May Your Lordship Be Well

Yun Zhen is a famous beauty in Feng'an County, bright and charming, with a gentle nature and a gift for literature. Unfortunately, she is said to have a hard fate: she has married twice, and both her husbands have died.

Whenever Yun Zhen mentions her two late husbands, she quietly sheds tears.

She only says that she has had bad luck and was born at the wrong time. Fortunately, her late husbands left her plenty of property, enough to live on.

Jing Feng, a lord who had just led his troops in taking Feng'an County, happened to see Yun Zhen on the street one day. He seemed bewitched and followed her all the way to her home.

Rumors spread like wildfire: Yun Zhen looks just like the lord's late wife.

His subordinates were quick-witted. Using both threats and enticements, they forced the beauty to present herself to the lord.

As Yun Zhen entered the tent, Jing Feng raised an eyebrow from behind his desk.

Yun Zhen curtsied gracefully. "May all be well with you, my lord."

Jing Feng set down his military book and demanded in a deep voice, "What are you doing here?"

Yun Zhen replied, "The county magistrate decided to present me to you as a beauty."

Jing Feng remained impassive. "How many times has this happened?"

The next day, the county magistrate who had presented the beauty was beheaded in public. Everyone said he'd misjudged the lord's tastes. The lord was devoted to his late wife and had no intention of taking another.

Though Feng'an was a small county with fewer than ten thousand households, the lord stationed his troops there for a long time, building walls, reclaiming farmland, and bringing peace to the people.

Before long, however, Yun Zhen quietly packed her valuables and fled the county with her family in the dead of night.

She claimed that the two husbands who had "died" young and left her their "inheritance" of abundant property were both this lord, the one who had just taken Feng'an.

Now the lord had come looking for her.

#Her two late husbands have come back for her#

[Bonus Scene]

Yun Zhen: "I only want a place where I can live in peace. That's all."

Her first home was destroyed by war.

Her second home was destroyed by fire.

"At last, I settled in Feng'an County a third time..." Yun Zhen smiled. "Then the lord came with his troops again."

Jing Feng took a sip of wine. "I wasn't the one who destroyed your first two homes."

Yun Zhen raised her cup at her leisure. "My late husbands should rest in peace beneath the earth. Don't come looking for me without a good reason."

[Reading Guide]

1. A fictional setting modeled on the Han and Wei dynasties, with rival warlords vying for power. Ambitious warlord × alluring beauty who knows how to draw people in.

2. Both "late husbands" are the hero. He has never died. Whether her "late husbands" are dead or alive is entirely up to the heroine's word.

3. Serious tone. Neither lead is perfect, and the heroine has a character-growth arc.

4. Bickering couple, intense push and pull, everyday life in a chaotic era, and finding a place to call home.

5. I couldn't find the story I wanted, so I'm writing it myself. Please don't offer writing advice. Let's all enjoy the story in good spirits!

First draft dated February 6, 2026

Coming Soon: Prosperity Through Harmony

Sang Yu, nicknamed Yuqian'er, comes from a family with generations of military service. She grew up with her parents on the frontier, eating sand. Then peace came to the border, and there were no more battles to fight.

As an adult, Sang Yu remembers her father's teachings: treat people honestly, and harmony brings prosperity.

She is determined to restore her family's fortunes, go into trade, and make a lot of money.

On her first trading trip, she worked hard for two whole months and wore out three pairs of shoes.

Sang Yu: "Where's my capital?"

She put in a lot of effort to get her capital back. At least she hadn't lost money, and she'd even made a little.

Her mother was overjoyed. "My Yuqian'er was born to be a merchant!"

Her father advised her, "A person stands by honesty, and business succeeds through trust. Do business properly. Harmony brings prosperity. Don't disgrace the Sang family."

Sang Yu: "All right, Father."

Sang Yu: "Just watch me, Mother."

Qi Weizhen, covered in dust from the road, sat in a roadside shelter, drinking tea that cost one coin a bowl. He finished one bowl and calmly ordered another.

By the dirt road outside the shelter, a young woman was beating up a group of men.

"You swindlers! Give me back my capital!"

"And the thirty percent profit I was supposed to earn!"

The swindlers screamed, "Miss Sang, let's talk this out! Harmony brings prosperity!"

When Qi Weizhen was on his third bowl of tea, Sang Yu entered the shelter. She put a heavy bundle of silver on the table and invited everyone to have tea.

The only customer who hadn't run away was Qi Weizhen. He raised his bowl in thanks.

"Are you a traveling merchant too, Miss? Doing business alone is tough."

Sang Yu contentedly weighed the bundle in her hand.

"Trading is hard work, but at least it makes money."

Qi Weizhen slowly set down his teacup. "Miss Sang, I'm in the same line of work. There's a big deal on the table. Interested?"

Three months later.

Just before the big deal was about to close, Sang Yu suddenly realized that she hadn't been paid for it.

Sang Yu: "You! I'm an honest merchant! How come you're doing business without putting up any capital?"

Qi Weizhen: "...So we're not in the same line of work after all?"

[Reading Guide]

1. Scheming fox of a hero × powerful heroine

2. Bickering couple, a light and sweet novella

Theme: Finding peace amid chaos