The Lady in Butcher's House
Losing both his parents at a young age, Xu Qingjia studied hard and became the second-best of the successful examinees in the imperial examination. Then he married the daughter of the Hu family, Hu Jiao. Despite coming from a family of butchers and being uncultured, Hu Jiao was outgoing, positive, and carefree. She took care of everything in a perfect manner. Xu Qingjia was dedicated to serving the people and pushing for reform. Since his promotion as the magistrate’s assistant, Xu Qingjia had reduced taxes and solved the silver mine case; on the other hand, Hu Jiao had involved herself in building schools, starting her own boxing class, and assisting Xu Qingjia with his cases. Their collaboration was recognized by both locals and non-locals eventually. After his promotion as a state government official, Xu Qingjia took advantage of the local environment and develops the economy by planting medicinal herbs. That way, the famine was eased. Coupled with Hu Jiao’s bravery in finding reinforcements during the armed rebellion on the border, the people were in awe of the legendary couple. The husband and wife had stuck together through thick and thin and Xu Qingjia had advanced in his career. Yet, unexpectedly, Xu Qingjia’s career fell apart and he became bedridden. The couple was left with no choice but to head back to their hometown, where Hu Jiao stepped up and became the breadwinner by putting her entrepreneurial talent to use. Meanwhile, Xu Qingjia was in charge of the back-end operations. Not long after, when Xu Qingjia’s career took a turn, he toughened up and made his way to the capital. Not forgetting their aspiration, the husband and wife joined hands and brought corrupt officials to justice. They finally embarked on the journey to fight evil and served the people....
