After the Wild Grass Was Forced to Become the Favorite

Cao Qi had no parents and made her living digging up medicinal herbs. Her greatest wish was to marry a scholar and absorb some of his refined scholarly air. Unfortunately, the only scholar in the village, Wang, had already married. Cao Qi decided to buy herself a husband and cultivate him into one. She bought Zhou Lin, covered in blood, and took him home. The Seventh Prince, Zhou Lin, never imagined that a day would come when he, a man whose words were worth their weight in gold, whose works filled volumes, and who held power over the court, would be considered inferior even to a mere scholar! That country woman thought he couldn't lift a finger. Even when she watched him write, she shook her head with a sigh. "Hey, husband, after we get married, I'll have Scholar Wang in town take you as his student. You should practice your handwriting, too, all right?" Furious, Zhou Lin threw down his brush. A country woman, and she thought she could marry him? Once his plans were in place and he returned to court, he would make her pay for this humiliation. First, he would kill the country woman. Then, Scholar Wang! * Later, Zhou Lin contacted his old subordinates and prepared to return to court. One of them asked whether they should eliminate all loose ends. Zhou Lin's expression turned icy as he looked at Cao Qi, kneeling on the ground in a wretched state, and sneered. The country woman was too insignificant to bother with. He would spare her life. * Later still, Zhou Lin returned to court without a hitch and took his place as crown prince. On a whim, he decided to show the country woman a little kindness and grant her a position as a servant. Zhou Lin gave the order with a smug smile. He waited and waited, but Cao Qi never came running over, overjoyed. Instead, a crookedly written farewell letter arrived. "Don't look for me. I'm married!" That day, the Eastern Palace was shaken to its core. The crown prince went mad and burned half the palace. * Cao Qi's husband had run off, and she had lost all her money. She was left with nothing. But she didn't lose heart. She put down new roots in the frontier. The scholar across the street seemed interested in her. Blushing, Cao Qi wondered if she should start over. That night, a clap of thunder woke her. Amid the lightning and thunder, she saw a shadow beside her bed. Zhou Lin, still as handsome as a celestial, stood there in a disheveled state, his eyes icy and threatening. He clenched his teeth, looking jealous and resentful. "How dare you run away?!" * Ah, what a tangled fate. Content warnings: - An old-fashioned "chasing the wife to the crematorium" romance trope. This style is back in vogue, so proceed with caution. - The author can't write anything too angsty. A little angst, lots of sweetness. Theme: Keep moving forward and pressing on, no matter what adversity you face