Taking the Pearl Into My Arms

Cui Mingzhu, the only daughter of the Qinghe Cui clan, is the most distinguished young lady in the capital. Her father is the current prime minister, and her mother is the emperor’s younger sister. In the imperial capital, even the princess cannot match her lofty status. She loves all things refined and hates every kind of mundane chore. But when the northern tribes went to war, Ji Wenzhao was the only official at court brave enough to face the enemy. As he left for the battlefield, Cui Mingzhu was genuinely worried for him. Like everyone else, she hoped Ji Wenzhao would return victorious. But before he set out, he went to the emperor and played the poor bachelor, claiming he had no wife. He secured a promise from the emperor: if he won the battle, the emperor would marry the princess’s daughter to him. The emperor was delighted and agreed on the spot. With that promise, Cui Mingzhu had plenty to make a fuss about. She hoped he would win, yet feared he would win. After all, Ji Wenzhao knew nothing of poetry and was no scholar of the sort she liked. In her eyes, he was simply not a suitable match. She had no intention of marrying some rough fellow who knew nothing but war. The first time Ji Wenzhao saw Cui Mingzhu, he was struck by her beauty. He had come from the northwest, and everyone called him uncouth. But back in the northwest, he had been a handsome young man whom everyone praised. When he left, countless girls in the northwest had their hearts broken. He swore he would marry a noblewoman from the imperial capital and make all the scholars who looked down on military men shut their mouths. But after seeing Cui Mingzhu, all his conditions ceased to matter. As long as she was Cui Mingzhu, he would gladly die for her. How will the story of a rough warrior and a delicate beauty unfold?