Wonderful Life After Exchanging Fate

Description

Links are NOT allowed. Format your description nicely so people can easily read them. Please use proper spacing and paragraphs.

There were two daughters in Jiang Family. Each of them was as beautiful as flowers and jades.

Time had caught up with the famine season. One must be sold to survive.

Jiang Yun Zhu pulled the shorter stick and was taken away by a human broker.

Seven years later, Jiang Yun Zhu’s face was even brighter. She was dressed in rich clothes and surrounded by servants.

At this time, she was already the young madam of Marquis An Ping Manor. It went without saying, she was extremely honorable.

It turned out that the human broker sold her to Marquis An Ping Manor back then.

At this time, Jiang Yun Xiu’s face was battered by wind and frost. Every day, she worried about firewood and rice.

After receiving the brocade handed over by her elder sister, Jiang Yun Xiu gritted her teeth until blood came out. If she was the one who was taken away by the human broker…

Returning to the day of drawing lots, Jiang Yun Xiu snatched the short stick first. This time, she wanted to be the one above others.

Jiang Yun Zhu smilingly took the long stick. She thought it was so easy to go from a maid to the Young Madam of Marquis Manor?

Note: The wealth and honor in the heroine’s dream was earned by her own struggle, not by being sold.

Don’t get sold, live even better!

Associated Names
One entry per line
换命后的美好生活
Related Series
N/A
Recommendations
Chang’an Small Restaurant (2)
The Crown Prince in the Jade Pendant (1)
Eldest Sister, Why Haven’t You Married Yet (1)
Imperial Physician Empress (1)
After the Villainess Awakens (1)
Back to the Sixties: Farm, Get Wealthy & Raise the Cubs (1)
Recommendation Lists
  1. Entertaining novels with FL. Part 6
  2. Sono rinata
  3. Ancient Times Novels
  4. Romance
  5. Good read

Latest Release

Date Group Release
10/17/24 Explore side story 13 part2
10/16/24 Explore side story 13 part1
10/15/24 Explore side story 12 part2
10/14/24 Explore side story 12 part1
10/13/24 Explore side story 11
10/12/24 Explore side story 10
10/11/24 Explore side story 9
10/10/24 Explore side story 8
10/09/24 Explore side story 7
10/08/24 Explore side story 6
10/07/24 Explore side story 5
07/08/24 Explore side story 4
07/06/24 Explore side story 3
07/06/24 Explore side story 2
07/05/24 Explore side story 1
Go to Page...
Go to Page...
Review
29 Reviews


DojaDoge
DojaDoge
Feb 10, 2023
Status: Completed
Edit: There's some side stories at the end. But some Chinese sites hadn't posted it at the time of my reading. TW: s*xual assault of 2 side characters; in*est in ch 70.

Major Spoilers below, so read at your peril.

It begins with a very sad premise: a horrible famine forces a poor family to sell a daughter. However, the tone isn't as bleak or serious as you would think. It's actually a really pleasant way to pass the time. No angst or dog blood. There's a series of crimes interspersed throughout the novel, and they are wrapped up quickly. It's all speedy, easy reading.

Throughout the novel, you see the MC and her family trying to eke out a living by selling delicious food. In between, she has a series of run-ins with the ML.

Spoiler

who is undercover solving a variety of cases for the emperor. Even though he's using an alias, the MC knows who he is.

[collapse]
She's wary of ML because she remembers his ruthlessness in her past life.

Happy Ending

The ML is NOT mentioned in the blurb above.

Spoiler

is Shen FengMing. The ML is the nephew of the emperor and he is the head of a special guard division, similar to the Jinyuwei. His family is more powerful than the Marquis An Ping, the guy she married in the last life.

[collapse]

Side stories

I didn't read all of them, but here's the gist:

Spoiler

MC and ML get married. They move to the capitol and live with ML's parents. Mother in law is a princess, her mom is the empress dowager.

There's a bit of palace intrigue as the MC visits the Dowager.

MC is pregnant.

[collapse]
14 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
l8rose
l8rose
Dec 08, 2023
Status: Completed
3.5 but rounded up.

A sudden ending of an anti-climatic story that mostly revolves around food. The romance is very stuttering and it's rather long with very few road bumps for the main couple. Nothing gets dragged out for long but it kind of works against the story.

... more>>
Spoiler

The MC does get kidnapped by her husband from her first life but she manages to flee and gets rescued by the ML. She gets drugged later and almost taken by said former husband but again, gets rescued by the ML.

[collapse]

The MC dreams of her life where she married into a Marquis household. While the dream glosses over her life up to that point, it's pretty obvious that her life was more like a prison than a happy marriage (just the best of a bad situation). While she was about to choose the same path again (with the intention of running away), her sister takes the path she was meant to take and she ends up building a restaurant/food empire while trying to resist the intentions of the ML.

The ML is known as the Emperor's Death God. He is the leader of the Qilin Guard and is the one who basically investigates and kills corrupt officials for the Emperor. He is instantly smitten with the MC when he meets her but never forces his affections on her at first. This changes when he realizes that she does like him and her initial choice of not marrying/pursuing him is because she wants a free life. After that, he tries his hardest to woo her.

Spoiler

He does steal a few kisses and hugs but he never tries to sleep with her until they are married. He even resists her when she tries to seduce him while she is under the effect of the stereotypical poison.

The ML even provides her with a separation letter ahead of time so that she can leave if he ever breaks his promise to provide her with a free life.

[collapse]

The backdrop of this story is the conflict between the Crown Prince and the Sixth Prince. It's this conflict that allows the MC and ML to meet, and how the former husband attempts to gain the MC. However, it ends up having little effect on the ending.

Actually, nothing in the story beyond the two marrying seems to have an effect on the ending. We don't see what befalls the few antagonists beyond the sister and even that is lacking.

Spoiler

We just have her sending a message to the MC for help and the MC responds with "Would you help if it was you?" which let the sister contemplate everything and that's it. Just a fade to black for her.

[collapse]

So this is an alright read but the ending really feels incomplete. Like there is something more that is missing. I guess it's in the extra chapters. <<less
12 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
Kurobito
Kurobito
Jan 29, 2023
Status: c114
novel is so-so only. I was hoping for zero romance but there.. It is. And as usual. Whatever the MC cooks her food was liked by everyone. The competition between rival chef/business people was quick to resolve without knowing what the h*ck happen to them. Zzzz go back to bed sleeep
10 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
08phamann
08phamann
Aug 27, 2023
Status: c100
MC refuses to marry ML because he is a noble and due to her past life, she does not want to experience all that drama again. She wants a simple life.... but keeps opening restaurants everywhere they go and keeps expanding. This is kind of counterintuitive and contradicts what she said about wanting a simple life. Which makes her constant refusal of ML kind of hypocritical and frustrating.
9 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
Roxasfleur
Roxasfleur
Jul 02, 2023
Status: Completed
Was actually not looking for this novel at the start. I read another story translated by the same team but I think they messed up the link and I ended up reading this one. Till the end hahaha.

The story focus heavily on MC growing her wings slowly. Her cooking skill is very very OP and everyone is atttacted to her at first due to It. However, she was also really kind and that added another part to her charm.

I just absolutely love ML. He is very respectful to her. He... more>> never forces her, he always fulfill his promise and he never obstructed her. When MC was still hesitating to accept ML, she was afraid that If one day she can't be happy and wants to leave, that ML won't want to release her. So, when their marriage was decided, ML give MC a divorce paper with his name already signed and stamped so that MC can keep it and leave her own sign if she one day decided to leave him. That is honestly very moving. <<less
7 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
PechDepi
PechDepi
Jan 25, 2023
Status: Completed
Ok, so this overall tone of this novel is not too heavy so if you are here for some lighter read. Then yes you are in the correct place.

  • The female lead is a bit Mary Sue because she is beautiful, talents, man just seem to like her all over the place and she solve big problems easily. So if you hate mary sue, maybe ignore all that or move away.
  • There is some plot holes:
    Spoiler

    For example: what happened to the water filter that the FL make??? Or what happened to the her paternal side of the fam back in the old place? This novel tend to ignore some plot that was created so that the FL and ML could shine. So try to work with it.

    [collapse]
  • There is s*upid peoples, and they live up to that “s*upid” titles.
All in all, I like it because I can speed run through the raw and don’t have to use too much of my brain. No deep palace/ political scheming or every plot that was mention was mention once and become important later. Just breeze reading.
7 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
nicomcla1995
nicomcla1995
Mar 31, 2025
Status: Completed
I’m giving a full 5 to offset the unnecessarily bad reviews. It just irks me when people choose to read historical with slight fantasy (rebirth) and expect that just because the person (a woman specifically) went back in time, somehow she’ll have the right tools to counterattack the whole world. WTH. The lack of logic in some of these reviews is staggering.

Anyhow it is true that the story is nothing new but it was cute and the ML was super cute. I liked the side story too even though it... more>> took getting halfway through it to actually start liking it. <<less
6 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
liappletree
liappletree
Nov 16, 2024
Status: Completed
8/10 I saw many bad comment about the book, but surprisingly, I quite enjoyed the book. Yes, the book is pretty calm and smooth sailing not much drama or fighting or revenge which I think is refreshing considering how most historical books is full of scheming. I saw someone complain about the fact that there is romance?? like how can you not like it also the romance tag is there what do you expect LOL I love the ML but I do think 2nd ML can serve more purpose like... more>> his character is not fully utilised. I enjoy seeing the FL business grow I love the cooking aspect. The ending was little abrupt... where is the kids or babies but anyway I wish it could be longer. <<less
5 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
Rainess09
Rainess09
Jul 22, 2024
Status: c94
Well the concept is kinda okay, MC is a good cook, ML fell for her starting from liking her food. But what made me give a lower stars is just cuz the events and mobs’ reaction doesnt really match the timeline the MC in.

She seems to be in ancient china with an emperor and jinyiwei (brocade guards). Ive read a couple of stories with this concept, where these guard is either the side of ‘good’ or side of ‘bad’ and even being in the gray side meaning neither good nor... more>> bad. But one thing is certain, they are the sharp sword of the emperor. They usually secretly spy or ‘audit’ officials and report directly to emperor. They aren’t just brute dogs the story make them out to be. But this really isn’t much of the turn off.

The big disconnect was the unrealistic no big ‘shock’ from everyone that she just does business as a young woman. There’s was a substory about a woman gotten r@ped because of her looks but she with her ethereal looks just parades around outside with no repercussions, opens her own restaurant and even mans the store. Her friend QY, another substory, got mol*sted by another villian but after being saved she just pulls through and even became the spark to her lovelife. This isn’t a normal ancient times reaction. Would be more realistic if she committed su*cide or went to be a nun. Also villain got jailed 30 years as punishment, no this isn’t an ancient times punishment. Keeping people in jail for many years is detrimental to food stock. It’s either fees, exile, rod, or decapitate.

No one has ever coveted her recipes, nobody from her family even wondered how she was able to cook good. She even recognizes the sea creatures? Where was her county before she became a refugee?

i stopped by mid 90s, where she was kidnapped by hmm ‘oriML-before rebirth’. Then she followed ML to capital. It’s just so senseless to me. It felt forced. She just up and left her family, without being married, a single woman traveling in ancient c. If this was modern times sure why not. But gee nvm just dropped it <<less
5 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
Afm
Afm
Jul 13, 2023
Status: Completed
Nothing special.

Just similar-troup of 'transmigrated fl- go into cooking buisness- meet- cold face ice heart ml- faces slapping here n there- finally FL n ML marriage- the end.
5 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
Relenapeacecraft
Relenapeacec
Nov 02, 2024
Status: Completed
The side story ruined the entire novel for me.

It felt like the MC will just be a brainless person with no personality. The only reason why everything worked out for her initially was because of her protagonist's halo as evident on the way she just completely disregarded how the SML abducted her and instead of retaliating, she prioritized flirting and hooking up with the ML. Moreover, her inactions when her sister continously schemed against her was so off putting. All she ever did was cook, flir with every remotely good... more>> looking guy she met, and gave birth. Every conflict were resolved by the ML and she was just a bystander who got to reap all the benefits. <<less
4 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
ghostsquid
ghostsquid
Sep 22, 2024
Status: extra 4
Definitely a story where the romance takes the back seat. Miss Protagonist is NOT interested in any kind of romance for most of the story, and considering her last go at life, I don't blame her!

Story is heavy on the family feels and cooking. There are a couple plot points that feel abruptly brought up and then abandoned, which was jarring, but overall I liked it! There are definitely some dark bits, but it's mostly silly. The sister side-plot gets dropped pretty early and then only sporadically checked in on.... more>>
Spoiler

Honestly, what happened with her was kind of depressing, and I would have much rather her realize she was misguided. Her comeuppance didn't really feel like it scaled to her actions, but that might be because she felt so immature the whole time, it read like a kid messing up and then facing the fallout alone.

[collapse]

Mister Love Interest is a complete simp, and not so good at the "indicate to your prospective partner that you're Romantically Interested" part of flirting, but I love him anyway.

The Afterward is Required Reading, the end of the novel is kind of abrupt without it. Odd that they "ended" the story where they did and the afterward just continues right where it left off, but no big deal.

All in all, it was a nice, refreshing read. Only downside is that it made me hungry. <<less
4 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
MissQ
MissQ
Nov 06, 2023
Status: c91
Ah unfortunate, I loved almost every novel I've read from Explore. This one started out amazing, but it got boring very soon. And it's not like I don't read slice of life, I live for this genre!

It's very similar to another novel I'm following, Chang'an Small Restaurant, but I think the other novel executes the story a little better. Both are girls from the modern world who first worked as maids in a high status family. After extricating themselves, they open a stall and later upgrade it into a whole... more>> store due to the popularity of their food. Likewise, there's a bigger restaurant that want to knock down their place, but fails. Both MLs are high ranking officials, but I'm not a big fan of ice bergs so -1 for Wonderful Life After Exchanging Fate.

But I think the difference is where what makes Chang'an Small Restaurant prevail as the better novel. Firstly, there's a lot of family members and starving people the MC of Wonderful Life After Exchanging Fate extends a helping hand at. Don't get me wrong, it's a kind gesture, but the amount of people present in the novel after 60 chapters is so many I don't even know who's who anymore. I feel like these characters are added just to pad the story, some of them don't even make a difference in the story later. There's way less people in Chang'an Small Restaurant, and even better, not many share the same surnames.

Also everyone hides their thoughts, there's much more push and pull in this novel. I'm not a fan of that. Also her greedy sister is a turn off, there's nothing redeeming about her, she's flat, just a greedy pretty girl. As someone who's lives through a lifetime already, I would expect both girls to be a little more mature. There's actually quite a few 2D people in this story now that I think about it. Even the MC is a little flat, she only knows to cook and avoid people of status, I still don't have a clue what she likes other than cooking. We, as the readers, rarely get a peak at the character's thoughts, there's no foreshadowing, and everything is just written out right, I think that's why its so difficult for me to like this novel. I think many of the reviews agree, since there's only a limited amount of 5 stars, this novel is just passable.

The translator really tried, but I do think she may have a easier time tling non-ancient genre novels. There's some information I think are missed or idioms unexplained, which leaves me a curious and unfulfilled. But she really did a good job otherwise, there's a lot of obvious effort put into this novel. I suggest perhaps recruiting an editor, or running your work through an AI to improve some of the wording. <<less
4 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
Bluejaybones
Bluejaybones
May 09, 2023
Status: Completed
Soft easy read with only the slightest hint of drama between cooking & slow romance. No big schemes, no threatening villians, no politics. only minor schemes that resolve quickly, ineffective villians, and court affairs as a backdrop instead of a focus.

the female lead is a ... more>>
Spoiler

2x reincarnator. 1st life in the modern world. 2nd life she is sold by her poor family to be a rich familys servant & eventually becomes the rightful wife of that familys son. 3rd life she goes back in time to the day she was sold in her 2nd life

[collapse]

the day she was sold
Spoiler

she has a vivid daydream of her 2nd life and looks up to see she is in front of her crying mother who has her and her sister draw straws to see who is sold. she reaches for the short straw & it is snatched by her sister who has also had a dream of their previous life and wants to be a rich wife

[collapse]

Sisters short straw plan
Spoiler

she wants to be rich & thinks she can just breeze through to a rich wife after being sold. unfortunately... it wont be as nice as she hopes. The human broker is not nice and she almost ends up a s*x worker before she makes it the the rich manor as a hard labor kitchen maid

[collapse]

MCs short straw plan
Spoiler

she wanted to go back to the rich family manor... not to work or get married again, but to run away. Being a servant was awful and she was unhappy with her husband. she wants to do buisness instead. Now that her sister took the short straw she can just stay with her family which is a lot less work

[collapse]

ML is a
Spoiler

war god coruption inspector who goes around executing corrupt officials for the king. people are terrified of him since he has 0 tact and 0 charm. He ends up meeting the MC while investigating a mine for illegal weapons. She recognizes him and uses him to save people. He falls pretty hard & pretty fast but doesnt admit it to himself for a while

[collapse]

villians
Spoiler

the sister, the MCs husband from her 2nd life, & a princess who loves the ML. all are solved with little direct intervention. The MC and ML are kind of above it

[collapse]

the ending is a little abrupt. it
Spoiler

stops seemingly out of nowhere once the MC & ML get married and are about to start a new business. no married life. no kids. no idea if the new buisness works out. no resolution for the villians. it feels like the story got cut off.

[collapse]
<<less
3 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
Eden Hexx
Eden Hexx
Mar 02, 2025
Status: Completed
I really enjoyed this story. While the main character is not some bad*ss OP Mary Sue, she is realistic. I enjoyed the way she interacted with her family.

... more>>
Spoiler

As for the Male Lead, Shen Fangming, he is actually decent. I loved the fact that he respected Jiang Yunzhu’s wishes. He never forced her to do anything. While there were multiple times when he could have forced her into a relationship, he never did. When JY was drugged, SF did not take advantage of her and when she kissed him afterwards, he waited for confirmation that she was clear headed. While he is not the perfect person, he did kiss JY while she was drunk and continued to touch her, he did not assault her and even cared for her. I loved the fact that he gave her the divorce papers which showed how much he cared for her. In his position, it would have been so easy for him to marry her and not let her go. But instead, he ensured that she would be able to leave him if she felt it was necessary.

[collapse]

All in all, I would recommend this novel. The characters were well written, there was no excessive drama and the plot was smooth. The side characters had genuine personalities and were not completely overlooked. <<less
2 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
Saphie
Saphie
Aug 22, 2024
Status: Completed
First part was promising, we got an OP MC with ambitions only to feed her family. Which is fine, more reachable but of course, the ML is a noble blood so that's something that's gonna happen. But my main problem is the transition and the interaction within the main cp. Alone, the both of them shines, together, they seem to dull. MC turns into a somewhat hypocritical MC and I don't mind hypocrites or mary sue but I guess its the way the novel flows so its a bit eh... more>> to read. Honestly, I skimmed past a few chapters and completely dropped it at the afterstory. I couldn't finish it.

Also, I just remembered how the novel writes the MC. Im no historical expert but ive read a few historical novels and she's so, , , , , , not for historical. I mean I get the double rebirth aka life in marquis and modern life (which honestly wasn't explained much) But then again... a bit of more historical characteristics for a historical novel. Still. It's somewhat enjoyable if you look past the oother problems. Somewhat. But also, mediocre at best. You can go through life without reading this just fine. <<less
2 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
Flying_Thunderbird
Flying_Thund
Mar 17, 2024
Status: c129
For this genre, it is very well written, and the author knew when to end the story instead of endlessly keeping on repeating the same plot line, which is a recurring problem with this type of novel.

Are there things that could be improved? Well, yes, but there are many refreshing plot points that make up for it. Specially liked the realistic portrayal of women in society at the time, and what was expected of them vs. Of men. Many times this is overlooked or simplified so the Heroine can have... more>> some extra shiny moments.

Now, this heroine is still Mary Sueish, as most tend to be, but we still see some limitations to her actions caused by what are the societal norms put in place at this historical time. Does she get rich? Yes, but there is always someone richer. And these are the types of things that make the story more grounded, and I liked it! <<less
2 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
iriss
iriss
Jul 01, 2024
Status: extra 13
A serious must read! Exceptional execution of short length period C-Novels. I especially appreciate the depth of details the author went to introduce poetic Chinese-foodie theme which is what make this incredibly unique apart from other Foodie related C-Novels. IMO, unlike other comments - there is NO abrupt ending, and the ending (+extras + Fanwei) couldn't be more perfect and full-circled. It was so so beautiful. ... more>>
Spoiler

"Once this time next year, let's brew some osmanthus wine. This way, we can have osmanthus wine to drink every year."

Every year? Shen Feng Ming savored this word carefully in his heart.

"Oh right! Once in winter, some cold plum wine can be made." Jiang Yun Zhu stopped and thought of more, "Green plum wine is actually very delicious. And lotus wine..."

There was osmanthus wine in autumn, cold plum wine in winter, green plum wine in spring, and lotus wine in summer. This was the four seasons of the year.

She will always be there. Always be with him.

[collapse]

After the main story ended, there are Extra chapters for the main stories which are yet to be fully translated at the time of this review - and also, there are additional Fanwei chapters with the continuation of the original live. I have yet to read these.

Overall, this story has great plot, great chemistry between the FL and ML, as well as the rest of the family and friend groups, light-hearted political intrigue which is perfect for a light-reading with this length. The romance here is golden, the tangible dedication the author manages to bring across for a mostly "iceblock" ML for FL is my favorite part- especially the respect he has for our FL given the period setting shows how he simply just really loves her as a person. As someone commented, my eyes watered a bit reading the scene where he sent a pre-signed divorce document to her before the wedding. <<less
1 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
dramamonster
dramamonster
Jun 30, 2024
Status: extra 12
Read the main story, and up to extra epilogue chapter 12.

Light-hearted, historical novel about a family fleeing famine/drought, building a cooking/restaurant business, and eventually succeeding in the capital.

Pacing was good (better than Fields of Gold), FL was an OP cook (modern girl transmigrated into ancient times as a beautiful girl, then dreams of the next 7 years if she is sold as a maid, aka rebirth), and ML was likable (icy, abstinent, handsome, lethal, powerful, but usually very respectful of the FL).

The villains are fairly simple (greedy/lustful/jealous, especially the crazed... more>> sister), some loose threads (but I'm still waiting for the last 8 extra epilogue chapters, hopefully we find out who gets the throne next), but still a very good read.

I did like that the extras (I've read 12 of 20) follow up with the other family members, the paternal relatives from the beginning, and the various employees and businesses that were from earlier in the novel.

If you like ancient china, fleeing famine, foodie/restaurant stories, I think you'll like this one. <<less
1 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
Pristine Xia
Pristine Xia
Jun 28, 2024
Status: extra 10
Spoiler

I have a fun time binge-reading this. Very touched with ML's initiative to give MC a signed separation letter upon their marriage for a way out if later MC is unhappy with her life one day (MC notices his turbulent mood from his writing too).

Also, I think ML's parents seems to have their own way of getting along with each other through their quarreling. Kinda reminds me of Pei Yan and the grand princess from The Grand Princess novel.

Personally, MC's sister who was sold instead of MC is quite pitiful. When MC and the rest of the family were doing business successfully, there was barely any mention of the sister's absence as if her being sold meant her life was no longer entwined with theirs/considered lost forever (in a way that was commonly the case). Later, the family tried to buy back the sister's freedom but the sister's mind was already blinded with things like envy and ambition/expectation. I am hoping for a closure at the very least for her. But I haven't finished reading the extra chapters yet, so who knows.

Overall, it's an enjoyable story. The ML is quite a green flag too. He respects MC and they compromise each other a lot.

[collapse]
1 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
Leave a Review (Guidelines)
You must be logged in to rate and post a review. Register an account to get started.