The Sickly Wife of a Peasant Scholar

When she opened her eyes, she had become a frail bride, married to bring her husband good fortune.

Her husband, Song Yichen, was a poor scholar who had married her to repay a debt of gratitude.

He didn't say much. After she finished her medicine, he would quietly hand her a candied fruit. When she fell asleep, he would tuck in her blankets again and again.

She knew this was gratitude, not love.

The lesson from her parents' marriage in her previous life still lingered in her heart:

A roof held up by someone else could collapse at any moment.

But what could she do in this frail body?

All she could do was stay alive, one day at a time.

Then she found that living didn't seem quite so hard after all.

There was the chicken soup her mother-in-law made, the handkerchief her sister-in-law embroidered,

and the pastries he hid in his sleeves every time he came home from the academy.

Sometimes she sketched a few designs, simply because life needed something to fill the days.

She wasn't trying to become some independent powerhouse. She just didn't want to feel like a burden.

She never imagined that living one day at a time

would lead her to a whole new way of life:

He went from a low-ranking scholar to the top candidate in the imperial exams, and she went with him from the county town to the capital.

When he ran into trouble, she could offer advice;

when she wanted to pursue something, he would support her with everything he had.

It turned out the best kind of relationship wasn't one person depending on the other.

It was knowing that as you moved forward,

someone would always be there behind you.

A slow-burn, everyday story of healing each other.

If you also enjoy stories about “slowly making life a little warmer,”

come on in and stay awhile.