The Chief Minister's Delicate Beauty

Pairing: An eternally enthusiastic sweetheart * an initially chaste and restrained powerful official. Very sweet, with a big age gap. Out of gratitude for the kindness he showed her as a child, Gu Jiao has loved Zhao Jiuxiao for ten whole years. Everyone in the capital knows she's Zhao Jiuxiao's little shadow. Who knows how many people laugh at her behind her back? Gu Jiao doesn't care. Her heart belongs only to Zhao Jiuxiao, and she dreams of marrying him. Until the eve of Zhao Jiuxiao's birthday Clutching the birthday gift she'd specially prepared for him, she runs to find him, only to hear him complain to a friend: “How could I possibly like her? I don't want to marry her at all!” Gu Jiao's hands and feet turn cold. Only then does she realize she's the only one looking forward to this marriage. She leaves in silence, but runs into her fourth uncle outside. The tears she's held back all the way finally spill under the man's concerned gaze. She sobs and calls him “Fourth Uncle,” like a child who has been wronged and needs comforting. And that man, rumored to wield immense power at court and treat everyone with cold indifference, really does lower himself in front of a crowd to comfort her. “All right, don't cry. Tell Fourth Uncle who bullied you, and I'll bully them right back for you.” Bonus scenes: 1. Zhao Jiuxiao thinks he'll be happy to end the engagement. He leaves the capital and heads far away to pursue his dreams, just as he had hoped. But when he reaches the borderlands, he realizes that the person he misses most is Gu Jiao. After that, he works tirelessly to earn military merit so he can return home as soon as possible and tell Gu Jiao how he feels. The day he returns to the capital victorious. The servants are shocked and nervous to see him back. After asking around, Zhao Jiuxiao learns that Fourth Uncle is about to get married. He's happy to hear that Fourth Uncle is taking a wife, but when he turns around, he sees Gu Jiao. She's holding Fourth Uncle's hand, her almond-shaped eyes shining, her face alight with the radiant smile he's longed to see for so long. 2. On their wedding night. Gu Jiao sits on the bridal bed, anxiously twisting her hands. The man, nearly thirty, stands before her, bathed in a warm glow from the lamplight. She looks at him with admiration, then lowers her eyes, blushing as she calls him “Fourth Uncle,” just as she always has. He gives a low laugh. “Wrong. It's husband.” [Cover art from Jiuxiang Village, by Wuzhen] Note: The leads have a twelve-year age gap. Both are each other's first love. A slow-burn story of everyday life. Theme: A beautiful relationship will never make you feel wronged, nor will it make you feel inferior or leave you constantly worrying about losing the other person.