The Calamity Star’s Little Husband
Synopsis:
Gu Lanshi’s family had arranged a marriage for him with Lin Jinpeng, a handsome, tall young man from their own village. The match was just about settled.
But Gu Lanshi had a dream in which Lin Jinpeng was having an affair. He dreamed the same thing for more than ten nights in a row. Half believing it and half doubting, he secretly followed Lin Jinpeng into the hills behind the village—and caught him in the act.
Gu Lanshi cried so loudly the heavens might have heard. Only after he had taken his family running up the mountain did it occur to him that, if those two escaped, who would believe him? He was frantic with anger and worry.
Fortunately, the heavens were on his side. When they arrived, the illicit lovers, for some inexplicable reason, couldn’t find their clothes and were scurrying helplessly through the forest.
Little River Village was thrown into an uproar. Even people from the neighboring villages came to watch the spectacle. The commotion finally died down when the Lin family packed up in disgrace and moved away to stay with distant relatives.
*
Pei Yan was notorious as the village’s solitary star of calamity. His fate was both impoverished and fearsomely hard, and his temper was worse. After several fights, hardly anyone dared provoke him. Everyone said that getting mixed up with him could only bring misfortune.
One day Gu Lanshi went down to the river to wash clothes. When he looked up, he spotted Pei Yan not far away, washing a basinful of fabric pieces that had been cut apart. The colors looked more familiar the longer he stared.
Then he saw the bamboo pattern embroidered in a corner, and realization dawned. Weren’t those Lin Jinpeng’s clothes? No wonder the two lovers had been left naked. Pei Yan had taken their things!
After several failed marriage prospects, Gu Lanshi never expected to end up marrying Pei Yan. One was an ill-fated solitary star, the other was dogged by bad luck. Yet their difficult, poverty-stricken days gradually became better. They had enough grain and meat to eat, and even their children grew plump and rosy-cheeked.
Reader’s Guide:
1. Men can bear children. If this is a deal-breaker for you, please don’t read.
3. The protagonists are not perfect people. Please don’t read if that bothers you.
