The Unlucky Scholar's Delicate Husband

Xu Heng was an unlucky scholar. He passed the county-level exam at thirteen, earning a reputation as a brilliant young prodigy. But three years later, his hunter father died of an injury. Three years after that, his mother passed away from grief. Another three years later, his grandfather died. He spent a full nine years observing mourning rites! Now he was twenty-two, and he hadn’t even taken the imperial examinations, let alone found a wife. The villagers all said that Xu the Scholar was clever, but his fate was far too harsh. Every time an exam came around, one of his relatives would die. Xu Heng’s grandmother was getting old, too. She worried that once she passed away, her grandson would have no family left and no one to arrange a match for him. So as soon as Xu Heng finished his mourning period, she hurried to find him a suitable spouse. But everyone in the surrounding villages knew Xu Heng was an unlucky man with a dreadful fate. Even though he was a licentiate, no one dared marry him. Xu Heng had given up hope himself. He never expected that Xu Changzhao, the boldest and most fiery young man in the village, who was also the most handsome, would actually be willing to marry him. Well, fiery was fine. He could teach him after they married. Surely he could get the young man to temper his bad temper. -- Two months into the marriage, Xu Changzhao secretly cut Xu Heng’s allowance. Xu Heng was furious, but didn’t dare say a word. Beauty really could make a man lose his senses! Five months into the marriage, Xu Heng bought an old book and invited his husband to read it with him. Xu Changzhao twisted his ear and demanded to know how much he’d spent. Again, Xu Heng didn’t dare say a word. He’d lost every last bit of authority in the household! Eight months into the marriage, Xu Changzhao was pregnant and suffering terribly from morning sickness. He twisted Xu Heng’s arm to vent his frustration. Xu Heng wasn’t angry at all. He even praised his husband for doing a good job and said he could twist harder! What did pride or ambition matter? Could they possibly matter more than his husband? Divider 1. This is this clumsy author’s first story, and both the writing and plot are a little immature (but I promise there’s plenty of sweetness ^_^). Please bear with me! 2. Please add my upcoming story to your favorites: My Fussy Husband Wants to Marry for Money Synopsis: I. After transmigrating into a book, I had no skills, no money, no food, and a whole family to support... Yu Erniang was of average intelligence, too weak to carry a load or lift a hand. He couldn’t write well enough to pass the imperial exams or come up with inventions, and as for fighting, he couldn’t even kill a chicken... With all that going against him, naturally no young lord or noble heir was going to drop from the sky and sweep him into a domineering romance (wipes tears). To feed himself and the dependents he’d taken on, he racked his brains and tried everything. He grew potatoes and raised chicks, then finally managed to get close to a scholar from a wealthy family. Who could have guessed that every last one of his relatives would be a stingy penny-pincher... Sigh, it really is better to rely on yourself than to marry for money! II. If Yu Erniang had known he would transmigrate into a book, he would have memorized the entire original novel, right down to every punctuation mark! Sadly, he’d read it once and forgotten even the protagonist’s name. He only remembered to cozy up to the protagonist after he’d already made his fortune. Too late... There was nothing for it but to pick up a pen and paper. At least in his previous life, he’d been something of a “voracious reader,” so writing a few melodramatic novels wouldn’t be hard. He just absolutely could not let his secret identity slip, or he’d surely get beaten up... At first, a certain scholar said, “These words corrupt the mind and poison the heart. My family’s publishing house will never print them.” Later, that same scholar said, “Stop slacking off and get back to writing!” III. Ever since Song Yu was old enough to understand, his family had been embroiled in conflicts over money, with everyone haggling over every little thing. He, too, had developed a habit of never lifting a finger unless there was something in it for him. He acted as a dutiful son in his father’s place to compete with his cousins and younger stepbrothers for the family inheritance. He made friends because one of them had books on the imperial examinations that he’d never seen before. Even when it came to marriage, he ought to choose the person who would benefit him most. Yu Erniang was puzzled. “How could I possibly benefit you?” The scholar Song smiled. “Just seeing you makes me happy. That’s the greatest benefit of all.” I’m the divider 1. The protagonist did not actually transmigrate. There is no golden finger. 2. The original novel follows the business and imperial-examination genres. This is not a comparison-group story. 3. There will be childbirth much later on. Theme: An ordinary, happy life