Yu Lan opened the window and secretly looked downstairs.

In the garden, the butler stood beside the rose bed in a tailcoat. Under his guidance, several workers were weeding. The task was not difficult; it only required holding a machine, turning on the power, and then the machine would automatically go ka-cha ka-cha, cutting the lawn to a perfectly uniform height.

Tsk, so convenient.

Yu Lan showed a look of envy and suddenly asked, “Say, if I asked him to give me the weeding job, would he agree?”

In the quiet room, apart from the beautiful woman leaning sideways against the windowsill, there was only a blue-eyed Persian cat licking its belly.

The woman had long hair like a waterfall, a goose-egg-shaped face, willow-leaf brows, and delicate, charming facial features. Her nose was fine and her teeth white. She wore a red silk nightgown, with most of her shoulder exposed and her chest full and prominent, making her fair skin look even more smooth and delicate.

Unfortunately, animals did not understand human aesthetics. The Persian cat lazily lifted its head and glanced at its litter-scooping servant, clearly uninterested in her question.

It lowered its head to lick its fur again. Yet just at that moment, a second voice suddenly echoed through the room, startling the Persian cat so much that it yowled and darted under the bed:

[The original owner would never do something like weeding. You must not break character!]

“How would she not?”

Yu Lan argued confidently with the electric-sounding voice, the diamonds on her fingernails glittering like stars under the sunlight. Who would have thought that just this pair of hands had cost her two thousand yuan: “People change. She didn’t know things would turn out this way after marrying into the Gu family. What’s wrong with doing a bit of weeding to get by? Besides, the original owner’s family was a nouveau riche household. Maybe she used to weed a lot when she was young!”

The system was thrown off by Yu Lan’s words, grinding in confusion for a moment before responding mechanically:

[Upon verification, the original owner did indeed pull grass in a park at the age of five.]

Yu Lan’s eyes flickered, sensing an opportunity. “See? I’m so smart.”

[Please use the proper channels to exploit the wealthy family. Do not go down twisted paths.]

“This doesn’t conflict at all. I’ll go ask later.”

As she spoke, she casually muted it as if unintentionally.

System: “…………”

So, how did things end up like this?

It recalled the beautiful scenes described by other more experienced systems—they said that sheep-shearing missions were the easiest to clear, and that the hosts were always dumb, easy to trick into obedience. As a first-generation system, it fell into deep depression.

Yet it did not know that Yu Lan was even more depressed than it.

Half a month ago, she was not Yu Lan—or more precisely, not the current Gu family madam “Yu Lan”—but a 21st-century university student named Yu Lan.

She was born in a small town, but she was smart and studious, with excellent grades, and was admitted to a top 10 university in the country, majoring in fashion design.

As everyone knew, any major related to art was extremely money-consuming. Yu Lan came from an ordinary family and had no choice but to work part-time from the beginning of her enrollment.

Fortunately, she was quick-witted and had good fortune with money. Not only did she successfully complete university, but she also managed to save up a small sum of money before graduation.

When most of her classmates were still worrying about jobs, she had already used this money to take over a studio. Just as everything seemed to be on track, the day before the studio’s opening, she transmigrated.

——And she transmigrated into a novel about a wealthy old man, becoming the malicious ex-wife of that old man.

The ex-wife had an arrogant personality and a venomous heart. Because she fell in love with the old man at first sight at a party, she clung to him desperately, even threatening suicide. Even though the old man did not love her, she still firmly believed that affection could grow over time, that love could be cultivated.

As a result, everything after marriage did not go as the original owner had hoped. The old man was not only cold and indifferent, but he even went abroad on a business trip on the day of their wedding. Moreover, there was an illegitimate son at home who had not been publicly disclosed!

As the saying goes, if one does not explode in silence, one becomes twisted in silence. In the novel, the original owner, who guarded an empty room day after day, finally came to see the truth. Not daring to lash out at the old man, she transferred all her resentment onto the stepson and did everything possible to torment him. In the end, she was discovered by the old man and successfully caused her own death.

The time when Yu Lan transmigrated was exactly when the original owner had already begun to subject the stepson to cold violence, forcing him to move out of the house and live at school.

“……”

She had not even told anyone to study medicine in her last life, so how did she get struck by lightning?

The system let out a mechanical sigh: “Didn’t the original owner get what she wanted?”

Hmm… how could that not be the case?

The system only sighed briefly before quickly remembering its identity: “The host only needs to complete the issued tasks. Each time a task is completed, the host will receive one chance at the lottery.”

“A lottery?”

“That’s right. The prize pool is connected to other planes. The host might draw body-cleansing pills, nutrient fluids, magic books, or possibly even a chance to return home~”

The system painted a grand vision with great enthusiasm, but Yu Lan remained entirely uninterested.

She was not a fool. Before she saw any physical items, she would remain skeptical about everything.

After all, the reason she transmigrated to this damned place was entirely thanks to this system.

She casually responded with a few words and then began to live life according to her own ideas.

She was a rich wife of a wealthy family, young and beautiful, with her husband not at home. She had money and free time—why should she care about men?

In her past life, she had worked herself to the bone just to earn tens of thousands. In this life, she could lie down and share the old man’s money. If she remembered correctly, in the novel, the old man ranked first on the A City rich list!

As for the stepson whom the system reminded her to pay attention to, Yu Lan was even less interested. She was not the original owner, she would not abuse a child, but she also had no interest in repairing their relationship or volunteering to be his stepmother.

Just like that, Yu Lan ate all kinds of delicacies every day, ate what she should eat, drank what she should drink, and kept swiping the black card in her hand. Her days were extremely happy.

Just when she was about to forget her own identity, the sheep-shearing system suddenly issued the first task.

[You were born and I had no money. You grew old and I still had no money. To prevent the widening wealth gap, please shear 300 yuan from the wealthy family and donate it to the orphanage. Time limit: eight hours. If the task fails, forced plot progression mode will activate!]

“…………”

A rich wife still needing to make money—it was enough to make those who heard it weep, and those who saw it cry.

But there was no way around it. Yu Lan did not want to enter the original plot, so she had to start thinking about how to shear some wool.

Speaking of which, making money was easy. If she casually designed a few outfits, she could meet the requirement. But it did not match the task’s rules. She had originally intended to use the black card to transfer money to the orphanage, but the system said the money had to be sheared by herself.

So, what exactly should she do?

While Yu Lan was deep in thought, the weeding work downstairs came to a temporary pause. After a while, the butler came up to knock on her door and invited her to come downstairs for lunch.

Yu Lan nodded. After walking a few steps, she suddenly remembered something: “Oh right, Pi Dan has hidden under the bed. Please ask someone to bring it out.”

The corner of the butler’s mouth twitched. No matter how many times it happened, he still found it hard to accept the name Madam had given. But he was a professional butler. Even if he had thoughts in his heart, he still strictly carried out the orders of the household. “Please rest assured, Madam. I will immediately send someone to take care of it.”

“Mm.”

Today’s lunch was as sumptuous as always.

Sea cucumber, abalone, Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, and also the drunken crab and crayfish that Yu Lan had strongly requested. Just smelling them made her feel satisfied.

The Gu family lived in a villa area, with beautiful scenery and luxurious decoration. Ever since the wedding, the old man had gone on a business trip and had not returned for half a month. In the vast villa, Yu Lan was the only master.

She lived every day like an emperor, and the three chefs at home were like concubines. Whose card she flipped, that person got the chance to cook for her.

The key point was, the chosen chef was especially happy. The master had always had a light taste and rarely expressed anything. Now that someone could appreciate their cooking, wasn’t this exactly the case of “the chef dresses up for those who delight in them”?

This kind of life was undoubtedly happy—provided that she had money.

Sigh, no matter where she was, she still could not escape the fate of being busy.

Thinking of this, Yu Lan was enjoying her food while asking the butler beside her, “The workers weeding the garden today, were they hired from outside?”

“Yes, all are professional workers from the job market.”

“How much do they cost?”

“Ah?”

“I mean, how much is their daily wage?”

The butler answered truthfully, “Five hundred a day.”

Hiss—

Yu Lan inhaled sharply. Five hundred! Just for weeding! Back then, she only earned one thousand designing stage costumes!

She immediately turned her head and said seriously, “Actually, I know how to weed.”

The butler: “……”

“Really. I’ve loved being close to nature since I was young. A fortune teller once said my five elements lack earth, and that touching soil helps my health. These past few days, I don’t know why, but I’ve felt like I can’t catch my breath. So when I saw the grass in the garden, I thought—maybe I could clean it up myself.”

Upon hearing this, the butler let out a sigh of relief. He had thought that there was no way Madam would do a servant’s work. Now that he knew there was a reason behind her recent changes, it made sense.

Of course, it was impossible for him to let Yu Lan do the weeding. So, in the evening, he had a new batch of roses brought in from outside and invited Yu Lan to come over.

The roses in the Gu family were not ordinary ones. It was said they were a newly developed, one-of-a-kind breed. With the help of the servants, Yu Lan spent two hours planting them. In fact, she only planted two herself; the rest were planted by the servants.

The butler timely handed her a damp towel. “Please wipe your hands.”

“Thank you.”

Yu Lan casually wiped her hands a few times, then eagerly looked at the butler. Planting flowers was more tiring than weeding. She had been busy the whole afternoon—surely it should be worth at least seven hundred, right? “Do you have something to say?”

The butler was stunned. “Uh, there is one thing. The new perfume, Glass Candy, by the French perfume master has already been blended and will arrive tomorrow.”

“What else?”

“Next month is the old madam’s birthday. The gift list is already prepared. If Madam wishes to see it, I’ll bring it to you later.”

Yu Lan waved her hand. “That’s not it either.”

The butler’s heart skipped a beat.

He had already instructed the servants not to reveal the young master’s return from school to avoid causing any new conflict. After all, with Sir not at home, the situation between the two…

He hadn’t expected Yu Lan to find out anyway.

He furrowed his brows imperceptibly and replied, “The young master is on break today and is returning from school.”

The young master? The junior high school boy who had been bullied by the original owner, locked in a cabinet for a whole day and night, and now was her temporary stepson?

Yu Lan had felt some sympathy while reading the novel, but now that she was determined to live as a lazy rich wife, the boy’s situation had nothing to do with her. Without the original owner, he presumably wouldn’t experience those things again.

Once she thought it through, Yu Lan cast the matter aside. Seeing that the butler still hadn’t guessed correctly, she became a bit anxious and decided to drop a hint. “I’m saying, under this scorching sun, they’ve been planting roses all morning—don’t you think that’s a bit too exhausting?”

The woman blinked her eyes. Her long curled eyelashes fluttered like butterfly wings, charming and lovely.

Her fair, luminous skin glowed under the sunlight. A red mole on her collarbone was faintly visible, adding a touch of allure.

Several young male servants nearby blushed quietly.

No wonder Sir had defied the old madam’s objections and married her in a flash. With such beauty, what man wouldn’t be moved?

Of course, these men did not include the fifty-year-old butler. As expected of the Gu family’s head butler, he showed a look of sudden realization after hearing Yu Lan’s hint. “Please rest assured, Madam. I will immediately go issue bonuses to the workers.”

After saying that, he turned and left, leaving Yu Lan standing where she was, her outstretched hand hanging in the air. A gust of wind blew past, and her palm felt ice cold.

Wait a minute, isn’t there a bonus for her?!

At the same time, the sizzling sound of electric current rang out again.

[Task failed. Forced plot progression mode activated!]

As soon as the voice fell, Yu Lan felt her body being taken over. She looked on in horror as her body moved toward the villa’s entrance against her will.

There, a black sedan was slowly driving in.