Madam, Stop Pressuring Me to Take Concubines

This is a funny and bizarre story set in ancient times. To escape his wife Zhang Wan'er’s pressure to take concubines, Sima Ming, courtesy name Jiwen, volunteers to defend Qingjian City against the Yan army. Instead, he accidentally sets off a series of absurd farces. He and his brother-in-law, Zhang Qishan, join forces and use the ridiculous scheme of “stealing a bride on the battlefield” to throw the Yan army into disarray, spark infighting among its ranks, and successfully lift the siege. After returning to court, he is made Minister of Revenue and Marquis of Yongtai, yet still can’t escape Wan’er’s obsession with making him take concubines. Even Princess Zhao Jin of Jiangdong and Li Han, the top courtesan of the pleasure quarter, get caught up in it. Later, Sima Ming is ordered to negotiate a trade agreement with the Wula Kingdom. He falls for Tuoba Lie’s feint, and Que’er City is besieged. There is also a traitor in the camp: Li Han, actually an assassin sent by Chang Lan, who later switches sides after falling in love. At the critical moment, Zhao Jin arrives with reinforcements, and everyone uses their wits, with a few strokes of luck, to repel the enemy. The story revolves around Sima Ming’s attempts to avoid taking concubines while shouldering the duties of state and family. Full of comic misunderstandings and life-and-death struggles, it ultimately safeguards the border amid absurdity and danger.