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The Duke of Dingguo's residence is top-tier nobility in Dayu. For generations, even stretching back a dozen or more, the family has produced either worthy ministers or great generals.
The Jiang family, on the other hand, were all farmers who couldn't read a word. At long last, they produced Jiang Sheng, who entered the court as an official, only for him to turn out to be a bona fide treacherous minister, one everyone wanted dead!
And now, these two families are to be joined in marriage!
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Qi Heng, heir to the Duke of Dingguo, is reserved yet elegant, noble and self-possessed, as steady as a deep pool and a lofty mountain. Yet he married Jiang Qie, a daughter of the Jiang family.
The court and the public were in an uproar, calling the match absurd.
Jiang Qie knew it was the emperor's political maneuvering and court intrigue that had forced this marriage. She also knew her position was awkward, so she was always cautious in her words and actions, afraid to bring any more trouble to the duke's residence.
And yet... she still let herself indulge in a foolish hope, wishing to live harmoniously with Qi Heng, raise children together, and grow old by his side.
Until Qi Heng defied an imperial decree and traveled thousands of miles to bring the woman he loved back to the residence.
The servants said she was his childhood sweetheart, and that they would have made a perfect couple if Jiang Qie hadn't come between them and taken her place.
Jiang Qie finally gave up hope and cast away every foolish longing she had ever held.
If they were such a perfect couple, then she would make it happen.
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Since her divorce, Jiang Qie has been eating well and sleeping soundly.
She no longer has to worry about minding her words and behavior so she won't shame the duke's residence, nor does she have to endure people pointing and whispering about her.
The day Qi Heng came to see her, Jiang Qie cursed at someone and smashed a bowl for the first time in her life, telling him to get lost as far away as he could.
Qi Heng took the full force of her scolding without uttering a word.
At last, when Jiang Qie was tired of cursing, he asked quietly, "So, can we not get divorced?"
Jiang Qie turned away resolutely, but someone caught her sleeve. She looked back and saw the usually solemn, proper man staring at her, his face stiff as he asked, "Didn't you used to like touching me?"
Jiang Qie: ?
Qi Heng: "So do you still like it now?"
*
Everyone knew Qi Heng was mature beyond his years, a man of iron resolve, the last pillar of the noble families of Dayu.
But when he learned that a woman had fallen off a cliff and her fate was unknown, his eyes reddened and he searched for her like a madman.
If she wasn't by his side, what meaning was there in living through this long, endless life?
Theme: Breaking free from the burdens of one's family of origin
