After her family fell into ruin, Cheng Wanyi left the capital with a retinue of loyal servants and settled in a remote village in Huizhou. She found a husband, had a child, and lived a peaceful life that others envied.
The only flaw was that her husband had kept a secret from her for four years. After she pressed him without getting an answer, she had no choice but to talk herself into accepting it:
Never mind, never mind. Life isn't perfect, so I'll just make the best of it.
Then one day, three bandits showed up at her door, brandishing the IOU for one hundred thousand that her husband had signed and demanding payment.
Only then did she realize that some things couldn't be let go... When it's time to get serious, you have to get serious.
Although Lu Ming had married into the Cheng family, he wasn't insecure about it. In his eyes, a real man simply married the woman he loved by a different means.
He believed he had acted honorably and uprightly, always looking ahead. Even when people backed him into a corner and he accumulated enormous debts one step at a time, he calmly wrote a letter requesting a divorce and accepted his punishment without a fuss.
It wasn't until he landed in prison and watched a carefully prepared opera that he realized he owed no one else anything, but owed her a great deal.
A beloved daughter of heaven falls from the heights after one misstep.
A mere scholar climbs the ladder to the clouds and rises to greatness.
Couplet: Infuriating
Before you read: This story features two forms of intangible cultural heritage: pine-soot ink and Kunqu opera. The opera passages are lyrics the author, who has loved listening to Huangmei opera and Peking opera since childhood, tried writing while at university, just for fun. I also did some research while writing to learn about the characteristics of Kunqu lyrics. Readers who are interested can enjoy them for what they are. Oh, and the author has already written 80,000 words and finished the book. If you like it, please add it to your collection.
Theme: No spouse is perfect
