Golden Bough, Melting Snow

[The Aloof Aristocrat Becomes a Male Servant] The Unmentionable Things That Happened Between Me and My Handsome Male Servant

In an obscure border town, rich young lady Tao Caiwei once picked up (or rather, abducted) a handsome man from the roadside and brought him home to work as her servant.

He wasn't just devastatingly good-looking. His fingers were as finely sculpted as jade, and he was most alluring when he bent to serve her tea.

On top of all that, he could farm, cook, chop wood... He could do everything a country bumpkin could do.

Gradually, she realized he was capable of far more than that.

He could play with complicated strategy games she didn't understand, read obscure books, and sometimes let an arrogant look of contempt slip through.

But whenever she came to her senses and looked again, he would be back to his humble, stooped posture, a man at the very bottom of society with neither money nor power.

But that was fine. She didn't need to consider the feelings of a servant. He was handsome, so she kissed him whenever she pleased and used his jade-like hands to amuse herself.

This was the third year since Cui Hongxue fled the capital. Someone had abducted him for a forced marriage.

People said that Master Hongxue was peerless in the world, the best-looking, most strategic, and most talented man in the capital.

He had thought he could manipulate power in the palm of his hand. Then the Cui family fell, losing everything.

He was the only one left alive.

A life of loneliness was all that awaited him. Before his grandfather died, he had made Cui Hongxue promise never to set foot in politics again, so he let himself drift to another part of the country.

He never expected an ordinary life to be so difficult, either. Looking at the indenture contract written in someone else's hand, he gave a bitter smile. He had decided to live as an ordinary man. If fate meant for him to be bullied, then he naturally couldn't fight back.

And so he settled into a daily routine of serving a rich young lady who could barely read.

As time went on, serving her tea wasn't enough. Every day, he had to serve her with his lips and hands, too.

Before dawn, he would climb out of her bed and sneak back to his own courtyard.

After a long time with no name or status between them, Tao Caiwei was finally to be married. The man who came to propose was the powerful noble from the capital she had long been yearning for.

A merchant's daughter naturally had to marry the person who could bring her family the greatest benefit.

A handsome male servant obviously couldn't.

When it came to love and reason, profit and principle, the merchant's daughter wouldn't choose someone else.

When they met again, he had become the unreachable favored son of heaven once more.

He had gone against his grandfather's dying wish. He would not only reclaim everything the Cui family had lost, he would take her back as well.

"Don't you like powerful men?" He spread his hands. "Now I'm the most powerful man in the capital."

Everyone said no one had ever imagined Cui Hongxue could still be alive. He was even more imposing than before the Cui family fell, his haughty gaze utterly unchanged.

Only Tao Caiwei knew that he had once truly bent his back, truly lived like any ordinary commoner. His hands weren't just good for planting vegetables and chopping wood. They could also please her...

He really would have stayed a farmer for the rest of his life, if she hadn't married...

This is a virgin couple.

I'll put up a preview for another book: His Delicate Songbird

Yun Shuyue's father was the Minister of Revenue. From the moment she was born, she had been competing for the title of the capital's most eligible young lady, and she had put a great deal of effort into it.

She was the best at music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, as well as virtue, appearance, speech, and conduct. Even the childhood sweetheart chosen for her from a young age had been set on Jiang Qingci, the promising young master of the Grand Secretary's family.

They composed poetry and exchanged couplets, played music and chess together. They were a perfect match, envied by everyone. When they reached the right age to marry, their families discussed the match, and it became a celebrated romance.

Unfortunately, one day the Jiang family fell into disgrace. The emperor waved his hand and exiled the whole family three thousand li away.

Jiang Qingci was thinking of Yun Shuyue and wanted to tell her not to be afraid. Instead, he saw a face that changed faster than the pages of a book.

Yun Shuyue's voice and expression were ice-cold. "Jiang Qingci, we were never that close to begin with. Let's not see each other again."

Jiang Qingci paused, then said, "That's probably for the best."

Unexpectedly, a month after the Jiang family set out, Minister Yun also lost his official hat. The emperor waved his hand again, and the Yuns were exiled three thousand li away as well.

Later, at a remote quarry, their eyes met and the air fell still.

Yun Shuyue's little face was covered in dust, and all traces of her refined young-lady bearing had vanished. Carrying a sack of sand, she suddenly went limp and fell into Jiang Qingci's arms. "Oh, Brother Qingci, I can't carry this anymore."

Her waist was soft, her voice was sweet, her eyes fluttered...

Jiang Qingci: @￥%...!￥&

What should you do when a woman deceives your body and your heart, yet you can't help counting money for her while she robs you blind?

The night before the Jiang family set out, Grand Secretary Jiang stayed in the emperor's study until late at night.

The emperor held Grand Secretary Jiang's hand, deeply reluctant to part. "I've already sent guards to protect your family along the way. Take good care of yourself, Grand Secretary. Handle matters in the capital for me, and I promise to bring your family back in grand style."

Reader's guide:

* The male lead's family is only pretending to be exiled, but the heroine's father is a real corrupt official.

* The heroine will barely have to suffer. She's the kind of delicate flower that can't take hardship and sways with the wind.

* Everyone in the heroine's family has their own flaws. Her father is corrupt, her mother is a bandit, and she's a master of betrayal. But the male lead will force the whole family to become good people. (Hehe.)

* A lighthearted, sweet story. No need to look for a deeper message.

"This woman is cold and heartless. She deceives my body and my heart. But the moment she acts coquettish, I can't help wanting to do whatever she asks. Why is that?"

The book is expected to start before the Spring Festival. The author writes incredibly fast.

Theme: Care about the world and hate evil