When Chen Yuanniang was born, her father was demoted from a County Vice-Magistrate to a commoner. She went from being a precious daughter of an official to a farm girl, cutting grass and herding cattle from a young age.
Even the engagement arranged before her birth had fallen silent.
With the grain jars at home empty, Yuanniang was cursed as a “money-losing brat” by her grandmother while being driven up the mountains to dig for wild vegetables. Fortunately, she had the sharpest eyes in the surrounding ten miles and always managed to gather the most.
However, a stroke of immense luck arrived, and she no longer had to dig for wild vegetables!
This was because people from her fiancé’s family—now a prominent and wealthy household—had come to break the engagement!!
Thick stacks of Jiaozi, countless chests of compensatory gifts, and even her family’s former ancestral property… This wasn’t just breaking an engagement; it was as if the God of Wealth himself had come to deliver them.
But this also stirred the envy of the entire village, and suitors seeking her wealth soon crowded their doorstep.
Her grandmother looked at her beautiful granddaughter and then at her young grandson, who was at the age to begin his schooling and pay Shuxiu. Gritting her teeth, she made a decision.
“Move! We’re moving!”
The whole family nimbly relocated to the most bustling and prosperous city in the world—Bianjing. They moved into a small one-entry courtyard with a storefront facing the street, beginning their lives as common folk of the city.
Mini Theater 1:
The morning dew was heavy, and the steamers on the stove emitted curls of vapor. Her grandmother and mother were in the shop kneading dough to make Zhengbing. As for Chen Yuanniang…
Just as she rolled up her sleeves to help with the work, she received a pitiless slap from her grandmother, leaving a rosy mark on her fair arm.
Her grandmother’s pungent voice filled the room. “You brainless girl! What proper young lady shows off her arms and legs? Do you want to find a husband or not? Does the family need to rely on you to earn these few measly pennies?”
Her naturally gentle mother silently rubbed her wound.
“Go buy two sets of bright clothes.” Her grandmother tossed down a heavy small coin pouch and continued crossly, “Finding a good husband is the most important business.”
Yuanniang wasn’t angry at all. She merely focused on tucking the coin pouch into her sleeve, nodding repeatedly like a squirrel while acting sweet and obedient toward her grandmother.
Her younger brother, who was studying his books, said with a solemn face: “Eldest Sister, you needn’t worry. I will study hard. When I pass the exams in the future, I will earn titles of Mandate for you and Mother. We don’t need to rely on outsiders to bring glory to our family.”
Mini Theater 2:
Since the members of her household were far too striking, Chen Yuanniang followed instructions. Clutching her little coin pouch, she spent her days with the neighborhood girls frequenting the Wazi and Chasi. Between eating, drinking, and watching the excitement, she scouted for a good husband, eventually becoming indistinguishable from a native-born maiden of Bianjing.
Chen Yuanniang soon set her sights on a handsome scholar from a well-to-do family. He often came to her family’s shop to buy Zhengbing, and his gaze was always fixed directly on her. She feigned shyness, occasionally tilting her beautiful face to ask him for help with her writing, causing him to fall completely in love.
Thus, fresh trinkets appeared before her small door every day: sometimes rouge, sometimes pastries, sometimes pearl hairpins…
One day, a flower lantern was added.
A girl from the neighborhood teased her, “The Shangyuan Festival is the day when the young men and maidens of Bianjing express their feelings. Your scholar is likely going to invite you out to see the lanterns and make his intentions clear. Don’t be shy; I’ve checked him out for you. He’s generous, so he must have a solid family background, and he’s quite handsome…”
“You’re in luck,” the girl said with a giggle while Chen Yuanniang chased after her.
Sure enough, after the Shangyuan Festival, the affection between the two grew stronger.
It wasn’t until the scholar revealed his identity and prepared to visit her home to propose a formal marriage that Chen Yuanniang felt like she had been struck by lightning, freezing on the spot.
Wasn’t that the very family of the fiancé who had broken the engagement with her?
Notes:
1.
Alternate Song Dynasty setting, not strictly historical.
2.
The younger brother is a transmigrator from modern times taking the path of the imperial examinations. (In their previous lives, the female lead and the brother were also siblings, so regardless of mental age, blood suppression still applies.)
3.
The female lead is truly scouting for a husband, casting a wide net. The male lead just happens to be the king of the fish, so he stands out.
4.
Essentially a slice-of-life “group pampering” story about eating and drinking. Someone handles the exams, someone supports the family, and the female lead is responsible for being happy.
5.
The grandmother is a good grandmother!!
