The General Is So Stubborn

A new story is planned for April: Please add The Scholar's Bride to your favorites!

[Complete]

Blurb

A decree of imperial marriage matched Fu Yutang, daughter of Assistant Court Gentleman Fu Xian, to Xie Qi, the General of Dingyuan, forcing her to move far away to the borderlands.

The border city was bitterly cold. Wherever one looked, fierce winds raged and yellow sand filled the sky, hardly a place for a delicate flower to grow. So even though the young general was handsome, talented, and from a distinguished family, the noble young ladies of the capital all stayed away.

When Fu Yutang first arrived at the border, she thought life would be difficult,

but everything here seemed rather different from what she had imagined.

The generals' wives were bold and straightforward, without the schemes and petty calculations of the capital.

The people of the border city were simple and kind, always helping one another and never putting their own interests first. They were full of warmth.

Even the famed General Xie, a legend on the battlefield, was nothing like she had expected.

He could fight on the battlefield, cook in the kitchen, devise strategies, and mend clothes.

Well, she thought, perhaps this kind of quiet life was lovely after all.

*

All Xie Qi had ever wanted was to live alongside the desert's lonely smoke, fight the enemy, and die wrapped in his battle robes. He had thought that all the pampered young ladies from the capital were alike, but Fu Yutang shattered that assumption.

She was dazzling in red, her beautiful eyes sparkling with life and feeling. The moment he saw Fu Yutang, he thought that even if she were a spoiled darling, he would accept her.

Watching her care for the wounded and share his frugal meals without complaint or self-pity made Xie Qi cherish her from the bottom of his heart.

Then the soldiers noticed that the general, who had once been utterly indifferent to spoils of war, now ran faster than anyone else. He no longer set his sights on swords and weapons, but raced to grab jewelry and ornaments instead. The soldiers were all baffled.

Xie Qi scoffed. "How would you unmarried men understand?"

His subordinates exchanged glances and looked away, too tired to listen to him anymore. Hadn't he said the pampered young ladies of the capital were hard to please? Hadn't he said she would go home in tears?

*

Hearing that the noble young ladies of the capital all liked music, chess, calligraphy, painting, poetry, and literary games, Xie Qi rushed home with a fine inkstone he'd finally managed to acquire.

But when he got to Fu Yutang, he immediately put on a straight face. "The owner of the bookshop insisted on giving it to me. I have no use for it, so you can have it."

[Please add The Scholar's Bride, a sweet romance, to your favorites~]

Coming Soon

Jiang Yanning had a dream.

She was chosen by the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace, imprisoned behind towering walls, and eventually met a miserable end.

In the scorching summer heat, she shivered violently.

To avoid marrying the Crown Prince, Jiang Yanning thought long and hard and decided she had to choose a husband for herself as soon as possible.

After looking around, she set her sights on the young master of the Song family, who had come to stay at her estate.

He was handsome, a pleasure to look at.

She knew his character and temperament well.

He had no parents, so she wouldn't have to wait on her in-laws.

He was both well-read and skilled in the martial arts. He might not be able to place first in the imperial exams, but becoming a minor official and living a modest life was still better than dying in the Eastern Palace.

Jiang Yanning made up her mind: He would be her husband!

*

Song Yuanzhi had originally planned to stay at the Jiang estate for a short while, then leave once he had uncovered the truth about his parents' murder.

But who could have guessed that Jiang Yanning would take his plans to sit the imperial exams seriously?

One moment she was bringing him ginseng soup herself, the next she was ordering people to carry in blocks of ice. She was so attentive that it was hard to tell whether he or Jiang Yanning was the one taking the exams.

The young lady was bad enough by day, but she wouldn't leave him alone at night, either.

The dog could sleep, but he couldn't. When the chickens woke up, he had to wake up, too.

At long last, on the day of the exams, he was about to run away when the young lady caught him by the hem of his robe. Her almond-shaped eyes were filled with warmth as she said softly, "Yuanzhi, you have to pass."

Almost without thinking, he asked, "Why?"

Jiang Yanning answered without a moment's hesitation. "So you can marry me."

Snow covered the branches, but little green shoots were already appearing, heralding the return of spring.

Song Yuanzhi's ears grew hot. He nodded vaguely, turned around, and walked into the examination hall.

Coming first in the exams wouldn't be so bad.

Young Lady of the Minister's Household x loyal childhood-friend guard

The young guard is forced by the young lady to study and embark on the imperial examination path.

Recommended story by a fellow author:

The Imperial Noble Consort's Child-Rearing Days (Qing Dynasty) by Mi Xia + Article ID: 9186297 + The child I'm raising has a throne to inherit

Theme: May the land know peace and everyone live in safety.