The Foolish Beauty's Guide to Choosing a Husband

Blurb: Lin Qi's parents died when she was young, and she was raised by her maternal uncle and aunt. When she came of age, her aunt picked out a marriage for her. The man had no degree or family fortune, only three mu of poor farmland. If Lin Qi married him, she'd become a farmer's wife. Unwilling to suffer in the countryside, she thought it over for several days and decided to find herself a good husband.

Lin Qi set her sights on the friends who kept her cousin company. All but one of the young gentlemen came from good families and were handsome. Marrying any one of them would mean a comfortable life.

But an accident left her having slept with the poorest of them.

Song Yichen, wearing a faded robe, told her, "Miss Lin, don't worry. I'll take responsibility."

She waved her hands frantically. "No, no, there's no need. Can we just forget it ever happened?"

-

Song Yichen was so poor he could barely scrape by, spending every day scrambling to make a living. The best part of his day was seeing Lin Qi.

He loved watching her make a fool of herself and blunder into embarrassing situations. She probably didn't know how silly she looked, with her little schemes and desire to marry into a powerful family written all over her face.

But she was beautiful. Everyone loves a silly beauty, including him.

Lin Qi vacillated between several men, unable to make up her mind. Song Yichen sneered and decided he didn't mind giving her a hand.

-

The once-poorest scholar became the Crown Prince, and the woman who had once avoided him like the plague came looking for him.

She asked nervously, "Does what you said back then still count?"

Song Yichen chuckled. She'd looked down on him before, but now she wanted to be Crown Princess? He wasn't opposed to it.

"Of course it counts."

Lin Qi's eyes lit up, then she bashfully lowered her head. "You promised to do one thing for me. Could you arrange a marriage for me? I want to marry the new top scorer in the palace examination."

Song Yichen's face darkened. He gritted his teeth as he looked at her.

She wouldn't marry a man who was too poor, and she didn't dare marry one who was too powerful. Someone right in the middle would be just right.

Reader advisory: One-on-one romance, both leads are virgins. Neither the male nor female lead is perfect.

Theme: Freedom to choose whom you marry