melons, the Entire Court Dotes on Her

Ye Chuchu, a modern woman who died from overwork, transmigrates into the body of the Third Miss of the Great Jing Kingdom’s Minister of Rites. Bound to a bamboo pole and being carried to a well for execution, she learns that her stepmother, Lady Chen, poisoned her to silence and ordered her murder to prevent her beloved eldest brother, General Ye Jinmo, from securing a marriage alliance between Ye Chuchu and the Sixth Prince. Ye Chuchu despises the Sixth Prince and is in love with the Fifth Prince, making Lady Chen’s scheme a death sentence for her original plans. Just as her executioners prepare to throw her into the water, a system named Zhazha appears, offering gossip in exchange for survival points. Ye Chuchu fights back with ferocious desperation, injuring her captors until Ye Jinmo arrives. Because of the system’s interference, he is moments late, but he still rescues her, discovering that she can communicate with him telepathically.

Ye Jinmo, who can hear his sister’s inner thoughts, learns of the conspiracy through Ye Chuchu’s mind. He confronts Lady Chen and the Fifth Miss, Ye Mengzhi, in the Hibiscus Courtyard. Maidservant Lin, one of the attempted murderers, breaks down under Ye Jinmo’s pressure and confesses that Lady Chen ordered the poisoning and the drowning attempt. Ye Chuchu’s gossip system reveals further secrets: Lady Chen is not only a murderer but also a woman of debauchery who keeps male escorts cross-dressed as maids. The most shocking revelation is that Lady Chen sold the Fifth Princess, a woman Ye Jinmo had been secretly investigating, to a brothel after an ambush. The Princess, suffering from amnesia, was known there as Miss Hongdou. Ye Jinmo immediately dispatches his guard to rescue her while Ye Changlin, the father, reacts with fury upon hearing the truth about his wife’s infidelity and his first wife’s murder.

Ye Changlin, realizing his wife murdered his beloved first wife and cheated on him for years, drafts a letter of divorce. He drags Lady Chen and Ye Mengzhi to the Court of Judicial Review, striking the grievance drum in the middle of the night to expose their crimes publicly. The case draws a massive crowd and shocks the capital. In court, Ye Jinmo presents evidence, including the male escorts and Zhou Dahua, the widow of the assassin Lady Chen hired fifteen years prior. Zhou Dahua confesses to the murder for silver, confirming Lady Chen’s guilt. The court learns that Lady Chen’s own wet nurse, Nanny Ma, was beaten to death by her for sleeping with one of the escorts, adding layers of depravity to the case. Grand Tutor Chen, Lady Chen’s father, arrives in a panic, but Ye Changlin is determined to see justice served despite the political implications.

As the trial progresses, Ye Chuchu uses the system to gather more gossip, earning points to purchase items like a Voice Pill to restore her speech and medicine for her brother’s health issues. She maintains a calm exterior while her inner monologue provides comedic relief and crucial information to those who can hear it. The narrative shifts from a survival story to a legal and familial reckoning. Ye Jinmo’s protective nature toward his sister strengthens, and he works to clear the Ye family’s name while dealing with the political fallout of the Fifth Princess’s rescue. The story sets the stage for Ye Chuchu to rebuild her life, seek revenge against those who wronged her, and navigate the complex court politics of the Great Jing Kingdom, all while managing her quirky and gossip-obsessed system.