I married the childhood sweetheart my elder sister refused to wed after his family fell on hard times.
From the day we married, I devoted myself to running our home.
We treated each other with courtesy.
When Ling Yan placed first in the imperial examinations, everyone congratulated me.
My years of hardship had finally paid off.
Then word came that he had offered a lavish betrothal gift to take my sister as a wife of equal standing.
His words spread through every street: “The eldest Miss Su is radiant and precious.
She deserves to be cherished.
Now that I have won the highest honors, I will never let her suffer the slightest hardship.”
A gifted man and a beautiful woman.
A match made in heaven.
I was the one who deserved to suffer.
That very night, I, the wife who had shared his poverty, packed my bundle and made room for my sister.
I went far away and vanished without a trace.
The newly crowned top scholar searched for his first wife until he was nearly mad, and at last found her in an out-of-the-way corner.
Looking at Ling Yan’s reddened eyes, I asked in bewilderment, “Why were you looking for me?
We never had feelings for each other.”
He stared at me.
Tears rolled from his eyes, but he laughed in anger.
“You’re saying you don’t love me?”
