I'm a Hidden Guard

Xia He is an assassin: three days on, one day off, generous pay, retirement at thirty.

The first rule of being an assassin is to stay alive until you're thirty.

Don't ask what you shouldn't, don't say what you shouldn't, and be a shadow without feelings.

At eighteen, Xia He took on the biggest job of her career: impersonate the daughter of a marquis and marry Pei Zhao in her place.

Pei Zhao, the official overseeing the courts and prisons, had a face like an immortal, yet was more at ease with corpses than with the living.

...Fine.

No risking life and limb, no near-death scrapes, and the pay was especially generous.

To land the job, Xia He gathered every scrap of gossip she could find and studied it carefully.

Rumor had it Pei Zhao nearly starved to death outside the marquis's residence as a child, then fell deeply in love out of gratitude for a single meal.

Rumor had it Pei Zhao was devoted and steadfast, and that even after ten years apart, his love never wavered.

But ever since the wedding, the reports Xia He received had grown increasingly strange.

They said Pei Zhao was quiet and aloof, but in private, he loved hearing people cry out "darling" while they were whispering in each other's ears.

They said Pei Zhao cared nothing for appearances but loved the shape of bones, and especially liked touching people inch by inch from toe to skull in the middle of the night.

They said Pei Zhao was deeply suspicious. Anyone who shared his bed had to wear only a thin veil, with bronze mirrors all around the bed. Even at the height of passion, when reason was lost, he had to be able to see every movement clearly.

They also said that because Young Lord Pei was often targeted by assassins, he secretly kept a group of assassins, all under thirty and ready to die for him.

Wait.

Wait a second. Assassins? Under thirty?

Xia He went pale and stiffly turned around.

The candlelight flickered, and Pei Zhao stood in robes as white as snow.

The next moment, Pei Zhao set down his brush and turned around unhurriedly. "Wife, come here."

*

Pei Zhao got lost as a child. On a night of heavy snowfall, he met a little girl, covered in grime, who was helping her grandfather sell charcoal.

The girl looked reluctant, but still split the steamed bun in her arms and gave him half.

The Pei clan of Jiangdong was a family of scholars with a hundred years of good standing. Countless people fawned on the powerful, but his little girl had her head in the clouds and her eyes on nothing but retirement.

He gave her the family's heirloom jade, and she sold it for silver.

He gave her gold and jewels, and she thought it was generous pay.

He gave her fine clothes and delicious food, and she thought it was a test from the organization.

After several hints came to nothing, Pei Zhao offered her a wish.

She said that an assassin's life was uncertain, and her greatest wish was to save enough for retirement, leave her master, and live a good life.

Pei Zhao took a deep breath. Fine. Very good.

- An adorable, money-loving assassin x a powerful minister with a sweet exterior and a dark side

- Both are virgins

- A lighthearted sweet romance, with (two young) people who have absolutely no understanding of each other and are full of (suspicion)

- The rose I raised with my own hands doesn't resemble me at all.

Theme: After hardship comes good fortune