Lian Niang's family made their living through farming and sericulture. She married into the Lu family, a family of high standing, and became the wife of a licentiate.
Every day, she rose at the fifth watch and began weaving at the first cockcrow.
Every night, she worked without rest, weaving five bolts in three days.
Her husband was learned and virtuous, but hated how alluring she was at night. He scolded her, "Now that you are a wife of the Lu family, you must conduct yourself with modesty. How can you imitate the wanton charms of a brothel woman?"
When he was done, he swept out, leaving her with nothing but tears.
Her mother-in-law resented how slowly she wove, how she couldn't conjure up a fortune, and how she consumed rice every day. She was a barren hen that couldn't lay eggs.
Her sister-in-law blamed her for discovering that she and a wealthy young gentleman were in love and secretly meeting. Afraid Lian Niang would spread the story, she tormented her mercilessly.
Her husband studied day after day, passing one examination after another.
Later, he went to the capital to sit the imperial examination and placed third, becoming a disciple of the emperor.
He wrote to his family, telling his mother and sister to bring Lian Niang to the capital to reunite with him.
But bandits attacked them on the way. To save their own lives, her mother-in-law and sister-in-law pushed her into a pack of wolves.
Fortunately, a kind benefactor rescued her.
But Lian Niang had been abandoned by her husband's family, and she had nowhere to return to in her own. Just as she was about to hang herself, her benefactor took her down from the rope and scolded her for the first time. "If you want to die, go find somewhere else to do it. I saved your life, not so I could watch you die right in front of me."
The man's words were harsh and cruel, but he clung to her like a medicinal plaster, rescuing her again and again whenever she tried to end her life.
She broke down. "What do you want from me?"
The man waited calmly for her to finish crying, then wiped away her tears. "Are you trying to die because you think there's no way out? I'll see this through and help you to the end. Marry me, and I'll give you a way to live."
Theme: Love yourself before loving someone else.
