Riding the Long Wind (Chang Feng Du)

Liú Yùrú spent fifteen years being the perfect well-bred maiden, all in hopes of marrying a good husband; only to be forced, on the eve of her engagement, to wed Gù Jiūsī, the most notorious wastrel in all of Yangzhou.

Marrying such a man felt like the ruin of her life. It only got worse when she discovered he had been forced into marrying her too.

Heartbroken and despairing, she locked herself in her room for three days, and then had a revelation: if she was stuck with a wastrel like this, why keep playing the demure maiden?

So on the third day of their marriage, this famously gentle young lady — hands trembling, knife in hand, summoning every last ounce of courage — walked into a brothel and said to a dead-drunk Gù Jiūsī:

“Get up.”

From that moment on, Gù Jiūsī’s life became one of great rise and fall. From a down-and-out wastrel to a first-rank official, this woman was always at his side: her slight and delicate frame propping him up, telling him: “Get up.”

And so, even when he was broken to pieces, he would drag himself out of the mud, bite down hard, lift her onto his back, and carry her through this life.

For Liú Yùrú, the first fifteen years were spent believing she lived for the sake of finding a good man. It was only after meeting Gù Jiūsī that she understood: a truly good man will make you realize: you live for yourself, and yourself alone.

“May I use this body of flesh and blood to shield you from the storm, so your robes stay unstained and your hair stays free of frost.”

One-line summary: “A wastrel husband and a proper wife: she made him rise, and he made her free.”