A Lovely Moon in My Arms

When Xu Zhihe married into the marquis's household, everyone said she'd risen from a humble branch to become a phoenix.

But for a while, she had no idea how to live her new life.

She was only sixteen, yet she already had an eighteen-year-old son. Being a stepmother was no easy task.

Her new son was always watching her from behind, his eyes like a wolf's, as if he were about to tear her apart and devour her. She was afraid.

Later, she heard that she and his birth mother looked almost exactly alike. She thought, perhaps... he missed his mother.

She heard his mother had also been a farmer's daughter. She washed her hands and began taking care of him. When a smile finally appeared on his face, she felt relieved.

She thought that if she gave him a little brother, the bonds of blood would tie them together, and the family would be able to make a life of it.

Night after night, she dressed up and waited eagerly, but her husband never agreed to share her bed.

One day, then two. One month, then two. One year, then two.

Her heart broke as she waited. If he despised her, why had he married her?

She cried, then pulled herself together and summoned her courage. She warmed the wine and prepared the dishes. She drank with her husband as a love potion slowly took effect. She removed her outer garment, and her husband pressed her down onto the bed.

The red candle went out, but her husband still left. She bore her hurt and held back the heat coursing through her.

Then, late at night, she heard a creak. The man who had left returned and walked back to her bedside.

**

Eyes watching her in secret lingered on her hair, her neck, her lips.

Run away or use him. Xu Zhihe had found a new answer.

Theme: The breeze brushes the mountain ridge