In Pingle County, there was a wealthy family named Ming. Old Patriarch Ming had a single daughter, Ming Yulan, whose mother had passed away early. The Old Patriarch never remarried, raising his daughter all by himself.
As the family business grew, Old Patriarch Ming could not bear to marry his daughter off, so he took in a live-in son-in-law. They soon had a daughter, named Ming Rou. After the firstborn, Madam Ming’s belly showed no further signs of stirring. Her husband, Du Xian, was burning with anxiety but dared not show it on his face. He had grown up poor, and joining the Ming family as a son-in-law had been a matter of necessity. He had thought that with a few more children, even if they all took the Ming surname while the Old Patriarch was still alive, it would be fine. Once the Old Patriarch passed away, he would be the one calling the shots in this house, and changing the name back to Du would be simple enough. But now, after the first child, his wife’s womb had fallen silent, and it seemed she was fated to be a single line of descent.
Du Xian was utterly unwilling in his heart, but as the years passed with no further sign of pregnancy, he could do nothing but accept it.
And this single, precious seedling of the Ming family was herself terribly frail. Since birth, she had been sick every few days. Countless famous doctors were called, all helpless. The household was awash in a constant stream of medicine, yet the little girl’s crying never ceased. This caused the Old Patriarch and Madam Ming immense worry, and Du Xian could only sigh in despair day after day.
It was not until one day, a wandering Taoist Priest passed by the Ming household. Old Patriarch Ming had always been one to build good relations, and it happened to be a torrential downpour, so he invited the priest to stay the night.
That rainy night, the Ming family’s Eldest Miss broke into her usual tearful wails in the middle of the night. The lamp in the Taoist Priest’s room also remained lit until dawn.
The next day, as he was taking his leave, the Taoist Priest said to Old Patriarch Ming, “Your granddaughter’s illness is not without a cure. Find a girl with a compatible destiny to enter the household for an Auspicious Marriage, and the calamity will pass on its own.”
Old Patriarch Ming thought he had misheard. His precious darling was a granddaughter; Auspicious Marriages were supposed to be for boys. Yet the Taoist Priest had spoken of a girl.
Though the Old Patriarch did not understand the reasoning, he had always held deep faith in Taoist teachings. With no better option at hand, he followed the Priest’s instructions, searching within a ten-li radius for a girl of matching destiny, hoping to save his granddaughter’s life.
It was because of this that a girl from a poor family, Ye Qiuniang, was chosen to be the auspicious match for the Ming family’s Eldest Miss.
Ye Qiuniang was twelve years old that year. She had five siblings, and she was the third child, with an older brother and sister above her, and two younger brothers and a sister below. The family was so poor they often didn’t know where their next meal was coming from. With the Ye household on the verge of starvation, the husband and wife set their sights on their three daughters. The eldest daughter was fifteen, and matchmakers were already coming to propose, but the eldest brother and sister were at an age where they could work, so the Ye couple were reluctant to marry them off just yet. However, their second girl was fair-skinned and pretty, with a delicate look since childhood. Some human traffickers had secretly negotiated with the Ye couple a few times, but she had not been sold yet because the price wasn’t right.
Now, hearing that the Ming family was looking for someone for an Auspicious Marriage, they felt like a pie had fallen from the sky. Old Patriarch Ming was well-known for his charity; if their daughter was chosen, the silver they’d receive would surely be substantial.
Other families with children were also itching to send their daughters to the Ming family. But upon hearing that the match was for the Ming family’s Eldest Miss, they hesitated. If the Ming family had a son, marrying into the family would at least mean becoming a concubine. But the Ming family only had a granddaughter; calling it an Auspicious Marriage was worse than just selling their daughter off as a maid. So, some backed out, and in a flash, half of the competitors disappeared.
But the Ye family didn’t care who the match was for. As long as the silver was enough, they’d even sell her for a ghost marriage. They just hadn’t expected the Ming family to be particular about destinies. The couple hurriedly submitted their daughter’s birth charts.
After the final screening, only three children met the conditions.
Old Patriarch Ming had the three Little Girls brought to the residence. He then carried his granddaughter, not yet five years old, and placed her in front of them, letting her choose for herself.
Though little Ming Rou was nearly five, her body was so weak she looked like a mere three-year-old child. Facing the three older sisters, she was at a loss. Nervously, she stumbled around them, and she felt one of them carried a particularly pleasant scent. So, she immediately grabbed her hand.
That person was the Ye family’s second daughter, Ye Qiuniang.
The Ming family kept Ye Qiuniang. The other two, though not chosen, still brought their parents considerable reward money, sending them home happily.
It was called an Auspicious Marriage, but with Ming Rou so young, a ceremony was naturally impossible. Following the Taoist Priest’s instructions, Old Patriarch Ming had Ye Qiuniang moved into the Eldest Miss’s courtyard that very night.
When it was time for her bath, Ye Qiuniang pulled a dried handful of Spirit Herb from her pocket and secretly discarded it in a corner. For Ye Qiuniang, the Ming family’s search for an auspicious match was a rare opportunity she couldn’t miss. She knew that if she didn’t seize it, a grim future awaited her.
In her village, it wasn’t unheard of for twelve-year-old girls to be sold to the Yichun Brothel. Until now, she had fallen asleep every night with a heart full of terror, afraid that upon waking the next morning, the old women from the traffickers would already be at her doorstep.
Of course, being sold to a wealthy family didn’t guarantee a good ending, but the Ming family’s reputation in the area was decent. To Ye Qiuniang, it was infinitely better than being sent to the brothel. During the days when her birth chart was submitted, she could barely sleep, terrified her hopes would be dashed.
When the news came that her destiny was compatible, Ye Qiuniang’s heart finally settled. But hearing that two other girls also matched and that the final decision rested on the Eldest Miss Ming’s personal inspection, her heart plummeted again.
Still, Ye Qiuniang clung tightly to this single chance, devising ways to ensure the Eldest Miss would see her first and choose her. The Ming family’s Eldest Miss was her only hope of escaping her cage, and she was determined to succeed.
Fortunately, her painstaking investigation had paid off. The little girl truly did love the scent of Spirit Herb.
