A Life of Ease and Contentment (Food)

A quick-witted, strong-willed cook who loves and hates openly x a strategist who only schemes around everyone except the heroine Wan Shunyi is born into a family in an unfamiliar dynasty. She has a household registration in the capital, a comfortable family, and loving parents. The only problem is the era... Why is this the end of a dynasty?! Her parents die far from home. After years spent wandering, she returns to the capital alone and grits her teeth as she takes over the family pastry shop, Shunyi Cakes. Red-bean cakes for the Start of Spring, fresh mugwort and pork cakes for Tomb-Sweeping Day, five-nut winter cakes for the Major Cold, and snacks of every kind. Every one of the twenty-four solar terms has its own flavor. The shop follows the seasons and serves food in its time, becoming a favorite stop for people in the capital whenever a new season comes around. Wan Shunyi runs a hand over her overflowing money box and grins. One day, she finds a man. He's capable and handsome, and would make a fine future husband. Unfortunately, he turns out to be Jiang Sui, a founding hero of the new dynasty. He says he has no way to repay her for saving his life, so he'll stand up for her and give her a life of wealth. He'll make her his sworn younger sister. Sworn younger sister?! Wan Shunyi spends one sad night, then gets up in the morning, eats a bowl of crucian carp noodles, accepts reality and her new powerful protector, and makes her little shop even more successful. She also attracts countless admirers. Her sworn brother is picky: Zhang Erlang has a dark face, Li Silang is short, Wang Dalang is cross-eyed, and that barbarian is even worse. They never bathe... Wan Shunyi puts her hands on her hips: “Then who would you recommend?” The emperor strolls past: “My dear subject, are you trying to offer yourself to her?” Jiang Sui corrects him: “Your Majesty! It's offer yourself to her bed!” Wan Shunyi peeks out: “Are you really offering yourself to my bed, sworn brother~?” From the male lead's point of view: The legendary Jiang Sui is a strategist who can change the course of the world with a single plan. Everyone thinks he is beyond their reach, up in the clouds. But no one knows that all he wants in this life is a little house, two or three families for company, and a life spent enjoying the seasons and savoring all five flavors. P.S. 1. Both leads are virgins. One-on-one romance, all sweetness. 2. The heroine was born into this world, in a fictional dynasty. 3. The male lead appears a little later. Updates follow the ranking schedule when available, otherwise every other day. Ongoing: The Brocade Guards' Case Files, a historical mystery. [A domineering, arrogant female brocade guard x a scheming, flirtatious scholar] In the final years of the Chenghua era, an omen of the dynasty's impending fall, the Black Calamity, appears once more on the streets of the capital. Three brocade guards melt into puddles of blood and flesh before everyone's eyes. An investigation points straight to the wealthy Ye family of Ningbo. When Zhang Zhixian arrives in Ningbo, she discovers that the Ye family has been caught up in a series of massacres. Three households, more than a hundred people, all disappear overnight, leaving only bloodstains behind. Just as she runs out of leads, Ye Zhuo, the eldest son of the Ye family, who should have vanished, appears again as the prime suspect in the murders... The ghostly figure carrying a peony lantern beside Moon Lake, the sea monk who rides the waves to kill and shave his victims, the green-skinned goddess holding a golden treasure, the missing Flower Cave maiden, the judge's chair that solves cases, the ancient temple that smokes without fire, and the Well of the Locked Dragon, where blood churns beneath the surface. As the cases pile up, a hidden web of traps beneath the dynasty begins to emerge. Follow the brocade guard investigation squad as they travel around the Ming, eat their way through the land, solve crimes, and punish traitors! From the male lead's point of view: Falsely accused of being the serial killer behind the massacres, Ye Zhuo hides himself in a poor neighborhood. He hears that a brocade guard has arrived in the city: the infamous Zhang Zhixian, known for throwing her weight around in the capital and being fond of handsome men and good food. To find the person who killed his family, Ye Zhuo grits his teeth and turns himself in. His cooking skills and handsome face help him get what he wants. But when he finds himself revealing his true feelings and hopes for the same in return, he realizes she has no heart. Zhang Zhixian doesn't know how to love. That's fine. He does. P.S. Both leads are virgins. One-on-one romance. A road-trip story with episodic mysteries. The other three members of the main cast are Shen Muhua, a steady and dependable big sister; Wang Jian, a sickly, gloomy physician; and Zhu Yan, a younger, rabid-dog type. Set in a fictionalized Ming dynasty during the Chenghua era. Theme: First become the best version of yourself.