In the twenty-sixth year of Jinghua, at a trade banquet sponsored by the royal family, Chu Ning, son of the former prefect of Fuzhou, arrived surrounded by guests, his family at his side.
Chu Ning was dazzlingly handsome, with an elegant bearing. He now owned dozens of shops, including the Lanpo Silk Shop and the Gusu Tea House, as well as a hundred merchant ships and more than anyone could count. Everyone in the trade knew that the royal family was considering entrusting him with the management of the salt and iron businesses.
As the guests reminisced about the past, everyone lamented the hardships of Chu Ning’s life. But whatever he had endured, he was now a fabulously wealthy merchant. He had twenty-four residences, a beautiful wife, and a daughter, all before the age of twenty-five. His life could hardly be more complete.
At this, Chu Ning, who was usually unflappable, smiled. Wealth, a happy family: he certainly had the kind of life everyone envied.
He basked in the flattery and attention of the guests. As the wine cups made their rounds beneath the sparkling pearls and bright candles, his eyes grew hazy with drink.
He and his wife had met when he was seventeen, and it had been love at first sight. After the din of the banquet faded, he clasped Meng Lingshuang’s hand tightly and met her beautiful eyes, his thoughts impossible to read.
·
At a banquet they attended with their families, a colleague asked, “What is love?” Chu Ning replied, “Love is acceptance, devotion, and giving without limit.”
Little did he know that Meng Lingshuang, seated beside him, lowered her eyes to sip her wine. As her sleeve turned, she hid a faint smile. To her, love was constraint, coercion, and the loss of dignity.
Perhaps only in his eyes did love mean that she had to give without limit.
Theme: Cherish the beauty of the present, and do not let down the past or the future
I've been waiting for the update. I want to gain some weight. I promised to come back on December 1st 🥺