Historical setting + strong female lead + revenge + descent into darkness + political intrigue + satisfying read
She was once the gentlest girl in Peach Blossom Village.
Fifteen-year-old Shen Yuan was a superb embroiderer and an excellent cook. With her deft hands, she supported half the household. Her stepfather was taciturn, yet always looked at her strangely. Her weak, selfish mother pretended not to notice, and only her five-year-old sister, Shen Ning, was the one ray of light in her gloomy life.
She also had a dear friend who had long since left: Su Nianqing, a woman who spoke strangely and did as she pleased. Before leaving, she gave Shen Yuan a journal that read, “A woman needs to have money of her own. Marriage isn’t necessarily the destination. Never harm others, but never let down your guard against them, either.”
Shen Yuan thought she would go on living that way, struggling but enduring.
Until the powerful bully Pei Ye took an interest in her, and her mother, for the sake of money, personally sent her off in a bridal sedan.
On her wedding night, she was violated.
Her sister died tragically, and her mother was an accomplice.
Kneeling before her sister’s grave, she burned every passage in the journal about “kindness.”
From that day on, the gentlest girl in Peach Blossom Village learned to hide.
She concealed her hatred and murderous intent, smiling sweetly at her enemies and playing the most obedient wife. Everyone said Pei Ye had married a good woman. Only she knew the truth:
Every night, she sharpened her blade.
She used his power to slaughter her enemies, then turned around and smiled tenderly at him.
Pei Ye thought he had tamed a sheep, never realizing that beneath its fleece was a wolf who had crawled back from hell.
[When gentleness becomes a weapon, nothing in this world can stand against it.]
She hid her gentleness because it had once cost her life.
