The entire novel is complete and ready to post. A short story of over a hundred thousand words.
A tribute story. Not contracted, and free to read.
In the spring of 1913, because of a marriage agreement left behind by their ancestors, Xie Zhiyuan married Zhou Du, the second son of the Zhou family of Shanghai.
Zhou Du, who used to skip class to go birding, talk back to his elders at the slightest provocation, and spend lavishly to support the opera singer he fancied.
He was, without a doubt, a first-rate playboy.
After their wedding, though they lived under the same roof, she and Zhou Du had little to do with each other. On the few occasions they did meet, Zhou Du was far from pleasant, and could even be called arrogant.
He even told her in a flippant manner, "From now on, we'll call each other brother and sister in public. I don't want people to know I'm married."
*
Zhou Du was tricked into coming home by news that the old master was critically ill. Only then did he learn that his family had already found him a wife.
She was a slight woman who seemed quiet and reserved, and who was neither charming nor worldly, but backward and bound by old-fashioned ideas.
At first, he truly only meant to humor his family. But later, he realized he had been wrong.
When someone confessed to his wife, he was the one who felt jealous but was too proud to admit it.
When trouble struck the family, he was the one who did everything he could to keep Xie Zhiyuan safe.
And the one who sincerely promised Zhiyuan a lifetime together was still him.
*
But Zhou Du never got to see the dawn, nor did he get to fulfill his promise.
In the spring of 1918, Xie Zhiyuan was already pregnant. But before she could tell Zhou Du, one morning she found a letter he had left by her pillow.
"My wife, Zhiyuan, forgive me for leaving without saying goodbye. Our country is in peril. I cannot stand by and do nothing. But as your husband, all I wish for is your safety and happiness. Wait for my return."
Xie Zhiyuan looked up at the window. The fine curtain of rain blurred her vision, just as it had on the day they first met five years ago.
It was not until the founding of the People's Republic in 1949 that she understood: he would not return. She would return in his place.
This story is entirely fictional.
Theme: Love for one's country
