Song Lingyan is a refined young lady from a scholarly family, blessed with celestial beauty and a gift for painting that has made her famous throughout the capital.
At sixteen, she caught the eye of the general’s old matriarch and married into the military household in a grand wedding, becoming the wife of Shen Che, the young general.
On their wedding night, her husband lay down fully clothed and did not touch her at all.
Only later did she learn that Shen Che’s heart already belonged to his childhood sweetheart, Liu Yitang. They had been forced apart because their families were of unequal standing.
Her mother-in-law was cold, her sister-in-law made things difficult, and her husband had no place for her in his heart. Song Lingyan made no fuss. She used her dowry to open a shop in the outskirts of the capital, selling calligraphy and paintings to support herself.
When Shen Che tried to force her hand by starving himself, insisting on bringing Liu Yitang into the household, Song Lingyan calmly signed the divorce agreement and left without looking back.
Then she met Jiang Xingzhou, a gentle, jade-like traveling physician who promised her a home in Jiangnan with a lifetime of tenderness.
“Lingyan, let’s go home.”
