Dou Jin, daughter of a former Grand Tutor and now the capital's most down-on-her-luck heiress, lost her father and watched her family fall into ruin.
Three years after Dou Jin came of age, a marriage contract made in childhood sent her to the marquis's residence. She married the young marquis, Yu Heng, reputed to be ruthless and unbeatable in a battle of words.
The noble young ladies of the capital waited for a good laugh. With the little wealth the Dou family had left, wouldn't she be stripped down to the bone once she entered a marquis's household?
Dou Jin thought so too. There was no way she could live like this. She took a deep breath, rolled up her sleeves, and prepared for a fight.
Sure enough, on their wedding night...
“What sort of man do you think I am, Madam?”
On their wedding night, he lifted her veil with a smile, looking rather like he was declaring war.
In front of other people, he was best at winning them over with reason.
With her, he became a master of sarcasm.
When his mother tried to lay down rules for her, he stood by and watched.
When his younger sister humiliated her in public, he remained expressionless.
When relatives took turns testing her, afterward he even had the nerve to comment, “Your fighting spirit was rather lacking today, Madam.”
Yu Heng infuriated Dou Jin so much that she finally dropped her gentle facade.
The two began trading barbs back and forth, turning the entire marquis's residence into their battleground.
But gradually, Dou Jin noticed that something wasn't quite right.
When she lost at leaf cards, he climbed over the wall late at night to bring her banknotes. When someone bullied her, he made their whole family come apologize the next day.
“Didn't you say you wouldn't get involved?” Dou Jin cornered him against the wall, watching his eyes dart about.
Yu Heng, who was always quick with a comeback, stammered for the first time in his life. “I-I was only...”
Before long, everyone in the marquis's household assumed the new madam would be bullied into tears by the marquis. Instead, they realized that... he seemed to be completely henpecked!
One day, a close friend of Yu Heng's came to visit and happened to catch the cold-faced tyrant holding out a bowl of hot soup, speaking in a soft, pleading voice. “Madam, it's time to drink your soup.”
Dou Jin didn't even look up. “Just leave it there.”
His friend: “???” Weren't they supposed to be an unhappy couple?
Later, Dou Jin discovered that beneath his sharp tongue, this man was really just a big, childish dog.
This sweet little romance has plenty of tropes: childhood friends, marriage before love, the daily life of a powerful household, and everyone falling hard in the end.
Content note:
This is not the usual marriage-before-love setup. The leads met as children and shared some unforgettable experiences, so they already know each other. They were separated for years, and their feelings are rekindled after their arranged marriage brings them together again.
Theme: Make sure to live well every day!
