The Top Merchant of Pingliang

Qi Jiu is the daughter of a poor herbalist, with no money and no one to rely on.

Through a mistake, she marries into the renowned Pingliang medicine-trading Qi family, in a ghost marriage ceremony, no less.

She thinks her husband died on the battlefield, and that she’ll have to spend the rest of her life beside a white marble tomb, accompanied only by a lamp and the Buddha.

But Qi Chu had faked his death and returned, secretly investigating the truth behind his second uncle’s embezzlement of the family fortune.

The fierce struggle over the family wealth opens Qi Jiu’s eyes to just how ugly things can get.

Who knew the Qi family was such a treacherous place?

Qi Jiu has no interest in being a little wife who stays home to raise children:

“I may be a nobody, but I’m going to become the greatest merchant in Pingliang!”

“What reckless arrogance! Even the Jiang, Tao, Dai, and Li families can only look on from afar, and the Jiang family even has the resources to become imperial merchants! How could someone like you ever beat the Jiang family and become Pingliang’s top merchant?”

Her thinking has always been simple:

The Tao family, her enemy, is the second greatest in Pingliang. So she’ll become the first.

As for Qi Chu, he’s just a bonus.

At first, they couldn’t stand each other

“This young woman is crude and vulgar, a living demon!”

“Quite the refined gentleman, Master Qi... You shameless, good-for-nothing, monkey-faced, turtle-brained flower thief!”

Qi Chu could never have imagined that

this wife he’d acquired by a twist of fate would truly win his heart and teach him the bittersweet joys of love.

And Qi Jiu had better options.

The eldest young master of the neighboring herbal shop, Guan Boyan, was a gifted young man with impeccable manners. After two years in the capital, he won the Grand Preceptor’s favor and became Pingliang’s magistrate.

He returned home with his original feelings unchanged, wanting only to marry the woman he loved. This left Qi Jiu in a quandary.

“Old monster, you say you’ve lived for a hundred and twenty years. Can you tell me what I should choose?”

“Confusion comes from wanting too much, from hoping for a perfect solution. But nine things out of ten in this world don’t go as we wish. Why should everything go your way? If you insist on having everything turn out perfectly, how could you not be confused?”

“...”

If she climbed up to Guan Boyan’s lofty branch, she’d find the heights a lonely place.

If she stayed with the Qi family, she could fight heaven and earth, and have a grand time doing it.

An unexpected calamity took her father-in-law, Qi Shuo, away:

“My son Qi Chu may be unruly, but he’s good-hearted and clever... He’s just a late bloomer. Perhaps one day you’ll see his good points.”

“Chu, Jiu... The Qi family will have to depend on you now... Father can’t hold on any longer...”

Overnight, Qi Jiu went from a young bride to the matriarch of the Qi family.

Together with the less-than-capable Qi Chu, she had to keep the entire crumbling family afloat.

“...Now that I’ve taken over the Qi family’s businesses, I don’t just want to bring Tao Yong down. I also want to bring down the Jiang family and become the greatest merchant in all Pingliang, even all of Wentang.”

Qi Jiu met Qi Chu’s gaze, her resolve wavering a little.

“Dream on... Do you know how hard it’ll be to bring down the Jiang family?”

Qi Chu smiled as he rested his head on his hands. “Well, I believe where there’s a will, there’s a way.”

A crude country girl and an idle wastrel of a young master

are determined to stir things up and shake the merchant world of Pingliang and even all of Wentang.

Reader’s Guide:

1. Both leads are strong, the antagonists are clever, and the business rivalries aren’t melodramatic. Every move is a contest of wills.

2. Under a feudal system, people from every social class struggle and resist. The story follows their growth as they overcome challenges.

3. An ensemble cast where the supporting characters aren’t just plot devices. Everyone has their own principles and desires, and their own complete storylines.

4. Lighthearted comedy runs alongside serious themes. This is not a modern story dressed up in historical clothing.

5. [Mild warning] The male lead takes a concubine. This is needed for the plot and historical setting, involves no romantic entanglements or misunderstandings, and is not a major focus.

Theme: This is a story about choice.