Xu Wanyu, the legitimate daughter of the Marquis of Xuanping, was as beautiful as a celestial maiden. Now that she was of marriageable age, the matchmakers had practically worn down the threshold of the marquis's residence.
But she had no interest in any of the sons of powerful families. Instead, she gave her heart to Pei Xu, a top-ranked scholar from a humble family.
Though Pei Xu was aloof and treated her by turns warmly and coldly, Xu Wanyu still gave him her whole heart.
After many twists and turns, the two finally married.
After the wedding, Pei Xu remained distant. He would only say a few more words to her when their families' past came up.
Xu Wanyu assumed he was busy with official duties and didn't mind.
Until one day, the Xu family was found guilty, her father was stripped of his official post, and Pei Xu was the presiding judge.
Only then did Xu Wanyu come to her senses. The marital harmony she'd imagined had all been wishful thinking. The faint affection hidden in his hot-and-cold treatment was merely bait to make her fall deeper.
He had used her from beginning to end.
A great fire broke out at the Pei residence during Pei Xu's promotion banquet.
When he rushed back, his wife stood amid the flames, looking at him coldly. "I was a poor judge of character, and I brought this on myself. I've already signed the divorce papers. From now on, we will never see each other again, alive or dead."
With that, she plunged a dagger into her chest.
That night, the usually proud Lord Pei stood among dirty snow and ashes until morning.
**
Pei, the dignified and illustrious chancellor, rose to the highest rank before he was thirty, becoming the youngest chancellor since the founding of the dynasty.
Everyone envied him, though in private they couldn't help but feel sorry for him.
At such a young age, Chancellor Pei had supposedly gone mad. Though his wife was dead, he refused to bury her or erect a gravestone, and forbade anyone from saying a single word about her, as if he detested her utterly.
Yet, strangely, when someone inadvertently slighted the late Lady Pei at a banquet, they were demoted the very next day. It was said that Chancellor Pei himself had submitted the accusation.
1. Single-couple romance, happy ending
2. Includes melodramatic tropes such as faking one's death, fleeing while pregnant, and the husband chasing after his wife to win her back. Skip it if that's not your thing.
Theme: Don't wait until it's too late to say you're sorry
