[A romance spanning life and death between loyalty and good-heartedness, a wonderful drama in which a talented man and a beautiful woman finally get married]
This book is a classical vernacular novel born in the early Qing Dynasty. It tells a legendary story of ups and downs that happened to the descendants of loyal ministers and good generals during the Southern Song Dynasty.
The story begins with a court struggle.
At that time, the powerful minister Han Yuzhou blocked the sky with one hand and framed Zhongliang. The upright Imperial College minister Jiu Meifu was brutally killed because he wrote a letter to defend his friend. His only son, Mei Qian, managed to escape death under the desperate cover of his servant Xu Kui. He became anonymous and began a wandering life.
No coincidence makes a book.
After several twists and turns, Mei Gan changed her name to "Murong" and came to work as a gardener at the home of Feng Letian, the Minister of Justice who retired from old age and returned to his hometown. Mr. Feng had a keen eye for people and found that this young man who was working had an extraordinary conversation. After careful questioning, he found out that he was the son of an old friend, so he deliberately betrothed his only daughter, Feng Guiying, to him. Unexpectedly, before he had time to tell the truth, Mr. Feng fell ill and passed away.
Now, the trouble is big.
Feng Letian had a money-grubbing younger brother named Feng Weitian. As soon as he took charge of the family business, he immediately turned against anyone else. Not only did he drive away Mei Gan, he also forced his niece Feng Guiying to marry the son of an enemy. Although Feng Guiying is a girl, she is very independent and courageous. First, she had a "Li Daitao Jang", asking her personal maid to marry on her behalf, hiding the truth from the truth. Later, when the matter was exposed, and faced with the persecution of officials and bullies, she even disguised herself as a man and fled to the capital alone...
The wonderful thing about this book is that although it writes about talented people and beautiful women, it does not focus on "romance", but on "awakening".
The protagonists in the book, whether it is Mei Gan who is in adversity or Feng Guiying who is in desperate situation, always adhere to their duty and morality as a human being. Their stories tell us: the real "romantic" is not the love between children before flowers and under the moon, but the loyalty and courage in the face of right and wrong, and the integrity in the face of hardships.
The plot of the whole book is compact and interlocking, making it a joyful read. You can not only see the dangers of the struggle between loyalists and traitors, but also feel the passion of chivalrous people, and even more appreciate the true feelings gained after going through trials. It is really a rare masterpiece of classical vernacular.
