The Beloved Concubine

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The Hero's Story:

Pei Yuanxun was a renowned general who put down rebellions in the Great Yong dynasty. He was tall, handsome, and imposing, yet past the age of twenty-five, he still hadn't taken a wife. He had only a beautiful concubine.

Though the concubine was obedient and sweet, and inspired sympathy, her low status made her unfit to be the mistress of the general's household.

The old madam took charge and decided to find the general a proper wife: a legitimate daughter from a prestigious family of equal standing.

Pei Yuanxun dutifully obeyed in silence. He told his concubine, "Once my wife enters the household, I'll let you bear a child. Even if the child is a secondary son, I'll treat him fairly, just like the others."

The Heroine's Story:

Jiang Yuan was stunningly beautiful, graceful, and gentle. She was the great general's concubine, kept in his back courtyard.

Knowing her low status, she had always behaved herself and tread carefully in the household, never daring to make the slightest misstep.

Then one day, somehow, she offended the legitimate daughter of a marquis who was about to become engaged to the general. As punishment, she was made to kneel in the Buddhist hall for several days.

When Jiang Yuan woke, she came to her senses.

Staying in the general's household meant she would only be mistreated. She might as well take her money and leave early, then find herself a better place to live.

Everyone knew Pei Yuanxun as an unyielding, taciturn man. But when word arrived that his concubine had drowned and her body was nowhere to be found, the general, who never showed his emotions, lost his composure for the first time. His eyes bloodshot, he searched for her body like a madman.

Notes:

1. An imagined setting.

2. He pursues his wife after losing her; one-on-one romance; happy ending.

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He Jin Yuan, the Duke's eldest legitimate grandson, was famed for his refined good looks. But after an accident left him blind, he also gained the reputation of being a wife-killer.

When his marriage could be delayed no longer, a match was arranged with the daughter of a seventh-rank official, the Jiang family.

Jiang Yi'an, the Jiang family's legitimate daughter, had grown up in the countryside, slaughtering pigs and selling meat. At seventeen, she was still unmarried.

The Duke's household had just dropped a "windfall" into her lap.

On the eve of marrying into a powerful family, she sat in the main hall with one leg crossed over the other, cleaver in hand, and "smiling sweetly" negotiated her dowry with her father and stepmother.

On the night she first met her husband, the man wore a black silk band over his eyes. His expression was gloomy, and he had no intention of consummating the marriage.

"I, He, have a fate too harsh for marriage, and I'm truly sorry to drag you into this. If you agree, we'll give it three years. Then we can divorce, and I'll compensate you."

Jiang Yi'an gazed at his straight nose and gave him a shy smile, then planted a kiss on him.

What do you mean, too ill-fated for marriage? Once we're married, you're my husband. I'm tough enough to survive anything!

On their wedding night, she put the erotic manual she'd just studied into practice and pinned him to the bed to consummate their marriage.

The Duke's household was large and full of complicated relationships. Though she was the eldest son's wife, Madam He had endured plenty from her mother-in-law, sisters-in-law, and husband.

At last, her son was going to marry. But once her daughter-in-law entered the household, she showed no respect for the rules and was coarse and brazen!

First, she slapped Madam He's medicine bowl to pieces!

Then she kicked her trusted wet nurse flying!

And finally, she brandished a gleaming butcher's cleaver and chopped down the door to the Buddhist hall!

Madam He didn't dare expose the family's shame. She hid in her room, wiping away tears and swallowing her grief.

Everyone thought the Duke's blind eldest grandson had no hope of inheriting the title and no future in officialdom. Having married the daughter of a country official who'd grown up in the countryside, he was expected to spend the rest of his life in obscurity.

But three years into their marriage, He Jin Yuan passed the palace examinations as the top scholar, drove back the enemy on the battlefield, rose through the ranks, and earned a string of honors. As for his damaged eyes, they had long since recovered.

And Madam He, once timid and meek, now stood tall and radiant. Her frail health had completely recovered, her sisters-in-law treated her with the utmost respect, and even the Duke himself valued her highly!

Her son was renowned, the ducal household was in perfect order, and everyone praised her good fortune and skill at managing the household.

But Madam He alone knew the truth: without the daughter-in-law who had married into the family with a butcher's cleaver in hand, she would never have had the life she did!

Bonus Scene:

A banquet was held at the palace, giving the noblewomen of the capital their first chance to see the Duke's eldest grandson's wife.

They'd expected a plain, ignorant, uncouth woman who'd simply gotten lucky and married into the Duke's household. Surely the now-powerful Lord He couldn't truly dote on her.

Instead, the woman who emerged from the hall was bright and bold, beautiful as a flower, articulate, and impeccably composed.

And Lord He, strikingly handsome, cool, and dignified, gazed at his wife with deep affection. She was the only one in his eyes.

Bold and resourceful, a sunny girl who says exactly what she thinks * Proper and dignified, a gloomy iceberg

Notes:

1. An imagined setting.

2. Marriage first, love later; everyday family life; sweet romance.

Theme: Respect and cherish yourself; stand on your own feet and strive to be strong.