"Seven times without fault, reconciliation is not easy; a piece of paper to let my wife go will burn half a lifetime of infatuation."
During the Tianbao period, Meng Kui, the princess of Yongning County, was ordered to marry Shen Qianzhi, the son of a powerful official, but she stayed alone in her wedding night - her husband went to the Taoist temple in the rain just to comfort his "sick" cousin Lin Waner.
During their three-year marriage, she served his mean mother-in-law and used dowry to make up for the shortfalls of the Shen family. What she got in return was a cold sarcastic comment: "The princess is not even half as gentle as Wan'er."
When Meng Kui handed over the letter of separation, the whole of Chang'an laughed at her wishful thinking——
The clan forced her to keep her because she was "virtuous", and there were rumors in the market that she was "jealous and childless". Even the ruthless husband sneered: "After leaving the Shen family, do you think you can still be a wealthy woman?"
"You want me to imitate her in climbing like a vine, but I want to be a towering tree!"
She broke her love jade pendant in public and opened a dyeing shop in the West Market.
The secret skill of peony surprised Chang'an, and Hu merchants were holding gold to buy it;
The eldest princess gave her official robes, and even the emperor praised that "the brocades woven by Tian Sun are not as good as those dyed by Meng Niang."
And when the Anshi Rebellion reached Chang'an——
The man who once said that she "cannot live without her husband" was covered in blood and knelt in front of the dyeing workshop: "Please... Let me protect you for the last time."
She chuckled lightly, and lifted his chin with her fingertips dyed with khaodan:
"Master Shen, it was written clearly on the paper and Li Shu -"
"One is separated from the other, each is happy."
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◆ A long ancient saying with a million words, researching the harmony system and women's business rights in the Tang Dynasty.
