Zhu Longling was born into poverty, but her family was steeped in books and learning, making them a family of scholars.
Her parents had both died, so she had no choice but to go to Shuizhou and seek out the aunt her mother had mentioned, a woman who had married into a wealthy family and whom she had never met.
When her aunt, decked out in pearls and finery, saw how shabby Zhu Longling looked, she immediately made snide remarks and refused to take her in.
Her aunt's daughter, Du Shui'er, eagerly called her cousin every day. The silks and brocades Du Shui'er wore dazzled Zhu Longling and chafed her skin. She couldn't put her inexplicable dislike into words.
All she could do was pick up a book and shut herself away from all that glittering wealth, putting on an air of virtuous refinement.
Fortunately, there was one person in her aunt's household with whom she could get along: her uncle, who had a vast collection of books and an elegant, scholarly air.
She looked down on her aunt and cousin for their gold and jade finery, but she alone came to admire her uncle.
Gradually, she too came to possess silk and brocade, gold and jade hairpins. They all came from her uncle. She wore them while holding a book, imagining herself discussing poetry and philosophy with him.
Little did she know that everything he gave her came at a price.
By the time she came to her senses, she could no longer take off the silks draped over her or the brocade shoes on her feet.
All she could do was cling to the wealth and luxury she had fantasized about all her life, sinking into it with open eyes.
Except when necessary, Du Jingming never gave her so much as a second glance.
One day, he asked her, "Everyone says the women in brothels are pitiful. Why are you so happy?"
Zhu Longling lay in her lover's arms, caressed his face, and longed for him to look down at her. "They were forced into it, but I chose this myself."
Theme: Start over with a clean slate
