A Couple's Money-Making Days in Exile

My previous novel, "Bright Clouds Over Qingyun," is complete! A young man and woman team up to solve mysteries and rise to court. Cute and entertaining, guaranteed!

Blurb: A resilient, clever, fiery noblewoman × a sharp-tongued, soft-hearted, sensitive puppy

Blurb has been taken down, so dig in without worry! ↓

Xie Yingyu, the only daughter of the Duke of Zhenguo's household, ate from golden bowls and bathed in milk. Her life was smooth and comfortable.

Except for her engagement to Wei Qin, a spoiled playboy raised in a life of luxury, who spent his days cockfighting, chasing dogs, riding horses, and hunting.

They had never gotten along, and then misfortune struck: on their wedding day, a rebel prince launched an uprising, and the whole family was sentenced to exile in the northern desert.

On the journey west, when a clan member showed ill intentions, Xie Yingyu grabbed them by the hair and slammed them to the ground.

In the northern desert, when a low-ranking official tried to assault her under cover of darkness, she picked up a brick and bashed his head in.

Faced with a broken-down hut without even a cup of hot water, Xie Yingyu refused to give in to fate.

She gritted her teeth, picked up a needle, and earned her first pot of gold sewing handkerchiefs and making felt hats.

Then she set up a little stall and dragged Wei Qin along to hawk their wares in the bitter, desolate wind.

The couple hunted tigers, saved up raw stones, built a reputation, and opened a shop. Before long, they had turned their rough, difficult lives into something full and satisfying.

From bustling Chang'an to the desolate northern desert, from having nothing to becoming a well-known business owner...

One day, gazing at the endless trade routes, she smiled brightly.

"This is where my Chang'an is."

Wei Qin had once been a spoiled and carefree young master of the Wei family in Chang'an, until his family fell and he was exiled a thousand miles away.

Dazed and guilt-ridden, he wanted only to die. In a moment of anger, he told Xie Yingyu, "If you think my family has wronged you, then once we reach the northern desert, we'll divorce!"

Their marriage was nothing but a family arrangement neither of them could resist. Wei Qin thought that once she found a new home, they could go their separate ways in peace.

But later...

From hunting for pelts to opening a shop, learning martial arts and business, tanning hides and foraging for mountain goods, Wei Qin protected Xie Yingyu from attacks, both open and covert, and blazed an endless trade route for her.

Until one day, an old acquaintance from Chang'an came to visit. A young lord dressed in fine clothes stood outside their little courtyard.

"Yuniang, come back to Chang'an with me. The new emperor favors me, and my Gu family is now the highest-ranking among the earls. I'll make sure your life is even more comfortable than before."

With a gold hairpin he'd brought back for Xie Yingyu tucked in his arms, Wei Qin blocked the doorway, eyes red. "Are you really going to marry him?"

[Reader's guide]

1. One-on-one, both characters' first relationship, happy ending.

2. A sweet story about making a living and earning money. No court scheming, so don't overanalyze.

3. An exiled couple building a life from scratch and working their way out of poverty.

Blurb screenshotted on September 6.

Theme: Life will always get better. Don't give up hope.