Lu Xiaoman was Lu Shoutian's biological daughter. Her mother died when she was eight. From the moment her stepmother, Li Qiulian, entered the household, she became the Lu family's unpaid maid.
Her stepsister, Li Qiulian's biological daughter Lu Jinzhi, had been promised in marriage long ago. With the wedding date fast approaching, she refused to marry at any cost.
Li Qiulian pressed her at every turn, ordering Lu Xiaoman to take her stepsister's place as the bride.
Lu Xiaoman remained calm. "Fine, I'll marry him. But I have one condition: if I'm to take her place, you'll pay me hush money, and not a penny less."
If they refused to pay, she had no qualms about exposing everything and letting the whole village know the shameful story of the Lu family's eldest daughter meeting another man in secret before marriage.
With her stepsister's secret in hand, Lu Xiaoman squeezed twelve taels of silver out of Li Qiulian and climbed into the bridal sedan that should have belonged to Lu Jinzhi.
The sedan was carried into the hunter Chen family's home. As soon as her veil was lifted, Chen Qingshan looked up and walked straight out.
Lu Xiaoman rushed over and hugged his leg. "Can't we just make the best of it and live together?"
Her mother-in-law, Liu Guixiang, quietly tugged her son aside. "Don't be fooled by a few tears. This girl's got plenty of tricks up her sleeve!"
Chen Qingshan scoffed. "Mother, she's just a little girl. How hard can she be to handle?"
Later, Liu Guixiang watched her son being bossed around by Lu Xiaoman and clicked her tongue repeatedly. "That's what you call handling her?"
