Deep Spring in North City

[Princess x Rugged Man] [Scheming Sweetheart x Playing Dumb to Outsmart Others]

After days of torrential rain on Mount Qi, Ming Shu was separated from her companions while fleeing assassins from the Shadow Guard. She took shelter from the rain in a bamboo hut with a strange man.

The man introduced himself as Cao Er, a woodcutter from North City.

He had phoenix-shaped eyes, brows like distant mountains, broad shoulders, and a narrow waist.

He wore a sleeveless hemp vest, and in the cramped space, the smell of sweat was overpowering.

She lied and said her parents had died, her aunt despised her, and she had nowhere to go, so she had ended up wandering in the wilderness.

Without a moment's hesitation, the man said, "If you have nowhere to go, come home with me when the rain stops."

Before long, the rain stopped, and the man really did take her back to the city.

He earned money to support the family, carried water, and cooked meals.

His taut arms and shoulders and chiseled abs were a pleasure to look at.

Ming Shu was only halfway through escaping, and still had to head south.

Unable to part with such a fine man, she granted herself a three-month vacation.

Those three months were full of tender, unrestrained passion, and a tough man's gentle affection.

Ming Shu figured that once she returned to court to fight for power and prestige, everything would be about interests and intrigue.

A little indulgence was worth it.

Three months later, she left a letter and slipped away. She headed south to reclaim her birthright and help her elder brother win the succession.

During the palace coup in the first month of the year, she seized power, only to lose everything at the last moment.

Her brother was captured alive, and the army stormed the Princess's residence. Ming Shu collapsed before a pair of thick-soled black boots.

She had never been good at needlework, so her handiwork was easy to recognize.

She looked up. The man's features were bathed in moonlight, his thin lips drawn tight. When he saw her face, he bent down with a smile and pinched her chin between his rough fingers.

"You came all this way to learn how to stage a coup. Was it fun?"

Core theme: Joining forces to overcome hardship.