Name: Good Morning, County Magistrate
Author: Zi Heng

Synopsis

Both the county magistrate and his deputy died violent deaths, leaving behind only the deputy's younger sister, Fang Xiuxiu, a beautiful and graceful young woman.

It was a bright, sunny day when Fang Xiuxiu saw Lin Huai at a wonton stall by the county gates. He had come to take up the post of county magistrate. The young man was handsome and refined, gentle and kind, with bright, clear eyes that gleamed like warm stars.

He seemed like a soft-hearted pushover, the sort of "nice guy" who had no idea that three county magistrates had met gruesome ends in Lingquan County before him.

Fang Xiuxiu couldn't help wondering glumly: Could someone like him even survive in office?

Then she saw Lin Huai's eyes turn cold as he killed the men who had ambushed him with a single stroke. Fang Xiuxiu stared, stunned. So she'd misjudged him...

Lin Huai, the second son of Duke Xian, was secretly appointed by the imperial family to serve as county magistrate of Lingquan County and search for the abandoned heir of the deposed crown prince, who had gone missing somewhere in Jiangnan.

The imperial family warned him that all the spies sent there before had vanished without a trace. No one knew just how deep the waters ran.

Lin Huai stepped calmly into these churning, treacherous waters. Facing danger head-on, he pieced together the clues, from a small county town to the halls of power in the capital, until at last he exposed every tangled conspiracy.

When he first met Fang Xiuxiu, she was like a rose with drooping petals, having lost the protection of her brother, sister-in-law, and three county magistrates. She even had to steel herself to enter a bandit stronghold and earn money by sculpting a clay statue of Guan Yu for the bandits.

Lin Huai took pity on her and thought he ought to look after her a little.

But when he watched Fang Xiuxiu deftly plunge a dagger into a burly man's chest, Lin Huai realized he had misjudged her.

She was clearly just like him. And from the moment he stepped into Lingquan County, she had already placed him on the scales and begun watching him...

At first, Fang Xiuxiu told her best friend that Magistrate Lin was a soft, squishy rice ball.

Later, the prefect's son used a forged concubine contract to publicly force her to become his concubine. Lin Huai calmly took out the quill he always carried, crossed out the prefect's son's name on the contract and wrote in his own, then changed the words "take as a concubine" to "marry as my wife."

"She's my wife now. Think carefully: do you really want to take the second young madam of the Duke Xian household away from me?"

Fang Xiuxiu: Hah. So he's filled with black sesame paste after all.

1. Third-person narration, except for the first few hundred words at the beginning. The main plot is a mystery with plenty of romance, not a series of episodic detective cases.

2. Both leads have a sweet-on-the-outside, dark-on-the-inside side, but then turn sweet again. At heart, they're both brave, positive people.

3. Both leads are virgins. One-on-one romance, happy ending.

The author's completed historical romances:

The Wife-Taming Record: A seductive flirt relentlessly pursues a conservative scholar

The Making of a National Preceptor's Wife: A cash-strapped witch gets together with a stingy national preceptor

The Rebirth of a Foolish Girl as a Consort: A former bottom takes the lead and wins the devoted prince

Please Let Me Into Your Urn: A wickedly charming, sweet and doting romance with a noble general's daughter

My Wife Is a Femme Fatale: The refined and upright marquis loves a soft, seductive enchantress

The author's completed fantasy stories:

Mountain Lord Is Always Busy Chasing His Wife: Dominant mountain lord x delicate, pure-hearted little fairy

The Goddess's Gentle, Devoted Hound: Highly intelligent, sophisticated woman x gentle, devoted man

The City God Consort Takes the Throne: A man and woman flirt with each other until their cheeks burn