Zhou Shao set a trap and married the last surviving member of the Lu family, who had been sold to a brothel years ago. The streets were abuzz with rumors: an old bull eating young grass. But Zhou Shao had no such intentions, nor did she have the "equipment" for it. She only wanted to carefully raise this orchid hidden among the weeds, repay the Lu family for their kindness, and settle an old matter weighing on her heart.
Afterward, everyone saw how obediently Second Master Zhou treated her wife, a woman from a brothel.
Want to watch a show? Then book out the whole venue. Her former fiance was marrying one of her fair-weather friends from back then? Then set off a fireworks display even more spectacular than the wedding to celebrate your birthday.
Few people were richer than Zhou Shao, and fewer still dared to spend money as freely as she did.
Year after year passed, until the orchid's leaves grew sharp enough to cut someone's heart. Zhou Shao knew the time had come.
All of Lu Yinxi's strength caught in her throat. When she spoke, the words came out broken: "Guilt. So you rescued me from my cage and taught me to read poetry because you felt guilty for ruining my family back then."
"Yes."
"The fireworks that winter, the clematis you planted in the courtyard, the night you searched for me in the flood, the gun you gave me from your own side. Was all of that only because you felt guilty?"
Zhou Shao held her trembling hand and pressed the gun in it against her own brow. Her eyes held a calm and acceptance she had never shown before.
"Yes."
Theme: Save the people, the country, and the family.
