A cunning beauty with impeccable self-worth, daughter of a courtesan * A proper, upright, gentle and considerate man whose only rebellious act is loving the heroine
Liu Pan'er was born out of wedlock to a courtesan mother.
As she approached the age for marriage,
Liu Pan'er was famous for her beauty, and her mother was very wealthy.
Unfortunately, the men who came to propose were either poor widowers or rich men with eighteen concubines at home.
The mother and daughter were at their wits' end.
As the years went by,
one day Liu Pan'er went to a temple to pray for a good husband.
There she met Yin Wenhe, who had come to offer incense with his mother and his betrothed cousin.
Liu Pan'er knew who he was:
the legitimate son of Minister Yin,
a famously talented and handsome young man in the capital.
Liu Pan'er took a liking to him
and decided to steal him away and make him her husband.
As the only son of the Yin family,
Yin Wenhe had always been held to strict standards.
He was clever and sensible, and never gave his parents cause for worry,
from his studies as a boy to the marriage negotiations when he turned eighteen.
His family arranged for him to marry his beautiful, virtuous cousin.
Yin Wenhe had no objections.
That was, until one day, while accompanying his family to offer incense,
a bewitching young woman "accidentally" fell into his arms.
Many years after their wedding,
one day Liu Pan'er's children asked how she and Yin Wenhe had met,
since their parents were so mismatched in status.
Liu Pan'er told them honestly: "Of course your father was someone I stole. Remember, children, happiness is in your own hands. You have to take the initiative if you want to be happy!"
The children said they had learned their lesson.
Yin Wenhe: "With your father's skills, even ten of your mother wouldn't stand a chance."
The children: "Then how did Mother succeed?"
Yin Wenhe: "Because your father gave her the opportunity."
Theme: Happiness is something you have to pursue proactively.
