The Marquis Wants to Ride His Son's Coattails

Blurb: Crazy beauty x arrogant, tsundere Great General. One-on-one, both chaste.

Marriage first, love later; the aloof beauty descends from her pedestal, and he has to suffer through a wife-chasing ordeal.

Zhao Nianxi is the daughter of a high-ranking minister. At a birthday banquet, she meets General of the Cavalry Ye Junshen, and the two fall in love at first sight.

A pair of phoenix hairpins, a marriage contract,

and Zhao Nianxi happily agrees to marry him.

She thought this handsome, cold-faced gentleman would be the best husband she could hope for. But just half a year after their wedding, word arrived from the border that he had been defeated and badly wounded.

Enduring morning sickness, Zhao Nianxi devoted herself to nursing her husband back to health, comforted her mother-in-law, who was overwhelmed with worry, and endured the malicious gloating of her husband's half-siblings and their spouses... But then her once kind and amiable mother-in-law turned against her.

Accused of bringing bad luck to her husband, she was driven from the manor and falsely reported to have died of illness.

Seven years later, Zhao Nianxi, who had miraculously escaped death, unexpectedly encounters her ex-husband at a palace banquet in the enemy kingdom. He has launched a surprise attack on the enemy camp.

He takes a blade for her; she takes poison for him.

Only... he doesn't know that she is his wife.

After seven days of fierce fighting, victory is finally theirs. Ye Junshen drives out the enemy and is rewarded for reclaiming the lost territory. The emperor personally bestows upon him the title of Marquis of Dingyuan, granting him immense power.

But she is barred from entering the city by countless soldiers because her identity is unclear.

Her young son is still too small to fend for himself, and with no one to entrust him to, Zhao Nianxi has no choice but to return to her homeland under the guise of her elder sister.

Her mother-in-law is stunned, and the emperor and empress are astonished. They thought she had died in a foreign land, never imagining she would return alive!

*

In his youth, Ye Junshen was full of ambition. Fueled by a young man's fervor, he fought enemies and bandits, arrested corrupt officials and rooted out traitors, until he finally gained great power.

But then he was betrayed by friends and family, and his wife and child were lost to him.

Outside the lattice window, the cherries in the courtyard had turned red again.

But beneath the tree, the bright-eyed girl was nowhere to be seen.

Years later, they meet again...

Ye Junshen glances at the child studying calligraphy with his brother-in-law. "Who is he?"

Zhao Nianxi gives a soft "Oh" and replies coolly, "Your nephew."

Ye Junshen furrows his brow. His son has been entered into the Zhao family records, which makes things rather complicated. He gives a cold snort and asks, "And what am I?"

Certain that her ex-husband, whom she has barely met, doesn't recognize her, Zhao Nianxi smiles. "Good day, brother-in-law."

Unexpectedly, he corners her.

The man raises an eyebrow and gives a cold snort. "Hmm? Still talking nonsense?"

*

Beneath the pearl-beaded curtains, fragrant jade and gauzy silk.

Zhao Nianxi glances at the man beside her and furrows her brow. "Someone, come here."

The guards outside exchange bewildered looks, trembling. "What are your orders, Madam?"

Zhao Nianxi straightens her clothes and says coldly, with a frown, "Take your Marquis home."

The man suddenly opens his eyes, winding a strand of her hair around his fingertip. "Madam, you really won't let me stay?"

Zhao Nianxi gives a scornful snort and snaps, "My humble abode is too small to house someone as grand as you."

Ye Junshen chuckles. "Then come home with me."

"Pah..."

Ye Junshen suddenly leans in close. "Still going to be insolent?"

Zhao Nianxi grits her teeth, swallowing the insult she was about to spit out.

Set in an imaginary world. One-on-one, both chaste, with a wife-chasing ordeal.

Coming soon: My Neighbor Is the Chief Minister (Reborn)

Li Yiner was the legitimate daughter of a general. Gentle and composed, well-read, courteous, filial, and capable, she had so many suitors that they nearly wore down the threshold of the Li residence.

Her mother was busy finding her a husband, but Li Yiner liked none of the candidates. She secretly admired only the cold-faced bookworm next door, Zhao Siheng.

Unfortunately, he was devoted to serving the country and governing its people, with no time for romance.

Later, her mother fell gravely ill and died with regrets. Her father, egged on by her uncle and aunt, sent her into the palace.

Eight years later, they meet again. He is the emperor's most valued minister, and she is the emperor's most beloved consort.

That day, Li Yiner holds a vermilion brush and looks down at Zhao Siheng, kneeling below the steps.

His life is in her hands.

The power he seeks lies beneath her brush.

She has achieved every ambition he could not fulfill.

At that moment, Li Yiner feels a flash of vengeful satisfaction. Sitting gracefully on the high dais, her phoenix eyes dark, she says with a hint of mockery,

"Lord Zhao, it has been a long time."

Zhao Siheng stands as upright and elegant as jade. His gaze is calm, even tinged with a little pity.

Li Yiner knows he never regretted it.

She is lost and helpless, unwilling to accept things, yet humiliated. Unwilling to remain trapped in a game with no happy ending, she raises her hand and releases him, and herself.

Reborn, Li Yiner wants only to cure her mother's chronic illness, leave those towering palace walls behind, and live a simple, free life.

One-on-one, both chaste, happy ending.

Theme: Even when trapped in a desperate situation, keep striving to rise.