The General Who Laid Down His Armor and His Lovely Wife

A Yuan lost his father when he was little and followed his mother into the He family when she remarried. By the age of fifteen, he'd grown increasingly handsome, catching the attention of his stepfather.

So A Yuan ran away.

By chance, after escaping, A Yuan met Huo Qing, a former soldier who had retired to the countryside.

Huo Qing was a blacksmith in Qingshui Town. Though handsome, he had a fearsome aura from his years on the battlefield, and people always kept their distance. Everyone said he was naturally cold-hearted, and that any woman who married him was doomed to bad luck.

But somehow, a young woman appeared at his smithy. She didn't bring him bad luck; instead, their lives kept getting better.

[Now serializing: The Powerful Official's Early-Deceased Ex-Wife]

Blurb: Wen Ying grew up walking on eggshells under her stepmother's roof, and became timid as a result.

At sixteen, she was matched with a good prospect and married Shen Hanji, the illegitimate son of a marquis.

Though Shen Hanji was a son born out of wedlock, he was as bright and refined as moonlight, and had both talent and virtue.

Everyone said Wen Ying had landed a wonderful match. In truth, their marriage was cold, her husband's legitimate mother made things difficult for her, and his birth mother looked down on her. She lived on tenterhooks in the marquis's household.

Wen Ying accidentally learned that she was a supporting character in a storybook.

In the story, Shen Hanji was a powerful official, as well as the unattainable ideal beloved by the heroine. And she was Shen Hanji's early-deceased ex-wife, a woman who existed only in his memories and barely made an impression.

Her husband would become a powerful official. As long as she didn't die, she could become a noblewoman and live with her head held high. No matter what, she couldn't die young.

Shen Hanji was courteous to others, but in truth he was cold and distant, even toward the wife who shared his bed.

Recently, however, he noticed that his usually timid wife seemed to have changed. She'd become affectionate and thoughtful, always asking after his well-being.

She also kept asking, "If I died, would you marry again?"

And, "Would you treat your new wife better than you treat me?"

Shen Hanji had just soothed their son to sleep: ...

I won't marry again. I wouldn't. And you won't die.

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Theme: Even when life disappoints you, face your hardships and meet them head-on.