- A gentle, elegant older woman who has closed off her heart vs. an obsessive wolf-dog whose old flame is rekindled -
Jiang Mo had a strong instinct for self-preservation. She barely remembered anything about what had happened ten years ago.
So when she met Ji Cizhou again, she greeted him with a bright smile: "Long time no see, Young Master Ji."
Ji Cizhou stared at her in astonishment, unable to say a word for a long while.
The colleagues around them teased him, saying that although he looked so proper, he was secretly acquainted with the most beautiful widow in the capital.
They said, "Mistress Mo, Cizhou's returned to the capital and taken up the post of Market Administration Office Director. Your wine stall won't have to worry about business anymore."
Jiang Mo cheerfully agreed. She really was glad that Ji Cizhou had become the Market Administration Office Director.
Though they hadn't seen each other in ten years, at least they had been close from the time they were born until they were sixteen.
As for what happened after they turned sixteen, Jiang Mo only remembered that there had been some unpleasantness, and then Ji Cizhou had been sent away to serve as an official.
How serious could it have been, if he was still holding a grudge ten years later?
Jiang Mo lowered her head and smiled gently, not giving it another thought.
-
Ji Cizhou would never forget the night the Jiang family broke off their engagement.
"Jiang Mo wrote the letter ending the engagement herself! Why are you still clinging to her?!"
He didn't believe it. He ran to the Jiang residence in a frenzy, only to find the doors shut tight and cold.
Later, the Jiang family fell, the house was empty, and the young woman named Jiang Mo seemed to vanish from the face of the earth.
Heartbroken and consumed by frustration, he left to wander the world.
Then an urgent letter from home summoned him back. His father was critically ill, and he finally returned to the capital, only to suddenly encounter the figure he had longed for day and night amid the bustle of the marketplace and the fragrance of wine.
People called her "Mistress Mo."
They said she was a widow.
A widow?
The two weightless words ground years of longing and resentment to dust, mixing with the strong liquor as it scorched his insides.
What was even harder for him to bear was the look in her eyes when she turned toward him:
Clear, gentle, and touched with the familiar smile of an old friend.
She merely smiled at him, calm and unassuming, more beautiful than he remembered, and more distant.
-
In front of the wine stall, the aroma of wine filled the air.
Jiang Mo held a jug in her delicate hand, pouring wine for customers with a smile.
Ji Cizhou stood beyond the crowd, his knuckles clenched beneath his official robes until they turned deathly white.
He'd thought returning to the capital meant letting go.
Instead, he had fallen into an even deeper old dream, steeped in the fragrance of wine.
Also titled: After I Became a Widow, My Old Flame Pursued Me Relentlessly
Blurb revised on July 15, 2025
Theme: Let those who did wrong make things right again
