The Childhood Sweetheart's Charm

- Complete!

Next up: How Many People Have Transmigrated, Anyway?! Blurb at the end. Please add it to your collection!

The noblewoman Qiao Zhenzhen and the heir Zhang Ting'an are sworn enemies. Everyone in Jinliang City knows it.

Yet their families have been friends for generations, and have repeatedly considered betrothing them.

Fed up with her mother's nagging, Qiao Zhenzhen declared that she would never marry Zhang Ting'an, even if every other man in the city died.

When Zhang Ting'an heard, he was so furious he snapped a top-quality wolf-hair brush.

He loudly declared in return that he wouldn't marry Qiao Zhenzhen even if she were the only girl left in the city.

The two couldn't stand the sight of each other. Whenever they crossed paths, they would roll their eyes at one another before going on their way.

People loved to tease them, and no one thought they were a good match.

Qiao Zhenzhen was spoiled and delicate, and had once declared she would marry only a top scholar who had come first in all three imperial examinations.

Zhang Ting'an was a spoiled young master who hated trouble. Aside from his family background and looks, he was at the bottom of his academy class year after year.

They were clearly no ideal couple.

-

Only a few days after making those bold declarations, Qiao Zhenzhen accidentally took a fall.

When she woke up, she blinked her reddened eyes and suddenly clutched her mother's hand, pleading, “Mother, I want to discuss a betrothal with Zhang Ting'an.”

Madam Qiao sighed. “It's too late. The day you fell, Ting'an was thrown from his horse and fell into a coma. He still hasn't woken up.”

Qiao Zhenzhen panicked. With a bandage still wrapped around her head, she hurried to the Duke of Jin's residence.

Zhang Ting'an lay pale and lifeless in bed.

She sat beside him and suddenly burst into tears. Quietly taking his hand, she whispered his name:

“Zhang Ting'an.”

Before waking up, she had had a very, very long dream.

In the dream, the Qiao family fell into ruin, and she was about to be sold to a brothel. No one helped her. Everyone just watched for the spectacle.

Only Zhang Ting'an came to protect her.

He drew his sword and snarled, “Let's see who dares lay a hand on her!”

In the dream, her whole body trembled, and her bitten lips were bleeding.

But Zhang Ting'an, who had never been able to stand her, wrapped her in his own fur cloak, wiped the grime from her face, then gently kissed her bloodied lips and held her close, soothing her softly:

“Zhenzhen, don't be afraid. I'm here.”

A pampered, sweet childhood sweetheart x a spoiled young master and childhood friend

A sweet little childhood-friends-to-lovers romance!

The setting is very loosely built!

Blurb screenshot dated 2022.9.22

★ Coming soon: How Many People Have Transmigrated, Anyway?! Please add it to your collection!

On the third night after Qin Songning transmigrated and became the newly appointed empress,

she ran into her sickly emperor husband, whom she had never met, while sneaking barbecue from the imperial kitchen.

Their eyes met.

Under a moonless sky, the emperor suddenly stammered, “The discriminant...”

Qin Songning raised a hand. “Stop. Use a different code phrase: A jug of palace jade wine.”

Zhou Li: ...

They had successfully made contact.

But facing Chancellor Xie, who held absolute power at court, Qin Songning had a headache. “My father told me to take down that old scoundrel Xie, but the only thing I'm good at is dancing to hip-hop girl group songs!”

Zhou Li sighed as he leafed through the empty treasury's accounts. “I'd like to work on infrastructure too, but the Ministry of Revenue says the chancellor used the money for the dam to build a mausoleum.”

Then they discovered...

Chef Wu of the imperial kitchen had set up a grill in the back: “New Orleans-style roast chicken! Buy three and get a chicken frame with salt and pepper seasoning free!”

Pei, a deputy minister of revenue, carried around a new-style abacus and kept muttering, “Government bond futures need hedging, and there's no reason we can't bundle and auction the state monopoly on salt and iron...”

The minister of works clutched a cement formula. “Should we build public toilets first or pave asphalt roads?”

Imperial Physician Lin held up a homemade distiller. “Who wants to try the medicine first? I guarantee it'll work faster than traditional Chinese medicine!”

Zhou Li trembled as he looked at the memorials. “Consort, how about we just elope?”

#Just how many people have transmigrated?#

Chancellor Xie had recently begun to suspect that all the officials had gone mad.

The Ministry of Revenue shouted “Lower taxes, improve efficiency!” every day. The Ministry of Works was firing strange kilns by the palace walls, and even the imperial kitchen had started running “second item half-price” promotions.

Worse still, the emperor had suddenly stopped coughing blood. Now he was holding up a colored-glass cup and smiling ominously at the chancellor.

“Chancellor, have you heard of performance reviews with a bottom-ranked employee dismissal system?”

[Bonus Scene]

One day, the emperor leaned against his couch, coughing and looking pitiful. “Consort, what would I do without you?”

Qin Songning sneered. “Stop pretending. Chef Wu colored that with brown sugar water.”

Zhou Li immediately sat up straight and secretly hooked a finger into her sash. “Then will my empress summon me to her chambers tonight?”

Qin Songning unfolded a memorial. “Summon you for what? Get up and help the Ministry of Revenue calculate this quarter's performance targets!”

Zhou Li promptly lay flat. “Quick, send for the imperial physician! I really am dizzy...”

An energetic, vigorous young man, robust as an ox but forced to pretend to be frail x a stunning beauty who seems cold on the outside but has a rich inner life and loves money

★ Coming soon: Embracing Spring's Colors. Please add it to your collection!

The Yong'an Marquis's residence has a young lady who is a legitimate descendant of the main branch of the Qinghuai Cui clan.

Fond of the splendor of Shengjing, she has taken up long-term residence at the marquis's home.

Every year, the Cui clan gives the Yong'an Marquis's residence ten thousand taels of gold to cover the young lady's daily expenses.

The young lady is fair as frost and snow, with a graceful figure and a beauty that captivates with every smile and frown.

Everyone thinks that such a beauty deserves a handsome young man of exceptional bearing.

And, of course, the young lady is also very wealthy.

So when she turned fifteen, prospective matchmakers crowded her doorstep.

From marquises and princes down to fifth-rank officials, any household with a son of suitable age made a trip to the Yong'an Marquis's residence.

There were so many people looking to arrange a match that the matchmaker simply put together a booklet for her.

It was filled with portraits of young gentlemen, with details on each one's family background, age, education, character, interests, and hobbies.

In the rear courtyard of the marquis's residence, Cui Wanyin reclined delicately on a couch, leafing through the booklet and chatting with her maid.

“This one's slick-haired and powdered. He doesn't look very impressive.”

“This one is all legs and torso. That won't do.”

“This one looks so frail, like he couldn't even kill a chicken.”

The maid: Miss, are we really looking at the same booklet?

Then Cui Wanyin suddenly turned to a portrait someone had slipped in without permission.

Her eyes lit up. “Oh, this one is perfect!”

The man in the portrait was strong and powerfully built, with resolute features and shoulders nearly twice as wide as hers.

The caption read: Yue Qian, Great General Who Guards the West.

Yue Qian spent eight years pacifying the western frontier and returned to the capital in triumph this year.

With no more wars to fight, he planned to retire in Shengjing.

Then one day, a matchmaker suddenly came to his door and told him that the young lady of the Yong'an Marquis's residence had taken a fancy to him.

Yue Qian was baffled and firmly refused. “Thanks, but no.”

Much later...

General Yue was on his best behavior at home every day, chasing after his petite, pampered wife.

“It was my bad eyes back then, Yinyin. Don't be mad. How many of these bows would you like to tie on your husband today?”

“Shall I dance with my sword for you again?”

“Or should I show you the abs you love so much?”

Cui Wanyin finally stopped, her cheeks red with embarrassment, and cried, “Yue Qian! Who said you could take your clothes off here?!”

A delicate, beautiful, wealthy young lady x a powerfully built general with shoulders as broad as a double door

Theme: You don't have to be beautiful forever. There will always be someone who loves you.