Shen Qianyu has only done three extraordinary things in his life.
The first thing was that when she was ten years old, she secretly told her father: "I don't want to get married, I want to be the head of the family."
Her father looked at her for a long time and said, "Then you have to be more ruthless than everyone else."
The second incident was that when she was fifteen years old, she stood in the ancestral hall and said to a group of elders who wanted to pull her down: "I will take my father's seat."
She beat those people back one by one, using the theory of salt and iron, local chronicles, and imperial court newspapers that she had memorized since she was a child.
The third thing is something she has never told anyone before——
She likes Cheng Junfu.
Cheng Junfu is the adopted daughter of her family, her father's sharpest knife, and "the outsider" in everyone's eyes.
But Shen Qianyu knew that Cheng Junfu was no outsider.
Cheng Junfu is the only person she can trust.
The accident happened that night.
His father was "killed" and the family was in civil strife. Cheng Junfu was framed as a traitor and was hunted down by everyone.
Before leaving, Shen Qianyu put her infant brother into her arms.
"Protect him and go far away." She said, "Wait for me."
Cheng Junfu left. With the child, with the seal, with the last words his father said before he died.
And Shen Qianyu, alone in a crumbling family, learned to smile without reaching his eyes, learned to rub the inside of his index finger with his thumb to suppress trembling, and learned to think of one thing when he couldn't hold on any longer -
Cheng Junfu is still alive, still running, and still waiting for her.
Then she still has a reason to keep going.
Later, Cheng Junfu really came back.
With the truth, with the seal, with the words entrusted to her by her father.
Exactly the same as when she left -
"You said you'd wait for me. I'll be back."
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Reading guide:
· 1v1, HE
· The gentle and forbearing toast lady × Silent and sharp loyal dog knife
· Family and country/strategy/escape/reunion, knife and sugar, HE guarantee
· Historical fiction, background of southwestern chieftains, political intrigues but mainly emotional lines
Intent: In troubled times, trust is the sharpest knife and the gentlest sheath.