Yun Zhiyue, a female CEO of a catering corporation, dies in a plane crash and transmigrates into the body of Li Zhiyue, the fake daughter of the Pingyang Marquis Manor. The original host had a vicious reputation, having been arrogant and abusive. Upon waking at the Third Princess's birthday banquet, Yun Zhiyue finds herself being slapped by the Marchioness Pingyang after the real daughter, Li Wanqing, fakes an accident. Instead of reacting with anger or begging for mercy, Yun Zhiyue calmly exposes the hypocrisy of the Marchioness and Li Wanqing. When the Empress arrives, Yun Zhiyue seizes the opportunity to request permission to leave the marquis household and return to her biological parents, a merchant family. The Empress, reminded of a past debt of gratitude where the original host saved the Empress Dowager, grants the request. Yun Zhiyue formally severs ties with the marquis family, changing her surname back to Yun, and is subsequently invited by the Empress Dowager, who recognizes her cleverness.
Yun Zhiyue discovers she is bound to a Gourmet Business System named Rice Bucket, which requires her to earn points by having people eat food she prepares. Her first mission involves obtaining unlimited lemons and earning ten thousand points within a month. To secure a powerful backer, she approaches the Third Princess, Xiao Zhaoning, offering her a novelty food called instant noodles. The princess, bored with bland palace cuisine, is delighted by the spicy and fragrant flavor. Yun Zhiyue uses this connection to propose a business partnership. She takes over her biological father's failing teahouse in South City, renaming it Jade Delicacies Tea House. With the Third Princess's investment and influence, Yun Zhiyue introduces innovative dishes such as lemonade, spicy-sour chicken feet, and various desserts, which become instant sensations in the capital.
The opening of the teahouse is a massive success, drawing huge crowds with free lemon beverages and poetry competitions. Yun Zhiyue also recruits Qi Yanqing, the second young master of the Cavalry General's residence, as her accountant by teaching him modern arithmetic and the multiplication table. As her business expands, she faces challenges such as the high cost of ice and the need to cultivate lemons independently before the system's supply runs out. Meanwhile, the Pingyang Marquis Manor discovers Yun Zhiyue's success and the value of her recipes, leading to internal scheming. Li Yuyao, the eldest illegitimate daughter, had previously sent Yun Zhiyue a protective charm laced with mandrake to harm her, but Yun Zhiyue discovers the plot and turns the tables. The story follows Yun Zhiyue as she builds a culinary empire, navigates court politics with the Third Princess and Crown Prince, and establishes her independence in a society that previously dismissed her as a worthless fake daughter.
