The Man I Picked Up Keeps Wanting to Die

A conservative, earnest young woman X a hot-tempered, domineering bad boy

A Qing had spent more than ten years in the palace. Just as the Lady Sovereign ascended the throne, an amnesty was declared, and A Qing was granted permission to leave the palace and return to her hometown. But before she could even step inside her own home, she found a young man lying right in front of it.

She hadn't wanted to take him in. After all, the Book of Principles said that men and women should keep their distance. But as luck would have it, she'd just learned that saving one life was better than building a seven-story pagoda. Hoping to earn some good karma, she rescued him.

She never expected this man to be so... high-maintenance! He insisted on eating green rice, wearing thick clothes, and even refused to drink water, demanding tea instead! He was impossible to please!

He was also domineering and stingy. He wouldn't let her smile at anyone else, only at him. He even chased away a bunch of men who came to court her, saying that since she'd saved him, she had to take responsibility for him!

She was his benefactor, so where did this talk of responsibility come from? How annoying.

If the Book of Principles hadn't told her to stay calm, act with grace, be virtuous, gentle, modest, and yielding, and to be obedient and sensible, she wouldn't have given that pampered man the time of day!

Hmph, no wonder his nickname is Xiao Yi!

Xiao Yi, Xiao Yi, Xiao Yi! You're so mean! Bad Xiao Yi!

Before meeting A Qing, Pei Xuan thought he'd do only three things in his life: become a leader, rebel, and rule as emperor. But after meeting A Qing, his plans changed: find A Qing, coax A Qing, ruin A Qing's marriage prospects, and burn that rotten Book of Principles in her hands!

A Qing, A Qing, A Qing, A Qing. Good A Qing, sweet A Qing.

Later, through a twist of fate, A Qing and Pei Xuan both accidentally drank the palace's Spring Breeze Never Reaches Here.

Lost in passion,

Pei Xuan heard the young woman, who had always been so obedient it was almost frightening, open her hazy eyes and suddenly say:

“Here? You didn't know?”

Pei Xuan was utterly shocked, frightened out of his wits. His handsome face turned darker than the bottom of a pot as he gritted his teeth and asked, one word at a time, “How... do... you... know?”

A Qing: “The book said so.”

After more than half a year of being controlled by the Book of Principles, Pei Xuan's alarm bells rang. He flew into a rage. “Which book now? Didn't we burn them all?”

Seeing his expression, A Qing lost her nerve and protested in a small voice, “...The... The... The Spring Breeze Picture Book. You're the one who's wrong, so why are you being so fierce? Don't blame anyone else just because you haven't read enough. Aren't you embarrassed?”

Pei Xuan, who had always ranked near the top at the Imperial Academy and been raised as the heir apparent: “...”

It was the first time anyone had mocked him for not reading enough. What an eye-opener.

Bonus Scene 1:

Because their living conditions were so poor, Xiao Yi wanted to give A Qing some money. But he couldn't make it appear out of nowhere, so he had his guards secretly leave money by the roadside.

By the roadside, A Qing hesitated for a moment, then immediately walked away. She did this over and over.

Xiao Yi couldn't take it anymore and kindly reminded her, “That looks like money.”

A Qing: “I know.”

Xiao Yi: “Then why don't you pick it up? We don't even have enough rice to cook at home! Don't you know that?!”

A Qing gave him a solemn look. “I won't eat food offered in contempt!”

Xiao Yi: “...” (Damn it, I'm really going to burn her books!)

Bonus Scene 2:

After they were married, Xiao Yi suddenly started thinking about A Qing's distant past in the middle of the night. He got out of bed, guiltily shook A Qing awake, and glared at her fiercely.

“Who's more important, me or that stinking woman?”

Hearing him insult the Lady Sovereign, A Qing frowned. “Don't disrespect the Lady Sovereign!”

Xiao Yi: “If it weren't for her, you'd be empress! She owes me a lifetime's worth! What's wrong with insulting her?”

He narrowed his eyes and growled, “Hurry up and say it. Who's more important, her or me?”

A Qing quietly scooted away and whispered, “The Lady Sovereign.”

Xiao Yi: “?”

“Say that again, if you dare.”

A Qing thought he was crazy, or maybe getting old and hard of hearing. She cleared her throat and shouted, “The Lady Sovereign, the Lady Sovereign, the Lady Sovereign, the Lady Sovereign! A thousand times over, the Lady Sovereign!”

Xiao Yi was so furious his teeth ached. He pressed his lips against her little mouth, opening and closing as she spoke, and showed that clueless young woman what he could do!

In the end, she was the one who gave in. She whispered, “Fine, Bad Xiao Yi is the most important!”

Xiao Yi was satisfied. “That's more like it.”

Reading guide: One-on-one, happy ending, boy-girl romance. A cute, sweet story about a lovey-dovey couple. Come on in!

The word “thick” in the blurb really does mean thick! It's intentionally written that way! It's a little clever touch!!! You'll understand why when you read it~~

The Book of Principles is a rotten book, so A Qing really is a bit superstitious and bound by feudal ideas. But Xiao Yi will cure her of that little flaw! Don't scold A Qing! She's incredibly, incredibly adorable! If you dare scold her, Xiao Yi will come to your dreams in the middle of the night to have a talk with you~

Since the heroine is called A Qing and doesn't have a proper name, the hero's nickname is Xiao Yi. He has to share the embarrassment with her, so neither of them gets special treatment! But their names are both so cute and adorable, don't you think?

The words on the novel cover are Nian Xuan Qing, the couple's ship name~

Blurb screenshot taken on May 11

Check out my completed novel next door: Where Will the Crown Prince Sleep Tonight?

[A free-spirited little beggar VS. a cool, restrained young nobleman]

It took A Cuo twenty years to go from a beggar who scavenged dogs for food to becoming Da Liang's first Lady Sovereign.

She was wild grass, duckweed, an ant.

When Cui Xingdu told her who she really was, she had only one thought: she just wanted to survive.

As a beggar, a bowl of hot soup and a bowl of rice were all she needed.

But later, the capital was rife with intrigue and treacherous hearts. Everyone treated her as a puppet they could manipulate at will.

They tarnished her reputation, killed her friends, and restricted her freedom.

The lake water in early spring was bone-chilling, just like her isolation and helplessness. Her rage blazed like a roaring fire, igniting her ambition to seize power.

The amber in her eyes shone like the rising sun, dazzling and fierce. Her gaze was full of scorn. She gave a mocking laugh, then declared in a clear voice:

“Since they don't understand justice, I'll knock them down and do it myself.”

“I am the Crown Prince of Da Liang, its future Lady Sovereign. This Da Liang...”

“I am the ruler here.”

No one else may lay claim to even the smallest part of it.

*Romance:

The day she met Cui Xingdu, snow swirled through the sky, and the north wind stung people's faces.

He knocked the stone A Cuo had prepared for killing a dog from her hands.

Dressed in a black cloak, he held a red paper umbrella and stood before her. The umbrella tilted slightly, shielding her from the falling snow.

Amid the whiteness all around them, the red umbrella stood out like a dazzling splash of color.

She thought she was about to die.

But all she heard was his clear, gentle voice calling her:

“Your Highness.”

*

In a humble thatched hut, A Cuo's amber eyes gazed at the young nobleman before her.

Leaning against a broken wall and gasping for breath, she wiped the blood splashed across her face and gave a light laugh.

“Cui Xingdu, with your spotless reputation, I doubt you'll have much of it left after today.”

“For the rest of your life, you'll probably be tied to a notorious rebel like me.”

Then she smiled and asked, “Well? Do you regret it?”

As soon as she finished speaking, the jade-like young nobleman let out a quiet laugh.

His dark eyes seemed especially bright in the darkness.

He curled his lips into a smile.

His clear, cool voice filled the room:

“It would be my honor.”

*

Later, the red bed curtains fell, and the room grew warm beneath the hibiscus canopy.

She looked down at Cui Xingdu beneath her and took his hand, pressing it against her forehead.

She asked softly, “What if that lotus had bloomed not here, but here?”

She slowly moved his hand down, tracing her swanlike neck.

“Here,” she said, tracing her collarbones with his hands.

“Or here.” She pressed his hand below her burning chest.

With her red lips parted beside his ear, she whispered, “If it were here, would you examine it yourself?”

“Your Highness...”

She was so close that their breaths mingled. He prided himself on being composed, but at that moment he held his breath, unable to utter a single word of reproach.

“Would you?” The young woman gazed at him with amber eyes, a playful glint in them.

The room suddenly fell silent.

Just as she started to lose interest and was about to move away, he made his move.

He raised himself up and gently pressed a kiss where her finger pointed.

There was no way anything could ever happen between them...

He had to be going mad.

But if it was her, he would gladly give himself over to it.

Note: Happy ending, one-on-one, both are each other's first, boy-girl romance

Theme: Break free of feudal conventions and be a woman who lives freely