I'll start posting once I've saved up 100,000 words. Current progress: 43,000/100,000. I'll definitely start in mid-November!!!
A cold, unfeeling commander with a reputation for bringing death to his wives vs. a resilient, wealthy, beautiful woman
Lu Min, the second son of the Lu family, has a stern, handsome face. At twenty, he commands the army and serves as a close aide to the emperor.
Even more famous than his position is his cold and ruthless nature. He murdered his father and older brother, and is utterly heartless.
Master Wuchen's prediction has become famous throughout the capital: Lu Min brings misfortune to his family and his wives, and anyone who gets close to him is doomed to a tragic end.
It terrifies the parents of the entire capital. No one dares come forward with a marriage proposal.
But Yi Huan doesn't care.
When her parents come to the Lu residence with the token from their childhood betrothal, Yi Huan feels no fear of marrying a man who brings misfortune to his family and wives. She feels only helplessness and relief.
She has to marry eventually. She might as well marry someone powerful.
-
Yi Huan, daughter of the Yi family, is stunningly beautiful, with fair skin and an elegant, refined air.
She looks every bit the noble young lady.
But of all the skills expected of a noblewoman, she can't boast of a single one. Her greatest talent is working an abacus.
Since she was eleven or twelve, she hasn't asked her family for a single coin, yet she still has plenty of money to spend.
On the day she learns her parents are marrying her off, she does the math.
It's not a bad deal.
-
After their wedding, they agree on three rules and keep their distance, polite and formal. Every so often, Yi Huan acts kindly toward Lu Min, but only because she needs something from him.
Until one day at a banquet in the Duke's mansion, Yi Huan overhears some gossip, including a story about her husband and another woman.
They say the woman is radiant and outgoing, skilled in martial arts and accomplished in all the arts. What a pity she is married. Otherwise, she and Lu Min, childhood sweethearts, would make a perfect match.
Yi Huan looks at her own hands, which know how to make money and little else, and falls into thought.
Then an unexpected event brings the woman back to the capital.
The next day, Yi Huan goes to Lu Min and says, "If you want to be with her, we can get a divorce."
Lu Min's eyes are a cold, dark pool. "Ah Huan, do you want to divorce me?"
"I wouldn't be opposed."
Three short months later, Yi Huan is limping in Lu Min's arms. She slaps his chest and complains that he was too rough, and now she can't even bring her legs together.
"So, Ah Huan, do you still want to divorce me?"
"No divorce."
-
Three years after their wedding.
Yi Huan and Lu Min are invited to a banquet hosted by another newlywed from Jiangnan.
The woman wears a fox-fur coat her husband hunted and gifted to her. She chats and laughs with the noblewomen she knows. Against its snowy white fur, her skin is as smooth as jade, and her smile is warm and bright.
Only then do those slow-witted people finally understand.
The merchant's daughter, who once had no power or influence, is now the capital's leading businesswoman, wealthy enough to rival a nation. She is also the wife of the Great General Dingbei, envied by a thousand people.
Theme: A fated encounter
