Transmigrated as the Villainous Young Aunt: Starting by Taking Back My Golden Finger

In the scorching heat of May, a violent confrontation erupts in Gu Family Village within Qingshan Town. Old Madam Gu, a fierce matriarch, chases a thin, thirteen-year-old girl named Er Ya around her courtyard with a wooden stick. Er Ya, who has been labeled a jinx since birth and blamed for her grandfather's death, moves with surprising agility, evading the exhausted old woman. The conflict stems from an incident where Er Ya shoved her cousin, Gu Yuan, causing the girl to strike her head on a stone bench and fall into a critical condition. Old Madam Gu, who dotes on Gu Yuan as her only daughter, rants about Er Ya being a worthless brat and threatens to report the family to the authorities, which would ruin the imperial examination prospects of her grandsons, Guangzong and Yaozu. The village chief intervenes, urging Old Madam Gu to consider the clan's reputation and the boys' futures. He proposes a compromise: Er Ya must kneel outside Gu Yuan's room to pray for her recovery, while Er Ya's parents, Gu Second Brother and Yang Shi, must perform all household chores for a month. Er Ya defiantly refuses, pointing out the hypocrisy of the villagers who ignored her abuse but now pretend to be moral. Gu Eldest Brother, Er Ya's father, enforces the punishment by kicking her to her knees and slapping her to save face before the chief.

Inside the shabby earthen room, Gu Yuan awakens from her coma. She is disoriented by the rough bedding and the primitive surroundings. As she sits up, fragments of memory flood her mind, revealing that she is no longer the spoiled girl who was pushed, but a modern special agent named Gu Liu who had transmigrated into Er Ya's body. However, the consciousness that wakes up is actually Gu Yuan, the original owner of the body, who has transmigrated from the modern world. She realizes she has entered the body of a character from a novel she read the previous night. In that story, the heroine was a transmigrator like Gu Liu, who rose to power using a Trading System hidden within a bracelet. The original Gu Yuan in the novel was oppressed by the heroine and ultimately became cannon fodder. Gu Yuan quickly deduces that the bracelet, which was Old Madam Gu's dowry, contains the system. She remembers that when she was pushed, the bracelet slipped off her wrist and was secretly taken by Er Ya, who is now inhabited by Gu Liu. The system activated only after Er Ya was beaten and her blood stained the bracelet. Gu Yuan, knowing the plot and the danger posed by the antagonist, decides she must reclaim the bracelet to prevent Gu Liu from gaining power.

Old Madam Gu enters the room, relieved that her precious daughter has woken up. She complains about Er Ya's disobedience and promises to teach her a lesson. Gu Yuan, feigning weakness and clinging to her grandmother, asks for her bracelet back, claiming she cannot go a day without it. Old Madam Gu flies into a rage, interpreting the theft as the final straw. She storms out to confront Er Ya, who is still kneeling in the courtyard. The old woman demands the bracelet, accusing Er Ya of stealing it. Er Ya, realizing her mistake of keeping the bracelet on her person rather than hiding it, tries to deny the theft. Old Madam Gu orders her eldest son to hold Er Ya down while his wife and another daughter-in-law search her. Er Ya struggles, threatening the old woman, which only fuels Old Madam Gu's determination to humiliate her. Eldest Brother Gu, fearing for his reputation and wanting to shift blame to his mother, prepares to strip Er Ya himself to prove his obedience.

Before Eldest Brother can act, Qian Shi, the second daughter-in-law, produces the bracelet from Er Ya's clothes. She claims it was found during the search, but her true motive is to frame Er Ya's family for hiding private savings, hoping to seize the family's assets for her own two sons. Yang Shi, Er Ya's mother, is terrified and pleads her innocence, resenting her daughter for dragging her into suspicion. Old Madam Gu snatches the bracelet, examines it, and confirms it is hers. She rebukes Qian Shi for her greed and schemes, asserting her authority over the household. She declares that she will keep the family united and punish anyone who tries to destroy it. With the bracelet recovered, Old Madam Gu returns to Gu Yuan's room, leaving Er Ya in a state of shock and humiliation. Gu Yuan, now in possession of the artifact that holds the Trading System, prepares to face the antagonist who has stolen her destiny. The stage is set for a battle of wits and survival between two transmigrators in a harsh, patriarchal society.