Tang Jiujiu is the second child in her family. Her older brother needs treatment, and her little sister is still a baby. Seeing her father weighed down with worry and her mother secretly wiping away tears, she packs a small bundle and sells herself as a child bride to the sickly scholar at the village entrance.
On her first night in his home, Tang Jiujiu climbs into his bed with trembling hands and feet, only for him to wrap her up and settle her in the inner room.
He gently tucks the covers around her and looks into her eyes as he reassures her, "Don't be afraid. I'll protect you from now on."
Tang Jiujiu nods, still innocent and bewildered, and takes his words to heart.
Yang Qi is so sickly that he has to stop for breath every few steps. He barely makes ends meet by copying books, and once thought his life would always be this way. But the frail little girl stubbornly shoulders the burden of holding their home together.
She keeps the lamp burning late into the night for him, seeks medicine to cure him, and holds his hand as she tells him how happy she is. Little by little, she warms his lonely heart until it burns.
So he spends his whole life keeping that promise, making sure that no storm or hardship can ever hurt her, not even a little.
A little scene
Years later, someone asked Yang Qi, now a high-ranking court official, what was so special about his thoroughly ordinary wife.
Yang Qi lowered his eyes and smiled faintly. "I suppose she's the only bright, vivid flower to bloom in my barren soil. From then on, the mountains, rivers, and all the world's beauty could never catch my eye again."
Optimistic and capable young wife x gentle, devoted sickly scholar
A sweet, healing story that unfolds slowly through hard times.
Theme: Keep your feet on the ground and love life.
