After being reborn in the womb, Qi Langyu was born into an official family in the Great Qi Dynasty. He would have liked to become a once-in-a-generation child prodigy, but his father, an official of the Court of Censors, let him down. During a factional struggle, his father misspoke and backed the wrong side, and was beaten to death beneath the Meridian Gate. Qi Langyu's dream of becoming a child prodigy through the imperial examinations was shattered, and he had no choice but to go into exile.
Fortunately, his father's student, Qi Chengqian, came to his aid. He worked tirelessly to clear his teacher's name and, after his teacher's wife died, took in the eight-year-old Qi Langyu.
Ten years flew by. Qi Langyu lived up to his name, handsome beyond compare, but he no longer pursued success in the imperial examinations. After all, his previous life had ended miserably when he died from overwork while cramming for his doctorate. And with such a good godfather in this life, he might as well eat, drink, and enjoy himself. In short, he decided to lie flat!
His godfather spoiled Qi Langyu until he became the capital's foremost wastrel. Though he disdained the filthy business of visiting brothels and abducting women, he was guilty of every other vice, from horse racing and cockfighting to gambling. Every day, he rode around the capital and caroused with the other rich young wastrels.
So his colleagues would see Qi Chengqian's houseboy rush into the office every day and whisper something in the ear of Grand Secretary Qi, leaving him livid. Whenever Qi Chengqian heard that his godson had caused trouble, he would immediately take leave and rush home, grab a riding crop, and drag the boy back to punish him. The whole household would be thrown into chaos, and the place would be lively as ever.
The people of the capital joked, "Grand Secretary Qi spent a lifetime earning a good name, only for his adopted son to squander it all!"
At the time, Langyu was eighteen, and Qi Chengqian had just turned thirty. Neither father nor son was married. Since Langyu had a private ailment that made marriage difficult, his wedding was repeatedly put off.
Once Qi Chengqian passed thirty, the court began pressuring him to marry. He said that he was about to wed, but Langyu looked around and saw no sign of a godmother.
Then one day, Langyu went out drinking. After a few cups, he passed out. When he woke, everything before him was a bright red wedding chamber. He was dressed in bridal robes, a red veil covering his head. Just as he was about to lose his temper, someone lifted the veil, and the person before him was...
Qi Chengqian.
1. A romantic wastrel top x a scheming, paternal bottom. A young wife and an older husband, with a twelve-year age gap.
2. Most of the story is about the bickering, affectionate daily life of an adopted daughter and her father: Godfather teaches her, plots to marry her, teases her every which way, forces her to study and take the imperial examinations, and helps her become a worthy official. She fights back, sometimes wanting to be a pampered wife and sometimes resenting her godfather's control. She skips school, never learns her lesson, studies, eats and drinks and enjoys herself, and gets entangled with her godfather. She passes the imperial examinations, enters officialdom, and makes a name for herself. Her modern ideas clash with those of the feudal dynasty...
3. Spiritually, this is a pure 1v1 romance: the adopted daughter and her godfather love only each other. Physically, however, the godfather has a cuckolding fetish and a strong need for control, and will let many other men have their way with her. The adopted daughter is a universal love interest.
4. The godfather really does beat her, and he doesn't hold back. His punishments take many forms. He wants her to live up to her potential, so readers who aren't into love and violence intertwined should stay away.
5. The dynasty is modeled on the Ming. Don't get hung up on historical details.
Theme: When the world began, who was born to love?
