Ten Miles of Spring Breeze, and Lan's Beauty

A grand wedding procession stretching ten miles? No! All I had was my childhood sweetheart waiting along the road to snatch me away.

A loving mother-in-law and a doting husband? No! All I had was a slap from my mother-in-law and a dim-witted husband.

The wedding night, warm beneath the brocade curtains, a pot of wine down the hatch...

I always thought that with a husband who was both younger and dumber than me, I could keep him under my thumb. But why was I the one he led around by the nose every time? And why did he get the final say in every little thing at home?

What? His family has secret passageways? And a cellar? I smugly thought, maybe I married the son of a rich landowner?

But when I sneaked into the cellar, all I found was a room full of books. Sigh, what good are books?

My husband was going to the capital to take the imperial examinations. Was I supposed to see him off in tears and walk a thousand miles with him? Of course not.

I waved goodbye and sent him off with these words: "A spring breeze carries me ten miles to wed my love. I will not waste the spring, nor betray myself."