They Hold the Knife, I Am the Meat

If you are born poor and lowly, and people trample on you, what should you do?

You should give everything you have, using every crisis as a stepping stone to climb as high as possible.

A fishmonger who puts profit first and is determined to rise x a sinister, merciless agent of the imperial court, consumed by hatred

Alian's father died when she was ten, and her mother remarried, leaving her with only her little sister, Xiaofu. Bearing the pity and malice of those around her, she raised her little sister with a fishing net and opened a fish stall. But a single shad, just before the Longevity Banquet, dragged her into the whirlpool of a power struggle. Desperate for protection, she had no choice but to seek out Qin Xuebi, the infamous commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

"Commander, can this shad that's already been eaten still be presented to His Majesty?"

"I'm eating it myself. Who said it was for His Majesty?" Qin Xuebi spat the fish out of his mouth, leaving the young woman speechless.

"You didn't eat it?"

"That's right. Why eat it if it'll kill you?"

"Then why did you make me eat it?!"

"Only the living deserve my protection. From this moment until the day you die, you belong to me. Tell me your name."

"This commoner is Alian."

Reader's guide:

A beauty saves a hero

A fishmonger's path to growth

The heroine has a rough time early on, but the story turns into a satisfying rise to success later

The male lead is a black cat. His secret identity is revealed midway through

Both leads are each other's first, 1v1

Theme: Through hard work and cleverness, a fishmonger escapes a fate of being pushed around and becomes the capital's top imperial merchant