After her cousin was imprisoned, Zheng Shanyun was plagued by nightmares.
The man in her dreams was always shrouded in black mist, his eyes sharp as swords.
She never expected that the man in her dreams would become her husband in a marriage arranged by their elders.
She had heard that the heir of the Duke of Jin was cruel and had an iron constitution. On the eve of her elopement, he caught her in a most embarrassing state.
But she never expected him to be even more despicable. On their wedding day, he made his childhood sweetheart kneel in the snow.
His lofty, taunting manner made Zheng Shanyun hate him to the core.
After their marriage, Xiao Qusheng turned her into a laughingstock throughout the entire household. Naturally, Zheng Shanyun felt nothing for him.
He was always teasing her, giving her gifts like gold-threaded jade bangles, as though she were just a little bird he could amuse himself with.
When they made love, even her resistance became a source of pleasure for him.
As she watched him rise step by step to become a powerful official, she could not bear it. He secretly plotted rebellion, so she prepared the evidence and presented it to the emperor at once.
People laughed at the doomed couple, saying they would never rest until one of them was dead.
“The world says you’re as kind-hearted as an immortal, yet you alone would poison the person beside you in bed?” Xiao Qusheng gazed at his wife, who seemed like an exiled immortal. He could not understand why she clung to the past when he had always been careful to appease her and give in.
Zheng Shanyun hid away the valuables she would need to escape. “Husband and wife are birds of the same forest, but when disaster strikes, each flies away on their own. The person beside you in bed... can always be replaced.”
Xiao Qusheng was so furious his teeth ached. She was still thinking about that bastard, wishing he would die so she could marry someone else.
Zheng Shanyun fled while pregnant. The Crown Prince's followers searched everywhere, but found no trace of her.
Several years later, at an ancient temple in Jiangbei, its incense burning brightly, a woman set up a fortune-telling stall before the Buddha.
A customer tossed several gold anklets onto the table.
The female fortune-teller's eyes lit up. “What would you like to know, young master? Your marriage prospects? Your future? My readings are guaranteed to be accurate!”
“Tell me about my wife. When will she return?”
The familiar voice froze her smile
Theme: Life is but a brief stay. Make the most of the present and don't let your youth go to waste.
