The Northern Song County Magistrate's Concubine-Born Daughter

Please add my upcoming novel of the same type, The Female Scholar's Wife. Its blurb is at the very bottom. [Blurb] Xu Zhihe transmigrates into the Northern Song Dynasty, becoming the illegitimate daughter of the county magistrate of Eqiao County. Her birth mother died young, leaving her with a violent, cowardly father. Her legal wife ignores her, while her father's concubines eye her with ill intent. Xu Zhihe carefully scrapes by in the household. One day, Magistrate Xu comes home drunk and declares that he will give her to the county commandant as a concubine. Xu Zhihe: Danger!!! She writes to her maternal uncle in Shuiyang County that very night. Her uncle is an upright man. He hits the magistrate where it hurts, accusing him of selling his daughter to gain favor. Magistrate Xu is furious, but abandons the idea of sending Xu Zhihe off as someone's concubine. As his niece grows older, her uncle begins to worry about her marriage. Xu Zhihe takes him to a bookshop in town and points to a penniless farmer's son. "I'll marry him." [Little Scene] Everyone in Bianjing knows that the newly appointed Minister of Revenue dotes on his wife. Many have seen Minister Chen make the same two-mile detour every day, just to bring Mrs. Chen the cheese pastry she loves. But when no one is watching, the cool, composed high minister who is so at ease in court nestles against Xu Zhihe like a fluffy puppy. "Could you tell me again the story of how you chose me?" Xu Zhihe's breathing falters as he teases her: "Can I say I saw your extraordinary bones and knew you were destined for greatness?" [Reading Guide] 1. Early chapters follow daily life in the county town, later chapters move to the government circles of Bianjing. A slow-burn, everyday-life story. 2. One-on-one romance, happy ending, married first and fall in love later, sweet romance. [Emphasis] 3. From Xu Zhihe's perspective: a dazzling transformation from magistrate's illegitimate daughter to the mistress of a prestigious household. From Chen Yundu's perspective: a farmer's son rises to the top through the imperial examinations, earning both status and wealth. 4. Tentative update time is 11:30 p.m. Daily updates; if I miss one, I'll let you know. 5. Set in a fictionalized Northern Song Dynasty. Some details are invented to serve the story. Please add my upcoming novels to your collection! ① The Female Scholar's Wife Zhuang Leyao is born into a household of servants in a Northern Song official's estate. Her mother is the principal wife's dowry maid, her father manages the estate, and Zhuang Leyao spends thirteen years living a life that is neither carefree nor miserable. Then disaster strikes her masters' family. Some die, others are exiled. Zhuang Leyao is sold, handed over to a broker for two taels of silver. Before sunset that very day, a woman in her early forties buys her for three taels, intending her to be a child bride. The woman says, "My son is in poor health and is staying at Hanyun Temple. I'm buying you for two reasons: first, to bring him good fortune, and second, so you can care for him if anything happens to him." To stay alive, Zhuang Leyao nods obediently. "Don't worry, Mother. I'll be good to my husband from now on." Zhuang Leyao spends two years with the Xie family, but can count on one hand the number of times she sees her frail, sickly husband. His life is always in danger, yet he still dreams of passing the imperial examinations. What a strange man. Then the results of the palace examination are announced, and Xie Shiwei places third. The Xie family home is packed with visitors. Amid the celebrations, Zhuang Leyao is overlooked in the crowd. The unlucky Xie Shiwei has passed the examination, and his health has improved, too. Now this child bride, bought for three taels of silver, should take her leave. Zhuang Leyao packs her belongings in the dead of night. As soon as she opens the door, she finds herself face-to-face with a pair of deep eyes. Beneath the moonlight, the newly titled third-place scholar wears a red robe with wide sleeves, his beauty as ethereal as jade. He says, "Are you planning to leave me, my lady?" [Little Scene] One day, Zhuang Leyao wakes up as a titled lady of the highest rank. Looking at the cool, composed chancellor beside her, with his handsome face like carved jade, she suddenly grows curious: "What would have happened if I hadn't stayed back then?" Xie Shiwei toys with her hair, his voice lazy and satisfied. "You don't want to know." If she agreed, he would naturally make sure the title was hers. If she didn't, he had a thousand ways to keep her by his side. [Reading Guide] One-on-one romance, light and sweet, a slow-growing love, and the daily life of a fallen maid who builds a new life and turns her fortunes around. (Note to self: I'm planning an extra chapter with a confinement trope: Yaoyao escapes successfully, only for Xie to find her, bring her back, and keep her locked up while they have their way with each other.) ② After Following Su Shi into Exile in Qiongzhou Qiongzhou was part of Guangnan West Circuit under the Song, governed from Qiongshan and overseeing Ya, Dan, and Wanan. It lay in a remote southern wilderness, rife with miasma. Su Ruoning knows it by another name: Hainan. In the fourth year of Shaosheng, the order comes to demote Su Shi once more, exiling him to Danzhou, at the very end of the southern frontier. With her medical skills, Su Ruoning joins him on the road to exile, accompanied by two old servants, one elderly and one young. For thousands of miles, the vast blue sea surges like mountain peaks. A frail little boat bobs upon the raging tide. After many ups and downs, the group crosses the Qiongzhou Strait from Leizhou Bay and lands at Chengmai. They set foot on the tidal flats. The sea wind blows against them, rocks lie scattered, and the white sand is coarse. There are no orderly fields or fertile farmland like those in the Central Plains, only dense, steaming foliage and heavy mist. Even in this nearly desolate place, Su Ruoning never gives in to despair. People regard the far southern lands of exile as a dead end, but in Su Ruoning's eyes, trained from childhood in medicine and knowledgeable about farming and plants, this fertile southern frontier, abandoned by the Central Plains, is brimming with life. They work the fields from morning till night, while the scents of herbs and rice drift together on the air. In their spare time, they can gather fruit in the woods, collect shells on the shore, and fish near the coast. What seems like a dead end can still lead to a new beginning. [Reading Guide] 1. There is a male lead, but he appears a little later. The early chapters focus on what the female lead sees and experiences on the road to exile, with a slow-paced, everyday-life feel. 2. A fictionalized Northern Song Dynasty, parallel to the historical one. Su Shi's fate will change, and he will live a long, healthy life. 3. Even on the road to exile, flowers bloom. Always optimistic, always passionate. Message: The wind will rise, and we will ride the waves, setting our sails to cross the vast sea.