Princess Jin Ling is famous throughout the Ye Dynasty as a stubborn holdout and a seemingly impossible case.
At twenty-four, she has already been married three times, and every husband has died. One of them was even killed by her own hand.
The emperor is worried about her marital prospects, making the officials anxious. They're afraid their sons will catch her eye, and even more afraid that they themselves might.
Young Master Chen is famous throughout the Ye Dynasty as a prized catch, much sought after.
As the legitimate son of the Xingyang Chen clan, he is virtuous and talented. He passed the provincial exam at ten and the metropolitan exam at fourteen. Now, at just seventeen, he is charging toward the top scholar title. Families with daughters in the capital are practically going cross-eyed waiting for the results, hoping to snatch him as a son-in-law from the exam candidates.
Who knew he would pass the top scholar exam, only to receive an imperial decree arranging his marriage? Poor young Master Chen is to become a princess's consort.
The capital is instantly shrouded in gloom.
Madam Chen sobs her heart out, crying again and again: "My child! I'll have to bury my own son!"
Young Master Chen: "...Mother, the princess isn't that scary."
Madam Chen: "She's cursed her husbands!"
Young Master Chen blushes: "But I'm not her husband."
Madam Chen: "...What if she curses her wife, too?!"
Young Master Chen blushes even harder: "She won't."
Madam Chen glares at him: "How do you know?!"
Because, because...
Young Master Chen bashfully draws circles with her toe.
Because they've already performed their marital rites several times...
A woman-disguised-as-a-man story, with a domineering princess and an innocent consort. There's no rule that a man must marry a princess to gain real power. The princess has the emperor's support, and the consort has her clan behind her. This is an incredibly sweet story, with almost no plot.
The princess is the top, the consort is the bottom, and the story has both perspectives.
Theme: Luck and hard work are both essential
