Shen Yunshen was later recommended by the officials to become chancellor. The first thing he did when he got home was go to the Jing family to ask for their daughter's hand in marriage.
Everyone praised Shen Yunshen for his loyalty and devotion, but behind the family's back, they said the Jings were heartless. They looked down on Shen for having no notable achievements and refused to marry their daughter to him.
After hearing this, Madam Jing went home and gave the second Jing daughter, who was waiting to be married, another beating.
The second Jing daughter protested, feeling wronged. "Didn't I also think he was just like those men in business, saying things without meaning them? You said so too, Mother. You told me not to take him seriously."
Only after her mother threatened her with a raised broom did she change her tune. "It's all my fault. I was a gold digger, and I dragged the family's reputation through the mud. Please stop hitting me, Mother!"
On their wedding day, they entered the bridal chamber and drank the nuptial wine, but for a moment, neither said a word.
The second Jing daughter asked timidly, "Did you marry me to get revenge because I used your name to sell books back then?"
Shen Yunshen wore an inscrutable expression.
The second Jing daughter said dejectedly, "Do you still resent all the foolish things I said back then... Forget it, forget it. Go marry the woman you love. I won't get in your way."
Shen Yunshen pulled her into his arms and whispered in her ear, "You are the only one I have ever loved."
*
Not long after their wedding, Jing Mingxin discovered that the powerful chancellor's household everyone admired was actually not very wealthy.
The burden of supporting the family fell on her shoulders once again.
Not only did she have to earn money outside the home, she also had to manage the Shen family's household. It was a hundred times more exhausting than before they married.
One morning, Shen Yunshen got out of bed. Jing Mingxin looked him up and down, then mused, "How about... taking a concubine for you?"
Shen Yunshen was startled.
The more Jing Mingxin thought about it, the better the idea seemed. "Then there'd be someone to manage the household, and someone to look after you. All we'd have to pay is a dozen or so taels in bride-price, and we'd get a strong pair of hands for free!"
Later, to make Jing Mingxin give up the idea, Shen Yunshen had no choice but to start checking the accounts himself and taking charge of household affairs.
Gradually... everyone got used to the chancellor running the household.
The peerless gentleman X the money-loving young lady
The setting is mostly based on the Tang dynasty. In the Tang dynasty, unmarried men and women were addressed as Langjun and Niangzi.
Theme: Time waits for no one; in an instant, one's hair can turn to silver.
