The Second Wife: Who Says a Second Marriage Can't Be a Perfect Match?

Four years ago, the young general was gravely injured, and Xiaoman, a maid in the general’s household, was assigned to care for him around the clock. Four years later, the young general has recovered. Xiaoman asks only for her indenture papers, then turns and leaves the household. The young general clings to her. “Xiaoman, being my kept woman wouldn’t be beneath you. Why marry an old man as his second wife? He Jing is bad luck for wives. Two wives have already died!” Xiaoman smiles faintly. “Don’t worry, young general. I’m tough as nails! I looked after you for the money. It had nothing to do with feelings.” There are plenty of advantages to marrying an old man as his second wife. He can give me status, standing, and money. You can’t give me any of those things! For five years, Xiaoman honors the terms of their marriage contract and remains devoted to nothing else. Her husband’s concubine-born stepmother plants her hands on her hips and points at Xiaoman’s nose. “You’re the wife of a marquis, but you came from a maid’s family! How dare you bully me? Aren’t you afraid I’ll take this all the way to the imperial palace?” Xiaoman looks at the stepmother, all bluster and no backbone, and raises a club as thick as a bowl. “So what if you take it to the imperial palace? Who says a second wife doesn’t count as a wife? I’m He Jing’s properly wedded second wife. Even the emperor couldn’t find fault with me.” She brings He Jing and a pregnant woman back to the marquis’s residence, glances at the woman’s slightly rounded belly, then turns and walks away with her head held high. At last, she’s going to live the life she wants.