In the end, he did take her “back to the capital.” He resumed his former illustrious identity, sat for the imperial examinations, came top of the list, and became the top scholar. Before long, Prince Qin ascended the throne, just as expected. He became the hottest rising star at the emperor’s side, with a bright future ahead. And she, the country wife he regarded as a “mark of shame,” became the greatest obstacle to his marrying his childhood sweetheart. She was pushed into the abyss. As she plummeted, words of contempt from the cliff above pierced her heart:
“His lordship and the young madam say a country hen from the mountains belongs dead in the mountains! Don’t let her foul a place fit for the nobility!”
