A Minister Among the Common Folk

Xu Manxing was born lucky. He was handsome, loved by his parents, and came from a well-off family.

He was the only young man of his kind in the family. Before he turned eighteen, matchmakers nearly wore a path to his door.

But Manxing's marriage prospects never worked out, and he was still unmarried at twenty-two.

The men of Fengling were a bizarre lot, each ugly in his own way. Just thinking about marrying one of them made Xu Manxing want to throw up last night's dinner.

He didn't think his standards were high: the man had to be at least seven feet tall and good-looking. He didn't need to be wealthy; Xu Manxing's family already had money.

Xu Manxing was furious. He'd lowered his standards so much, so why couldn't he find a suitable husband?

He wasn't interested in the ones who liked him, and the ones he liked weren't interested in him. They were all blind, and Xu Manxing was even less interested in them.

After one rejection after another, he was almost twenty-three.

His parents were getting more anxious by the day. All they did was arrange one matchmaking meeting after another.

Xu Manxing was ready to give up. It looked like he'd have to resign himself to being a pitiful young man with a fortune, spending his days eating and drinking for fun but never getting married.

At his last matchmaking meeting, Xu Manxing didn't even look properly at the man. He simply opened his mouth and went straight for what men feared most.

"If you want to marry me, you have to be a licentiate."

"The betrothal gifts must include a hundred taels of gold! No haggling!"

"I won't serve my in-laws, and I love picking fights with annoying sisters-in-law, brothers-in-law, nieces, and nephews."

Xu Manxing was waiting for the man to fly into a rage and yell back at him when he heard a soft laugh.

Xu Manxing looked up. The sky! Was! Falling!

How had his parents managed to pull strings and bring him the man at the top of Fengling City's list of most desirable sons-in-law?

Most importantly, this dream son-in-law was handsome, tall, and long-legged. Xu Manxing had already developed a crush on him.

And now he'd ruined everything. The man would surely think he was a greedy, vain young man.

Just as Manxing was despairing and preparing to run away, the dream son-in-law replied, "Okay."

The dream son-in-law said nothing more. He just kept agreeing to everything.

The gossiping old women didn't have two days to spread the news before someone from the man's family showed up at Xu Manxing's home to propose.

The procession carrying the betrothal gifts was so long that the front had entered the courtyard while the end still stretched to the far end of the alley.

The gossiping old woman was so stunned her jaw wouldn't close. Xu Manxing really had lucked out. How was he so lucky?

After they married, his husband was obedient, the two of them were deeply in love, and their little dumpling was naughty but tough enough to take a beating.

Xu Manxing was utterly pleased with himself!

Fengling City was well connected, with bustling streets and happy, peaceful residents.

When Manxing had some free time, he'd wander from one family's home to another to join the fun and stir up a little trouble. He was having the time of his life!

In Fengling, carriages and horses never stopped. Day after day, Manxing loved only one person for the rest of his life!

When Ji Qinghe first arrived to take up his post, he encountered a feisty young man who was bravely standing up for someone. Worried the young man might get hurt, he kindly stepped in to help.

Just as he was about to return the young man's silver ingot, the beautiful young man gave him a mysterious smile and rejected him before he could even speak!

The young man acted as though everything was understood without a word. He might as well have told Ji Qinghe not to get the wrong idea. He wasn't interested in him.

"..." Ji Qinghe was speechless.

At first sight, Ji Qinghe thought this young man was beautiful and kind, but perhaps not very bright, and quite conceited.

But Ji Qinghe was an honest man who never kept what didn't belong to him.

Except the silver ingot he'd promised to return to the young man never made it back to him.

Ji Qinghe treasured it carefully for the rest of his life.

Theme: Follow your heart and believe in yourself!