After Separating from the Powerful Chancellor

The second story set in the Great Liang universe. You can read about the previous generation's entanglements in my earlier work, Guests from the South. Enjoy! P.S. I update according to the ranking schedule when there is one, and every other day when there isn't~ If you asked the current county magistrate, Zhang Yuntang, what troubled her, it would probably be that her ex-husband was far too famous. Her former husband, once a vice minister of the Ministry of Personnel and now a grand secretary, was a nemesis she couldn't escape, even after fleeing a thousand li away to a small county town. And now, the emperor had come in person to inspect the newly planted mulberry trees, and the man had come along too. Zhang Yuntang bowed respectfully. “Greetings, Grand Secretary Cheng.” A month later, the governor hosted a long-table banquet to see off the emperor and his party. The young grand secretary, who had risen to high office at a tender age, had drunk too much newly brewed mulberry-leaf wine and was clutching her sleeve, refusing to let go. “My lady, we've run out of mulberry-leaf wine at home. When will you brew more?” Zhang Yuntang suddenly remembered the first time she had successfully brewed mulberry-leaf wine. Excited, she had taken a jug to his study. But she had found him holding the woman he loved, gently comforting her. And just a few days earlier, when Zhang Yuntang had been framed and unable to defend herself, he had defied all convention, snatching the woman he loved away from another man's wedding. She had only just been widowed and was being forced into another marriage. She had thought there was no need to give him the wine, so she drank it herself, drowning in the potent liquor. When she woke, the man was scolding her with a cold expression. Zhang Yuntang thought, He never asks why I did it, or whether I'm hurting or heartbroken. Because this was a marriage bestowed upon her through deceiving the emperor, she deserved to suffer and hurt as she stumbled through it. Fortunately, the clouds parted, the rain stopped, and she awoke from her long dream. She let out a long breath, releasing the pent-up frustration. “Lord Cheng, let's divorce.” Who would have thought that years later, he would act as though nothing had ever happened and ask her for mulberry-leaf wine? Zhang Yuntang could only laugh at the absurdity. She gently freed her sleeve and bowed respectfully in farewell. “Your journey to the capital is a thousand li. Take care, Lord Cheng.” And also: “I sincerely wish you and Madam Shen a long and happy marriage, growing old together hand in hand.” Reader's Guide: 1. Both leads are inexperienced in love. A resilient, grass-like female county official versus an aloof, high-ranking male official. 2. The blurb is told from the heroine's perspective. Read the full story for the other hidden circumstances. 3. The setting and institutions are inspired by the Ming dynasty, with the fictional addition that women can take the civil service examinations and hold office. 4. This is not a story about an all-powerful heroine, but she has her own career arc from beginning to end, and the romance is closely connected to her career. Theme: Flowers blooming in the mire