I Held a Knife to My Husband and Made Him Study

After Ruan Lin's grandmother died, his uncle planned to sell him to a wealthy merchant in the county. He wanted to run away, but he had no household registration papers.

The only way out was to find a man he could control and marry him in a fake marriage, then transfer his registration out of his uncle's household.

After careful consideration, he chose Zhao Shi'an, a man from his village.

Zhao Shi'an was famous throughout the surrounding villages as a child prodigy. He earned the title of tongsheng at nine and passed the xiucai examination at eleven.

Unfortunately, he failed the juren examination in Wenzhou at fourteen. The following year, his parents died unexpectedly, and he observed the three-year mourning period.

Grandmother had said that Zhao Shi'an loved studying and would take the imperial examinations.

But taking the examinations cost a fortune, and Zhao Shi'an had no family to support him. Ruan Lin took advantage of the opportunity.

Of course, one reason Ruan Lin chose Zhao Shi'an was that he was handsome, with refined features that were a pleasure to look at.

Less than a month later, they were married.

Ruan Lin later discovered that Zhao Shi'an was capable of studying, but had no desire to take the imperial examinations.

Furious, Ruan Lin grabbed Zhao Shi'an by the ear, dragged him through the village, and shut him in a room.

He took a kitchen cleaver and slammed it onto the table. "Pick one: study, or lose a hand!"

Zhao Shi'an pouted, clung to Ruan Lin's leg, and bawled. "Lin-ge'er, I'll study!"

·

After they got married:

Zhao Shi'an felt he'd been deceived. Ruan Lin's obedient behavior before the wedding had all been an act!

He wouldn't even let Zhao Shi'an into the room in the middle of the night. Zhao Shi'an was a man of iron and steel, so there was no way he couldn't handle one little ge'er!

Zhao Shi'an confidently climbed in through the window, pulled the washboard out from under the bed, knelt on it, grabbed Ruan Lin's hand, and cried, "Lin-ge'er, I was wrong!"

Zhao Shi'an's philosophy of life: You have to know when to bend and when to stand firm.

But when it came to his husband, he had to admit fault with unbending resolve!

A patient, short-tempered, clever, and pretend-tough bottom x a shameless, vain, and cowardly-in-bed top

1. Both characters have flaws. Neither is perfect.

2. Farming in the early story, then business, the imperial examinations, and children in the middle, followed by court politics later on.

3. They belong to each other, body and soul.

Divider (I added it, haha)

A preview of my upcoming story: The Lin Family's Husband by the Mountain

There was a household beside Great Green Mountain, the Lins, who were so poor they could barely scrape by, with only a thatched hut to their name.

Of the three family members, two were so thin they were skin and bones, while the third was sturdy but still skin and bones. After pooling together every last coin, they had only a few coppers.

Everyone in the village said they'd starve to death sooner or later. Then one day, a matchmaker brought them a proposal: a ge'er from the neighboring village named Xu Xiaoye, from a family just as poor as theirs.

The villagers quickly figured it out. That family probably couldn't manage any longer and was planning to sell Xu Xiaoye to the Lins, so there'd be one less mouth to feed.

Those who knew what Xu Xiaoye looked like said he was ugly, and that the other families probably wouldn't want him. The Lins were the only ones who hadn't turned him down.

The Lin parents thought it over and over. With their stomachs growling in unison, they finally decided they had to preserve the family line.

They knew they wouldn't get another chance, so they steeled themselves and gave the other family their hen.

Before long, Xu Xiaoye arrived at the Lin home in clean clothes covered with patches upon patches, so faded their original color was impossible to make out, with a filthy-looking blanket wrapped around him.

·

Xu Xiaoye and Lin Daxiao had never met before their wedding, but they both knew how desperately poor their families were. There'd be no wedding banquet, and they probably couldn't even afford a single white-flour bun.

Xu Xiaoye didn't mind. He'd lived like that his whole life. But when his husband lifted his "wedding veil" that night, he never expected him to hand over two bowls.

One held a palm-sized multigrain bun, and the other contained noodle soup with an egg nestled underneath.

The bun and the egg were both whole, not just a little piece. His eyes grew slightly hot, and the tall frame of his husband didn't seem quite so frightening anymore.

After that day, Xu Xiaoye became the Lin family's husband.

·

The Lin family was truly poor, just as poor as his own. But his parents-in-law were too gentle and easy to fool...

Still, they were genuinely kind to him. At least that was much better than his old home, where people would fight over a mouthful of food.

His husband treated him well, too, and let him have his way in everything.

That night, Xu Xiaoye lay on his back, staring at the thatch on the roof, and thought: This family may be poor, but there's plenty to look forward to. This is good enough.

He felt Lin Daxiao's arm around his waist, struggled to roll over, then gently touched his sleeping husband's face. Smiling, he gave him a light kiss on the lips. This was even better.

Life, after all, had to be lived one day at a time.

A quiet, sweet, and refined bottom with a black-sesame-filled heart x a rough, strong top who listens to his husband and has a huge appetite

1. A slow-burn farming story about building a life from nothing.

2. They belong to each other, body and soul.

Theme: When you can't run away, look ahead.