After transmigrating, Lin Qingyou was very satisfied with her life:
Born into the hereditary Rongping Earl's residence, with loving parents in a monogamous marriage, no scheming among the elders, and cherished as the youngest daughter in the family...
That was until she was granted a marriage to Shen Zonghuan, heir to the Duke of Dingguo.
Suddenly, all the noble young ladies who had once envied her good fortune were waiting to see her make a fool of herself. After all, the two of them were worlds apart in every way.
In terms of family standing, the Rongping Earl's residence was steeped in poetry and learning, and its two branches lived in harmony. The Duke of Dingguo, by contrast, came from humble peasant stock, and his household was in constant uproar.
In terms of reputation, Lin Qingyou was renowned throughout the capital. Even the Empress praised the embroidery techniques she had invented. Shen Zonghuan, however, was grim and ruthless, a hound of the imperial court whom everyone avoided.
In terms of temperament, she was gentle and placid, wanting no part in worldly contention. He was arrogant and aloof, with plenty of enemies.
Over time, even Lin Qingyou couldn't help developing a bias against him.
Yet on their wedding night, the stern and taciturn Shen Zonghuan's ears turned red the instant he lifted her veil. The next morning, he even spent the whole morning massaging her lower back.
From then on, Shen Zonghuan indulged her in everything.
If she didn't want to get up early, she didn't have to pay her respects to her mother-in-law. If she thought the food tasted bad, he had a separate kitchen built for her. If life in the capital felt stifling, they could go enjoy themselves at their country estate...
And so Lin Qingyou went from the most carefree noblewoman to the most carefree noble wife. Every day, aside from enjoying gossip and watching the drama unfold, she spent her time thinking about how to instruct the cooks to make all the foods she craved: pork tripe and chicken soup, savory egg yolk and vegetable congee, shrimp dumplings, spicy hot pot, oden, red bean double-skin milk pudding, dry-fried rice noodles with beef, and more.
Of course, there was one thing that troubled her: when night fell, they had to switch, and she had to indulge Shen Zonghuan in everything.
Please note before reading:
1. Both leads are virgins. The heroine is 19 and the hero is 25 from the start.
2. A purely sweet, post-marriage romance, with a focus on everyday life and food. There is a little inner-household and political scheming, but both are just background elements.
Theme: Live well.
