At sixteen, Su Shiqi believes in only three things:
Farming keeps people alive.
The law protects people.
Hands are more useful than words.
She has no way out.
Nor does she need one.
When someone tries to take her fields, she goes to the county office to file a complaint.
When someone tries to cut off her water, she digs a new canal ten miles long herself.
When people say a woman shouldn't be head of the household, she takes in a husband, establishes her own household, and gathers a group of people to build a thriving life together.
Later, someone asks the young Duke why he would pass over all those noblewomen in the capital to marry a country girl who works the land.
The Duke lowers his head and smiles. “You don't understand. Those hands of hers can make food grow, and they can hold an entire family together.”
