Marrying Up

Zheng Yu, the eldest son of the Xingyang Zheng family, was breathtakingly handsome, elegant as a jade tree, and steady in all he did. He was the most outstanding young nobleman in the Xingyang region.

He had a childhood sweetheart, the third young lady of the Zhaojun Li family. She was gentle and refined, and they had grown up together, sharing a deep affection for each other.

When he came of age, everyone expected him to marry the third young lady of the Zhaojun Li family. But an ancestral marriage agreement made the county magistrate's youngest daughter the mistress of the Zheng household.

Su Jiaojiao, the youngest daughter of the county magistrate, was strikingly beautiful, but spoiled and headstrong.

No one knew that she already had a man in her heart. He was in the capital and had promised to come marry her when she turned fifteen.

But time waits for no one. She married into the Zheng family as planned. Although she had no feelings for the man she had once loved, she still did her best to be considerate toward her husband, honor her parents-in-law, and get along with her sisters-in-law.

Unfortunately, after they married, her husband treated her coldly, her mother-in-law looked down on her humble background, and even the servants under her took her for granted.

Su Jiaojiao endured it all, until the second year of their marriage, when the third young lady of the Zhaojun Li family married. That night, her husband was unusually agitated. When they made love, he was rough and heedless, as though venting all his anger and dissatisfaction on her. Su Jiaojiao's heart finally went cold.

That same year, the emperor sent an important official to Xingyang to collect taxes. This young official was the man Su Jiaojiao had once loved.

And he had come with another mission: to take Su Jiaojiao to the capital.

Su Jiaojiao knew her husband had never forgotten his childhood sweetheart, so she assumed he would gladly agree when she asked for a divorce. That is, until the man calmly tore up the divorce agreement she'd written by hand.

For a long time afterward, Su Jiaojiao lay unable to move on a golden-threaded couch. Whenever she opened her eyes, she was met by the young man's deep, fathomless gaze. He would ask in a low voice, "Jiaojiao, are you still going to see your lover?"

Note:

1. Both leads are each other's first and only partners. Marriage first, love later, plus romantic rivalry.

2. The romance is the main focus, with the story unfolding around several prominent families.

3. Both the male lead and the male supporting character genuinely love the heroine, so expect rivalry and catfights, with a slight ensemble feel.

4. Weibo: @Jinjiang Qiao Yan

5. The heroine really does have a first love.

Blurb last updated on February 1, 2025.

Theme: Even when fierce winds rise, never give up on life.