Cherishing Grace

Xie Yan had always been beyond the reach of the noble young ladies of the capital.

He was refined and distinguished, peerlessly handsome, like snow on a mountain peak or the moon in the sky.

Jiang Yunyang, meanwhile, was the least remarkable daughter of the Jiang family. She wasn't good at socializing, and she was timid and meek. She usually preferred staying home to fold paper or read storybooks. Aside from her beauty, she had nothing to recommend her.

No one would have expected the two of them to cross paths.

Jiang Yunyang thought so too. It wasn't as if she liked Xie Yan anyway.

But one day, her second elder sister, who was engaged to the Xie family, suddenly broke off the match. And somehow, Jiang Yunyang was the one who ended up marrying into the Xie family.

Jiang Yunyang: ...The sky is falling.

*

To ease her anxiety, she bought a storybook on her way home.

Its contents were quite unusual, but the more Jiang Yunyang read, the more something seemed off...

There was a Third Miss Jiang in the book, too. Just like her, she was a substitute bride who married into the Xie family. After a dream revealed that the Jiang family was destined for ruin, she used a series of methods to avert disaster.

But those methods...

Were simply too mortifying to look at.

Jiang Yunyang's face turned red on the spot. She wished she could burn the book right then and there.

Luckily, she didn't. Not long afterward, she realized that the events in the book seemed to be coming true...

*

Xie Yan had always been a model of self-restraint and propriety. He never expected his parents to arrange a marriage for him with a delicate young woman who knew nothing of books and was a little clumsy.

No matter. He would treat her with polite respect.

But after they married, that plan went completely out the window.

The seemingly gentle, timid young woman was surprisingly bold and forward in bed.

He frowned, and she came over to kiss him.

He grew impatient, and she came over to hug him.

He was on the verge of losing his temper, and she reached over to feel his abs.

Xie Yan: "?"

Maybe it was just his imagination, but her smile seemed to say, "I don't want to do this either, you know."

And yet he felt...

That she was enjoying herself.

*

Three months later.

At dusk, Xie Yan happened to pass by Jiang Yunyang's window.

He heard the young woman excitedly discussing something with her maid: "According to the book, I just need to feel Xie Yan's pecs one more time, and everything will be fine. Then I can even divorce him..."

Hearing this, the usually composed and dignified Xie Yan stopped in his tracks.

For the first time in his life, he knew what it felt like to be unable to sit still.

Next book: The cheerful, lighthearted business novel Second Madam Yuan. If you're interested, please add it to your collection!

*

After more than twenty years of grinding away, Xu Yanyi transmigrated just before finishing her PhD.

Not only had she arrived in a dynasty she'd never heard of, she had become the newly married Second Madam of the Yuan family.

Xu Yanyi, single all her life: "..."

This was hard to deal with.

The good news was that on their wedding day, her new husband had packed up and run off before even entering the bridal chamber.

The bad news was that he'd left her a huge mess to clean up.

Mounting debts, shops on the verge of bankruptcy, and elderly relatives who could pass away at any moment...

Luckily, the Yuan family still owned plenty of land that could be put to use.

Xu Yanyi rallied herself, planning to make enough money to retire on and then divorce the Yuan family.

But then things got out of hand.

Tea, wine, salt, grain, and grocery shops spread across the entire Linxia Dynasty. Her travel corridor business grew into a chain of thriving inns. Before long, everyone knew about the incredible Second Madam of the Yuan family.

*

Half a month after leaving home, Yuan Ziling finally heard that something had happened to the Yuan family. He hurried home, travel-worn, only to find all the businesses running like clockwork and silver pouring into the coffers. Even the two elderly relatives who had been frail before he left were now full of energy, practicing tai chi.

Yuan Ziling: "...Is something wrong with my eyes?"

When he looked inside the accounts office, he saw a petite young woman with willow-leaf brows, apricot eyes, and a stunningly beautiful face, smiling as she worked an abacus with both hands.

When Yuan Ziling appeared out of nowhere, she looked over as if she'd sensed him. "Are you the second young master of the Yuan family?"

Yuan Ziling hesitated for a long moment.

"You're finally back?" She rattled the abacus in her hands with a clatter, sounding relieved. "Wait a little. Once I finish this rush, we'll get divorced."

Yuan Ziling: "..."

Just how hastily had he run away? How had the world become something he couldn't understand?

After a long silence, the usually arrogant second young master of the Yuan family lowered his head for the first time. "About that... we can put it off for a while."

Theme: Never forget your original purpose.