The Bookish Scholar's Little Husband

A guide to my completed farming novels: I'm currently updating "Forced to Take a Young Master as My Live-in Son-in-Law." The blurb is below, please add it to your collection! Coming soon: "I Married My Childhood Betrothed and Now I Can't Get Enough"

[Quiet, steady, and secretly brilliant scholar gong, Yang Hua

Cheerful, clever, considerate transmigrated shou, Yu Qiao]

At the end of the semester, Yu Qiao won the award for Most Popular Teacher. He'd only just had a moment to celebrate when he got into a car accident on the way home. When he opened his eyes again, he saw a dilapidated house, dim walls, his own sickly body, and a frail man dressed in ancient clothes.

Had he somehow transmigrated instead of dying?

Yu Qiao was thrilled. As long as he was alive, everything else was a small matter!

Being transmigrated into the body of a ger was a small matter! Already being married to the silent scholar in front of him was a small matter! Having jumped into a river to kill himself after failing to stay faithful to an old flame was a small matter! His family had spent their last copper coin on medicine to save him, and now the two of them had nothing to eat... That was a small matter... No! That was a big problem!

Yu Qiao looked at the ramshackle house and cautiously asked the unruffled man by his bedside, who was pouring him water, "How does our family make a living?"

Yang Hua replied in a low voice, "Once I pass the highest imperial exam, things will get better."

Yu Qiao... That promise was a long way off!

Yang Hua added, "I know you despise me, but as long as you're alive, you can still live the life you want. So... please don't try to end your life again, all right?"

Looking at the handsome, scholarly man before him, Yu Qiao nodded again and again. "Don't worry. No one cherishes life more than I do now. Why would I despise you? Nothing matters more than making a good life together!"

And so the villagers watched as the life of the taciturn scholar and his supposedly disreputable husband got better and better. Yang Hua climbed higher and higher on the imperial-examination path, until the village itself was eventually renamed Yang Hua Village!

Far away in the capital, the couple went on an outing with their child. Yang Hua put an arm around Yu Qiao and sighed contentedly. "You've worked hard all these years, Xiao Qiao. How lucky I am to have married you."

Yu Qiao's lips curled as he hummed. "You know me. I won't be satisfied until I get to enjoy the big promises you made me!"

[Author's notes]

1. One-on-one romance throughout. I only write sweet stories: a slow-burn, heartwarming tale about studying for the imperial exams, making a living, farming, and daily life.

2. No major golden finger. Prices are based on a blend of Tang and Song dynasty prices, so they won't be too outrageous.

?Coming soon: "Forced to Take a Young Master as My Live-in Son-in-Law." Please add it to your collection!

The gong: A proud young master who denies his feelings at first, but becomes steady and dependable. The shou: A kind, guileless, resilient little darling.

Lu Liu is a poor little thing. Orphaned as a child, he manages to scrape by in the Lu family by being honest, hardworking, and always doing more than his share.

But one day, the Lu family brings home a fallen young master from a wealthy family and makes him their live-in son-in-law.

The villagers all say Lu Liu's hard days are finally over. The man is tall and handsome, and standing there, he looks like an official. He must be capable.

Who could have guessed that this young master would be picky about everything, from food and clothes to travel and lodging? He argues with the family all day, can't stand his husband's timid nature, and turns the household upside down.

The Lu family uncles regret it, while the aunts and older women complain. They shouldn't have brought him home! He's a lazy good-for-nothing who never works. What's the use of holding on to his household registration papers?

The villagers say again, "Poor, hardworking, obedient Lu Liu. His life won't get any better. What a hard fate!"

After hearing this, the timid Lu Liu thinks it over. Ever since Yao Zheng arrived, he's had enough to eat. He doesn't have to wear hand-me-downs rejected by his uncles, and he gets new fabric even when it's not a festival. He's traded his hemp sandals for soft, warm cloth shoes, moved out of the crumbling earthen house, and is so well fed and rested that he's even grown taller!

"Is this really a good life or not?"

At that moment, Lu Liu is lying in Yao Zheng's arms. When he asks the question, the man wraps an arm tightly around his waist and gives his chin a firm peck. "My little young master, I promise our life together will only get better and better!"

Lu Liu feels the satin quilt beneath him, looks at the jade ornaments in the room, and enjoys the warmth of the heated floor. He snuggles into the man's arms and smiles contentedly.

"How is this a hard fate? This is just so sweet!"

[Little skit]

? When the live-in son-in-law first arrives, he can't do a thing, doesn't know one crop from another, and expects everything to be done for him. He won't even open his mouth when food is served, because it's awful.

Lu Liu: You rest. I'll make it. How about I boil you some duck eggs?

Yao Zheng: Boil three!

? Later, the live-in son-in-law can do the laundry, cook, feed the chickens and ducks, fix the house, hunt, and go up the mountain or down to the river. There's nothing he can't handle, though he does get hurt now and then.

Lu Liu hugs him and cries with worry. "I've done these chores for years. You're a young master, you shouldn't have to do them. Let me do it."

Yao Zheng: You rest. I'll do it. You're my little young master, and I'll serve you for the rest of my life, all right?

Tips:

1. The gong is a fallen young master. He's temperamental at first but changes later. No imperial exams. A heartwarming story about family life and building a home together. Later, they move back to the capital. No golden finger. There will be children and a side couple.

2. I'll share any other headcanons as I think of them.

Blurb for "I Married My Childhood Betrothed and Now I Can't Get Enough"

(The gong is unwilling at first, then wins himself over; the shou is gentle, patient, and caring, and unknowingly charms his gong.)

When Song Changlin was ten, he heard a man from his village had married a husband. Even when invited to the wedding feast, he refused to go, shouting, "When I'm grown up, I'm marrying a wife! I don't want to go see some husband!"

When Song Changlin was twenty, a twist of fate brought him home with a husband.

Every day, he stared up at the sky and wept inwardly. Heaven, I wanted a wife! Not a husband!

But after they married, his parents were delighted every day and couldn't stop praising their capable new son-in-law.

Whenever the villagers saw him, they had to compliment him. "Song, you've really struck gold! He Miao is a good kid. He can handle everything, indoors and out!"

His friend looked envious. "How are you so lucky? You married such a handsome husband, and on top of that he's gentle. He's gentle, and he can read. Not only can he read, he's a great cook..."

Song Changlin interrupted in annoyance. "All right, all right! If I gave you this good fortune, would you take it?"

Perhaps it was the people around him gradually influencing him, but as time went by, Song Changlin found himself staring at his husband and wondering: Why does everyone like He Miao so much? What's so special about him? It's not like he's handsome, fair-skinned, and well-built, or gentle, patient, and considerate, with everyone liking him and the household running like clockwork...

Even before He Miao married into the family, he knew Song Changlin didn't want a husband. After the wedding, he understood it even more clearly. Still, he dutifully followed the rules for a new husband: caring for his spouse, honoring his parents-in-law, and managing the household.

He thought, Even if my husband doesn't like me, at least he respects me. I can live with that.

But gradually, Song Changlin's gaze grew more and more strange. When He Miao went up the mountain, Song Changlin carried his basket. When he cooked, Song Changlin helped him. When he went to do the laundry, Song Changlin snatched it away and washed it himself. When he made the bed for the night, the two quilts they had started with had become one.

He Miao was confused. "Are we out of money? Did you sell the other quilt?"

Song Changlin blushed and shook his head. "I want us to consummate our marriage."

He Miao: ?

Theme: No matter where you are, stay positive and make the best of life.