Shen Chu had struck it rich.
The illegitimate daughter of a merchant family, she met a strange, muttering beggar while visiting a temple in the mountains.
The very next day, the wealthiest family in Tuzhou, the Mu family, came to propose marriage.
She became the bride of the Mu family's eldest master, sent to bring him good luck, and escaped the miserable fate of becoming a powerful official's concubine.
Being a lucky bride was great!
Her husband, Mu Xingluo, was sickly and could barely walk a few steps.
She could wait three to five years for him to breathe his last.
Then she could ask to leave the marriage on the grounds that she had failed to bear him an heir.
Her maiden family naturally wouldn't want to support a divorced woman. And once she had left her husband's family, with no father, brother, or son to rely on, the law would allow her to establish her own household and do business. She would no longer be oppressed by patriarchal authority or have to depend on others for food and clothing.
Wouldn't that be wonderful?
So when her husband returned home with Su Ling, his childhood sweetheart who had fallen on hard times, she greeted them with a smile, displaying the utmost tolerance and generosity.
Even after Su Ling tormented her in every way, both openly and subtly, and framed her again and again, Shen Chu only retaliated in secret, never openly breaking with her.
But after living together for barely a month,
Shen Chu was surprised to discover that the Mu family was nothing like the oppressive Shen residence where she had grown up. The Mu clan treated her like a person, not an object to be traded for profit.
With Mu Xingluo backing her up,
Want to do business?
I'll provide all the capital you need. Just leave your husband some private money for medicine.
Want to go out for fun?
My wheelchair takes up space, so please arrange for a larger carriage.
Want to play cards and drink?
I've brewed some new fruit wine. It's fragrant and rich, perfect for you to sip.
Women aren't allowed?
Perhaps other women aren't, but your husband is frail and sickly. Doesn't that mean he needs you to stand up for him? Once we're behind closed doors, why should we care about those feudal rules?
Maybe...
It wouldn't be so bad if this husband lived a few more years...
