Her husband’s family abandoned her to climb the social ladder, divorcing Su Qing and threatening her sister’s life to force her into servitude in the Qin household.
How ridiculous. Let the dogs loose! I can command beasts. Why would I starve?
Su Qing wanted to buy a son and register a household in her own name as a woman. But she didn’t have enough money, so she could only buy a sickly man to be her husband. That worked too: once the sickly man died, she could register as a widow. It was a solution, at least.
But the sickly man not only refused to die, he wouldn’t leave her house, insisting she take responsibility for him to the very end.
One day, the frail young Grand Secretary tugged at her sleeve and complained with downcast eyes, “Sister, when you’re not here, they all bully me.”
Su Qing lifted the young Grand Secretary’s chin, captivated by his looks. “Don’t think I don’t know your tricks… But who dares lay a hand on my man?”
