Dawnlight

Xi Shi served as a first-class maid to the young lady of a marquis's household, and lived quite comfortably. When the marquis's wife took pity on her and returned her contract, Xi Shi happily headed back to Shu to find her aunt. Little did she know that her aunt would turn around and sell her to a gambling house for a few taels of silver.

Desperate, she spotted a tall figure. "Strong man, help me!"

The strong man saved her without saying a word.

Still shaken, Xi Shi thought Shu was a dangerous place, so she plucked up the courage to ask, "Does your household need a maid?"

Being a maid would only be temporary. She had two hundred taels she'd saved over the years and no martial arts skills to protect herself, so she might as well find somewhere to stay first and slip away later!

The man fixed his gaze on her. "You can come home with me, but you must speak to me more than a hundred times a day. I'll pay you ten taels a month."

Hey, that was an unusual requirement. As luck would have it, she might not have any other talents, but she sure could talk!

His name was Pei Yu. Xi Shi went home with him for the sake of that ten-tael monthly wage.

Xi Shi suggested, "When we're out, I'll call you Young Master. Once we're behind closed doors, we can each live our own lives and stay out of each other's way."

But later, Xi Shi didn't want to leave.

For one thing, she realized Pei Yu wasn't a cold-blooded, sinister man. For another, she'd taken a liking to the scholar next door and wanted to arrange a good match for herself.

She never imagined Pei Yu would see through her little schemes. From then on, he seemed like a different person, repeatedly forcing her to choose.

"Which of us makes you happier, him or me?"

"Would he treat you the way I do?"

*

Pei Yu was the chief of the vassal prince's covert guards. When the new prince took the throne, Pei Yu felt it was time to step aside. He saved her only to relieve the tedium of his life.

Later, he thought he must be ill. She seemed to have worked her way into his very bones, and every night when he closed his eyes, he saw her.

Some things are hard to give up once you've had a taste.

The moment he saw her smiling sweetly at the scholar, Pei Yu became even more certain:

Under the same roof, she had to be his.

- Avoidant x forward, both virgins, a fluffy, brainless sweet romance.

- Set in an imaginary dynasty. Only the official positions are modeled on the Ming dynasty. The characters are not perfect.

- Everyday family life, warm overall.

Theme: Finding love in ordinary life