A young, robust noble man lies drunk in the mulberry grove.
Nan Yang passes by while gathering leaves and mutters to herself, “One must never pick up a man from the side of the road; it only brings misfortune.” She pours a basin of water over his head and walks away.
Three days later, the daughter of the small town’s physician is whisked away in a carriage, her face flushed with bashfulness. Rumor has it she saved a nobleman on the roadside and was taken to the capital to enjoy a life of wealth.
Nan Yang carries a sprig of gardenia, walking past with total indifference.
Summertime: Gathering lotus pods.
As Nan Yang rows her boat on the river, vigorously shaking the lotus pods, she spots a familiar male figure lying at the foot of a mountain stream.
Nan Yang: “…” He rolled down from such a high slope that even his horse died—how is he still alive?
While she rows closer to investigate, the man wakes up. Submerged beneath the water, his dark pupils stare straight at her, appearing terrifyingly eerie.
Nan Yang decisively slaps him unconscious, drags him to the shore, and rows home with her arms full of lotus pods.
Autumn: Gathering chrysanthemums.
Missing person notices are plastered all over the town’s streets, offering a reward for a certain “mulberry-picking girl” or “lotus-picking girl.” She is said to live in the mountains, her movements unpredictable.
Meanwhile, Nan Yang is in the capital. Tucked away in the inner courtyard of a grand manor, she is too lazy to even practice her needlework. Her wedding day is approaching; she is about to be married.
A concubine-born daughter of a great clan, matched with the son of a minor official. It is a modest match—nothing grand, but more than enough.
Winter: Gathering… In winter, flowers are plucked. She is the flower being plucked.
On the way to her wedding, she is intercepted. A man she has only met twice in her life stops the bridal carriage and forcibly takes her to the altar to bow with him.
Nan Yang: “…”
Well, since I’m already married, what else can I do? Might as well live with it.
Even if her new husband is a madman, naturally vengeful and bloodthirsty, surrounded by people who never live long—each dying a tragic death by his blade…
She’ll just take it one day at a time, living as long as she can.
No one can stop her from lying down in peace.
Not even her “madman” husband.
She lies there and lies there… and somehow, she’s still alive?
She keeps lying there and lying there… and life keeps getting better and better?
Nan Yang: I didn’t even do anything??
[Reader’s Guide]
1.A “salted fish” female protagonist who has decided to just eat and wait for death. If you’re looking for a “power girl” building a career, please don’t enter by mistake.
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