My Husband Is a Total Sweetheart

[Main story and bonus chapters complete]

Blurb:

Older woman-younger man pairing: [Clever beauty bent on revenge x Cold on the outside, sweet puppy-like younger man, a devoted loyalist]

Married first, love later | One couple | Both virgins | Happy ending

As the only daughter of the Minister of Personnel, Yu Wenquan made a name for herself at the Mingchun Banquet at fifteen and was hailed as "the capital's foremost woman." But after her entire family was framed by a treacherous enemy and thrown into prison, she had no choice but to marry to stay alive and have a chance to clear their names one day.

Her parents had arranged the match early on with their friends' only son, Xie Zhiling.

When Yu Wenquan first met Xie Zhiling, she thought his icy expression made him terrifying and assumed he must be a ruthless sort. But she soon discovered that he was just a silly puppy who put on a cold face to scare people.

When he heard something he didn't understand or met an official he didn't know, Xie Zhiling would stare at them with a cold expression, trying to frighten them away. If they kept pressing him, he'd turn to Yu Wenquan with watery eyes: Save me...

Though Xie Zhiling had to tread carefully in official circles, struggling to make even the smallest progress, he could ride freely across the northern frontier's grasslands, where wild beasts roamed.

Yu Wenquan was held in front of Xie Zhiling as the horse galloped and jolted beneath them. She turned to look at him. The wind lifted her hair and swept it across her face. Through the strands, she saw the deep, round dimples at the corners of his mouth, like two cups of wine. Her face felt hot, and she was a little dizzy. Was she drunk?

After winning a battle on the northern frontier, Xie Zhiling traveled a thousand miles to the capital to marry Yu Wenquan, as his parents had instructed in their final letter.

At their first meeting, he thought Yu Wenquan cold and gloomy, a young woman with a deeply calculating mind.

But later, he found that although Yu Wenquan was undeniably clever at business and solving cases, she never resorted to underhanded tactics. She was intelligent and forthright. She might look proud, but when she got angry, all it took was buying her sweet pastries to make up with her...

She wasn't good at scaling walls and would bump into things or fall, but she'd quickly get back up, dust off her clothes, and pretend nothing had happened.

To spare her embarrassment, Xie Zhiling pretended not to notice, but his gaze always drifted toward the dusty smudge on her chin. She looked like a little kitten, utterly adorable.

Xie Zhiling had initially been quite unhappy about the marriage, but after spending some time with Yu Wenquan, he was completely won over.

Yu Wenquan wasn't as bold and spirited as the women of the northern frontier, but she could establish herself in the capital, where people's hearts were hard to fathom, and remain true to herself. Everything about her began to captivate him...

But Yu Wenquan's eyes were always fixed on evidence that could clear her family's name, and she rarely looked at him. Xie Zhiling felt unsatisfied...

Reader's Notes:

1. Married first, love later. Their feelings will gradually deepen.

2. Neither the male nor female lead is a saint.

3. Entirely fictional setting. No need to scrutinize historical accuracy.

There are several other completed stories in the author's collection too~

Theme: Fate is written in the stars.