Marriage first, love later / A complete change of character / A scheming puppy's quest to win back his wife
Jiang Xian, daughter of the richest man in Lingzhou, was living in luxury and spending money like water one day. The next, she had nowhere to go and not a penny to her name.
The one who brought her to this state was her own mother. The principal wife of the Jiang household had spent thirty years battling her husband's concubine. This time, the concubine made a single wrong move, and by a twist of fate, a human trafficker kidnapped Jiang Xian.
A thousand miles from home, out in the wilderness, Jiang Xian had no choice but to marry the simple-minded son of the village butcher if she wanted to survive.
The boy might have been simple, but he was good-looking. His clear eyes were foolish, and a silly grin hung on his childish face.
The trouble was, he treated her so well.
He gave her a wooden puppet he'd treasured for years, clumsily made flower crowns and bamboo dragonflies for her, and always gave her all the meat in his bowl.
Timidly taking her hand, he stammered, “W-wife... let's go fly a kite?”
Jiang Xian had no intention of spending the rest of her life with a simpleton. She saved up some private money and ran away.
She made it back to the Jiang household and hid the fact that she'd been married. Not only did she return to her life of luxury, but her father doted on her, and she lived even more extravagantly than before.
-
In the fourth month of late spring, the people crowded around the newly appointed top scholar, praising how handsome he was.
Watching the festivities, Jiang Xian suddenly broke into a cold sweat. W-wasn't this top scholar exactly like that simple-minded boy?
She fled back to the manor in a panic with her maid. Jiang Xian tried to reassure herself that the boy couldn't possibly have passed the imperial examinations and become top scholar. She must have been mistaken.
Many days later, she went to a friend's wedding banquet at the friend's invitation, and ran into the top scholar again.
This time, she was certain. The top scholar, Xie Yu, was the simple-minded boy who had called her his wife.
Xie Yu advanced on her step by step, leaving Jiang Xian nowhere to run.
The face that once wore a silly grin had turned clever and sly.
His expression darkened. “How do you plan to repay me for abandoning me after having your way with me?”
Theme: Anything is possible
