The Dashing Young Heir and His Gentle Bandit

Blurb:

The young heir of a marquis's household spends his days eating, drinking, and having fun, chasing cats and teasing dogs, and rarely comes home.

His parents finally make up their minds to arrange a marriage for him, hoping his future wife will keep him in line. But before the match is even settled, the young heir runs off.

To avoid the matchmaking, he packs up his belongings and leaves home to seek refuge with his uncle, a great general. But halfway there, he is kidnapped by a bunch of amateur bandits, and their hideout turns out to be poor and dilapidated.

They take his travel money, impound his carriage, and even strip off his clothes to trade for food.

The one consolation is that the bandits have a sense of honor: after robbing him, they make it up to him by giving him a handsome man. The young heir sneaks one glance at the handsome man, then another, and decides to marry him.

Tonight is their wedding night.

Well, considering that his little husband is not only handsome but gentle and considerate, taking care of everything from serving tea and water to washing clothes and cooking, this marriage has turned out pretty well.

Unfortunately, before he can enjoy being waited on for more than a few days, trouble strikes the bandits' hideout. The two have no choice but to flee and return to the capital, but they are short on money the whole way and often have no idea where their next meal will come from.

At last, they make it back to the capital. The young heir plans to keep his beloved hidden away, but his little husband has disappeared, only to reappear as the crown prince, who had been living among commoners. He even pretends not to know him.

That simply won't do. He's gotten used to being waited on, so he has to find a way to snatch him back.

But before he can, rumors are already flying everywhere.

Everyone says that Ye Qin, the young heir of the marquis's household, is in love with Crown Prince Qin Yan, but his love is unrequited.

They don't know that the two once bowed to each other as husband and wife, and shared a sweet marriage.

Later, illustrated storybooks about the crown prince and the young heir's love-hate relationship become all the rage in the capital. They say Ye Qin went mad with love, kidnapped the crown prince in broad daylight, then cruelly tormented him for three days and three nights. From then on, Ye Qin's name became famous overnight.

Ye Qin: "Why did you agree to marry me?"

Qin Yan: "Why did you agree to marry me?"

Ye Qin: "Because you're handsome!"

Qin Yan: "I thought you were handsome too."

Everyone: We thought you two were into forced marriage, but it turns out you just fell for each other's looks!

Theme: Protecting the country and its people