A Match Made in Spite

[Complete! Writing takes a lot of effort, and this story has been carefully revised several times. Please support the author by reading through official channels! My next book, A Match Made by Heaven, is coming soon. Please add it to your favorites ✪ω✪]

Blurb

An accident left Princess Zhaoning, once adored by all, to die alone and miserably in the freezing river.

Until her final breath, she regretted missing her chance with the childhood sweetheart who had topped the imperial examinations.

Only after death did she learn that the man who had raced to the scene as soon as he heard the news and plunged without hesitation into the icy river to search for her body for three days and nights was her rough-hewn husband, the one she had been married to for years while they could barely stand the sight of each other.

And the childhood sweetheart she had never forgotten was the mastermind behind the accident.

Zhaoning was so furious that her soul nearly scattered. When she opened her eyes again, she discovered that she had returned to the first year of her marriage. She had just had a huge fight with her husband over her childhood sweetheart and slapped him. The already tall, fearsome man loomed over her like a mountain, his face livid and his expression so menacing that a storm seemed ready to break.

In her previous life, Zhaoning had angrily summoned her guards to shove him aside, then run off to complain to her childhood sweetheart. That was when her marriage fell apart.

This time, she gazed at her cold, silent husband. Her nose stung, and though she tried again and again to hold back her tears, one still fell with a soft plop.

The fury filling the man's chest abruptly stalled. He stood frozen for a long moment, unable to force out a single harsh word.

*

Lu Sui, heir to the Marquis of Dingyuan, was a heaven-blessed prodigy and a martial arts genius. He made his name in a battle on the frontier, and power, status, and renown all came easily to him.

There was just one girl he had cherished for years, and she avoided him like a snake, despised him like a beast, and remained forever beyond his reach.

Lately, though, things had become increasingly strange.

The princess who used to insult and humiliate him at every turn, and found even looking at him disgusting, had actually sent him medicinal salve. She had shyly invited him to dinner. When he merely scratched his arm during military drills, she had been so worried that she cried. And on a stormy night, she had clung to his finger, calling him her husband in a tearful, pleading voice and begging him not to leave...

Faced with his beloved's sudden affection, Young Lord Lu suppressed his suspicions and gladly accepted it all. But after they had made love, as he gazed at the princess nestled against his arm, his phoenix eyes grew deep and shadowed. He couldn't help wondering:

Could that wretched man outside have taught her some new trick to use against him?

Zhaoning: ...?!

I just want to be a little nicer to my husband!!

**A pampered, delicate princess × a fearsome general with an eight-pack and overwhelming martial prowess. In truth, he's brooding, possessive, clingy, and a hopeless romantic. A sweet romance focused on their relationship~

***Blurb for my next book, A Match Made by Heaven:

Zhenzhen has a fiancé, a childhood betrothal arranged by her grandfather. Rumor has it that he comes from a distinguished family, placed first in all three imperial examinations, and has a brilliant future ahead of him.

But after making inquiries, Zhenzhen learns that her fiancé is rigid, strict, and dull. Most importantly, he's ten years older than her!!

Zhenzhen isn't interested, so she runs away from the wedding to Jiangbei County, a place rumored to be full of handsome men. Sure enough, she meets a charming young gentleman there.

He's only a low-ranking county magistrate, but he's incomparably handsome, considerate, and attentive.

She likes him very much, so she immediately writes to her grandfather, making it clear in no uncertain terms that she absolutely must break off her engagement to that old stick-in-the-mud.

A few days later, her grandfather, a veteran who has spent decades on the battlefield, arrives with a knife to “teach her a lesson.”

Zhenzhen is terrified, but luckily the county magistrate she likes is an upright, principled gentleman with a strong sense of responsibility. He steps in front of her.

Who could have guessed that her usually stern and fearsome grandfather would warmly clap the magistrate on the shoulder and laugh, sounding both familiar and pleased? “Well done, my boy!”

Zhenzhen: “???”

-

The male lead's perspective:

The Xie family of the capital is the foremost of the great aristocratic clans, renowned and richer than kings.

As the family's next head, Xie Guanlan's wife should be gentle and quiet, dignified and elegant, managing the household and serving her husband, setting an example as the clan's principal wife.

But his fiancée is spoiled and headstrong, knows nothing of books, and is a rebellious young lady who will run away from her wedding at the slightest disagreement.

When his friend learned he was going to Jiangbei to bring her back, he offered his sympathies: “This girl is no match for you. You... sigh!”

Xie Guanlan was indifferent. “I cannot disobey my grandfather. I'll marry her to put the elders' minds at ease, and then we can each live our own lives.”

One day, news reached the Xie residence that the young madam's ten childhood sweethearts had arrived in the capital. His friends and colleagues laughed it off and thought nothing of it. Then they turned and saw Third Young Master Xie, normally so composed, meticulous, and devoted to his work, crush the cup in his hand. His face darkened, and he got up and left without a word.

His friend: “...?”

Didn't you say you'd each live your own lives?

CP: An extremely controlling, rigid, fatherly husband × a proud, rebellious young lady

Theme: A mismatched couple becomes a loving pair and stays together until old age