Jade Blossoms on the Tower

[Coming Soon: After the Foolish Beauty Accidentally Provokes a Powerful Minister] [Coming Soon: My Wife Prays Every Day for Me to Rebel (Both Reborn)] Blurbs at the very end. Please add them to your reading list!

After her father went to war and vanished without a trace, Yao Yingshu was raised by her uncle and aunt.

Life under someone else's roof was not easy, but luckily, she was cheerful by nature and could always persuade herself to take things as they came.

That was until she turned sixteen, when her uncle and aunt arranged a marriage for her.

The groom was fabulously wealthy, kind-hearted, and renowned throughout the region as a great benefactor.

The catch was that he was over sixty, old enough to be her grandfather.

Unable to accept her fate, Yao Yingshu hurriedly packed her things and prepared to run away.

Her wicked uncle and aunt were ready for that. They drugged her, knocked her out, and stuffed her into the bridal sedan.

On her wedding night, Yao Yingshu was prepared to fight to the death. But before she could even draw her knife, the groom suddenly dropped dead at the wedding banquet.

Yao Yingshu: "..."

After that, Yao Yingshu's life changed beyond recognition.

She became a widow, and a ridiculously rich one at that.

She also gained a stepson just six years younger than her, a spoiled little menace.

The young master, raised in luxury, disliked her at every turn and made trouble for her day after day.

Yao Yingshu told herself to take things as they came. Life was chaotic, but at least she had money.

She hadn't expected that her late husband's business was so vast that it would attract all sorts of greedy eyes.

Exhausted from dealing with them, Yao Yingshu wore a weary look and seemed to radiate a faint aura of death every day.

Afraid she would abandon him and run away, her stepson came up with a terrible idea.

"Why don't you remarry? I'll go with you."

Yao Yingshu's eyes suddenly lit up. "That's a great idea!"

After a long search, they both set their sights on the same impoverished scholar.

He had a drunkard for a father and was short on money.

He was a good student, clever, and had a bright future.

Most importantly, he was in dire straits. If they helped him out, wouldn't they get to call the shots at home from then on?

They slapped their knees, then promptly married her off (their stepmother).

When people spoke of Tan Zhiyun, they first praised him, then sighed over his misfortune.

He was exceptionally gifted, a famous child prodigy for miles around, but his drunkard father held him back.

Faced with the pitying looks of others, Tan Zhiyun remained composed and smiled faintly.

He had endured for years, and just as he was about to climb out of the mire, two idiots showed up and offered to help him.

Their one condition was that he marry into their family.

Calmly watching the two excitedly make grand promises, Tan Zhiyun smiled and nodded.

Only a fool would turn down money that came knocking at his door.

As it turned out, the people he brought home weren't fools, but a pair of walking disasters, each more talented than the other at stirring up trouble.

Tan Zhiyun took a deep breath and told himself to stay calm as he glared and cleaned up after them.

But the pair went from causing trouble in the county town to causing trouble in the capital, offending everyone from county magistrates and prefects to princesses and princes, each more important than the last!

Tan Zhiyun: "?!"

What could he do? He couldn't shake them off, so for the sake of his "wife and child," he gritted his teeth and did everything he could to climb the ranks.

[Basically, the laid-back, clever, and wily wife who keeps her husband on a tight leash (not really) × the scheming, cold-hearted, stingy scholar × a mischievous young master, living a life of blind dates, chaos, and mutual affection.]

Reading Guide:

1. The stepson's relationship with the male and female leads is purely familial.

2. The heroine's laid-back nature mainly means she takes things as they come and has a good attitude.

3. A slow-burn, everyday-life story.

---- Coming Soon 1 ----

After the Foolish Beauty Accidentally Provokes a Powerful Minister

Chu Weiyun had known since childhood that she had a fiancé.

Her mother told her he was an arrogant, free-spirited young man, brimming with confidence.

She followed her parents to the capital, full of anticipation.

In front of everyone, the handsome young man greeted her with a smile, impeccable in every way.

In private, however, he turned a cold face to Chu Weiyun, his eyes full of irritation. "I already have someone I love, and she is the only one for me in this life. Even if I marry you, we'll be husband and wife in name only."

Chu Weiyun was stunned.

The girlish fantasies she had yet to fully form shattered in an instant, and she began to think about breaking off the engagement.

But the marriage had been arranged by their elders, and it could not be called off so easily.

Besides, her fiancé was exceptionally good at putting on a show. Everyone said he was gentle and considerate, wholly devoted to her, never realizing how cold and cruel he was in private.

Chu Weiyun was so angry she cried.

She thought indignantly, even if her parents scolded her, she would still break off the engagement!

But the plan to end it that she stayed up all night writing either fell apart before it began or came to nothing. After one setback after another, Chu Weiyun wiped her tears and brooded in despair.

She would rather ruin her reputation than marry him!

Chu Weiyun's eyes lit up. She decided it was a great idea and began looking for a new fiancé. After finally picking someone, she summoned her courage and made the first move. Luckily, he liked her too and agreed on the spot.

Having achieved her wish, Chu Weiyun happily returned home. The next day, a letter arrived at the Chu residence, asking her to meet and discuss their marriage.

When she saw the signature, Chu Weiyun was stunned.

Good heavens, she'd mistaken him for someone else!

The man she'd shamelessly made advances on the night before was the Duke of Xian, a man favored by the emperor and notorious for doing whatever he pleased.

Remembering how, beneath a sky full of stars, the man had drawn his blade, blood passing across his indifferent eyes, Chu Weiyun trembled and nearly fainted from fright.

She had just escaped the wolf's den only to fall into the tiger's lair. Why was her life so miserable?

At their first meeting, Wen Sibai thought coolly that Chu Weiyun was beautiful, but unbelievably stupid. She didn't even know that her fiancé had someone else in his heart, and yet she still foolishly threw herself at him.

At their second meeting, he saw her being mocked by several noblewomen. Instead of getting angry, she beamed at them with an astonishingly bright smile. Wen Sibai thought to himself that she really was a fool.

At their third meeting...

At their fourth meeting...

At an unknown meeting much later,

Drunk, Chu Weiyun's cheeks were flushed pink as she threw herself into Wen Sibai's arms. Her cherry-red lips brushed his chin as she murmured sweetly,

"...You're so handsome. Why don't you be my husband?"

The young woman gazed up at him with hazy almond-shaped eyes, like stars veiled in mist, her delicate face and rosy cheeks utterly captivating.

Wen Sibai's brow twitched. He hooked an arm around her slender waist and pulled her close, replying meaningfully, "All right."

Since you were the one who made the first move, you can't blame me.

[Foolish Beauty × Scheming Powerful Minister]

---- Coming Soon 2 ----

My Wife Prays Every Day for Me to Rebel (Both Reborn)

After being reborn, Nanrong Jun focused on preventing her entire family from being wiped out, as they had been in her previous life. But she was merely a merchant's daughter facing off against the imperial clan, like an insect trying to shake a tree.

After much consideration, Nanrong Jun set her sights on the most incorrigible man in Lin'an City.

Who could have guessed that Chu Xuan, once mocked for bringing disgrace upon the Chu family, would one day fight his way into the capital, chop off the tyrant's head, and become emperor of a new dynasty?

If she married him, she could not only save her family, but also watch her enemies bring about their own downfall. It would be a win-win.

After going to great lengths to marry into the Chu family, Nanrong Jun sat back and waited to coast to victory.

A month into their marriage, she realized something was wrong.

In her imagination, Chu Xuan would use his playboy image as a cover while secretly recruiting talented people, raising troops, and setting his sights on the capital.

But her husband spent every day taking her on leisurely strolls, watching other people make fools of themselves, and doing his utmost to drag her into bed.

At this rate, when would he ever ascend the throne?

In his previous life, Chu Xuan had spent most of his life diligently plotting a rebellion. But on the very day he succeeded, he suddenly learned that he was the long-lost son the dog emperor had lost years ago.

It made him look like a complete joke.

After unexpectedly being reborn, Chu Xuan gave up trying.

The throne was his either way, so what difference did it make whether he worked for it? Wasn't it better to eat, drink, and watch the show every day?

As Chu Xuan was busy enjoying himself, he noticed a young woman always appearing nearby.

She was beautiful as a celestial maiden, aloof as the moon and ethereal as a fairy, yet her gaze kept drifting toward him.

One day she brought him pastries, the next she handed him a handkerchief. She not only comforted and encouraged him, but even blushed and openly asked to marry him in front of everyone when he was mocked for being destined to remain a bachelor all his life.

Chu Xuan thought, She likes me this much. If I don't marry her, how will she ever face anyone again?

After their wedding, his wife was gentle and considerate, and her heart and eyes were full of him. Chu Xuan was enjoying married life for the first time and became rather addicted to it, so much so that he ignored her probing questions and strange looks.

The day he learned the truth, Chu Xuan was furious. He pointed at his wife, his hand shaking with anger, but couldn't bring himself to scold her. He stormed out with a cold expression.

At the same time, word came from the capital that the emperor had granted a general amnesty to celebrate the return of his newly discovered son.

Chu Xuan: "?!"

Two quarters of an hour later, he came home, carrying a chill in his wake, and told Nanrong Jun to pack for the capital.

You want me to rebel, don't you?

I'll do it, just for you!

I've done it once, so I'll be even better the second time. I won't stop until I place the empress's crown before you, Nanrong Jun. I swear it on the Chu name!

#I thought I could coast to victory, but it turns out I still have to rebel#

#Since I've been reborn, I might as well try a different way to rebel#

[Aloof, gentle young lady × self-deluded young tyrant]

Theme: Family should love one another.