Mu Qingzhi had the worst luck imaginable. The year she turned fifteen, her birth family brought her back. She had barely enjoyed a few good days before they married her off as a favor to the Lou family, to bring good fortune to their sickly son, who had been bedridden for years.
Since she was there, she decided to make the best of it. She had planned to accept her fate. At least she would have enough to eat and warm clothes at the Lou household, unlike the hunger and cold she'd endured at the farm. But who knew the Lou family was a den of wolves and tigers?
It was all because she was born beautiful. One person after another grew covetous, practically wanting to devour her. And the man she'd married was not only born frail and sickly, but also suspicious by nature, constantly looking at her askance.
She kindly researched remedies for him, simmered soup, and brought him medicine. Her sickly, possessive husband thought: She must be trying to poison me so she can remarry as soon as possible.
She was harassed and pursued by a scoundrel, who even used an aphrodisiac on her. Her sickly husband thought: So she's that wanton? Seducing other men isn't enough for her, she has to drug me while I'm bedridden and force herself on me?
She worked hard to save money for her old age. Her sickly husband thought: So that's it. She's planning to run off with someone and take all my money while I'm having an episode.
Every night, her sickly husband brooded in the darkness: This woman cannot be allowed to live.
Heavens know, she was behaving herself. Sure, she'd secretly hoped her husband would die sooner, but she had absolutely no intention of harming anyone.
Who was the one being unreasonable here? He was full of schemes and secretly making big moves behind her back, and that would have been bad enough, but even his identity was a mystery. He dragged her into the struggle for imperial power, leaving her constantly on edge and nearly costing her her life...
