[Kind, delicate village woman x Cruel, unhinged man of power] | A powerful man takes what he wants
Song Chengye was unexpectedly attacked and saved by a farm girl named Yun Tang. With heavy snow blocking the mountain roads, the two were stranded in a rundown mountain hut with nowhere to go.
At first, he suspected she had ulterior motives for saving him. Yet she spent the whole night tending his wounds and bringing down his fever, caring for him diligently because she feared he would suffer lasting effects.
When the snow melted, his guards came to find him. Song Chengye thought she would ask for money, but all she said was, "Take care of yourself, sir."
Looking at her excessively gaunt face, he felt an urge to take her with him.
Just as Song Chengye was about to speak, he saw her call a man her husband. Only then did he realize she was already married.
In an instant, he felt disgusted with himself for being attracted to such a crude village woman. He tossed down a bag of silver and swept away.
When they met again, she was an escaped concubine from the governor's residence.
Only then did Song Chengye learn that the farm girl's husband had handed her over to the governor in exchange for money to treat his seriously ill mother.
Covered in wounds, she begged him to save her. Seeing her in such a wretched state, he handed her a contract: "Be my concubine for a year. When the term is up, I'll let you go home."
Song Chengye thought a year would be more than enough time for him to tire of this woman. But the fine stitches on his nightclothes, the sight of her waiting by the door when he returned home exhausted, and the countless tender nights they shared gave rise to another desire: he wanted her all to himself forever.
He schemed to get Li Ye, the former husband she thought about day and night, into trouble, forcing her to kneel at his feet in tears and beg him to save the man.
Watching her give in, Song Chengye felt no satisfaction at having his scheme succeed. Instead, he was overcome by a bitter jealousy.
He gave nothing away, and decided to use another means to keep her:
"All right. But this time, I want you to willingly bear me a child."
-
To save her mother-in-law, Yun Tang was forced to part from her childhood sweetheart and husband and become Song Chengye's concubine for a year.
When the year was finally up, she was overjoyed and ready to leave. But trouble struck her family again. Li Ye had accidentally offended a powerful man and was now in prison awaiting execution.
Song Chengye was the only person Yun Tang could turn to. But this time, he made a different demand: she had to bear him a child in exchange for Li Ye, who had been tortured in prison until he was barely recognizable.
She nodded through her tears, believing that once she had the baby, it would all be over and everything would go back to the way it was.
But after her month of postpartum confinement, as she packed her belongings to return to the rundown hut in her village, the man kicked open her door and pulled her tightly into his arms, his eyes bloodshot.
Yun Tang struggled in terror. "You said you'd let me go!"
"Let you go?"
"Yun Tang, our child cries for his mother at night, and you're telling me you want to leave?"
[Reading Guide]
1. This blurb is provisional. The story itself won't change much, though the blurb's structure may be adjusted.
2. This story is extremely melodramatic. The male lead uses every means at his disposal and is no good person, the absolute worst, though he is sexually inexperienced.
3. A fictional setting with a mishmash of dynasties.
4. A very strong man and a very weak woman. Don't read if that's not your thing.
Theme: Strive to live.
