[A gentle, weepy softie and a short-tempered man who has to patiently comfort his wife]
[Marriage Before Love] [Love at First Sight]
In the fifth year of the Mingcheng era, the Great Zhou dynasty, prosperous for over two hundred years, began its decline. The ruler was incompetent, life was hard for the people, and foreign tribes repeatedly invaded.
At this critical moment, He Muzhou, eldest son of the He family, a military clan stationed in the northwest, turned the tide and defeated the enemy forces.
But he was arrogant and headstrong, wielded great power, and was a tough nut who yielded to no one.
Fearing that He Muzhou might seize his throne, the emperor tried to placate him by making him the only prince with a different surname in all of Great Zhou. He bestowed on him a vast amount of gold and jewels, and even arranged for him to marry a princess of noble birth.
*
Ruan You was a princess of Great Zhou, but her birth mother was only a low-ranking concubine and had little favor. She had also been born prematurely and was often ill, so she spent most of her time curled up in her little courtyard, making her all but invisible in the imperial harem.
She had planned to ask the empress for a favor once she came of age, and marry the son of a minor official from a small, upright family. But everything changed, and her imperial brother ordered her to marry the notorious Northwestern Prince, said to be violent and bloodthirsty.
She was frightened and uneasy, often wiping away tears at night, but there was no going back. With her lowly status, she had no choice but to marry him.
After the wedding, she was cautious and timid, never daring to approach the Northwestern Prince, and often hiding away in some little corner of the manor.
Still, they managed to live in peace, and little by little she grew bolder, often sneaking out to play with her maid.
Having spent so long cooped up in the palace, she was captivated by the bustling world beyond it.
Then one day, she finally met her husband in name, the Northwestern Prince.
The man was tall and powerfully built, with a fearsome presence like a savage wolf king at night. His dark eyes swept over her. She shuddered, tears welling in her eyes, and timidly called out, "Your Highness..."
*
He Muzhou was naturally wild and arrogant, and despised the incompetent, extravagant young nobles of the imperial capital more than anything.
The emperor had arranged for him to marry a princess to appease him, but he hadn't even attended the wedding, making it clear that he didn't care about her at all.
Unexpectedly, one day he encountered a beautiful woman while out and, as if possessed, approached her. He found her on the verge of tears, trembling as she called to him, "Your Highness..."
[Mini-scene 1] Before meeting Ruan You, He Muzhou never knew that anyone could cry so much. She was practically made of water.
Raise his voice a little, and she'd cry. Touch her, and she'd cry. Kiss her, and she'd cry too.
Facing the young woman's glistening, tearful eyes, he irritably ruffled his hair and couldn't help muttering a curse.
Ruan You: "Wah!"
He Muzhou: "..."
[Mini-scene 2] To He Muzhou, his little princess was perfect in every way, except that she was too frail. So he watched what she ate every single day, determined to fatten her up a little.
But the little thing ate far too slowly, dawdling over every bite. He couldn't stand watching any longer, so he snatched the bowl from her hands and went to feed her, gruffly saying, "I'm in a hurry!"
The young woman obediently ate, but He Muzhou wasn't satisfied. He stretched out his long arm and pulled her onto his lap, declaring righteously, "That's too far away. It's tiring to stretch my arm."
Note: 1. A sweet, doting, one-on-one romance with a ten-year age gap.
2. The heroine is timid and cries easily, a bona fide crybaby who tears up at the slightest thing. Read with caution!
Theme: Love one another and build a beautiful home together.
