Zheng Wan was an unfavored concubine-born daughter in the general's household. She was often treated with disdain and lived a miserable life.
To make matters worse, she was stunningly beautiful, with a captivating, almost bewitching allure. Plenty of spoiled young men competed to take her as a concubine.
She knew her status was lowly and that becoming a principal wife was already difficult. How could she ever marry the man she loved, Gu Xun, the eldest son of the prestigious Gu family?
Gu Xun was noble and radiant, exceptionally talented and distinguished. Someone of such exalted status and outstanding qualities was far beyond Zheng Wan's reach.
Rather than be taken by someone else and go on living a life of servility, she might as well make her own choice.
Zheng Wan, who had always been meek, decided to be ruthless for once...
After one wild night, she got her wish and married Gu Xun.
*
After they married, the two treated each other with respect in public, and Gu Xun gave her all the honor and dignity she could ask for.
But Zheng Wan knew in her heart that Gu Xun loathed her.
He loathed her scheming and her underhanded tactics.
Whenever she tried to deceive herself, Gu Xun's cold warning from their wedding night would ring in her ears.
"Don't covet what doesn't belong to you."
She kept her feelings hidden and answered softly, while pain stabbed at her heart.
But as long as she could stay by Gu Xun's side, she thought, all of this was worth it.
*
Gu Xun couldn't let go of Zheng Wan's schemes. Even after they married, she kept resorting to the same tricks.
He looked down on her attempts to seduce him, but he despised his own weakness even more, because he kept letting her have her way.
He grew more and more addicted to what they did at night.
But after their marriage, Zheng Wan dutifully managed the household affairs, followed his opinions in everything, and remained graceful, gentle, and serene, as if she meant to live with him in perfect harmony. Gu Xun thought that perhaps he wouldn't mind things staying this way forever.
Until one day, a friend visiting their home expressed envy at how devoted they were as a couple. Gu Xun merely said, "It's all an act."
But when he turned around, his wife was standing a short distance behind him. What had fallen from her hand was the sachet she'd only recently promised to sew for him.
From that day on, Gu Xun realized that his wife had changed.
She no longer had eyes only for him.
This change left Gu Xun flustered and unsettled.
Theme: Loving each other and growing old together
