Feeding the Tiger with My Own Flesh

+++While Luo Ying was still unmarried, she was diagnosed as having been born with an extremely low chance of conceiving. Years of treatment could not change her fate.

Her family thought she was probably a lost cause. After all, there are three ways to be unfilial, and having no heir is the worst. If she married, she would likely be sent back in no time, so any time or effort spent on her would be a waste.

All of Luo Ying's talents were concentrated in her stunningly beautiful face, but she wanted to live a better life.

Who says beauty can't be turned into profit?

*

After carefully considering her options and using every bit of cleverness she had, Luo Ying married Lu Sui Ru, the Left Censor of the Censorate.

He was thirty-five and in poor health, but at least he was handsome and mild-mannered.

He had a deceased first wife, who had borne him no children. There were also several concubines in his household, and of his few children, only one illegitimate son seemed worth cultivating.

Luo Ying's little plan was crystal clear. By marrying into a higher-ranking family, she would become a wife of the third rank. Her husband was sickly and had no interest in having children. All she had to do was build a good relationship with the most capable illegitimate son, Lu Shi Xu, and help him rise to power. Once her husband died, she could inherit the estate and its land, and live a pretty comfortable life.

Sure enough, after she entered the household and cared for Lu Sui Ru with great tenderness, he did whatever she asked. He handed over all the household authority to her and even put Lu Shi Xu under his name.

Luo Ying sat upright in a southern-style armchair as Lu Shi Xu called her "Mother," and felt that her plan was going well.

*

After using every means at his disposal to get several women to call him "Mother," Lu Shi Xu finally got what he wanted and became the Marquis's legitimate son.

His new legitimate mother was a year younger than him. Apart from her exceptional beauty and her sweet, persuasive tongue, she had nothing to recommend her. Lu Shi Xu felt he'd boarded a pirate ship, where he had to do everything himself.

He even had to handle the back courtyard's household schemes himself!

While helping her consolidate her power over the household, Lu Shi Xu sneered inwardly. Only a vulgar man like Lu Sui Ru would fall for a pretty vase like her.

Later, he became just such a vulgar man.

Reader's guide:

1. The female lead has previous experience, while the male lead does not. The man is strong, the woman is weak.

2. The heroine can just lie flat. She's a master at training dogs, and there are dogs (crossed out: people) to clear the obstacles for her.

Theme: None for now