The Frail Chief Minister's Blessed Bride (Farming)

[Food] [Farming] [Imperial Exams] [Family Life] Updated at 11 p.m. Married

Fuxiao woke at dawn to find herself a famine-era farmer's daughter, sold to the landlord's son as a bride to bring him good fortune in exchange for food for her family.

She was only twelve years old.

Her mother and older sister were beating their father, crying and calling him a monster.

Her sister even said she should be the one to marry instead.

Fuxiao, who had never known the warmth of family, felt tears well up in her eyes.

If she had to go, then so be it. She was still young. If her husband died, she could just run back home.

Fuxiao was carried to the Wen family in a grand bridal sedan.

She became the bride of a sickly boy of fifteen, brought in to bring him good fortune.

Before she arrived, each of her three sisters-in-law had her own plans.

There was also a younger sister-in-law who was engaged and afraid Fuxiao would steal the family's affection.

But when the bright red veil was lifted, the girl revealed a lovely little face as pale as dough, and everyone's heart melted at once.

How could such an adorable little sister have any bad intentions?

Fuxiao settled into life there.

She was young, but astonishingly strong.

Chopping wood, carrying water, plowing fields, she could do it all.

She was even a wonderful cook.

Mushrooms from the mountains, fish and shrimp from the river, bamboo shoots after the rain, berries from the trees...

In Fuxiao's hands, they all became delicious dishes.

Even her sickly husband, who never liked to eat, could manage two bowls of rice and drink the bitter medicine he'd once refused.

Her parents-in-law beamed with delight. Even in a famine, when the landlord's family had no grain to spare, Fuxiao somehow managed to make their household thrive.

They used the fertilizing method Fuxiao taught them on their fields, and the harvests kept getting better.

The hens laid eggs eagerly whenever they heard Fuxiao sing.

They followed Fuxiao's advice and found a water source behind the house, where they dug a well.

As for her sickly husband, no matter how long Fuxiao waited and hoped, he just wouldn't die.

Not only did he live a healthy life, he also came first in the imperial examinations and became a renowned chief minister.

CP: A strong, talented, optimistic girl * a frail, world-weary chief minister

Coming Soon 1: Food System, but a Master of Traditional Chinese Medicine [1990s]. Synopsis:

After her elder brother and sister-in-law die, all the young townsman Fang Buling is left with is a rundown medical clinic, her bedridden mother, and a baby crying to be fed.

The good news: she gets a System!

The bad news: she's bound to a food System.

Still an apprentice, Fang Buling looks at the patient before her, and a prompt appears in her mind:

[Knife Skills Tip: The joint is dislocated. Make an incision here to quickly separate the ingredients.]

Without batting an eye, Fang Buling calmly says, "You've dislocated it. Look, there's a plane!"

While the patient looks up at the sky, she quickly puts the joint back in place using the food-preparation techniques she has learned.

Patient: "Hey, it's fixed! And that old problem where my joints crack when I walk is gone, too."

Using the four diagnostic methods of traditional Chinese medicine: inspection, listening and smelling, inquiry, and palpation, Fang Buling examines the person before her. "Let me see your tongue."

The System prompts: [Ingredient Freshness: This tongue has a white coating and a finely textured, dense surface, indicating significant dampness. Add ginger and onion when cooking to dispel dampness. Not suitable for long-term consumption...]

Fang Buling automatically ignores the cooking instructions that follow. "Your phlegm-dampness condition is caused by spleen deficiency. I'll prescribe you a Liu Jun Zi Decoction. Just follow the instructions."

After taking a few doses, the patient works in the fields as if filled with divine strength, and can easily eat three big bowls of rice at every meal.

A child with a persistent cough thinks all medicine tastes bitter, but grins after taking the medicine Fang Buling prescribed. "Mom, it's sweet!"

Fang Buling smiles. She has to thank the food System for its prompt when preparing the medicine: [The honey added so far will give the food a pleasantly sweet taste. The optimal heat has been set for the Host. Cooking is complete. The texture has been enhanced with "deliciousness." ]

Before long, the name of the young miracle doctor Fang Buling has spread throughout the town.

At first, everyone says, "Is she just bragging? She's only a young girl. Traditional Chinese medicine is better in the hands of an old practitioner!"

Later: "Is Divine Doctor Fang seeing patients today?"

The answer: "Don't ask, just hurry over! The most famous traditional Chinese medicine doctor in the country is there, asking Divine Doctor Fang to treat his chronic illness!"

Coming Soon 2: Reborn as the Beloved Daughter of the Protector General. Synopsis:

Jinshu was born into the world as the youngest daughter of the Protector General.

Everyone in the general's family was brave and skilled in battle. His four sons and his wife all wielded weapons to defend the border.

Jinshu grew up in the deserts of Mobei. By the time she was six, she was as unruly as a wild horse.

Worried their beloved daughter would grow up too wild to find a husband, the general and his wife traded one dazzling military achievement for the title of County Lady Anning, and had her raised under the Empress Dowager's care.

A little girl arrived at the imperial palace, and overnight, all hell broke loose.

When the Crown Prince went to study, he discovered that the characters he'd copied out the day before had all been soaked.

The First Prince loved martial arts and had been unmatched in the palace. Now he had lost, and even his beloved sword was gone.

The apricot tree in the Third Prince's courtyard had just borne fruit, but overnight, every apricot disappeared.

The young prince bawled. A strange older sister had made a face at him, then performed a disappearing act right before his eyes.

The three princesses were woken and told they had to run ten laps around the inner palace before they could have breakfast.

The princes and princesses gathered at Ciyuan Hall to complain to the Empress Dowager about County Lady Anning, who could scale walls and get into absolutely anywhere.

The Empress Dowager looked at the grandchildren who had at last all gathered together, then at their lively expressions.

Delighted, she had the palace kitchen prepare more than a dozen extra dishes, savoring the joy of having her children and grandchildren all around her.

Then she wiped the dust and dirt from the monkey in her arms.

She watched as the imperial palace transformed from a stagnant pool into a place brimming with vitality.

After twenty years guarding the border, the Protector General came to the capital when his daughter came of age, all to settle her marriage prospects.

People of the time valued refinement and quiet grace. He wondered how much of that his daughter, who was like a mischievous monkey, had managed to learn.

The general made up his mind: whoever asked for her hand could marry her.

But how had he received dozens of calling cards the moment he entered the city? Every one was from someone hoping to marry a daughter of the Shi family.

He opened them and saw imperial nobles, sons of eminent families, newly risen exam graduates...

Wait, when had his daughter become the capital's ideal young lady?

Theme: The journey of a farm girl to becoming a titled lady