When Youth Fades, the Moon Shines on the Forest

After my husband died on the battlefield, his older brother, who had gone with him, brought back two bloodstained garments and ten taels of silver in compensation.

For two years, I worked from dawn till dusk selling tofu to support my two daughters. It wasn't until I collapsed on a street corner that I learned the compensation should have been fifty taels.

I stumbled back home, desperate for an explanation, only to overhear someone say, “Big Sister-in-law is soft-hearted. She can't live without a man. Su Wan is much stronger than her. She can manage just fine without me.”

“Don't worry, Mother. I'll tell her the truth in a few years. When she finds out I'm not dead, she'll be overjoyed. She won't blame me.”

Only then did I understand: the “older brother-in-law” who had been living under the same roof as me was actually my “dead” husband.

The next day, the young man from next door, who had always looked out for me, came to ask for my hand in marriage.

Seeing how nervous and awkward he was, I took the proposal card and nodded with a smile. “All right. I'll marry you.”