The Minister Beneath Her Skirt

[Main story complete. Bonus chapters coming soon.]

★ Upcoming novel: My Wife Is So Amorous. An honest woman is reborn and becomes a player. A battle of suitors in a chaotic love triangle.

★ This novel: A free-spirited commandery princess who breaks free and lives on her own terms x a reserved general who schemes to win her a proper title

★ Blurb:

Li Zhaorong was born to a concubine consort before she married into the palace. For over a decade, she lived cautiously and without status in the imperial palace, secretly hiding her claws as she saved up enough silver to fake her death and escape the palace, where she could live freely and happily.

But the border was in crisis. The emperor, who saw her as a stain on his reputation, bestowed the title of commandery princess on her as if granting her a favor, then kicked her off to the residence of the Southern Campaign General. She was a pawn meant to obstruct his rise through a marriage alliance, put to use rather than wasted.

On their wedding day, an urgent summons arrived from the border. The groom hurriedly changed into his armor before he had even lifted her veil, leaving her alone to keep watch in the bridal chamber.

After waiting bitterly for three years, she had hoped to live quietly. Instead, all she heard was news that her husband was far away at the border, blissfully enjoying himself with a beautiful concubine in his arms.

Rumor had it that someone in the army couldn't stand it and gathered the courage to criticize him, only to get a careless reply: "She's just a woman. Don't bring her up and ruin my mood."

Li Zhaorong, now the subject of the noblewomen's gossip over tea, smiled faintly, all grace and forbearance. But when she learned that the emperor was gravely ill and her younger brother had ascended the throne, she dropped the act and threw in the towel: You started it, so don't blame me for returning the favor! Let's all take turns being this miserable bastard!

After looking high and low, Li Zhaorong took a liking to the rugged man she had accidentally rescued while she was out of the city to clear her head. He was tall, upright, handsome, and muscular. He looked like he could really do the job.

The only problem was that he had lost his memory, had no known background, and didn't have a penny to his name. But that was fine. She had saved plenty of silver over the years with the general's residence behind her. She could easily afford to keep a pretty boy.

She smiled beautifully and gently kissed his throat, her voice full of tenderness. "From now on, I'll be your home."

In the servants' eyes, the man the beautiful lady kept at her country estate was always quiet and aloof.

Only Xing Yan knew how hard he tried to suppress his mad jealousy. How could that so-called Southern Campaign General, that bastard who treated a pearl like dirt, have the right to possess her openly and honorably?

Meanwhile, he could only be hidden away in this place where no one could see him, waiting for her to occasionally indulge him.

So he resorted to every despicable trick of playing hard to get, coaxing her into falling for him and getting her to promise of her own accord that she would divorce that bastard and spend the rest of her life with him.

If he was a stain on her spotless dress, then he would dirty her. She would never be able to shake him off.

Later, after regaining his memories, Xing Yan fell silent when a servant from the general's residence handed him the divorce papers.

Don't ask. He regretted it.

After Li Zhaorong learned the truth, she kicked him off the bed without mercy and sneered, "General, don't flatter yourself. The person this commandery princess loves is my helpless, delicate kept lover, not you."

Late that night, her "helpless, delicate" kept lover changed into the outfit he used to wear at the country estate and quietly climbed into bed. "Your Highness, the night is cold. I'm scared."

But though he claimed to be cold, his chest beneath his loosely open clothes was burning hot.

Li Zhaorong had finally found a rare moment to rest, and angrily cursed, "You brat!"

Xing Yan's gaze darkened. He swallowed, then laughed in a low, husky voice. "Your Highness is all bark and no bite. You clearly take such good care of me."

One day, Xing Yan tactfully asked Li Zhaorong when she was willing to take back the divorce papers, now stamped by the new emperor.

Li Zhaorong smiled faintly. "It seemed to me the general rather enjoyed being a kept lover. Why are you asking for a proper title now?"

1. Both leads are virgins. One-on-one romance, happy ending.

2. What you see and hear may not be true. There will be a divorce.

3. Blurb written on May 2, 2024.

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★ Blurb for My Wife Is So Amorous:

Xie Xu, a young nobleman from a prestigious family, had all the luxuries in life and had held a high position from a young age. He had only one problem: his childhood sweetheart and wife was always inexplicably jealous, constantly imagining things.

She was always either suspecting him of having an affair with a female colleague under the guise of work, or of carrying on a secret relationship with his cousin who was staying with them.

He explained over and over and made promises again and again, until one day he couldn't hold back and got into a huge fight with his wife.

Afterward, he realized that from that day on, his wife seemed like a different person. She no longer questioned or pried into anything he did.

At first, he was relieved, thinking she had finally come to understand that she was the only one in his heart.

Until one day, when Xie's distant cousin came to stay with them while preparing for the imperial exams in the capital, he saw his childhood sweetheart wife tenderly take the young man's hand and say with concern:

"Poor thing. Those hands should be holding a brush and writing, not doing rough work to make a living. From now on, your sister-in-law will stand up for you. Don't be afraid."

His cousin looked at his wife with a dark gaze and smiled as he agreed.

It was the same scene all over again, only this time the main characters had changed from him and his cousin to his wife and his cousin.

Xie Xu was beside himself.

Song Wangshu lived for most of her life and spent most of it watching her husband flirt with every woman in sight. It was exhausting. So exhausting.

As she closed her eyes in front of her children and grandchildren, her only thought was that if she could live her life over, she would never again bear the reputation of a jealous wife and live a miserable life, only to find that even her descendants didn't understand her and blamed her for tarnishing their grandfather's and father's reputation as a benevolent gentleman.

What was the point? She smiled wryly, feeling sorry for herself.

So when she returned to the year she married Xie Xu, she suddenly understood:

So what if he flirted with everyone? Hah, she could do that too.

If divorce was so difficult, then in this life, she would be the one to play the role of "Xie Xu."

On his birthday, Xie Xu specially made a bowl of longevity noodles, hoping Song Wangshu would eat with him. He waited until the noodles turned into a soggy mess before his wife finally came home, strolling in beneath the night sky.

Xie Xu threw down his chopsticks, his eyes red as he gritted his teeth and demanded, "You knew today was my birthday. Why did you only come back at midnight? Did you go see him again?! I knew he had ulterior motives! He deliberately called you away today!"

Hearing this, Song Wangshu rubbed her temple and frowned impatiently. "Stop making a fuss over nothing. He's your cousin, and he doesn't know anyone in the capital. He ran into trouble, so isn't it only natural for me to help him as his sister-in-law? Besides, you helped my cousin just as much when she was here. Why are you being so awful now that it's a male cousin?"

Xie Xu gritted his teeth. "That's different!"

Song Wangshu said coolly, "I think it's exactly the same."

Xie Jin had two secrets.

First, he wasn't a branch member of the Xie family. He was the orphaned son of the former Crown Prince, who had taken another identity by a twist of fate.

Second, he had someone he loved.

That person was his shameless cousin's wife.

★ Another upcoming novel on my author page: The System Teaches Me to Become a Stock God [1990s]

Theme: Love is mutual understanding