Intoxicating Jade Branch

Chu Linlang had never imagined that she would one day part ways with her husband. After all, in the eyes of many, she was of humble birth and shallow learning—a sparrow clinging to a lofty branch, unworthy of the dashing and newly risen statesman she had married. Since she had managed to perch upon such a branch and endured so much hardship to do so, naturally, she ought to cling tightly and never let go.

For eight years, she had lived in the Zhou household, supporting her husband through his long years of study—a model of a devoted wife. Her husband was young and promising, treating her with respect and harmony, his future limitless. They had a seven‑year‑old daughter, bright and lovable. Her mother‑in‑law was kind and gentle, and the concubines were deferential to her as the principal wife. The household seemed harmonious and full of joy.

But only Chu Linlang herself knew—the above was all nonsense!

On her twenty‑fourth birthday, amidst heavy snow, she carried a letter of divorce. Enduring her husband’s mocking words—“Don’t come crying back to me”—she left the Zhou household she had managed for eight years, alone in the vast whiteness.

As she sat in her carriage, quietly shaking her tortoise shell to divine her future, the curtain was suddenly lifted. There, riding alongside through the swirling snow, was Situ Sheng—the domineering “treacherous minister” of the court, her bitter enemy, his brows sharp as a sword, coldness radiating from him.

Chu Linlang drew a deep breath. How spiteful is this man, to brave the snow just to laugh at me?

What she did not know was that Situ Sheng had been waiting for this day far too long.