How different can the marriages of two sisters be?
The Duke of Anguo had two sons and four daughters. Born to humble origins, he had risen from a lowly soldier to become a duke. As his status grew, each of his four daughters made a better marriage than the last.
The four daughters married into families representing the scholar, farmer, artisan, and merchant classes. Though they were all daughters of the same duke, their fates could hardly have been more different.
In the blink of an eye, twenty years had passed. The delicate young ladies of the past had become middle-aged women, while their daughters had all grown into lovely young women, each more beautiful than the last.
Arranging their daughters' marriages became an important task for the mothers.
The fourth daughter was the first to act. Though she had made the best marriage, she died young. Her husband, a great general, was stationed at the border for most of the year, so before she died, she entrusted her daughter to her family to raise.
Next came the third daughter. Though she had married the richest man in Jiangnan and was wealthy beyond measure, she still never missed a chance to take advantage of anything. Her fourth sister's daughter had entered the Duke's residence, so how could her own daughter fall behind?
If her two younger sisters could send their daughters to the Duke's residence, why couldn't the eldest sister do the same? They had all suffered in their own marriages, and they wouldn't let their daughters follow in their footsteps.
So the eldest daughter, who had married a farmer, brought her younger daughter, while the second daughter, who had married a blacksmith, brought her only daughter. They all moved to the capital, and their daughters were ushered into the Duke's residence too.
Hu Wannning was the only daughter of the blacksmith, the last one to be brought in. Among all the girls in the household, her only real advantage was probably her sturdy build.
She envied her many talented, charming, and socially adept sisters and cousins. But who could have guessed? Life was unpredictable, and in the end, she would become the true winner.
Theme: Three parts are determined by fate, seven parts by hard work.
