A Second Marriage into a Grand Household

[The main story is complete~]

[Next up: "The Half-Retired Tang Dynasty Handbook" or "This Fairy Is Not Proper", blurbs below~]

When Zhao Ruiling was eighteen, her husband died on the road to the imperial examinations, leaving behind only her and her six-year-old brother-in-law.

Her husband's clansmen came to bully her, so she burned her bridges and beat the Drum of Grievances. The newly appointed prefect recognized who she was.

It turned out she was the daughter of the Empress Dowager's younger sister. Her aunt had fallen off a cliff while protecting her elder sister and vanished without a trace. The Empress Dowager and the emperor had never stopped searching for her.

To stay alive, and to let her young brother-in-law continue his studies, Zhao Ruiling nervously brought him to the capital. She was granted the title of Commandery Princess Ruiling and moved into the princess's residence beside the Duke of Ying's mansion, the home of her maternal relatives.

*

The Empress Dowager doted on her, and the Duke of Ying's household treated her with respect. Her brother-in-law enrolled at the Imperial College, and Zhao Ruiling was perfectly content, determined to observe mourning for her late husband.

Unfortunately, this delicate beauty from Jiangnan had a lovely face, a soft disposition, cloudlike hair, and a slender waist. She was irresistible.

Her cousin from the Duke of Ying's household wept and pleaded to marry her as his second wife. The women of the household kept introducing her to their own nephews, and even the Empress Dowager wanted to find her a match.

Zhao Ruiling had no plans to marry again, so she retreated to an estate bestowed on her by the Empress Dowager to enjoy some peace and quiet. Who would have guessed that the Duke of Chun, who had escorted her to the capital, lived next door?

With shameless confidence, he said, "You're going to marry sooner or later. Better to marry someone you know than a stranger. Marry me, and I guarantee you peace and quiet."

*

The Duke of Chun, the most famous widower in the Great Zhao, was known to all as tall and mighty, with a string of military accomplishments. His wife had died young, leaving him only one legitimate son. Every noble young lady in the capital dreamed of becoming his second wife.

What they didn't know was that, besides fighting wars, the Duke of Chun had a weakness for sweet, delicate beauties and slender waists. On the journey escorting Zhao Ruiling to the capital, he had hardly behaved himself at all.

Usually mild-tempered, Zhao Ruiling spat at him, "I'd rather jump off a cliff and die of annoyance than marry you!"

A year later, Zhao Ruiling had failed to jump off a cliff and entered the Duke of Chun's mansion in a grand bridal procession.

Her brother-in-law, Yu Min, worried his sister-in-law might be mistreated. He sneaked back from the Imperial College to the Duke of Chun's mansion, and sure enough, found her sitting by the window, crying in anger.

She even stammered out a reproach: "You promised to give me peace and quiet! Marrying you means I can't even get a full night's..."

Her shameless husband grinned more slyly than a fox, bent down, and swallowed the question before she could finish it.

Yu Min: ...Was she being bullied or not?

Reader's notes:

1. A seven-year age gap, one-on-one romance, and a sweet story with no love triangle~

2. An alternate world with a mash-up of Tang and Song institutions~

3. Comments are open. Add it to your collection~

---Blurb for *The Half-Retired Tang Dynasty Handbook*---

Gu Yu cleared the challenges in an infinite-flow world and transmigrated into the Tang Dynasty as Gu Yu, a junior female constable in Chang'an County.

She had been admitted to the county constabulary by special permission after her father gave his life in service to the imperial court.

Timid and unintelligent, she only knew how to keep her head down and work. She had nearly been bullied into becoming a kitchen fire-tender.

When Gu Yu arrived, she found herself penniless, a hundred taels in debt, and responsible for a sickly younger brother. Her predecessor had died falling down a mountain while gathering herbs for him.

Gu Yu, however, couldn't have been more satisfied with her circumstances.

No more struggling between life and death day and night. She only had to clock in every day, sit in the kitchen, and sneak a taste of the good food before anyone else. She could watch everyone else run themselves ragged over cases, tearing their hair out... Who understands the joy of having an umbrella while everyone else gets soaked?

Home was even better. She could pet the dog, grow flowers, and secretly catch a few criminals to feed to her golden finger and help raise the kid. Perfect!

It was the retirement life she hadn't even dared dream of... It would be even better if that dog of a man surnamed Zhao in Chang'an County would stop trying every possible way to expose her identity!

Zhao Zheng, heir to the Duke of Lu's title, had to retire from the Imperial Guards after being seriously wounded. With no interest in life, he was forced by his maternal uncle, the emperor, to accept an appointment as magistrate of Chang'an County.

On taking office, he faced several difficult cases: a series of murders that had shocked Chang'an, a poisoning at a noble family's country estate, and more.

On top of that, he had to put up with the taunts of former colleagues and the mockery of powerful relatives and friends... His motto was, "I've thought it over and over, and dying still seems like the better option."

But before he could decide which way to die would hurt the least without troubling his family, the criminals behind several cases were dumped at the Chang'an County yamen, evidence in hand.

Zhao Zheng sat bolt upright on his deathbed.

Wait, he could still be saved!

If only he could find this master detective and urge... no, offer a position to this master, then have her solve more cases. That way, he could lie flat in Chang'an County and enjoy a peaceful retirement. Maybe life wasn't so bad after all!

An alternate Tang Dynasty

A sharp-tongued big shot who gets a second chance * A beautiful, flexible bootlicker

---Blurb for *This Fairy Is Not Proper*---

Yu Shanshan was a famous overachiever in the post-apocalyptic world. As long as working herself to death didn't kill her, she'd keep pushing herself to the brink.

To survive, she worked her good-for-nothing light-type ability, which could do little more than provide illumination, all the way up to level nine. She became a powerful figure known across the various apocalypse bases.

Then their world was invaded by a level-ten zombie emperor, who brought countless bases to ruin.

Yu Shanshan: I'm tired. Let's just let the world end.

*

After perishing alongside the zombie emperor, she transmigrated to the cultivation world and became an outer sect disciple of the Yaoguang Sect on the cultivation continent. After nine years of cultivation, she had only reached the second level of Qi Refining. She also had a five-element fake spirit root, and if she couldn't break through to the fourth level of Qi Refining within another year, she'd be expelled from the sect.

Yu Shanshan promptly decided to lie flat. She'd worked herself to the bone for long enough; now she just wanted to be a happy, lazy fish until she was expelled, then head to the mortal world and enjoy herself.

Her cultivation was enough for the mortal world. She'd be content with money, free time, and another lifetime of living.

*

Who could have guessed her ability had come with her? Other people had only a dantian, where cultivation could form a golden core. She also had a sea of consciousness, and inside it was a huge, drained crystal core.

Yu Shanshan: ...Perfect. Even the weakest light-type ability could make life more comfortable for a lazy fish lying flat.

But to her surprise, every time her light ability leveled up, the crystal core in her mind illuminated the spirit roots in her dantian, slowly increasing their purity.

Heaven: A good-for-nothing fake spirit root can become a top-grade Chaos Spirit Root. Ascension is just around the corner. Get back to work!

Yu Shanshan remained expressionless. "There's no way I'm pushing myself again. Not in this life, not in the next."

But for an overachiever, working hard was the only way forward. For a lazy fish, there were countless ways to lie flat. Who says a lazy fish can't ascend?

Theme: Stay calm in adversity, and you can grow