Tender and Lovely

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Xue Nong, an adopted daughter of the Marquis of Xuanping's household, is beautiful and delicate. After an accident left her with a head injury, she often forgets things.

Engaged to Wang Yun since childhood, Xue Nong has always looked forward to marrying him, hoping to escape life as a dependent and leave behind her cold, uncaring family.

But Wang Yun does not like her. In his eyes, he is the proud student of Shen Yanqiu, the Grand Secretary, and has earned the title of licentiate at a young age. Xue Nong is simply not good enough for him.

It was only because her family had fallen on hard times that the engagement with the Marquis of Xuanping's household ended up going to Xue Nong. The one he really prefers is the marquis's legitimate daughter, Xue Nong's younger sister.

At her sister's coming-of-age ceremony, Xue Nong overhears Wang Yun and her sister confessing their feelings to each other. So he wants to marry her sister after all. So his engagement to Xue Nong was only an unfortunate obligation.

Heartbroken, Xue Nong gets drunk and, in a daze, meets Shen Yanqiu, the Grand Secretary. He is much like the man in her dreams: he listens to her complaints and comforts her, though he never holds her close and kisses her.

Later, she breaks off the engagement, and Wang Yun angrily accuses her of having an affair with Shen Yanqiu. How could that be? She merely respects Shen Yanqiu as an elder.

Recently, Shen Yanqiu has met a little girl with no conscience.

The girl's life is miserable. Her adoptive parents despise her, her younger brother treats her with callous disrespect, and her younger sister has even stolen her fiance.

The girl's memory is poor. When she cannot remember him, she treats him with reverence and fear, insisting that he is an elder.

When she does remember him, she is never quite clearheaded. She clings to him, weeping about her troubles and pleading for kisses and affection.

At first, he only took pity on her when he saw her being bullied, and showed her a moment of kindness.

Later, he could no longer bear to see her suffer. Anyone who hurt her would pay the price.

(Scene 1)

After Wang Yun breaks off his engagement to Xue Nong, he gets his wish and becomes engaged to her younger sister. But before long, he discovers that she is spoiled and overbearing, and completely unsuited to him.

Xue Nong, soft and graceful as a crabapple blooming in spring, makes him realize that she is the one he loves.

Wang Yun secretly vows that once he passes the imperial examinations, he will win her back.

But all he hears later is that she accidentally fell into the water and died.

When he sees Xue Nong again, she is the third young lady of the Shen family, newly reunited with them, nestled in Shen Yanqiu's arms, her eyes full of nothing but Shen Yanqiu.

That day, he regrets everything.

(Scene 2)

After regaining her memories, Xue Nong often avoids Shen Yanqiu.

At lamplight, the pale, handsome Grand Secretary leans against the couch by the window and gazes steadily at the timid yet lovely young woman before him. "Thinking of getting married?"

Xue Nong bites her lip and murmurs yes, not daring to look at him.

Shen Yanqiu crooks a finger, draws her onto his lap, and gently pats her slender back. "Since you call me your elder brother, don't marry anyone else. Marry me instead, all right?"

Reader notes:

(1) The leads are not related by blood. The male lead is ten years older than the female lead.

(2) The female lead's memory is already impaired from Chapter One. She loses her memories completely after falling into the water.

(3) Couple dynamic: a reserved Grand Secretary x a pitiful girl starved of affection.

(4) Everyone except the male lead gets their comeuppance. Two male rivals pursue the heroine but fail to win her back.

(5) One-on-one romance, both leads are inexperienced, happy ending.

-- Coming soon: A Foolish Beauty's Guide to Winning a Husband. Please add it to your reading list! --

As the legitimate daughter of a marquis, Zhao Ying is alluring and beautiful, doted on by her parents and close to her sisters.

All she has to do is wait until she turns seventeen, then marry her childhood sweetheart, her maternal cousin, as her parents have arranged.

Aside from being a bit of a fool, Zhao Ying has nothing to complain about.

Until she has a dream.

Before she can marry her cousin, the marquis's household is confiscated, though she escapes the disaster.

Her cousin marries someone else.

With nowhere else to turn, she is tricked by him into becoming his concubine.

Her cousin's household is full of wives and concubines, but he treats her quite well.

Then her cousin dies, and his favored concubine is immediately imprisoned by the principal wife, dying miserably amid a dying lamp and cold snow.

Not long afterward, events unfold just as they did in her dream. She is to be sent away from the household, and her mother weeps as she gives her a large sum of money, telling her not to return to the marquis's residence for now.

Only then does Zhao Ying realize that the dream was real! She has to stay away from her cousin and find a way to survive before the household is confiscated.

After weighing her options, Zhao Ying sets her sights on Yan Xuechen, a poor scholar, and, with her mother's help, moves in next door to him.

In her dream, Yan Xuechen becomes a high-ranking official and confiscates her cousin and cousin-in-law's household, avenging her.

On a sunny day as the spring snow melts, Zhao Ying tiptoes past the poor scholar's house and sees him carrying out a stack of books. Blushing, she awkwardly tosses her handkerchief toward him, afraid he might not take it.

To her surprise, he opens one hand and catches it neatly in his palm.

Yan Xuechen is the legitimate son of a prominent Jiangnan family. He has concealed his identity to travel to the capital for the examinations, never expecting a delicate young lady to move in next door.

Every day, the young lady walks past his door, swaying her slender waist. Her eyes, glistening like spring water, sneak glances into his home.

When she flies a kite, it gets caught in the tree he planted. When she plays shuttlecock, it lands in his courtyard. Then she timidly comes to ask for it back, not even daring to look him in the eye.

The young lady is a little foolish, and thinks he cannot see through her intentions.

He is merely waiting for his prey to come to him.

One-on-one romance, both leads are inexperienced, happy ending.

Theme: I searched for him a thousand times in the crowd. Then suddenly, I turned around, and there he was, where the lights were dim.