The Flower Queen Is Hard to Marry (Female-Dominated World)

Yue Yunlan is the top courtesan at the Soft Red Pavilion, with countless clients. Men yearning for a night in his fragrant boudoir could form a line stretching from the capital all the way to Suzhou and Hangzhou.

For a money tree like him, the brothel keeper had long since worked out a plan. He had his eye on the powerful and wealthy officials, and intended to auction off Yue Yunlan's first night on his eighteenth birthday, raising his price and making the Soft Red Pavilion famous among the city's brothels in the process.

But Yue Yunlan had a mind of his own and had no intention of following the path the brothel keeper had laid out for him. He wanted to choose a wife who was kind-tempered, from a simple family, with no elders to keep her in check and no younger siblings to support, someone with a little money and no great cunning.

One day, while offering incense at a temple of matchmaking, the red ribbon he tossed up with his wish happened to hit a lady who looked like a scholarly young man. She had a refined air, and her clothes were neither flashy nor shabby.

Yue Yunlan's eyes lit up at once. He nudged his attendant into bribing a fortune-teller at the temple to find out the scholar's background.

Who would have thought his luck would be this good? She was exactly what Yue Yunlan wanted in every way.

The only problem was that the scholar spent her days at the academy, the bookshop, or home. It would be difficult to arrange a chance encounter.

Yue Yunlan racked his brains, then went to knock on the scholar's door in the middle of the night.

"I, I accidentally hit you the other day. I've come to apologize."

Yue Yunlan raised his eyes shyly, showing Yan Qingling the side of himself that guests loved most.

Yan Qingling held a book in her hands. The tips of her ears turned bright red, and her face seemed to radiate heat. She took two steps back.

"D-don't be so improper."

A flicker of surprise crossed Yue Yunlan's eyes. He had spent so long in a brothel and never seen a woman as bashful and awkward as this lady before him. His heart stirred, and he smiled softly.

"My lady, since fate has brought us together, there is actually something Yunlan would like to ask of you."

Yan Qingling lowered her eyes, staring fixedly at the book in her hands. Her lashes trembled. "What is it?"

"My lady, would you marry me?"

Yue Yunlan stepped over the threshold and laid his hand over the lady's book.

Yan Qingling let go in fright. The book fell to the ground, and the wind scattered its pages. She pressed her lips tightly together, and her unsteady heartbeat made her turn her face away involuntarily.

Yue Yunlan blocked the entrance to the Yan residence. Watching the scholar's increasingly amusing reactions only strengthened his resolve to latch onto this stiff, honest woman who blushed whenever she saw him.

"My lady, Yunlan is still pure."

Yue Yunlan took the scholar's hand and swayed it gently.

Yan Qingling's whole face grew hot. She had no choice but to look at the little mouth chattering away in front of her. Her fingertips curled slightly against the soft, delicate hand.

Yue Yunlan's eyes curved into crescents. "Would you like to see?"

"S-see what?"

Yan Qingling stared blankly for a moment.

"Yunlan's... cinnabar mark on his waist." His red lips breathed out sweet, cloying words, and his laughter rang like a clear little bell.

Yan Qingling's eyes widened in shock. In an instant, her whole body flushed red, and she pulled her hand away.

"You, you..."

Yan Qingling tried to rein in her emotions and put on a stern face, retreating three steps.

Even so, the smile in Yue Yunlan's eyes did not fade at all. He simply began undoing the sash at his waist.

Under the night sky, the moonlight was soft. The wind made the residence gate creak and sway.

As if possessed, Yan Qingling slammed the door shut with a bang. Only after she came to her senses did she realize what she had done.

Yue Yunlan's sudden arrival left her tossing and turning for days.

Even after she had seen him off that night, his image filled her dreams. It was as if she had been bewitched. Her gaze followed him, finally settling on those pale fingers undoing his sash.

Her restless heart and growing desire, more intense with each passing day, made it clear what was keeping her awake at night.

Yan Qingling avoided Yue Yunlan for days. As soon as she left the academy, she would get straight into her carriage and go home, no longer even visiting the bookshop.

But things took an unexpected turn.

Yue Yunlan did not come again. It was as if the whole thing had been a joke. Yan Qingling ought to have felt relieved, but for some reason, she was irritated.

She gripped the book in her hands, the veins on her knuckles faintly visible.

He had stirred up her feelings, and this was all the patience he had?

Inside the Soft Red Pavilion, Yue Yunlan propped his chin on his hand and crunched on a crisp pear as he listened to a servant report on the scholar's movements over the past few days. His eyes shone more brilliantly than a river of stars.

When dealing with a blockhead, you really had to use a strong dose.

Yue Yunlan hummed softly to himself. He had thought it was a sure thing, but one unexpected mishap after another cropped up at the last moment. The biggest surprise of all was the supposedly clueless person himself.

His plan had gone awry. Everything would have to start over.

But who could have told him that once this perfectly good blockhead changed identities, she would be so hard to handle?

Kind-tempered? Simple family? No elders to keep her in check and no younger siblings to support? A wife with a little money and no great cunning?

Yan Qingling rubbed the space between her brows and smiled faintly at the beauty who looked as though he would rather run away.

"Still want to marry someone else?"

Theme: In the midst of hardship, an opportunity is right in front of you, so of course you should seize it.