He's No Charming Playboy

A said: Last year, Fu Dutai forcibly married the daughter of the deputy commissioner of the Tea and Horse Office. Ever since, Fu Dutai has gone mad.

B asked: Could it be that Lady Shang was so unreasonable and domineering that she drove Fu Dutai mad?

A replied: That wasn't all.

B exclaimed: Then how did Fu Dutai go mad?

A said: He had someone make a wooden fish drum carved with his own name, and whenever anything displeased him, he would pound on it nonstop. When he was at the end of his tether, he divorced Lady Shang.

B laughed: An unreasonable, domineering wife deserves to be divorced. I'd heard Lady Shang was impossible to deal with and a real headache. But what a pity for the dashing Fu Dutai. He'd finally found a beauty to settle down with, only for things to end up...

Before B could finish, A laughed: But after the divorce, he went even madder.

B asked: Why?

A shook his head: Because Lady Shang turned around and married someone else.

Hearing these rumors, Shang Linjiang, who was tied up in a carriage, merely chuckled and cursed loudly, "He's no dashing gentleman. He's a bastard who makes his living off women."

Shang Linjiang's voice rang out loud and clear. Fu Qinian heard her, lifted the curtain, and smiled back. "At our second wedding night, I'll still be the one sharing your pillow, Shang Shang."

Song Niangzi, owner of the Peach Blossom Record Tailor Shop in Beiping, was widowed at twenty-one. After keeping her widowhood for four years, she still had no intention of remarrying.

People in Beiping said she must be hoping to become a chaste widow.

Whenever the anniversary of her husband's death came around, Song Nanzhi counted on her fingers how many more years she had to remain a widow before the court would honor her: "I married at eighteen and was widowed at twenty-one, so I qualify under the rule that a woman must be widowed before thirty and remain chaste. I've already been a widow for four years, and I still need to keep it up for another sixteen or seventeen to qualify as someone who remains chaste after fifty. Once I receive the honor, I won't have to work anymore. I'll get a monthly allowance of grain and silver, and sleep until the sun is high before getting up. Heh heh, having a husband die young does have its perks."

After four years of a dull widow's life, Song Nanzhi met Fu Jinyu, a dashing and spirited member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

They'd only met a few times when Fu Jinyu began entertaining improper thoughts. "I think I like you."

Song Nanzhi was firm. "No. I want to remain a widow and become a chaste widow. I'm not interested in keeping men company."

"Isn't it just that little monthly allowance of grain and silver you're after?" Fu Jinyu snapped. "Be with me, and I'll give you all my daily allowance from now on."

At that, Song Nanzhi wavered, and her greed grew. "Well... I want the chaste widow's monthly allowance of grain and silver, and I want your daily allowance too."

Fu Jinyu was puzzled. "So..."

Song Nanzhi stammered, "So we can secretly carry on a romance, and then, once I'm in my forties and have received the honor, I'll marry you. Do you think that could work?"

--

Two couples:

A super, super, super fussy heroine vs. a possessive male lead

A greedy, lazy true widow vs. a dashing, spirited member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard

Theme: Be happy