Youth Fades, and Time Misleads

It’s hard to be a woman. The tension between mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law has been a problem since time immemorial. Can one woman really hate another so much? Her father didn’t care for her, and her stepmother didn’t love her. The joy she felt when she married slowly turned to ashes under years of torment. The peaceful married life she had imagined was just another prison her stepmother had built for her. She endured it for years, all for the sake of a simple letter of divorce. Freedom was precious beyond measure, and she didn’t care if she had to bear the stigma of being a discarded wife. You have to take control of your own life! Who could give her the lifelong companionship she longed for? Scene One “Why does County Princess Pingle keep sneaking glances at me? Could it be that you’ve taken a liking to me?” “Prince Qi, you flatter yourself.” “County Princess Pingle, there’s no need to be shy. I’m handsome and dashing. It’s only natural to fall for me.” “...” “Why don’t I ask His Majesty for an edict and have County Princess Pingle marry me?” “Your Highness must be joking.” Scene Two “Prince Qi, that’s my bowl,” Rong Xi reminded him. “I don’t mind.” Prince Qi glanced at the empty bowl in his hand, then reached out to fill it again. Rong Xi lowered her head and silently thought, “I mind.”