The Doomed Virtuous Wife Gives Up

Born into the family of a salt merchant as its only daughter, Lin Youxun spent her first eighteen years with just two goals: protect the Lin family's business and find a husband who would marry into the family and carry on its line.

To be a dutiful daughter, Lin Youxun rose before dawn and returned after dark, pouring her heart and soul into the family business.

Just as she was about to take over, her father gave her a "wonderful surprise": an illegitimate son.

Her father was delirious with joy.

"The family business will belong to your little brother now. You don't need to find a husband to marry into the family, either. I once saved an important man's life. I'll use that favor to find you a good marriage."

The prestigious Qi family had a long line of sons who passed the imperial examinations and entered government service. They prided themselves on their family traditions and propriety, and despised merchants. As the saying went, "A scholar's family is ashamed of making money through trade."

Lin Youxun's father called in his favor and forced Qi Huan, the most talented young man of the Qi family, to marry her.

By marrying his daughter into the Qi family, Lin Youxun's father secured a prestigious connection for his youngest son.

The Qi family could welcome a merchant's daughter with a lavish dowry as a way of repaying a favor, earning praise rather than damaging their reputation.

Both the Lin and Qi families got what they wanted.

Before she had even entered the household, she was already destined to face a mother-in-law who hated her and a husband who felt no affection for her. No one cared about Lin Youxun's predicament.

Lin Youxun fell ill and learned in a fever dream that she had been born into a book. She was a hapless cannon-fodder character who spent her life as a dutiful daughter at home, then a virtuous wife in the Qi household, only to die young from exhaustion.

Her father's illegitimate son would use her life to gain the Qi family's protection and enjoy a lifetime of wealth.

After her death, Qi Huan married the heroine, who had nothing but the empty title of being from a scholarly family and was actually penniless. The heroine lamented Lin Youxun's miserable fate while happily accepting her generous dowry.

When she woke up, Lin Youxun was furious. To hell with being a dutiful daughter and a virtuous wife. She was done trying.

"Your father is getting old. Your little brother will have to rely on you from now on."

Her father was trying to brainwash her again. Lin Youxun smiled. "Give me that hundred-acre mulberry grove first."

"We're father and daughter, and you dare to bargain with me?" Her father was enraged.

"Let's not talk about feelings. It costs money."

"You..." Her father was at a loss for words.

She married into the Qi family.

Her mother-in-law hated her, just as expected.

"You're clumsy. From now on, you're not to serve meals." Her mother-in-law fumed.

Lin Youxun covered her face with a handkerchief and ran off, sobbing. Everyone thought she was mortified, but she was happily rolling around on her bed. Now she wouldn't have to get up early.

But she couldn't figure out what her husband, a young provincial top scholar and later a palace examination third-place graduate, was thinking.

By day, Qi Huan was cool, aloof, and seemingly without desire. By night, he left her weak in every limb. He was truly a man with unfathomable depths.

"Husband, you knew all along that I'm not a virtuous wife." Lin Youxun knew she was no match for his schemes. She steeled herself, tore through their pretense, and asked him to divorce her.

"Divorce?" Qi Huan calmly clasped her hand, his dark eyes burning redder by the moment. "My lady, you can forget about that for the rest of your life."

Here's my friend's upcoming novel, "The Eunuch Director Reigns Supreme"!~

Everyone knows that Xie Yinsheng, the Eastern Depot's director, is ruthless and cruel, with power over the entire court. No one under his command is useless.

Qin Ziyi somehow transmigrates into the role of a famous courtesan sent by a prince to warm Xie Yinsheng's bed. At this point, she has nothing going for her but her beauty: ???

Do eunuchs need women?

Xie Yinsheng knows from the start that Qin Ziyi is a spy planted at his side by the Third Prince. He watches coldly as she tries every trick to please him, pretending to treat him no differently from any other man. He waits for her to slip up.

Later, he decides it might be nice to have an attractive vase in his household, even if it means keeping an eye on her. He never expects the vase to grow legs and run away.

The day he has her dragged back, his long eyes narrow. He pinches her chin and pushes her toward the bed. "You provoke this director and think you can walk away unscathed? Weren't you trying to become my woman? I'll grant your wish."

She only meant to walk a tightrope to earn her keep. But somehow, as she tries to please him, she starts to "fall a little for him." After testing him again and again without getting a response, Qin Ziyi gives up. She doesn't want to fall any deeper.

She flees with the money she swindled from Xie Yinsheng, never expecting him to personally catch her and drag her back. Looking at the handsome, splendidly dressed man with his enchanting features, who keeps saying he'll grant her wish, Qin Ziyi thinks: What kind of luck is this?

Cast into the filth where blood and grime roil, Xie Yinsheng believes he can spend his life as a hawk or a blade, but never as a husband or a man. Then a woman who calls him "Director" at every turn enters his sight, and he returns from hell to the human world.

[Important Notes]

1. The male lead is a real eunuch. One-on-one romance, happy ending.

2. A male lead who thinks he's coercing her but doesn't realize their feelings are mutual x a heroine who clings to a powerful protector and ends up giving him her heart.

Tags: Bickering Couple? Sweet Romance

Theme: Self-reliance and strength