Embroidered Silks: I’ll Live in Luxury

Lin Xiuru, the illegitimate daughter of the Lin family, was born to a lowly concubine who died young. Raised under the care of the principal wife, she was known by everyone as timid and meek, an easy target for anyone to push around.

She had played that part herself for over a decade.

Until her second older sister's misdeeds came to light. Kneeling before her grandfather, she spoke words that shocked everyone: "I don't want to live in fear anymore. I want to live in luxury and honor."

A bridal sedan carried her into the Yongchang Marquis's residence as a substitute bride. Her husband was Yuan Shaohui, the formidable Yongchang Marquis, renowned for his military exploits and feared at court.

She thought it was a deal where both sides got what they wanted: she wanted the Lin family's connections, and she wanted to become the mistress of the marquis's household.

She treated the marquis like her employer and managed his household like a shop, checking the books, taking control, acquiring property, and running the business. Step by step, she made herself the household mistress no one in the capital dared to slight.

She couldn't say exactly when it began, but the decisive marquis started circling his wife whenever he returned home. Gifts he gave her were entered into the accounts as assets; his jealousy was dismissed as a matter of "propriety"; even his illness prompted her to weigh the pros and cons.

He fell for her first, while she was busy balancing the books.

It wasn't until disaster struck at court that she finally set aside her calculations and risked her life for her "employer."

It turned out that those four words, "luxury and honor," had long meant more than just her future.