I'll Take This Shadow Guard

Luo Xiangning, head of the Luo family, deals in silk and is wealthier than princes and nobles.

On a softhearted impulse, she spent five thousand taels of silver on a Shadow Guard who was nearly dead. It hurt her deeply, and she suspected she had been swindled!

Who knew this Shadow Guard would be so useful? He's the best-looking, the most skilled, and incredibly well-behaved!

He's wonderful! Luo Xiangning slapped her thigh. "I don't care, I'm keeping this Shadow Guard!"

But the Shadow Guard actually dared to refuse. "No! Master, I'm not worthy!" Luo Xiangning raised an eyebrow. "How are you not worthy?"

The Shadow Guard said gravely, "Our families aren't of equal standing!" Oh, please. You're an orphan. What family do you even have?

Luo Xiangning tossed a foot-high ledger into the Shadow Guard's arms. "Fine, then go earn money for me!"

Coming soon: Pearls and Precious Gems

Su Hongyu was born into a family of artisans. Her ancestors had all made jewelry, and their skills were exceptional.

She ran her jewelry shops in the capital with great success, making a fortune every day. By comparison, the scholar's calligraphy stall across the street was pitifully shabby. He sat there from morning to night and earned only a hundred or so copper coins, not even enough to cover food and lodging after paying for his studies.

But the scholar was handsome and dignified, never fawning over anyone. When he wrote, the cuff of his sleeve revealed a beautiful wrist, with long, slender fingers and sharply defined knuckles. Each stroke seemed to land upon the heart. In the bitter cold, Su Hongyu walked over and teased him, "Young sir, why not marry into my family? I'll make jewelry and keep you." The scholar looked at her coldly, furious and humiliated, then swept off.

Xue Hechen's father had died young, leaving him to depend on his mother and younger brother and sister. He took on the burden of supporting the family early. Their life was difficult but peaceful. He was exceptionally talented and passed the provincial examination at a young age. All he had to do was pass the metropolitan examination the following spring and become a jinshi, and his family's circumstances would improve dramatically.

Su Hongyu flirted with him again and again. Xue Hechen felt insulted and never gave her a kind word. Yet whenever he saw her turn around and chat up another young gentleman, he grew unbearably annoyed. He thought he would settle things with her after passing the spring examination. But fate had other plans. In the twelfth lunar month, his mother fell gravely ill. With nowhere else to turn, Xue Hechen knocked on the Su family's door on a snowy night.

"Please, miss, save her."

Kneeling at Su Hongyu's feet, he broke his proud spirit and cast aside all his dignity.

"I'll marry into your family, be your kept man, or sell myself as a slave. Anything you want."

Su Hongyu casually took off a pair of gold bracelets and pressed them into his hands. "Everyone has hard times, Young Master Xue. You don't need to do this."

Xue Hechen froze. "..."

What did she mean, he didn't need to do this?

Later, Xue Hechen passed the metropolitan examination and rose steadily through the ranks. Holding the gold bracelets he had bought back, he blocked Su Hongyu in an alley when she returned from an engagement meeting. His face dark, he asked, "What is it about me that doesn't appeal to you, Madam Yu? You'd rather choose someone else than me?"

"I'm looking for a son-in-law to marry into my family. Lord Xue isn't suitable."

"Give me a chance, Madam Yu. I'm suitable."

Theme: The best love heals both people