Mu He was renowned as a beauty throughout the surrounding villages. Before she had even come of age, a landlord set his sights on her.
Her parents coveted the generous bride price and planned to send her off as a concubine to a landlord old enough to be her grandfather.
Mu He begged them again and again, but to no avail. She set fire to the wooden house she had lived in for over a decade, burning it to the ground, then fled the place that had become a living hell under cover of night.
She fled all the way to town, where she happened to meet a wealthy young master visiting the area.
Mu He used her beauty to successfully win the young master over.
Hearing the promises he made, Mu He thought she had finally found a place to settle down. But the young master already had a wife and only wanted to take Mu He as a concubine.
Realizing what he was after, Mu He turned her attention to his friend instead.
After many twists and turns, Mu He became a widow, raising her young child and guarding a fortune worth millions.
She thought she would live out the rest of her days in peace, until the newly appointed county magistrate knocked on her door...
Recommended story in the same series: the villainess story "The Viperous Concubine"
Xiangsi was a concubine-born daughter of a powerful family. After her birth mother died young, she was raised from childhood by her "kindhearted" legal mother.
As Xiangsi grew older, her beauty became increasingly alluring, and she even began to outshine her legitimate sisters. Her legal mother disliked this, but also saw an opportunity, so she sent a senior maid to instruct Xiangsi.
The maid told Xiangsi to put the family and her legitimate siblings first in all things. Xiangsi appeared obedient, but inwardly she was deeply contemptuous.
When Xiangsi came of age, she heard that her legal mother planned to marry her off as a concubine to the Minister of Rites, a man over fifty, solely to pave the way for her legitimate brother. She was thrown into a panic.
To protect herself, Xiangsi schemed at a banquet to make Pei Linxiao, her legitimate sister’s fiance, become physically intimate with her.
In front of everyone, Xiangsi succeeded in marrying into the Pei family, but married life was far from happy.
Her mother-in-law was strict, her husband was cold, and the servants whispered behind her back...
Xiangsi refused to give up. After repeatedly failing to win Pei Linxiao’s favor, she simply turned her attention to his friends, who often visited the Pei household...
Theme: Doing whatever it takes is not the answer.
