[Willful, flirtatious princess × restrained, proper general]
(One-line blurb: She pursues her husband after marriage; the icy, powerful court official goes mad with love.)
On the Lantern Festival, Zhao Wan disguised herself and went out among the crowds. She was jostled into the water, and when she woke up, she somehow had a husband.
It turned out that, when she wouldn't wake, her imperial brother had specifically arranged for General Shen Yan to marry her, hoping the wedding would bring her good fortune.
Zhao Wan disliked Shen Yan. Three years earlier, at the Mid-Autumn Palace Banquet, he had secretly tripped her up and made her lose face.
People said the princess was spoiled and willful, but said nothing about Shen Yan's underhanded behavior.
Because of that incident, the late emperor had sent her to the Buddhist temple to reflect. She was only allowed to return to the capital after the new emperor ascended the throne.
Looking at Shen Yan in his wedding robes, Zhao Wan ground her teeth.
Now that he had fallen into her hands, she would make his life miserable, whether by wearing him down or breaking him by force.
Shen Yan was a gifted young man, both handsome and accomplished. His only shortcoming was his cool, indifferent nature and his lack of experience in romance.
His marriage to the princess was tied to a promise he had made to the late emperor three years ago.
Though everyone thought he was getting a raw deal, the emperor had given an order. As a subject, Shen Yan had to obey and treat his wife with courtesy and respect.
But after their wedding, the princess continued to behave outrageously.
Three years of vegetarian meals and Buddhist prayers had done nothing to temper her nature.
Fortunately, even at her worst, she did no more than put eight spoonfuls of salt in his food one day and cut a hole in his underpants the next. It was like a childish prank, and he paid it no mind.
Until one day, the princess fell from a wall.
She seemed like a different person, reading, playing the zither, embroidering, and doing all sorts of things he had thought impossible.
When he returned from the training grounds, her once-bold eyes passed over him without a trace of warmth, as if they had never known each other.
A fine rain fell in his heart.
Later, right in front of him, she gave an embroidered fan decorated with mandarin ducks, made with her own hands, to the famous top graduate of the imperial examinations.
As rain poured down, his long-still heart churned like a boiling pot.
He could tolerate all her willfulness, but not this.
Theme: The one you love is right by your side
