My other book, The Butcher's Daughter and the Top Scholar, is available to sample, everyone! The blurb is at the bottom. Feel free to add it to your collection~
Blurb:
To earn more silver, Wu Siqi disguised herself as a man and became a guard in the Gu residence. She held the job for five years, then was promoted to a covert guard with the codename Lingzhi.
She thought things would continue as smoothly as before, but now she had to accompany her master into the army. Th-this is a crime of deceiving the emperor!
*
During the defense of the city,
Gu Zichen was poisoned. Hearing Lingzhi say, "I'll stay with you," he fell for her. But the person who had promised to stay by his side disappeared.
His longing grew stronger and stronger. He even wondered... if... if she were a man, could he accept that?
Reader's Guide:
[Country girl determined to give her grandmother a better life x abandoned son, lonely and cold on the outside but warm-hearted]
1. One-on-one romance, lightly sweet, not very angsty
2. The heroine disguises herself as a man and fakes her death
--- Blurb for the upcoming The Butcher's Daughter and the Top Scholar ---
The butcher's daughter, Jiang Lanyi, had helped her father sell pork since childhood. On the night of the Qixi Festival, she met a handsome scholar and couldn't take her eyes off him.
After asking around, she learned his name was Su Ming and that he studied at Juhe Academy.
Later, her friend egged Jiang Lanyi on to strike up a conversation with Su Ming and give him gifts, but... nothing worked, and their relationship went nowhere.
That is, until the day Su Ming rode in a carriage to take the provincial examination. She called his name from behind, carrying a food box she'd prepared for him to eat on the way.
Instead, she got three questions in a row:
"What are you doing here?" Su Ming's tone was distant and cold.
"Jiang Lanyi, don't you know the proper boundaries between men and women?" He lowered his eyes to meet her clear, bright gaze, his hand trembling slightly beneath his sleeve.
"Do you think anyone would like someone shameless? Stop bothering me."
Jiang Lanyi felt a lump in her chest and could hardly breathe. Her eyes grew wet as she watched Su Ming walk away.
*
[Jiang Lanyi's point of view]
A few years passed, and Jiang Lanyi began to let go of her one-sided love. At her father's urging, she tossed a bridal ball to find a husband.
When she turned around, the ball... had landed in Su Ming's hands?
Her long-dead heart stirred again, but she quickly forced the feeling down.
Su Ming explained that their marriage was only a temporary arrangement. He needed a wife to fend off trouble in official circles. Of course, he wouldn't treat her unfairly. He promised her a generous sum of silver and said that after a year, they could divorce and he would find her another suitable husband...
Jiang Lanyi agreed. It would quiet her father's nagging, and the reward of a hundred taels of gold was quite good. It was just her heart that had died...
*
[Su Ming's point of view]
After they married,
Jiang Lanyi climbed a tree to pick fruit, but a branch snapped. Su Ming pushed off with his toes and swept through the air to catch her.
They stared at each other, stunned, then quickly looked away. Jiang Lanyi's voice came from beside him: "Thank you! Put me down."
Su Ming reached out to brush the fallen leaves from her hair, but Jiang Lanyi stepped back and recited, "Young Master Su, men and women should keep their distance. We're only pretending to be married, so please behave yourself!"
Su Ming didn't understand. How had the girl who used to follow him everywhere changed so much?
[Blunt butcher's daughter x arrogant, sensitive, scheming top scholar]
Reader's Guide:
1. One-on-one, both leads are each other's only partners / fictional historical setting / many original world-building elements / happy ending
2. A groveling pursuit, with some possessive and obsessive elements
3. The male lead becomes obsessive over time. He doesn't start out that way!!!
Theme: Live well.
