[Timid, crude country widow X flirtatious, dissolute prince from the capital (?)]
[Woman disguised as a man, acting the chivalrous hero wherever she goes X man disguised as a woman, a patient, gloomy male ghost (?)]
Lin Jiaojiao was a widow whose husband had died, raising a daughter on her own. By a twist of fate, she became the real daughter of the Minister's residence and was betrothed to Zhao Si, the Prince Yi of the current dynasty.
His Highness Prince Yi was a notorious womanizer who had even driven an innocent young woman to her death. His illegitimate son was already old enough to toddle around. Families with daughters in the capital all steered clear of him. If the emperor hadn't arranged this marriage, he'd never have had a respectable bride in his life.
The Minister's residence had taken Lin Jiaojiao back just so she could jump into this fire pit in place of their adopted daughter.
Lin Jiaojiao herself didn't mind. Hadn't she spent all those years wandering the martial world just to settle down with her daughter?
But when their eyes met from afar at the spring banquet, why did her future husband look exactly like the wife she'd once lived with when she was disguised as a man?
Before she could think it over, she happened to learn that Prince Yi was connected to the wrongful case involving the adoptive father who had raised Lin Jiaojiao, and might even have been the mastermind behind his murder.
Lin Jiaojiao had always paid back every slight. If that was the case, she'd make Prince Yi die quietly.
*
Zhao Si was the fourth son of the Zhao imperial family, though his parentage was in doubt.
To clear the name of the late Crown Prince, who had once shown him kindness, Zhao Si disguised himself as a dancing girl and infiltrated the residence of a confidant of the new emperor. There, he unexpectedly met a man.
The man was called Lin Qiao. He mistook Zhao Si for a burglar who had come to steal something, but still handed him the evidence. The two became friends after a fight, and Lin Qiao even had Zhao Si become his daughter's mother.
Just as Zhao Si had accepted that he was now a man who loved men, and was even willing to take the submissive role so Lin Qiao would accept him, Lin Qiao faked his death and vanished without a trace with his daughter.
Before long, Zhao Si encountered her again at the spring banquet. Somehow, she had become the eldest daughter of the Hua family, who had been recuperating at their estate, and his fiancée. Yet she seemed to harbor great hostility toward him.
So, he'd abandoned his devoted wife and was pretending not to know her? He'd make her pay back every last bit, with interest!
*
Lin Jiaojiao was quietly saving up a dowry for her daughter and waiting for the day she'd marry into Prince Yi's residence and avenge her adoptive father. Then she ran into Zhao Si on the street.
She turned and walked away at once, afraid he'd latch onto her and cause trouble. But the man behind her called out, “Qiao Lang.”
Lin Jiaojiao whipped around in disbelief and stared at Zhao Si. “You... really are Si Niang?”
PS: 1. The male lead is a virgin, the female lead is not. The female lead's daughter is her own, while the male lead's son is the late Crown Prince's.
2. The title is a line spoken by the female lead. “Female bandit” refers to the male lead, who disguises himself as a woman.
Theme: Skills are never wasted, and learning never ends
