You Stole My Status as Legal Wife, I’ll Make the Entire Marquis’s Mansion Accompany Me in Death

Shen Miao is the legitimate wife of the Jing'an Marquis, Xiao Jingyuan, a union that has lasted three years. Despite her devoted service to the household and her noble birth from the prestigious Shen merchant family, she is confined to the West Annex Courtyard while Xiao Jingyuan celebrates the sixteenth birthday of his mistress, Su Manrou. On this day, Xiao Jingyuan demands that Shen Miao lend him her Phoenix Crown, a symbol of her status as the legal wife, to adorn Su Manrou during the ceremony. When Shen Miao refuses, Xiao Jingyuan bursts into her quarters with Su Manrou, who is wearing the ceremonial red garments reserved for a legal wife. Shen Miao confronts her husband, revealing that she possesses a secret letter and bank drafts proving his treasonous collusion with the Northern Di barbarians. She threatens to deliver this evidence to the Emperor unless he respects her position.

As Shen Miao presents the evidence, Su Manrou feigns a miscarriage, causing Xiao Jingyuan to panic and carry her away. Before leaving, he warns Shen Miao that if anything happens to Su Manrou or the child, she will pay with her life. Shen Miao discovers she is also pregnant, having learned of it only that morning. Realizing Xiao Jingyuan has long ignored her existence and is likely aware of her pregnancy, she is devastated. Moments later, Qing He, her loyal maid, rushes in to report that Xiao Jingyuan has sent an abortion potion, claiming Shen Miao's health is too poor to carry a child. Two matrons enter with the poison, threatening Shen Miao if she refuses. In a desperate act of defiance, Shen Miao splashes the potion on the matron and holds scissors to her own throat. She then leaps from the window into the icy South Lake, vowing that if she survives, she will bring the Marquisate to ruin.

As Shen Miao sinks into the lake, losing her child and her life, memories of a past existence flood her mind. She realizes she has lived this life before and died a tragic death, only to be reborn with full knowledge of the future. In her previous life, she was rescued but slandered, exiled, and eventually murdered by a mysterious assassin. This time, however, she is saved by Zhao Chengyu, the young master of the powerful Water Transport Guild, who happens to be passing by. After five days of unconsciousness, Shen Miao awakens on his boat. She recognizes the guild's emblem and immediately formulates a plan. She warns Zhao Chengyu that a massive storm will destroy his fleet at Jinjiang Wharf in three days and that the imperial court will soon lift the maritime ban, causing silk prices to triple. She advises him to reroute his ships and hold his cargo.

Zhao Chengyu, initially skeptical, is convinced when the storm hits exactly as predicted, sparing his fleet while destroying those of his competitors. Impressed by her foresight and character, he forms an alliance with her. Shen Miao, now adopting the male alias "Shen Gongzi" and wearing a silver mask to conceal her identity, uses her remaining capital to buy up grain in Jiangnan. The locals mock her for hoarding old rice before the flood season, but she knows a catastrophic flood is imminent. When the rivers burst and the harvest is destroyed, grain becomes the most valuable commodity. Shen Miao sells the grain at fair prices, winning the hearts of the people and establishing herself as a pivotal figure in Jiangnan's economy. Zhao Chengyu supports her openly, and they develop a close bond, referring to each other as "Ah Shen" and "Ah Yu" in private.

Shen Miao establishes a high-end tailor shop called Nianqing Ge, designed to gain fame among the nobility and send a message to the capital. During the grand opening, Liu Rumei, a cousin of Su Manrou, attempts to smash the shop in a fit of jealousy. The local authorities intervene, punishing Liu Rumei and cutting off her family's trade routes with the help of the Water Transport Guild. Shen Miao allows Liu Rumei to return to the capital, intending to use her as a conduit to draw out her enemies. Meanwhile, Xiao Jingyuan in the capital receives reports of Shen Gongzi's rise and becomes suspicious, ordering investigations into the mysterious figure's origins. Shen Miao remains focused on her revenge, knowing that the path to destroying the Jing'an Marquisate begins with building an unassailable empire in Jiangnan.