May You Be Young Again

A Wu came to Chang'an to cash in on a favor, but unexpectedly traveled back twenty years.

She was lucky enough to become a princess of immeasurable wealth.

She was unlucky enough that the princess was the deceased wife of a certain widower, destined to die within a few years.

To get home, she put up with the widower in every way. As her return date drew near, she even helped him run the county yamen.

That day, after bathing, she tried on clothes. She hadn't seen him reclining on the couch with a book, so she was startled, then questioned by him. Disgusted, she climbed onto the couch and said, "Third Young Master is as bright as the moon. Why would he bother looking at the stinking rocks in a ditch? He'll just pretend he didn't see them!"

She thought he would flee in embarrassment, but after a long silence, he turned his face away and said, "That may not be true."

-

When I was nineteen, I had just passed the highest imperial exam when I was forced to marry a princess.

To get some peace and quiet, I requested a post far away. The princess insisted on coming with me, but halfway there, she suddenly changed her mind.

Leaving her in the wilderness was out of the question, but don't even think I'd go to great lengths to send her back!

I took her with me to my post, bound and all.

To get revenge, she tormented me in every way. Later, she went even further, shamelessly walking past me in a gauzy robe, knowing I was reading in the room.

I... I flew into a rage and demanded to know if she didn't see me as a man. She actually had the nerve to kiss me on the cheek and say in a bizarrely earnest tone, "Don't you know how long I've waited for this day, Third Young Master?"

I closed my eyes for a long while, then finally settled on this:

It's only human nature for young women to enjoy a handsome man. I can put up with a little trouble for the sake of peace and quiet.

P.S.

A lighthearted county-town slice of life about a bold lady and a man who just wants peace and quiet. I'll do my best to make it sweet.

Theme: Love means accepting someone as they are, not as you wish them to be