The First Wife

Luoyang fell, and Huo Xun proclaimed himself emperor. At the time, he and Le Zhen had not seen each other for two years. Two years earlier, Huo Xun had headed north, but Le Zhen refused to go with him. They never met face-to-face. Still in his armor, Huo Xun simply had someone take their child away. Huo Xun had risen in rebellion from humble beginnings. In his early years, he had been forced to marry Le Zhen. In the eyes of the world, this marriage, forced upon him when he was at a disadvantage, was his disgrace, a mark of how he had once endured humiliation and compromised with the wicked aristocratic clans. Now he had become the most exalted man under heaven. With his great ambition on the verge of fulfillment, it would be entirely understandable if he abandoned her or even had her killed. But Le Zhen knew Huo Xun would not let her go so easily. Two years ago, he had already wanted her dead. Now she had survived two years longer; her family was gone, and there was nothing left in this world to hold her back. So she calmly waited for the imperial edict ordering her death, which would appease his hatred and bring their ill-fated relationship to an end. - After Huo Xun became emperor, people cautiously sounded him out, all asking in different ways whether he still meant to bring that woman back, and what he planned to do with her. After all, she was his first wife, but everyone knew they were at odds and bound by a blood feud, more enemies than anything else. Huo Xun remembered her stubborn, unyielding gaze. Even when the tables turned, she never showed the slightest inclination to grovel or curry favor. Even with death staring her in the face, she refused to bow her head or show weakness before him. She drove him mad with anger, making him want to shatter her composure and pride. She wanted to escape through death, but he would never let her have her way. Death would be far too easy for her. ◎ Both leads are sexually inexperienced; happy ending. // Upcoming story: The Bead Please add it to your reading list! #Young married couple#Humble rented-room romance To avoid being left penniless when her husband died, Yizhu found a down-on-his-luck scholar who had come from out of town to search for relatives without success, and asked him to pretend they were married. The two of them huddled together in a tiny room, relying on each other to survive. Yizhu gave him money to continue his studies, asking him to repay her tenfold once he passed the civil service exams. Two years later, he passed, and brought her to the capital. They were no longer confined to that cramped room, and his world had grown vast. He gave her even more money than he had promised. They no longer had to count grains of rice to get by or worry about rainwater collapsing their mud walls. They lived in a life of fine clothes and rich food they had once never dared imagine. Gradually, they saw each other less and less, while their arguments became more and more frequent. Yizhu was heartbroken to realize that they seemed to have changed. She had even become a little unfamiliar to herself. Their marriage had been fake to begin with. Perhaps they never should have let it become real. She didn't like her life now, and she didn't like the person she had become. She wanted to take her tenfold repayment and go back. Theme: After the diseased tree, a forest of new growth.