[One-on-one couple] [Both leads are inexperienced] [Sweet romance] [Love after marriage] [Theatrical personality] [Happy ending]
Overworked office drone Jiang Shi'an dies suddenly after staying up all night. When she opens her eyes, she's become another unlucky woman with the same name in the Great Liang Dynasty: a concubine-born daughter of a general's family who was just jilted, only to be shoved straight into the bridal sedan of Regent Lu Jingxiu by imperial decree.
Everyone in the capital knows that the regent is a sinister madman. He drenches the court in blood, tears his political enemies apart with his bare hands, and even has two spies killed for entertainment before bed.
Gripping the scissors hidden in her sleeve, Jiang Shi'an prepares for a wedding night that will end with blood splashed across the candles.
But when the red veil is lifted, the legendary butcher who kills without batting an eye is crouched in the corner of the bed, hugging a pair of mandarin duck pillows and looking up at her hopefully. "Wife, can I hold you while we sleep tonight? The floor is cold."
Jiang Shi'an: ???
Wasn't he supposed to be a madman? The next day, she watches Lu Jingxiu scold a censor so fiercely in court that the man resigns on the spot. But when he gets home, he buries his face in the crook of her neck and whines, "They bullied me. Wife, blow on it so it stops hurting."
While fending off schemes in the inner household and navigating factions at court, Jiang Shi'an is forced to keep feeding this clingy hypocrite who kills by day and acts cute by night.
Until one day, she catches Lu Jingxiu coldly breaking a corrupt official's bones, then turning to her with an innocent smile. "Don't look, Wife. It's dirty."
Jiang Shi'an finally gets it: this man pretends to be crazy while holding all the power in court, secretly reads her copy of The CEO's Guide to Keeping a Girlfriend to learn how to flirt, and even turns her offhand joke, "Hugs, kisses, and being lifted up high," into a daily task list.
Just as she's preparing to run away, Lu Jingxiu pins her against the imperial desk, his hand gripping her waist and his eyes red-rimmed as he grinds out, "An'an, I've been good for so long. Don't you think you should take responsibility for me now?"
I thought I'd married a murderous fiend, but it turns out I've been raising a clingy, loyal drama queen.
