The heir to the title rarely came home. He visited brothels one day and went hunting the next. He was a notorious wastrel.
Shen Yu had been married into the family for half a year and had barely seen his face. Left alone in an empty room, she endured endless cold shoulders.
The servants in the household bullied her, and the heir's concubines would occasionally mock her, too.
There was little to look forward to in such a life.
In the chill of early spring, Shen Yu sat alone by the pond, silently watching the ripples move. The branches brushed against her, tugging at her thin dress.
The cold wind made her eyes ache. She rubbed them, and when she looked up, someone was holding out a handkerchief to her.
The man wore a black brocade robe. He was tall, and the sunlight fell across his handsome face, defining the striking, composed lines of his features.
It was him, the heir's adoptive father.
Shen Yu rose and bowed. "Greetings, Your Highness."
The God of War of the Eastern Dynasty, Prince Zhongshan Xu Huaimu, had won enough military glory to be remembered in the history books.
Rumor had it that an injury on the battlefield had left him impotent, and that was why, though he was already thirty, he had yet to marry.
The emperor, mindful of his extraordinary achievements, bestowed upon him a son only eight years his junior.
One was a composed and handsome prince; the other, a disgraced heir.
Shen Yu made a decision.
That night, she crossed the quiet, peaceful courtyard and opened the prince's door.
Half a month later, the heir was tied up and dragged back to the manor by gambling house thugs after racking up an enormous gambling debt.
The moment he stepped inside, he saw his long-unseen wife emerging from his father's room, her long hair loose, one hand gathering the collar of her disheveled clothes.
Furious at his losses, the heir shouted, "You must be the jinx who cursed me! Otherwise, how could I have ended up like this?"
As soon as the words left his mouth, a divorce agreement flew at him and smacked him hard in the face. Then came his adoptive father's cold, merciless voice:
"Who taught you to be so disrespectful? Call her Mother!"
[Reading Guide]
1. The female lead has no romantic history, while the male lead does.
2. The male lead and the heir are only eight years apart and are not related by blood.
3. When the female lead decides to be with the male lead, the divorce papers have already been written and approved by the 'father.'
Theme: Love
