In the spring of Yongchang Year Nine, the peonies in Chang'an were in full bloom.
Mo Xianyu, dressed in her finery and holding the arm of her newlywed husband, went to a banquet.
With a jade-like face and the beauty of a hibiscus, she was young and graceful, drawing glances from everyone in the garden.
At that time, Lu Zheng, who would become her second husband, was in the horse grounds in the rear courtyard, hunting for sport with a group of young noblemen. He set an arrow to his bow, narrowed his eyes, and took aim at a lone wild goose in the vast blue sky.
He overheard people whispering nearby.
"I heard that Lady Mo used all sorts of tricks to marry into the Duke of Xue's household."
"My good sir, where did you hear such rumors? Lady Mo seems to have both bearing and looks beyond compare. How could she be as disreputable as the stories say?"
"Rumors don't come from nowhere. Besides, the Mo family has long since fallen on hard times and lost the glory it once had. What good is a pretty face to Lady Mo? I think young Lord Xue must have lost his mind."
The bowstring was taut. Lu Zheng let go, and the arrow flew. A cry rang through the sky, and a wild goose fell at once.
The young man's dashing spirit drew a round of cheers from the onlookers.
Lu Zheng turned his head. Beneath the distant covered walkway, a woman with glossy black hair stood among a riot of flowers. He cast a cool glance in that direction, his face stern, then rode past.
Everyone in Chang'an said that the young General Lu, who had just returned from beyond the frontier, was born cruel. He hacked off heads on the battlefield as easily as he chopped vegetables, earning the nickname "Jade-Faced Butcher."
The Grand Princess had gone to considerable trouble to persuade this cold-blooded killer to attend the peony banquet. The Princess's residence had even built a special horse ground for hunting and sport.
Golden horses, jade saddles, fine clothes, and spirited steeds made him impossible to miss.
Every unmarried young lady at the banquet watched him with a mixture of curiosity and fear.
Mo Xianyu, however, wasn't particularly interested in hunting. She took one quick look at the crowd and let it be. After the banquet, she went with the other young ladies to the art pavilion to listen to music, crossing the covered walkway and passing through the rear garden.
Her future third husband was being led by a serving woman. He was excitedly feeding fish by the pond with a piece of pastry in his hand.
Seeing a group of elaborately dressed women approach, he spotted one among them whose beauty made her look like a celestial maiden from a painting.
He abandoned the fish and hurried over, holding out the half-eaten pastry. He looked up and smiled sweetly.
"Elder Sister, have a jade dew cake."
Mo Xianyu crouched down, stroked the child's smooth, black hair, and smiled brightly at him.
"Good boy. You should call me Aunt."
1. The heroine marries three times, and the relationships are consummated. All three male leads are virgins, with one-on-one relationships at different stages.
2. An alternate world with a setting modeled on the Tang Dynasty.
Blurb screenshotted from Weibo on 2025/02/15.
Theme: Always maintain a zest for life and keep striving upward
