A Hairpin in Her Cloudlike Tresses

Thanks to his formidable martial arts, Qi Yi earns distinguished military honors and rises to become a close confidant of the emperor.

Yet no one is willing to marry him. The noble young ladies of the capital are delicate. How could they endure being bullied by a rough brute with a bandit past?

When the young emperor teases Qi Yi about which noble lady he wants to marry, Qi Yi happens to be looking down from the second floor of a teahouse. In the alley below, a young woman has just been harshly rejected by her lover, and she is weeping as if her heart will break.

He clicks his tongue and points. "Her."

Neither of them has anyone else, so they might as well make do and build a life together.

After the imperial decree is issued, a colleague asks him why. With a roguish grin, he casually replies, "I'm a dashing and mighty marquis, so only the prettiest woman will do for me."

Everyone in the capital laughs, but they all want to see what the future Marchioness looks like.

Cui Chan has spent more than ten years being cautious and discreet. Now that she's suddenly famous, she's so frightened she doesn't even dare leave the house.

*

After they marry, Qi Yi discovers that the young woman is not only gorgeous, but her voice is so lovely it makes his bones itch.

She's just got far too many rules and is far too sensitive. He can make her cry three times in a single day.

For all her faults, she's fun to tease when there's nothing else to do.

Just as the young woman has grown plump and lively, and her voice has gotten a little louder, Qi Yi discovers that someone is trying to cuckold him before he's even had a chance to make his move.

Qi Yi's face darkens. "I've already been brought to heel, and someone still dares to steal my woman?"

Without another word, he beats the man up right there in the street.

Cui Chan has been wronged, but she doesn't dare say so. She's terrified.

She's afraid that if she explains, Qi Yi won't believe her and will send her a divorce letter. Worse, if he beats her in public, she'll never be able to show her face again.

He's always been rough. Breaking someone's neck is as easy for him as it is for her to embroider.

Life goes on in a state of constant anxiety, but Cui Chan begins to notice that Qi Yi seems... unusually attentive to her?

But she can't dare to think that way. If she's wrong, she'll get beaten.

She waits a long time for that beating, but it never comes. Instead, she hears that Qi Yi has gone to a brothel.

Cui Chan, red-eyed with anger, rushes over. She can't go on living like this. She'll ask to be divorced, so she can stop living in fear...

Before she can finish her thought, a gruff voice tinged with grievance comes from the courtesan's fragrant room: "None of your methods work! I've studied and read, and I bathe every day, but she still won't look at me! She has someone else in her heart! It's not me!"

"Then go get a divorce. Don't ruin my fun!"

After a long pause, the brute finally speaks again. "I can't bear to..."

Theme: Live earnestly, and unexpected joys will find you