The Beloved Daughter of the Defender General

Jin Shu was born into a new life as the youngest daughter of the Protector-General.

The general's whole family was brave and battle-tested. His four sons and his wife all wielded weapons to defend the border.

Jin Shu grew up in the deserts of the north. By the age of six, she was as unruly as a wild horse that had slipped its reins.

Worried their beloved daughter would grow up too unruly to find a good match, the general and his wife used an illustrious military achievement to secure her the title of County Princess of Anning, and placed her under the Empress Dowager's care.

A little girl arrived at the imperial palace, and chaos broke out overnight.

When the Crown Prince went to class, he discovered that the calligraphy he'd copied the day before had been soaked through.

The Eldest Prince loved martial arts, and no one in the palace could defeat him. Now, he had lost and had to hand over his favorite sword.

The apricots in the Third Prince's courtyard had just begun to grow, but overnight, every last one was gone.

The Young Prince wailed. A strange older girl had made a face at him, then performed a trick that made a living person disappear.

The three princesses were woken up 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 the County Princess of Anning, who could leap across rooftops and appear anywhere.

The Empress Dowager looked at her hard-won gathering of grandchildren, then at their lively faces.

Delighted, she ordered the palace kitchen to make 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 face of the little monkey in her arms.

The palace had gone from a stagnant pond to a place brimming with life.

After twenty years guarding the border, the Protector-General came to the capital when his daughter reached fifteen.

He had come solely to settle his daughter's marriage prospects.

People of the day prized grace and gentleness, and he wondered whether his daughter, who was as wild as a mischievous monkey, had learned even a little of that.

The general decided that if anyone asked for her hand, he would marry her off.

But how had he received dozens of marriage proposals the moment he arrived in the city? They were all seeking to marry into the Shi family.

He opened them and found princes of the imperial line, sons of noble families, and newly distinguished scholars...

Wait, since when had his daughter become the model of a noble young lady in the capital?

Theme: Face each day with optimism.