Transforming a Criticized Husband into a Virtuous One

Xie Xian, a successful but heartbroken modern woman, falls to her death after discovering her husband’s infidelity with her best friend. Upon waking, she finds herself in the body of Xie Xian’er, the illegitimate fourth daughter of the Marquis of Pingyuan in the Great Xia Dynasty. The original Xie Xian’er was a tragic figure, born from a drugged encounter between her father, Xie Honghui, and a lowly widow named Huang. To protect the Marquis’s reputation and honor a Taoist’s prophecy that this child would bring him longevity, the family concealed her true parentage, raising her as an adopted daughter in isolation. Denied love and education, she grew up timid and invisible, confined to a remote courtyard and subjected to the cruelty of neglectful servants and resentful relatives.

The narrative begins with Xie Xian’er’s forced social debut at the Peach Blossom Banquet, hosted by the Eldest Princess Heyou. Having never left her courtyard in eight years, the modern woman’s bold personality clashes with the rigid etiquette of the ancient nobility. In a moment of panic induced by a mystical cat-like creature she saw in the sky, she stumbles through a gauze curtain and knocks down Ma Jiamin, the most eligible bachelor in the capital and the man who had betrayed her in her previous life. The incident causes a scandal, drawing the wrath of her family. The Marquis and his wives view her as a disgrace, fearing the incident will ruin the marriage prospects of her legitimate sisters. Consequently, they decide to marry her off to Ma Erlang, a widower, as a temporary measure. Their true plan is to annul the marriage after a year on fabricated grounds of infertility, forcing Xie Xian’er to become a nun in the family temple, thereby removing her from society permanently.

Shortly after the banquet, Xie Xian’er swallows the mystical creature, which reveals itself as a Halo Cat, a cloud spirit that has taken feline form. The cat resides in her stomach, granting her the ability to hear sounds within a five-hundred-meter radius and possessing a Light Orb capable of reviving the nearly dead. This supernatural companion becomes her only ally in a hostile environment. Upon returning to her dilapidated courtyard, Xie Xian’er discovers that her loyal wet nurse, Zhou Momo, has been brutally beaten and is lying ill with a fever. The servants, resentful of their mistress’s low status, had neglected her care. Xie Xian’er tends to Zhou Momo with the compassion she lacked in her previous life, forging a bond that becomes the emotional core of her new existence.

Realizing she cannot rely on her family, the modern Xie Xian’er resolves to survive and escape her fate. She uses the Halo Cat’s abilities to eavesdrop on her family’s discussions, learning the details of her meager dowry and their malicious plans. She conceals her changed personality from Zhou Momo by claiming she received enlightenment from a Bodhisattva in a dream, a story the superstitious nurse readily accepts. With her health and spirits restored, Xie Xian’er begins to take charge of her life, managing her household and preparing for the impending marriage. The story sets the stage for her journey from a powerless, abused illegitimate daughter to a resilient woman who will navigate the treacherous politics of the Marquis estate and the wider world, armed with a mystical companion and the wisdom of two lifetimes.