Shen Jiaojiao was beautiful beyond compare, with skin like ice and bones like jade, yet she was a country girl who had never been loved by her biological parents.
She had thought she'd have no choice but to choose a man from the countryside and spend her life with him. Then, just as the bride-to-be of the Hedong Pei clan became embroiled in a scandal, an imperial edict summoned Shen Jiaojiao back to the capital.
Pei Ju was raised to become the future head of the Hedong Pei clan. He possessed an elegant bearing and handsome features, and had cultivated a nature that was free of worldly desires, devoted solely to the prosperity of his family.
He should have married a virtuous woman renowned beyond their home and capable of managing a household within it. But just as he was about to marry, his bride-to-be's scandal came to light, and a letter revealed that there were two women involved.
At the time, the realm had just fallen into chaos, and the imperial clan had lost its power.
Emperor Mingyang, eager to seize the opportunity, immediately sent people to act on the news.
In secret, he reached an agreement with the current head of the Pei family and sent the girl who had been raised in the countryside, far from her family, to Pei Ju's side.
Their wedding was grand and splendid, but there were whispers of another story beneath the ceremony. Given Pei Ju's temperament, he was naturally unwilling to share a bed with her.
Night after night, she shamelessly pressed close to him, hoping to sleep beside him, and he always turned her away.
Until one day, the young man who had grown close to her over the years came to visit from the countryside. Pei Ju watched as she greeted him with the same affection she had shown Pei Ju, then happily rushed past him into the other man's arms, pouring out how much she had missed him. He went completely mad.
Under the deep, dark sky, where clouds blocked out the moonlight, Pei Ju seized her and held her firmly in his grasp. His eyes reddened as he stared at her and uttered each word, one by one, with a shame-inducing edge.
"Shen Jiaojiao, you are my wife, and the one who will share my grave a hundred years from now. Now that you are being so intimate with another man, tell me, how should I punish you?"
Reader's Guide: 1. The imperial family has lost its power, and noble clans reign supreme.
2. A highly fictionalized setting.
Theme: Don't think yourself unworthy of love
