Collection of Bonus Short Stories

I'm very sorry, everyone. I don't know some of the rules well yet, so this story has been changed into a collection of extras and short stories. I'm leaving the first two chapters of Mo Jue here for now and won't delete them. For future updates, dear readers who have bookmarked this story, please move over to Mo Jue.

Please bookmark Mo Jue!

Powerful minister x little palace maid. A cheerful, sweet little romance. One-on-one, devoted couple, happy ending.

A touch of raising her, marriage before love.

The male lead, Yu Wen Jue, seems cruel and vicious, a master of manipulation, but is actually steady and affectionate.

The female lead, Xu Ximo, seems like a cute little bunny, but is actually a willful little imp.

Main couple: Yu Wen Jue and Xu Ximo

Supporting couple: Wu Zhen and Chu Anzhi

Xu Ximo's perspective

The great general Yu Wen Jue holds power over the court and acts like a tyrant.

Xu Ximo is a young palace maid who served the late emperor.

When she was twelve, Yu Wen Jue launched a palace coup. Holding a knife, he threatened to gut the little chubby fish and behead her.

She pretended to be dead and played dumb, but he was unmoved by either. So she resorted to her secret weapon, shamelessly reminiscing about 'the old days': 'Do you remember the adorable five-year-old who danced gracefully with you by Fishweed Pond one summer?'

Yu Wen Jue's mouth twitched. He replied coldly, 'No.'

After she was lucky enough to return to the palace that day, she 'furiously' wrote him down in her little notebook: Brother A Jue doesn't remember little Mo'er anymore...

Later, she was inexplicably drawn into the power struggles of the harem, and Yu Wen Jue, the very man who had threatened to kill her, saved her again and again.

The palace was full of intrigue and danger. She would rather live outside the palace under Yu Wen Jue's protection than ever return to it.

She rose step by step from a little palace maid to his mistress, then his concubine, his principal wife, and at last the most honored titled lady in Great Wu.

She considered herself 'well-versed in people and clever', but she could never figure out who the little prince was, the one who looked seven parts like Yu Wen Jue.

Yu Wen Jue's perspective

Yu Wen Jue thought Xu Ximo was a sweet, well-behaved young lady. It was only after he had brought her around that he realized she was a little troublemaker.

At first, she spent all day curled up in her little nest, looking terrified. She never left the house, and whenever he asked her anything, she would mumble, 'Mo'er will do whatever Second Master says.'

Later, she threw her weight around every day, 'battling wits' with him by day and crawling up beside his ear at night to whisper in his ear.

At least three times a month, she would 'fall ill', and every time she did, she would send someone to tell him that he had made her sick with anger.

When the little troublemaker got angry, she would 'go on a hunger strike'. He had to feed her himself, but she wouldn't eat until he begged her, and only then would she deign to take a bite.

He taught her to read, write, paint, and follow the proper path, but she hid stack after stack of romance novels in his study, including The Story of Yingying, The Legend of Lady Xiao, Night Tales...

But what on earth was the novel titled The Demon Jue, hidden beneath his green jade pillow?

This little monkey was far too mischievous. But she was also the one who helped him overcome the illness in his heart, quell rebellions, bring order to the realm, and usher in the flourishing Zhenyuan era.

A guide for readers:

There's both the greater good of the nation and the little things of family life.

Both leads are wonderful, and they actually talk things through. No landmines!

The male lead is eight years older than the female lead. A touch of raising her.

The female lead has another identity.

When the General Is Away, the Emperor's Orders Need Not Be Obeyed

The story of a foreign princess and a great general who start out trying to outmaneuver each other, gradually come to admire one another, and finally fall deeply in love.

Cool and aloof to outsiders, affectionate and possessive in private. A master of old romantic tropes.

Quirky and clever, cute and quick-witted. A master of little jokes.

Sweet, sweet, sweet. Lighthearted and funny. They dote on each other. Devoted couple. One-on-one. Happy ending.

Zhao Zhicheng x Baili Zhu

The great general of Qi, Zhao Zhicheng, is ordered by Emperor Qi Lin to escort the little princess Baili Zhu from the Kingdom of Yansha to the imperial palace.

At their first meeting on Mount Buzhou, Baili Zhu calls Zhao Zhicheng an 'old-time green tea schemer'.

After they meet, Zhao Zhicheng is either being teased or taken advantage of.

One day, he uncovers three trunks of 'not-for-young-ladies' drawings belonging to Baili Zhu. To preserve her image as a 'pure-hearted, gentle, and virtuous white lotus', Baili Zhu quietly bargains with Zhao Zhicheng, offering to split them with him so they can study them by lamplight.

Zhao Zhicheng sternly refuses, scolds her like an old pedant, and even persuades her father to confiscate all three trunks of treasures.

Then, one day, the old house catches fire. After they spend one blissful night together, Zhao Zhicheng hides the young lady's undergarments against his chest and fills one painting after another with pictures of 'marital bliss'.

Now that's a true 'old-time green tea schemer'.

But their identities stand in the way. Baili Zhu is destined to become the future consort of the Emperor of Qi, while Zhao Zhicheng is the emperor's most favored minister.

Love is a monstrous crime, and not loving is a bottomless abyss. Choosing the lesser of two pains, they ultimately choose to stay together.

Later, remnants of the Qi dynasty rebel, and Zhao Zhicheng goes to war.

Baili Zhu tearfully bids him farewell: 'You took my body, so you'd better take responsibility. If you go and croak by accident, I won't shed a single tear. I'll take your money and keep a pretty boy to wait on me every day.'

Zhao Zhicheng's face turns green. He rubs Baili Zhu's belly and says, 'Be good and take care of our child. Wait for me to come back.'

Baili Zhu: 'Huh? When did I get pregnant?'

Zhao Zhicheng walks away with a meaningful smile.

In the end, the emperor discovers the little bastard and starts stirring up trouble.

Zhao Zhicheng goes mad. His wife and child are both 'gone'. What the hell are imperial favor and imperial orders worth? He's going to rebel.

Extra scene 1:

Baili Zhu pouts and says plaintively, 'A Cheng, it hurts so much. I'm about to bleed.'

Zhao Zhicheng checks her all over but can't find so much as a scratch. He realizes she's tricked him again.

'Where are you about to bleed?'

After Zhao Zhicheng examines her from head to toe, Baili Zhu's whole body is hot as a little fireball. She murmurs, 'My lips. My little lips are so red they're about to bleed. I can't make them stop.'

Well, that makes sense. Aside from that spot, her lips are the reddest part of her body. Zhao Zhicheng marvels at how he never could have come up with such a clever injury.

He teases her: 'What are we going to do about that?'

Baili Zhu lowers her head and shyly fiddles with her fingers. 'I think they need to be frightened until they turn pale.'

Zhao Zhicheng chuckles. 'So you want me to frighten you until that works?'

Baili Zhu nods vigorously and hugs Zhao Zhicheng's arm, counting them off one by one: 'I'm afraid of you kissing me, I'm afraid of you touching me, I'm afraid of you pinching me, and I'm also afraid of what you did that day...' She seems too embarrassed to go on, then asks, 'Do you know what I'm most afraid of?'

Zhao Zhicheng raises an eyebrow and grins roguishly. 'You're most afraid of General Zhao beating you.'

Extra scene 2:

The little princess and the great general farm together.

The great general carries a hoe, while the little princess carries two shoulder poles and hums, 'You carry the load, I'll hold your hand. We work from sunrise to sunset. You plow, I weave. You go to war, I guard our home. At night, we'll make a chubby baby together...'

As he listens to the little princess sing, the great general hears the tune take a turn. His face goes red, then green, and he turns to glare fiercely at her.

The little princess had done it on purpose. When she sees Zhao Zhicheng turn around to glare at her, she glares right back and continues humming with a pout: 'You glare at me, I stare at you. Love at first sight, then a promise at second. You dote on me, I tease you. You get angry, I soothe you. Sooner or later we'll bow before heaven and earth...'

Zhao Zhicheng's old face turns red, and his eyes flicker. Damn, this girl teases him every single day.

Later, as Zhao Zhicheng coaxes Baili Zhu to sleep, he softly sings her little tune and adds a verse of his own:

'You think of me, I long for you. Once we pledge ourselves, we'll be together for life. You won't leave, I won't forsake you. Your heart is mine, my love is yours. Through a thousand rivers and mountains, it's still you...'

Extra scene 3:

The next day, Baili Zhu sweet-talks him, saying that as long as he showers her with silver, she'll be obedient and make a good wife.

Zhao Zhicheng happily produces the gold, silver, and copper keys to his private treasury and hands over all his wealth to his little wife. From then on, he lives on a fixed monthly allowance.

He goes from the richest great general in Qi to a pauper who has to sign a promissory note just to buy 'tonics' for his beloved.

One day, he complains to her that his allowance is too small.

She pats his hand and gently reassures him: 'Dear Cheng, I take care of all your food and clothes. Other than spending your allowance on me and buying me some treasures, what else would you use it for?'

Zhao Zhicheng is impressed. Damn, she really has a point.

Later, whenever the jewelry shops bring in new hairpins, the first person to hear about them isn't one of the ladies or young misses in the imperial city. It's Zhao Zhicheng, the great general of Qi.

Theme: The male and female leads trust and support one another, and ultimately find their happy ending.