The Sharp-Tongued Young Attendant (Matriarchal Society)

Among the many powerful and influential clans of the Great Sui, the Li family of Jinling ranked first. Renowned for an impeccable family tradition and scrupulous regard for their good name, the clan had produced chancellors, great generals, imperial tutors, and sovereign consorts. They were truly a family of distinction, an eminent and prestigious house.

Li Lingyi was born into the Li clan and raised on its earnest teachings. Her words and actions, her intellect and skills, all reflected the Li family tradition: clear-minded, gentle, and magnanimous.

Yet that very grace brought her no end of hardship.

What people are taught and what they actually do have always been worlds apart.

Li Lingyi cherished her family, so she studied relentlessly and entered the court. She respected her parents, so she followed their wishes and the matchmaker's arrangements, marrying a virtuous husband. She devoted herself to the classics of the sages, aspiring to serve the sages and the people.

But her clan accused her of being stubborn and inflexible. Her parents called her cold and unfeeling, accusing her of refusing to favor her younger sister. Her virtuous husband grew tired of her after years of sameness, finding her inhuman and their affection thin. As for the sages and the people, the court officials attacked her, and no one understood her true nature.

When Li Lingyi foresaw all of this in a dream, she was lost for a long time, unsure what to do.

Just then, while attending a banquet, she fell victim to a scheme and was drugged with an aphrodisiac. She could have escaped, but instead allowed the son of a minor official to have his way.

Hidden behind a rock garden, she listened to the young man blather on about how he cursed those who had crossed him, imagined how he would astonish everyone by marrying into a powerful family, planned to take revenge on his biased parents and faithless former fiancee, and intended to bear children so he could keep his wife in line...

In the past, Li Lingyi would have disagreed with all of this. Now, absurdly, she thought: Fine, let it be this way. She would grant his wish and marry him into her household.

Her clan would gossip about her. Her parents would fly into a rage. Her future husband's family would want nothing to do with her.

But all she felt was relief.

*

After they married, Li Lingyi always felt she had wronged the young husband she had taken in, since an innocent person had been dragged into her own selfish scheme.

Their difference in status meant she could only give him the position of a junior consort, so she cherished and indulged him all the more. Remembering how her parents had repeatedly made things difficult for him, she kept lowering her standards for what she would let him get away with. And thinking of him alone in the vast Li estate, she was willing to go against her nature to give him support and keep him safe.

Her relatives thought she had changed, that she could no longer tell right from wrong and was enabling wrongdoing. Her parents thought she had become disloyal and unfilial. The officials at court said she had become improper and unruly.

But Li Lingyi was happier than ever.

Her relatives no longer dared to act recklessly, her parents could no longer order her around, and the sovereign favored her while the court officials bowed to her.

Li Lingyi's favoritism toward him only grew. When he had borne her a child, she made him her principal husband. She petitioned the sovereign to grant him an honorific title, and doted on their son as well.

*

Jin Xiu was born into the family of a minor official. His mother had several husbands and many children, and paid him little attention. His father cared more about his older sister.

So he learned early to fight for what he wanted. If he wanted something, he had to have it. If others refused to give it up, he would take it. If someone insulted him, he would hurl ten insults back. Anyone who stood in his way deserved to die. Whatever method worked, he dared to use. Even when his family beat him with a cane, and when offending people nearly got him drowned, his mean, greedy nature never changed in the slightest.

He schemed and used one trick after another, until at last he married into a powerful family.

Before arriving, he already knew that his wife was one of the finest people in the capital. Countless noble sons dreamed of marrying her.

He had calculated that someone so good would never mistreat him, and after they married, that proved to be true.

When he said east, she might disagree, but she would never insist on going west. When her parents made things difficult for him, he only had to fake a few tears for her to storm into the main hall. He wanted a child and didn't want her taking another husband, so there would be no one else.

Of course, anyone who wanted to bully Li Lingyi would have to get past him first.

Theme: Cherish yourself.