The Lovely Cook at the Frontier

Formerly titled The Beautiful Young Widow at the Border Pass [Complete] [New Novel: Eldest Sister's Burden Is Heavy, Now Open!]

[Beautiful Cook vs. Rugged General]

Tian Gu had always had a hard life. On the very day she was married, before her veil had even been lifted, news came that her husband was dead.

She spent three years as a widow, caring for her parents-in-law, then went to the border.

Lucky for her, she found a job as a cook in a border garrison. The pay was good, and the work was easy, so Tian Gu agreed at once.

Life at the border garrison was harsh, and the conditions were poor, but those weren't the worst of it.

The truly dreadful part was the food, which was almost impossible to swallow. The vegetables were old, the meat was tough, and the great pots of pitch-black rice were so awful even pigs probably wouldn't eat them!

That was, until Tian Gu arrived.

Hot-and-sour rice noodles, noodles with minced meat sauce, red-braised pork, egg pancakes, and even eight-treasure sticky rice and pumpkin milk ice for dessert. The soldiers ate and wept, as if this were their last meal.

They also ate until they were full of energy and stronger than ever!

Then one day, they went to battle.

The enemy was dumbfounded. Why was the opposing army so aggressive lately?!

They sent a soldier to investigate, but when he returned, he was just as stunned.

“They said... they said they want to finish work early so they can go back and eat the little cook's freshly made fried chicken...?”

The enemy's commanding general: ?

--

A little cook had joined the army. She was a widow with a child, but she was fair-skinned, beautiful, and sweet-voiced.

A pack of rough men who usually spouted lewd jokes couldn't take their eyes off her.

They started walking quietly and stopped telling dirty jokes. They even stopped smacking their lips while eating.

The only exception was Gu Xiancheng, the Great General Who Pacified the Realm, who remained as rough and unconcerned as ever.

One soldier sighed. No wonder the general was twenty-five and still single. What a miserable state of affairs.

But one day, a sharp-eyed soldier spotted the great general sneaking into the little cook's tent.

Then, some time later, the little cook's belly began to swell...

The soldiers: ???

A little scene:

Tian Gu spent three years as a widow, keeping her mother-in-law's instructions close to heart.

After joining the army, she kept a careful eye out for clues about her husband.

Everything about the army was good, except that the black-faced general was a little scary.

Then one day, the general got drunk and stumbled into her tent.

Tian Gu was so frightened she nearly called for help. But the next instant, she saw the one-of-a-kind birthmark on her husband's body, just as her mother had described it.

·, ·

1. The child isn't the male lead's biological child. He has his reasons.

2. For specific content warnings, see the author's note at the end of Chapter One.

3. The first blurb was written in January 2023, the second in February 2023, and the current version in April 2023. Screenshots of all versions are available.

4. The cover is a commissioned piece that I've bought the rights to, made by my wonderful artist @Clone Technique.

5. The golden finger has been explained. I'm not saying what it is yet because it involves spoilers. There's no need to come here and complain before Chapter Eight. What if the ending makes you eat your words?

Coming next: Eldest Sister's Burden Is Heavy

In the depths of winter, Chang'an City was hit by its heaviest snowfall in twelve years.

As Yuan Yao walked through the city, blanketed in snow and utterly deserted, she suddenly thought of the husband who had been dead for three years.

To raise her three younger sisters, sixteen-year-old Yuan Yao married a man she didn't love.

He wasn't well-read, was coarse in his manners, and didn't say much. But at least he had real abilities, enough to make a home amid the chaos of war.

She hadn't treated him very well, and sometimes she'd even schemed against him.

But he had never treated her badly.

In fact, the reason Yuan Yao could live so freely now was all because of him.

Being a widow wasn't easy, and Yuan Yao found herself missing that warm embrace.

“You deadbeat, it's been three years, and you still haven't come to see me...”

Yuan Yao sighed. “If I could live again, I'd treat you a little better.”

That night, she once again fell asleep alone, wrapped in loneliness. When she opened her eyes again,

Heaven had made her dream come true.

Theme: Love yourself