The Bandit Chief's Husband

The blurb for my upcoming novel, "My Lucky Little Husband", is below. Please add it to your collection~

Blurb:

Chen Xiaoqi has reached the age for an arranged marriage. His father plans to marry him off to a wealthy merchant in Shangma Town, a man in his forties, as his fifth concubine.

But on the day of the wedding, bandits attack the bridal procession. All the servants flee, and Xiaoqi is "abducted" up the mountain.

He thinks he's done for, but the bandit chief actually takes the initiative to escort him back down the mountain.

Chen Xiaoqi thinks the bandit chief doesn't look all that fierce. Besides, if he goes home, his father will just trade him for betrothal money. He might as well stay here and wait until he's strong enough to leave.

But he never imagined that the chief of Qinglang Mountain would be a hopeless romantic!

Chen Xiaoqi's back aches from sleeping on a wooden bed, so the bandit chief sews two padded quilts overnight.

Chen Xiaoqi casually remarks that bathing is too much trouble, and the bandit chief immediately builds him a private washroom.

Chen Xiaoqi wants to visit his family and tells the bandit chief not to follow. So the chief disguises himself and tails him like a lovesick stalker, terrified something might happen on the road.

"Xiaoqi, Xiaoqi, Xiaoqi..."

The bandit chief follows him around every day, calling his name. When Chen Xiaoqi gets fed up and asks what he wants, he sees the chief's face turn red as he says softly, "Let's get married next April, shall we?"

Qin Wu is huge and burly, with a voice like thunder. Everyone is afraid of him, but what they don't know is this:

The mighty bandit chief Qin Wu is actually a hopeless romantic?

Someone tells him Chen Xiaoqi is a spy.

Qin Wu: He came to my mountain to spy because he's in love with me. Otherwise, why didn't he go to Pig Belly Mountain next door?

Someone tells him Chen Xiaoqi is having an affair.

Qin Wu: That man must have seduced my Xiaoqi. Let me catch him, and I'll beat him every time I see him!

Someone tells him Chen Xiaoqi doesn't like him.

Qin Wu: This person is a spy. Expel him from the rolls of Qinglang Mountain, and never use him again!

Everyone laughs at how Chen Xiaoqi has made him lose all sense of right and wrong. Only Qin Wu knows that the people gossiping to him are no good, and he'll deal with them sooner or later.

Qin Wu: I may be a hopeless romantic, but I know my limits. I won't go too far!

On their wedding night, Chen Xiaoqi keeps sobbing in the bridal chamber. Qin Wu's heart melts, and he clumsily tries to comfort him:

"Don't cry, Xiaoqi. What if we have a baby who cries all night?"

Qin Wu thinks a baby who cries all night would keep Xiaoqi from sleeping. They absolutely mustn't have one, so he needs to comfort him properly.

But can someone tell him why Xiaoqi cries even harder after being comforted?

1. Both are virgins, 1v1, and they have two children.

2. The bandits who ambush Xiaoqi's wedding procession are not the male lead's subordinates.

3. The male lead has never done anything bad. His mountain stronghold is known as an honorable place among the bandit lairs.

"My Lucky Little Husband"

When Fu Bao'er is thirteen, famine strikes his hometown. He flees with his family, but they get separated along the way.

Exhausted, hungry, and cold, he clutches the only earthenware jar he owns and wanders dazedly into Wuxi Village. He sits down outside the home of Lei Yunshan, a hunter.

The night wind seems to hurt right down to his bones. Wrapped in his tattered coat, Fu Bao'er begins to cry sadly. Then the door behind him suddenly opens.

He turns around, holding a jar half full of his tears, and meets the gaze of a muscular man.

*

Lei Yunshan has no land, and his family is so poor they can barely scrape by. The money he earns hunting in the mountains and doing odd jobs is just enough to keep food on the table. Now there's another person to feed, and they can hardly afford it.

A villager takes a liking to the refugee boy with bright eyes, pearly teeth, and a bright red birthmark between his brows. He privately suggests to Lei Yunshan, "Your family is so poor. Why not sell the boy to me? You'd have one less mouth to feed and make some money too. Wouldn't that be great?"

When Fu Bao'er finds out, he holds back his tears and asks pitifully, clutching his broken jar, "Big Brother, are you really going to sell me?"

Lei Yunshan's heart aches. Tightening his belt, he says, "I'm not selling you. I'm strong, so I can handle going hungry. I'll share half my food with you."

*

With a promise, a flatbread broken in half, and a bowl of thin porridge, little Fu Bao'er and Lei Yunshan scrape by together, yet their days are still peaceful.

In the drizzling spring rain, they carry little bamboo baskets into the mountains to gather mushrooms. Under the blazing summer sun, they make and sell jelly along the streets. In the crisp autumn air, they climb trees to pick fruit. When the land is blanketed in snow, they cook a pot of pig's trotters soup and watch the little ones build snowmen outside the window...

They live a simple life, free of illness and disaster, happy to the end.

Theme: Live with care, and tomorrow will always be beautiful!