Li Sijin, the Concubine-Born Daughter

[Traditional historical romance and household intrigue + strong heroine and hero + mutual devotion + a marquis who spoils his wife]

Censor Li once had a childhood sweetheart he loved. But on the day he passed the imperial examination, the prime minister picked him as a son-in-law right there at the exam results, and his sweetheart died of grief.

Li Sijin's mother, a concubine, looked very much like Censor Li's childhood sweetheart, so the censor's wife used every means at her disposal to oppress her and her daughter.

When Li Sijin was born, Censor Li happened to read the line “Now that I have come, the rain and snow fall in torrents” in the Book of Songs. He named her Sijin, hoping she would cherish the present and look to the future.

Fifteen years later, on her deathbed, the old madam of the general's household hired Li Sijin to become the general's wife, so that Qi Henian would have no worries in the future.

But after three years of marriage, they still had no children. Then a letter arrived from the border: the enemy had launched an attack, and General Qi rushed straight to the front lines.

Li Sijin waited for years, without complaint or regret. But when the war ended and General Qi returned from the border, he brought back a wife and three sons. Citing his military achievements, he asked the emperor to issue an edict making the woman his secondary wife. Li Sijin became the laughingstock of the entire capital, and the new wife kept making trouble behind her back. Li Sijin could take no more of it.

The Marquis of Gu, who had been waiting for his chance, quietly used public opinion to get the couple divorced, then seized the opportunity to bring her home.

Qi Henian had thought that once Li Sijin left him and the general's household, no one would want her. Who could have guessed that the Marquis of Gu had long had his eye on her and whisked her straight into his home?

Qi Henian eventually came to his senses, but by then he was filled with regret.

Years later, the Marquis of Gu grinned proudly at his son and said, “The best thing your father ever did was marry your mother.”

Li Sijin just smiled and rolled her eyes at the marquis.