The Chief Minister's Conquest Journal

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Naturally airheaded little ray of sunshine x aloof, uptight man

Jiang Zhen, the daughter of a minor official, had lost both her parents and was disliked by her relatives. Carrying the marriage contract her grandmother had given her, she traveled south to Jiangnan to seek out her fiancé's family.

Her fiancé was called Chen Shu. They had been engaged since childhood. Rumor had it that auspicious signs had appeared at his birth, and that he was exceptionally clever, famous throughout Jianghuai even as a young boy.

The first time they met, eleven-year-old Chen Shu stood under a grape trellis and frowned at her. "Zhenzhen, don't believe my mother. Our engagement doesn't count."

She didn't understand what he was talking about. She only looked up at the grapes overhead.

Helpless, Chen Shu had to stand on tiptoe and pick a glistening bunch of grapes for his eight-year-old fiancée.

At first, Chen Shu wasn't fond of this fiancée who, as people said, had come to "live off" his family.

He valued propriety, while Jiang Zhen had grown up in the countryside and knew nothing about it.

Chen Shu, stern-faced: Don't talk while eating or sleeping, Zhenzhen. Don't speak at the table.

Jiang Zhen, perplexed: Why can't I talk? Brother Shu? If people don't talk, won't they become mute?

Chen Shu, even sterner: Zhenzhen, a young lady should be quiet and modest. Don't climb trees and raid birds' nests.

Jiang Zhen raised both hands. "Brother Shu, look, this little bird has a broken wing. Can I keep it?"

She was like a lively skylark, noisy and clingy, suddenly bursting into his life, which had once been as still as a deep, undisturbed well.

Later, she heard a rumor and came to ask him to break off their engagement, her eyes red.

For the first time in his life, Chen Shu felt panic. His face darkened, and he gritted his teeth. "Jiang Zhen, say that again."

With tears clouding her eyes, Jiang Zhen sobbed, "I want to break off our engagement. I want to go home. I don't want to stay here."

Chen Shu scoffed and stepped in front of her, blocking her way.

He said each word slowly and clearly. "Jiang Zhen, don't even dream of it. You're not allowed to go anywhere but stay by my side."

If she'd clung to him, she should cling to him for the rest of her life.

Notes:

1. One-on-one romance, childhood sweethearts, naturally airheaded girl x uptight man.

2. The male lead is partly inspired by Zhang Juzheng. The setting is fictional, very fictional, so please don't nitpick.

3. The female lead is reborn. The male lead is a champion at refusing to admit what he feels, and has a strong sense of morality.

4. The romance won't begin before she turns sixteen. Marriage or intimate interactions may happen after that.

Please add the upcoming novel The Widowed Heroine Returns Home to your collection. A full-scale competition among men is coming!

Synopsis:

The eldest daughter of Master Yu of the Ministry of Revenue, newly widowed, has returned home.

Yu Yingying is eighteen this year. Once the most beautiful woman in the capital, she inspired the sons of many noble families to fight over her.

At sixteen, she married the legitimate son of the Assistant Minister of Revenue. Not long after the wedding, her husband mysteriously fell from his horse, then died.

Yu Yingying observed a year of mourning for her husband and returned to her parents' home.

But a widow's life was anything but peaceful.

The men who had once competed for her began making advances again.

Her childhood sweetheart, a cousin who left home to become the top scorer in the imperial exams after she married: "Yingying, choose me. I don't mind that you've been married before."

A libertine prince who often frequented pleasure houses: "Miss Yu, for your sake, I'll reform. I swear I won't take concubines."

Then there was the down-and-out boy she had saved as a child, who wanted to stay by her side even if it meant having no title.

Even the upright, unyielding official at the Court of Judicial Review, who was investigating her husband's fatal fall from his horse, began showing her special attention...

Yu Yingying was tired. She had no idea whom to choose.

Notes:

1. Men competing for the heroine, as they should. The heroine is adored by everyone.

2. No intimate behavior before the age of sixteen.

3. The heroine is not a virgin, and some of the men aren't either, but most are virgins.

Theme: Pursue your ideals