A Pampered Wife in Ancient Times

A gentleman who holds himself to the rites is ensnared by a voluptuous, dazzling temptress.

Du Zeyun, Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, had only ever done one improper thing in his life.

At the request of an old friend, he took in the daughter of a convicted minister as a concubine, named her Hongdou, and kept her in fine clothes and comfort, as repayment for a favor.

Hongdou was well-behaved, too. She stayed quietly in the rear courtyard and never sought him out.

One day, assassins attacked, and Hongdou rushed over to take a blade for him.

When she woke, it was as if she'd become someone else.

She wanted him to feed her medicine by hand, soothe her to sleep at night, and hold her hand when they walked. She was always trying to melt against him, and whenever things didn't go her way, she'd look at him with tearful eyes.

Du Zeyun remained unmoved.

He was a gentleman and had to observe propriety. She was confused by her illness. How could he take advantage of her?

Until, on Mid-Autumn night, she was drunk and leaned over the desk, looking up at him, one button at her collar undone.

Candlelight illuminated her flushed face, and a stretch of pale skin below her neck swayed enticingly.

Du Zeyun's throat bobbed.

He could no longer be a gentleman.

**

Hongdou had transmigrated into a book as a cannon-fodder character whose sole purpose was to make trouble for the male and female leads, but she had no intention of following the plot.

Delicious food, comfortable living, and no need to work. What a lovely life! She wasn't about to run off and fight over some man.

But the plot wouldn't leave her alone.

One night, while she was sleeping soundly, her body suddenly stopped obeying her. She sprinted a mile to take a blade for the male lead, Du Zeyun. The instant the blade sank into her flesh, the pain made her question her existence.

If she couldn't escape her fate, she might as well make the most of it.

Clingy and pampered, are you? Using a favor to demand repayment, are you?

Du Zeyun, your little menace has arrived.

Things are going to get tough from now on. Bear with it.

Hongdou planned to cause a scene and then run, figuring that an early death meant an early release.

But as she kept at it, she realized the female lead hadn't appeared in a long time.

Meanwhile, Du Zeyun pored over ritual manuals and investigated old cases, trying every way he could to obtain an imperial edict granting marriage to her, the daughter of a convicted minister.

Theme: Follow your heart's calling, and set out on humble feet