The female lead of this book is Zheng Wan'er, who was just lying on the bed, and the male lead is the original owner's husband, Tao Qianmian.
"Cough cough, Shui Wa, what did you say? That little girl on the bed hasn't even reached her maiden years yet. Tao Qianmian's son is almost older than her."
"Yes, host, you heard correctly. This is a romance that spans over twenty years. They are truly in love. Love never distinguishes between who comes first or last. The unloved one is the third party (´◊w◊｀)."
"Ugh, who taught you that?"
"Well, that's how it's written in the book."
"Uh, what kind of love is this? Twenty years older, love him because he's old, ugly, and useless?"
"Pah, pah, pah, the male lead is 32 this year, in his prime. He's a heroic, distinguished, handsome uncle. As novels say, 'A man at thirty is a blooming flower.' He has status, looks, and money, so it's normal for him to be liked."
"Alright, I guess I just don't understand love. Continue."
The female lead's hometown was occupied by the Jin kingdom, and her family was destroyed. After the male lead led his troops to retake the city, he rescued the young her and kept her by his side.
"Among so many children whose families were destroyed, why did the male lead specifically save her and not others?"
"Aiya, host, don't interrupt."
After the Jin kingdom was defeated, he took the homeless Zheng Wan'er back to the capital. Upon arriving in the capital, he also instructed Jiang Li to treat Zheng Wan'er well, recounting her tragic family background.
Jiang Li only felt that her husband was kind-hearted and took pity on Zheng Wan'er, who was so young and orphaned, and now had to rely on others.
Thus, she showed her even greater care, sending all the good things to her Furong Lou. She doted on her like her own daughter.
Unexpectedly, it was this child she doted on who delivered the most fatal blow. While she was busy trying to find a good marriage for Zheng Wan'er.
Zheng Wan'er and her beloved husband got together. She didn't know why she walked into that guest room that day, but what she learned was a bolt from the blue.
"Qianmian gege, that woman wants to marry me off. I don't want to leave you. Must our relationship forever remain in the shadows?"
"Don't worry. Our identities are indeed not suitable for you to enter the household openly. You must believe me, you are the one I love the most. Wait a little longer, and I will definitely find a way."
"Wait, wait, wait. I don't want to wait anymore. You always use this sentence to brush me off. You've been saying this since I was twelve. Now I'm fourteen, and I'll reach my maiden years next year. How can you expect me to wait?"
"If Madam Jiang dies, will you have to mourn her for three years? My little vixen, how could I possibly bear to marry you off to someone else? I would go mad."
"Qianmian gege, can you really bear it?"
"She's just a woman repaying a kindness. Her Jiang family gave me a bite to eat back then. I've also let her enjoy years of prosperity, so I've paid her back."
After speaking, harmonious sounds echoed from the room. Jiang Li felt dizzy and unsteady, not knowing how she walked back to her courtyard.
She had always been a woman of the inner chambers, having lived a smooth life, always pampered. Enduring such a great blow, she didn't know how to cope and fell ill.
Before she could take any countermeasures, she ended her own life. The fatal dose of poison was fed to her spoonful by spoonful by her eldest son, Jiang Chuzhuo.
He had long known that his father's relationship with Zheng Wan'er was not simple, and it was he who deliberately led Jiang Li to that room. He felt that his mother's existence was a stain on his entire life.
However, if his mother were to die, he feared his father would take a wife of high standing as his successor. It wasn't until he discovered this secret relationship and realized his father was actually a love-struck fool.
Tao Qianmian truly couldn't do without Zheng Wan'er, so he made arrangements for his own mother to make way for Zheng Wan'er.
In his eyes, this Zheng Wan'er was as stupid as a pig and of lowly status, making her easy to control. It would be best for her to become the General's new wife.
That way, no one could stand in the way of him, the legitimate eldest son of the General's mansion. When people mentioned him, they would only pity him for losing his mother, not dwell on his mother's lowly status as a merchant.
He also added an extra layer of security for himself; he gave his father a sterility-inducing drug.
Indeed, not long after Jiang Li's death, Tao Qianmian arranged for Zheng Wan'er to have a distant kinship with Jiang Li, stating that the remarriage was to care for the young son. Zheng Wan'er then married into the General's mansion openly.
At that time, Tao Zhici, only five years old, only knew that his mother had passed away and that the sister who used to live at home had become his stepmother. Although it was strange, he didn't understand the intricate details.
Jiang Chuzhuo began to brainwash him, saying that these two had murdered his mother so they could be together openly. The little Tao Zhici firmly remembered his brother's words.
He vowed to avenge his mother. He diligently practiced martial arts, cultivated his own influence, and later investigated the truth of that year, further confirming that his father had killed his mother.
As the General, Tao Qianmian naturally noticed his younger son's hatred for him. Therefore, before his son could act, he struck first, resulting in mutual destruction.
It was then that Jiang Chuzhuo stepped forward, revealed all the truths, and resolved both of them.
Upon learning of Tao Qianmian's death, Zheng Wan'er cried inconsolably. Before Jiang Chuzhuo could make a move, she smashed into the coffin in the mourning hall and died, shocking all the guests attending the funeral.
Later generations praised their love for being "sleeping in the same quilt and buried in the same grave." They marveled that true love really existed in the world, a tragically beautiful love where one would not live on if the other departed first.
Many popular storybooks were compiled with them as prototypes. The capital even saw a trend of older men...
Finally, Jiang Chuzhuo took it upon himself to have the two buried together. Who in the capital didn't praise his righteousness?
The selfish Jiang Chuzhuo believed that Jiang Li's sacrifices for him were all deserved, and Jiang Li would not resent him. He didn't want to bury Tao Qianmian and Jiang Li together because he didn't want to disgust his mother.
He said before Jiang Li's tomb: "Mother, your son has done a good deed for you. Rest in peace in the netherworld. Why were you so biased?
"Now I have changed my surname to Tao. Everything in the General's mansion is mine. You are too lonely underground, so I am sending them all to accompany you. Am I the most filial son in the world? Hahaha~."
Jun Jiuli: "Tsk, tsk, tsk. This original host's son is no less capable than his father."
Shui Wa: "It's simply the waves behind the Yangtze River pushing the waves ahead, with one wave surpassing the previous one. As the old saying goes, 'A mouse's offspring can dig holes,' this is truly rotten to the core."
"What about the original host's wish? Doesn't she want me to reform his son?"
"That's not it. She wants Jiang Chuzhuo and Tao Qianmian and Zheng Wan'er to receive the punishment they deserve and to protect Tao Zhici."
"What is the current juncture?"
"It is precisely the year when Zheng Wan'er and Tao Qianmian broke the taboos and got together. Your black-hearted son, Jiang Chuzhuo, has already discovered it. Tao Zhici is still a three-year-old infant."
"Okay, understood."