The Lowly (A Tale of a House Slave)

New novel: After Being Offered to a Powerful Official, now open [The “male servant” trope refers only to the male lead's status, similar to maid or concubine stories. It is solely a point of comparison for his background and carries no other meaning. The male and female leads save each other, help each other succeed, and grow together. Happy ending. Please don't read too much into it. Thank you.] Blurb: Su Jinyao, the eldest daughter of the Su family, is peerlessly beautiful and famous throughout the capital, yet she has an affair with one of her family's servants. Everyone says she's debased herself and deserves to be cast out by the Su family and left in a Taoist temple for seven years, with no one asking after her. Seven years later, that servant has become the new emperor's most favored courtier. The first thing he does upon returning to the capital is visit the Su family to ask for Su Jinyao's hand in marriage. Now everyone assumes she'll surely come down from the mountain at once and marry him. But Chu Yi, now a great general, is repeatedly turned away by his former lover. He can only humbly beg her to let him stay by her side and continue serving as her servant. Su Jinyao only replies coldly, “I have no need of a servant now. I need someone to wash my feet.” She thinks this will drive him away, but he silently fetches a basin of water, kneels by her feet, gently lifts one of them, and removes her silk sock. Over-the-top blurb: He was once her servant. Even after rising to the highest position in the court, he remains her prisoner for life. A cold-blooded, ruthless, capricious young lady who says she doesn't love you and means it VS an utterly, utterly, utterly, utterly, utterly, utterly, utterly, utterly, utterly, utterly, utterly humble former servant A bit of light entertainment, written because I couldn't find what I wanted to read. I'm letting loose, and there are tons of potential land mines. Readers who are devoted to the male lead, beware. (Even if you're only a tiny bit devoted to the male lead, I suggest you choose another story. I can't explain later why the female lead treats him this way when he's already so humble. This is exactly the kind of story I want to write: the male lead is humble to his very bones and worships the female lead. If this isn't your taste, I suggest you click away.) Thank you very much. Reading guide: 1. Both leads have flaws in their personalities and psyches. Neither is perfect. 2. The male lead is truly, utterly, utterly, utterly, utterly, utterly, utterly, utterly, utterly, utterly, utterly humble in front of the female lead. My personal interpretation abounds. 3. The setting is fictional, and very loosely based on anything. No fact-checking or leaderboard comparisons, please. 4. The author is very fierce, will argue back, and will delete comments. 5. If you don't like it, just leave. Let's respect one another and create a harmonious online environment together. Thank you. Theme: Be strong, work hard, and never give up hope in life.