My Husband Is Quite Capable

Cen Sui was the daughter of a disgraced official. Though her father had fallen on hard times, he still had high standards, and so did she. She picked and chose until she was seventeen or eighteen, and it looked as if she might never marry. Only then did she become engaged to Gu Yanling.

Her fiance was a jailer who spent all day dealing with prisoners. He had less dignity than the blacksmiths in town, but at least he was honest and seemed easy to control.

Sure enough, after they married, he was very much henpecked and listened to Cen Sui in everything. One day, she went to visit him at the prison and happened to hear Gu Yanling glance at a fat, greedy merchant and say coldly, "His crimes are grave. No visits or food from family."

The merchant's legs went weak. Trembling, he pulled a gold ingot from his sleeve and begged Gu Yanling to make an exception.

Only after asking around did she get a rough idea of how things worked under her husband's watch. When new prisoners arrived, anyone guilty of crimes had to pay a welcoming fee. Family visits were charged by the hour. If you wanted to avoid a beating, you had to prepare a gratuity. Want a dry cell? Pay the "room transfer fee" and get an instant upgrade to VIP treatment.

Meanwhile, he did everything he could to look after those who had been wrongly accused.

Good heavens, this wasn't just a jailer. He was the emperor of his own little domain behind bars. Thanks to the popularity and prestige he built up as a jailer, Gu Yanling rose rapidly through the ranks in just a few years, eventually becoming Imperial Censor and one of the Three Excellencies.

Newly elevated noblewoman Cen Sui: I knew my husband had what it takes.

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A harsh official and his pampered wife

Theme: Be harsh in enforcing the law, but never harsh at heart.