[Chasing His Wife to the Crematorium]
Big Bad Wolf Crown Prince x Little White Rabbit Tofu Shopkeeper
Shi Ranan was washing clothes by the river. Thinking about the Lady Tofu Maker on East Street, who had stolen her business, she sighed that her shop had no alluring beauty to draw customers. Just then, a man covered in blood drifted down from upstream.
The man had exquisitely handsome features and an air of elegance.
Without a second thought, Ranan picked up the unconscious man and dragged him home.
Ten days later, once his wounds had healed, Ranan hung up a sign reading "Tofu Pan An" and officially opened for business.
The man was good in every way and let her order him around, but he never talked or smiled.
Just then, palace officials came to select women for the imperial harem. The county magistrate tried to take Ranan for himself, and when he failed, he added her name to the list.
Everyone knew the old emperor was gravely ill and didn't have long to live. Any young woman who entered the palace would likely end up buried with him.
Ranan racked her brains, but when she was out of options, she came up with an idea involving the man.
Ranan: "You sleep in my bed, wear my clothes, and eat my tofu. Don't you think you owe me something?"
Man: "My hand in marriage?"
Quick on the uptake.
Ranan knew this was a forced bargain, so she went out of her way to treat him well, hoping he wouldn't resent her.
But the man was a venomous snake that couldn't be warmed. When Ranan was heavily pregnant, he left without a word, running off with some woman.
Ranan wiped away her tears and found her child a cheap substitute for a father.
She also closed her shop and went to the capital to make something of herself.
**
The Eastern Palace's procurement staff had been tearing their hair out for the past year. Ever since the Crown Prince returned to the palace, he had refused all delicacies and would only eat tofu pudding.
Seventy-two tofu shops had opened in the capital over the past year. He had tried them all, and the Crown Prince hadn't liked a single one.
He even secretly sent people all over the country to search for tofu pudding.
He specified that the shopkeeper should be a young woman living alone, with a round face and a silly look, who always gave customers an extra ounce of tofu pudding.
Before long, every tofu shop in the country had hired female clerks and started selling at a loss.
Ranan's tofu shop lost its competitive edge.
On the day she was going to shut down and return to her hometown, Ranan dished out the last half-barrel of tofu pudding to an old man who came by.
Half an hour later, all nine gates of the capital were shut tight. Not even a mosquito could fly out.
Ranan and her family joined the line to leave the city. As the sky grew darker, they had no choice but to turn back.
Just then, a line of black-clad riders swept in. The man at the front swung down from his horse and ran over, wrapping Ranan in his arms.
"Ranan, I've finally found you!"
An untimely voice sounded beside them: "Wife, who is this man?"
Ranan: I-It's my deadbeat ex-husband...
Theme: Treat others with sincerity
