Ruan Chi seems to suffer from some kind of ailment that keeps him awake at night.
It was only after his subordinate pleaded with her that Qiao Mi learned of his troubles and mustered the courage to sneak into his room.
She thought she could set aside all her pride to help him. But when dawn broke the next day, she was met not with the slightest tenderness, but with a sudden slap.
The porcelain cup by the bed crashed to the floor, shards scattering everywhere.
Qiao Mi froze, bewildered, then turned and ran off in tears.
Everyone said that Ruan Chi was upright and proper, far more refined in manner and temperament than the sons of noble families, and that he cherished and looked after the daughter of an old friend. Back then, he had stood against the majority to petition the emperor, taking in the orphaned daughter of a convicted official and recognizing her as his sworn younger sister, giving her a home in his residence.
But after that incident, she understood that he protected her only out of regard for her late father's standing.
Otherwise, he would not have grown ever more rigid and harsh with her, nor would he have submitted a petition recommending a husband for her after her father's name was cleared...
Enough.
There were countless noble families in Luoyang. She could marry into one of them and stop putting up with this.
Qiao Mi began learning to mingle and make polite conversation with young men from noble families, deliberately keeping her distance from him.
As time passed, a few gentlemen caught her eye. Though none were as dazzling as him, at least they were kind and treated her with utmost devotion.
But just as she was about to choose one, a bitter wind suddenly rose.
The night was still, and dampness seeped into the pillow. The person before her leaned close, gently kissing the tears at the corner of her eye, then chuckled. "Isn't this what you wanted all along, little sister? So why the change of heart now?"
A timid but bold enough to act, silly beauty & a noble, aloof man plagued by a hidden illness and slowly going mad
1. Both leads are each other's first and only partners. Age gap, mildly goofy, bittersweet and sweet.
2. The male lead was poisoned by the villain. Early on, he has a sex addiction, but his morals are sound and he won't use the female lead to satisfy his urges. The poison will be cured later.
3. The male lead takes care of everything, restrains himself and adheres to propriety, a domineering patriarch in the traditional mold. He pushes the female lead toward someone else, then regrets it. Torn between restraint and madness, he chooses to go mad while keeping himself in check.
4. The female lead has a tragic background. Early on, she cries easily, is afraid of pain and blood, and is useless. She's slow-witted and bad with words, preferring to use her hands. The only time she shows some backbone is when she proactively helps the male lead. She will grow later.
5. Set in an alternate Wei-Jin era. Many of the women don't place much importance on chastity.
6. The blurb may be ambiguous, but the male lead will never lay a hand on the female lead! If he dared slap her, he'd be a villain and deserve to die, so he won't.
7. From the middle onward, there will be some dark, obsessive imprisonment, female-lead angst, and melodrama. The male lead has to clean up the mess he made. In the end, he will go through hell to win her back, and everyone gets a happy ending.
Theme: Say what you mean.
