The moment she opened her eyes, she heard a cold, masculine voice.
"Do you know what you've done?"
The man stood with his hands behind his back, robes immaculate, eyes filled with disgust. His voice was sharp, carrying authority earned over many years.
"Since when does my daughter need permission from you to eat?"
Her head throbbed.
Memories that were not hers flooded in—
Substitute marriage.
Left alone in the mansion.
Hated by the children.
The household authority token.
Whispered rumors spreading like poison.
"Can you explain what I did wrong?" she asked slowly, testing the unfamiliar voice that came out of her mouth.
She tried to organise her thoughts, to understand what was happening.
"Explain?" He laughed coldly. "You still dare to act innocent?"
He stepped closer, eyes dark.
"Because you withheld the best dishes, Yuer cried the entire night."
"Do you really think I wouldn't find out," he continued sharply, "just because I spent time with the children rather than coming to your courtyard for lunch?"
"You used this method to take revenge on them."
Her fingers tightened inside her sleeves.
"Listen carefully," he said, each word cutting deep.
"I will never love you. Not in this life."
His gaze sharpened.
"The only woman in my heart is my first wife. You are nothing more than a nominal Madam—placed here to manage accounts and silence outsiders."
She said nothing.
"Do not harbour foolish fantasies," he continued mercilessly.
"You have no right to interfere in my children's affairs. Especially my daughter."
Outside the door, a faint rustle sounded.
A small, trembling voice whispered, "Father… is it true that after the stepmother came… I will suffer?"
His expression softened instantly.
"Who dares spread such rumours?" he snapped. Then he turned back to her, fury blazing in his eyes.
"If you dare make my daughter suffer even a little—"
He leaned down, his voice low and threatening.
"I will divorce you."
Her heart skipped.
"You think managing the household gives you power?" he sneered.
"The moment you make another mistake, I will take that authority back."
Silence filled the room.
Just then, she heard him order a servant coldly, "Madam is not allowed to eat anything today. Remember that."
After he left, the room fell deathly quiet.
Riya—whose mind was still hazy—slowly sat down and looked around curiously.
Riya was a time traveler who enjoyed going to various timelines to eat, drink, and have fun. Occasionally, she would also fulfil the wishes of the person who lent her their body.
Whenever she arrived in a world, she would find a body that was pleasing to the eye and nearing death, then ask the person if they were willing to lend it to her. If the person had a wish, as long as it wasn't something she couldn't accept, she would fulfil it.
If the wish was something she couldn't accept, she simply wouldn't borrow the body. After all, there were too many people in the world—there was no need to insist on a body with too many demands.
Once the person agreed to the loan, she would rewind time and enter the world at a point she deemed appropriate.
In this world, for example, she rewound time and entered when the original owner was first punished by the Prime Minister.
But in reality, the original owner had never done those things.
She had just married into the Prime Minister's household and had only recently taken over household management. She didn't even have the power to do something so drastic.
The real person behind it all was the Old Madam—the true power holder of the mansion.
She only wanted to show the new Madam that even if she had been given household management, the Old Madam was still in charge. This was a warning for her to behave herself.
Because of this incident, the Prime Minister's impression of the original owner worsened, and he stopped coming to her courtyard altogether.
In truth, he should have known she had just married in and lacked such authority. But he used this excuse to avoid her courtyard.
As a result, the original owner became a laughingstock in the entire mansion.
He didn't care.
He only wanted to protect his reputation.
In reality, everyone in the capital knew that the Prime Minister loved his first wife dearly. They had been childhood sweethearts, and because of her, he never took a concubine.
After his wife died, he never wanted to remarry. But as the second-highest authority in the court, countless families wanted their daughters or relatives to marry him.
Because of this, he was constantly harassed by women. Some even tried to drug him and sneak into his bed, but all of them failed and were thrown out mercilessly.
Even his children were nearing marriageable age, and without a Madam managing the household, things became increasingly difficult.
After enduring endless harassment, he finally agreed to marry again.
But he didn't want a woman from a powerful background.
He didn't want his children's positions to change.
He only wanted a shield wife—someone who would manage the household so he could focus on his life.
But this shield wife dared to act like a real wife.
How could that be allowed?
So he used every small excuse to brush her off.
After understanding all of this, Riya was speechless.
He wanted a wife so other women wouldn't pester him.
He wanted someone to manage the household and fulfil her duties.
But the moment she did what a real wife should do, he became unhappy.
Her mother-in-law knew exactly under what circumstances this marriage had happened. Even the household duties had been handed over by her.
The original owner had wanted to refuse, but she was timid and soft-hearted. She didn't dare to contradict the Old Madam.
But now Riya had arrived.
She wouldn't care what anyone thought.
Since they wanted her to keep to herself and not interfere—especially in matters concerning his children—then fine.
She would live her own life and not interfere at all.
She would lie flat and enjoy the chaos of this household.
After all, the original owner had already suffered enough taking care of this family.