Xie Mingtang, the wife of the Marquis of Yong'an, was born into the Xie family of a wealthy businessman. She married into the Marquis's family for sixteen years. She always withheld and gave in to others. Her mother-in-law treated her harshly, her concubines misappropriated her treasures, and her husband treated her coldly all the year round. The whole capital laughed at her as the "wrong of the Marquis" who could be manipulated. Everyone thought she was stupid and weak, relying on a generous dowry to support the entire depleted Hou family, but they never knew that she kept proof of everything, secretly planned to protect herself, and even signed the government-registered daughter's adoption document in advance to protect her only daughter Pei Zhaoning.
