The Laid-back Life of a Stepmother Novel

Wen Ye, a former company director reincarnated after a car accident, finds herself as the daughter of a concubine in an ancient aristocratic family. Unwilling to engage in household power struggles, she adopts a laid-back lifestyle at age twenty, prompting her anxious concubine mother and the main wife to offer her three marriage options: a newly minted scholar, a cousin from the main wife's family, or a widowed Ministry of Justice official with children. Wen Ye selects the third option, reasoning that it best suits her desire for a simple life. The scholar has a cousin living with him, creating complications. The cousin's family is large with multiple mothers-in-law and numerous concubines she would need to serve. The Ministry of Justice official, by contrast, has deceased parents, owns property, and has a supportive elder brother and sister-in-law. His young son requires no active mothering since his aunt can fulfill that role. This arrangement allows Wen Ye to marry without managing a household, bearing children, or dealing with extensive family obligations.