The Gilded Tent

Plump, charming young lady x cool, hypocritical gentleman / marriage before love / she pursues him early on, he pursues her later

The Ming family were wealthy merchants in Pingcheng, and doted especially on their youngest daughter, Ming Yuzhu, born when her parents were already middle-aged.

Though she was only a merchant's daughter, her food, clothes, and comforts rivaled those of a little princess.

Ming Yuzhu was voluptuous and alluring, with snowy skin and flowerlike beauty. Rumor had it she carried a naturally sweet fragrance.

Everyone said it was a pity she was a merchant's daughter. Had she been born to a better family, marrying into a prestigious clan would have been only fitting.

And the man Ming Yuzhu had set her sights on was the third son of the Cui family, one of the most prominent noble clans.

At first sight of the cool, jade-like Cui Yan, she was smitten by his looks, as she was always a sucker for a handsome face.

But when she took the initiative to flirt with him, he paid her no attention at all.

She thought her romantic hopes were doomed.

Fortunately, the Ming family's ancestors had earned some good karma. Generations ago, one of them had saved the life of an ancestor of the Cui clan, and the two families had made a verbal marriage pact. As it happened, Ming Yuzhu was the one it fell to.

As one of the most prominent noble clans of the Great Wei dynasty, the Cui family produced talented people generation after generation, and its fortunes reached their height among the grandchildren.

Cui Yan, the third son of the second branch, was the most talented and handsome of his generation.

Though still young, he was already a close aide to the emperor and deeply trusted.

He was also strikingly handsome, with the refined bearing of a precious piece of jade. The noble young ladies of the capital all flocked to him.

He should have married a noblewoman of equal standing, but the marriage pact made by their ancestors was one he could not refuse.

So among the young men of the Cui clan, who married princesses or noblewomen, only this third young master was forced into the match.

After they married, their good looks made for a naturally harmonious bedroom life, and they treated each other with respect and courtesy.

Knowing her own family background was modest, Ming Yuzhu was considerate toward Cui Yan in every way.

Just when she thought she had married the man of her dreams and was basking in happiness,

she heard that Princess Changle was going to marry Cui Yan.

Her maid brought her the news in secret.

She said the Cui family looked down on Ming Yuzhu's low status and wanted her to yield her place as the principal wife to the princess.

Furious, Ming Yuzhu stormed into the study to confront Cui Yan.

Before she could enter, she heard her usually cool, jade-like husband tell an elder of the Cui family in a chilly voice, "The Ming girl is spoiled and uneducated. Naturally, she cannot compare with the princess."

Only then did she understand that Cui Yan had looked down on her from the very core of his being.

Ming Yuzhu had been pampered at home for more than a decade. When had she ever suffered such an insult? She flung down a letter of separation and ran back to her family.

There are plenty of handsome men in the world. If there's no Cui Yan, there's Zhang Yan or Li Yan!

The day after she returned home, the Ming family put out a grand call for a live-in son-in-law, holding literary and martial contests to find a match for Ming Yuzhu.

Just as the young lady of the Ming family sat leisurely eating candied fruit, watching the bare-chested men compete and finding herself spoiled for choice,

the usually high-and-mighty third young master of the Cui clan entered the inner quarters of the Ming residence with a dark expression.

In the next instant, he seized her wrist and pulled her roughly into his arms.

The man lowered his head to her ear, his voice hoarse and cold. "What, your husband isn't dead yet, and you're already rushing to find a replacement?"

PS: Merchant's daughter, Princess Pea x cold-hearted hypocrite from a noble family

Marriage before love, a powerful man bows his head for love

Everyday domestic life

He is strong, she is weak; both are sexually inexperienced, and the male lead is pure in body and mind

The male lead puts on an act early on, then falls deeply in love later

Cover background source: @Lin Xiaojing

Theme: Stay positive and strive forward