After fifteen years of transmigration, Yan Hui thought she could live quietly in this world that was especially harsh toward women, be a proper freeloader, find a good husband, and raise children. But when her parents suddenly died, she and her younger brother became dependents under another’s roof.
For her brother’s future, she had to scheme for herself while living as a guest. She thought life would remain stable until her brother established his own household. Yet her uncle, using her cousin’s marriage as leverage and threatening her brother’s prospects, forced her to don bridal robes and travel thousands of miles to the desolate northern frontier.
When she left the imperial capital, her uncle’s words carried menace, “Marry a chicken, follow the chicken; marry a dog, follow the dog. In the north, remember the Three Obediences and Four Virtues. Do not disgrace the Wang family, or even they cannot protect you! Remember—your brother is still in the capital!”
Yan Hui replied firmly: “Uncle, rest assured. I will support my husband, return to the capital, and trample the Wang family beneath my feet!”
She did not miss the crack in her uncle’s expression, nor the curse that burst from his lips: “Unfilial girl!”
