Two women in Against the Current (兰香如故) lose everything when Zhao Gelao (赵阁老) falls. Zhao Liuniang (赵六娘) and Zhao Xingtang (赵星棠) are humiliated, then die in the rebellion. They are not villains. Like Shen Jialan (沈嘉兰), they are caught by family politics. But one detail nags: Lin Jinqi (林锦岐) spends six years planning a divorce from Zhao Xingtang. Xie Zhao (谢昭) ends his marriage to Zhao Liuniang with a single paper. Why so different? The answer is not romance. It is court power, timing, and usefulness.
Two Divorces, Two Paths
When Lin Jinqi married Zhao Xingtang, his family was weak. His father had left office in the capital and escaped the troubles around removing feudal lords. To Zhao’s house, the match looked like a downward step for the bride. She already had feelings for Qian Shaoze (钱少泽), and she had even suffered a miscarriage. Zhao’s family did not mind Lin’s weakness. They wanted to train a useful son-in-law. They believed he could become a good piece on their board.
They misread him. Lin Jinqi hated being controlled. He put down the scholar’s brush, joined the army in Jinzhou (金州), and started at the bottom. For years he rarely returned home. Even when his trusted maid Yuchan (玉蝉) was sold off, he did not explode. Why? He knew that without real strength, Zhao’s house would always press him down. So he waited, investigated, and endured.
His patience ended only when he held proof of Zhao Xingtang’s affair with Qian Shaoze. He caught them together. Then he won the divorce. On the surface, it was a broken marriage. Underneath, it was a long fight between Lin Jinqi and Zhao’s family. He did not leave because love died. He left when the balance of power finally shifted.
Power Before Love
Xie Zhao’s case was colder. His family was noble, but before Zhao Gelao, it stood a step lower. He had passed the imperial exam, yet he ranked last among the new graduates. The emperor gave him no office. He had a name without authority, and his learning was ordinary. To Zhao’s house, he was an awkward son-in-law: no official resources, but still occupying a daughter’s marriage.
A Zhao son-in-law was never just a son-in-law. Marriage linked networks, offices, and favors. Before Xie Zhao divorced Zhao Liuniang, Zhao’s family was already unhappy with him. Zhao Xingtang once spoke with her sister while playing a ball game. She wanted a divorce too, and asked their grandfather to choose a better match. A man with an actual post, even a widower, would be safer, she said. The words were plain: what can this husband bring us?
Since Xie Zhao brought no value, replacing him with a more powerful husband made sense. Zhao Liuniang’s marriage was a tool. So the paper came easily. No one fought for him. No one feared losing him. The divorce was not merciful. It was bookkeeping.
A Second Chance
Years earlier in Jinling (金陵), the Xie family had rejected the Lin family. Xie Zhao and Lin Xiuwan (林绣芄) were betrothed, then the engagement broke. After Prince Han (汉) rebelled, Zhao’s house collapsed. Lin Jinqi was named Marquis Jing’an (静安候), and the Lin family rose. Now the Lins were no longer the family the Xies once dismissed. If anything, the Xies had to look up.
Xie Zhao changed too. After the divorce, the young man with old noble pride lost his sharp edges. He became calm and humble. Lin Xiuwan did not stay in past shadows. She ran a textile business at Zezhi Workshop (泽织坊), building her own footing step by step. Neither waited for the other. Both grew.
When they met again, Xie Zhao came to ask for her hand. “Heaven let us walk separate roads,” he said, “so that when we met again, we could truly meet as better people.” She did not hide from him. She admitted she had once trusted Du Zheng (杜正), a man of poor character. They spoke of their pasts and let the old knot loosen.
Some matches are not wrong just because they arrive late. Xie Zhao walked past the arrogance of noble gates. Lin Xiuwan walked past a mistaken trust. When they returned to each other, they were not the same. Zhou Shen (周深) sings in Big Dream Return (大梦归): “Frost on the heart after separation, earth ages and sky grows wild. Let cause step back, effect chase after.” In this story, delay is not defeat. It is the road home.
