My Wife Xiniang

When the court granted a general amnesty, Liu Xiniang, the daughter of a disgraced official, finally regained her freedom from servitude. She had endured years of hardship and was not married until she was twenty-two.

Her husband-to-be was the son of the chancellor, a man of imposing bearing and upright character. He had placed third in the palace examination before he was twenty, and his career had flourished ever since.

Their families were worlds apart. She had been exiled as a child and had grown up with a rough, streetwise temper. She never expected that, even after the amnesty, he would still honor their old engagement and marry her.

Xiniang was deeply grateful. The more she looked at Zhang Shixiu, her virtuous and handsome husband, the more she liked him. As for whether Zhang Shixiu loved her, Xiniang didn't care. Treating him well was her own choice.

So even when the Zhang family fell from grace and Zhang Shixiu was demoted to Lingnan for angering the emperor, she still followed him all the way there.

One day, Xiniang went out to visit a friend. Unfortunately, a sudden downpour began while she was on her way back.

Anxious to get home, she trudged through the muddy ground, her eight-month belly weighing her down. Muddy water splashed over her shoes and stockings, and her legs grew weak. At last, she managed to find a roadside pavilion where she could shelter from the rain.

The wind howled and rain obscured the view. Xiniang saw a blurry, dark green figure struggling toward the pavilion. He held an umbrella but hadn't opened it, and he even fell several times along the way.

With nothing else to do while she waited out the rain, Xiniang held her belly and laughed until she was doubled over.

But when she looked up, she saw Zhang Shixiu, drenched and covered in mud, still wearing his official robes. He clutched her hand tightly and stared at her anxiously, looking her over again and again.

Xiniang froze. Her smile vanished.

In three years of marriage, this was the first time she had seen panic on Zhang Shixiu's usually composed face.

And it was... because of her.

1. A devoted one-on-one romance, both leads inexperienced, happy ending, same age, marriage before love, no contrived drama.

2. A scatterbrained heroine who loves handsome faces vs. a reserved, dignified gentleman

Theme: Sincerity is the ultimate weapon.