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[Scheming, high-ranking prince x sweet, naive daughter of the richest family]
An imperial decree betroths Shen Jinzhi, daughter of the richest family in Yangzhou, to Prince Qing, Li Shiyu.
From childhood, Shen Jinzhi has managed a fortune and never miscalculated. Yet people mock her for being obsessed with money and having no taste.
Li Shiyu was steeped in poetry and propriety. He admires refinement and despises vulgarity.
Everyone says she is a vulgar pearl matched with an elegant jade, and that her marriage is absurdly out of her league.
After their wedding, Shen Jinzhi is well-behaved and sincere with others.
To win her husband's favor, she racks her brains and comes up with the first poem of her life.
"Here lies a piece of jade, worth more than ten thousand taels of gold."
His two indifferent words are her reward: "Vulgar."
Since Prince Qing does not like her, Shen Jinzhi stops trying to get close to him.
Later, the prince's residence takes in a concubine and brings in a maid.
Shen Jinzhi suppresses her disappointment, attends to her duties, and keeps the household accounts straight.
Jewelry shops, clothing stores, flower shops, spice shops: all kinds of businesses flourish under her hand.
War breaks out at the border, and Li Shiyu's fate is unknown.
Rumors say the prince betrayed his country and was lured by the enemy into being slain on the battlefield.
The news reaches Chang'an.
The wet nurse and concubine leave secretly with their belongings. Shen Jinzhi wants to stop them but is powerless, while the other maids and servants take advantage of the chaos, loot the prince's residence, and flee with its money.
Little by little, everyone in the household runs off.
Only Shen Jinzhi remains.
Her father advises her, "Divorce the prince."
Her maid says, "My lady, let's go back to the Shen residence."
Shen Jinzhi shakes her head. "I don't believe he betrayed his country. I'll wait for him to come back."
People laugh at her. She always seemed clever, but at the crucial moment she has lost her wits. They wait to see her implicated and punished along with the prince's household.
But three months later, Prince Qing returns in triumph from his first military campaign, covered in honors and military glory.
Mounted on a tall horse, he ignores the cheering crowds and clamor of the gongs. He simply reaches out to Shen Jinzhi, whose eyes are blurred with tears. "Get on."
P.S. A fictional Tang-inspired setting, with a slice-of-life focus.
1. The heroine's household-intrigue and business storylines.
2. The hero's battlefield storyline, lightly featured.
3. Both leads have only had each other. Happy ending.
Theme: There is no end to personal growth.
