Her Live-In Son-in-Law

[Main story complete]

[Adorable little schemer who pretends to be mature x spoiled, arrogant young noble]

Zhen Liuci is the only daughter of Zhen Rushan, a wealthy merchant in Hangzhou.

With Zhen Rushan bedridden and her uncles circling like wolves and tigers, Zhen Liuci needs to find a clever, capable, sensible, and obedient man to marry into the family if she wants to protect the fortune her father spent his life building.

Now, on a bustling day in the city...

Sitting upstairs in a teahouse, Zhen Liuci glances casually down at the street and sees the son-in-law of the wealthy Cui family helping his frail, sick wife into a carriage.

Knowing the story behind it, she remarks, "The Cui family's son-in-law is a devoted man."

Across the street, in a restaurant, Shen Ao, the chancellor's youngest son, watches the same scene over his wine cup and scoffs contemptuously. "A man of true stature becoming a son-in-law? What a disgrace! I'd rather die than marry into someone else's family!"

Shen Ao means every word.

Later, when his father locks him in a woodshed and he is on the verge of starving to death, he still refuses to back down. He thinks that as long as he doesn't starve to death, he'll marry into Zhen Liuci's family as soon as he gets out.

He means it then, too.

-

After keeping Shen Ao locked in the woodshed for seven days, Chancellor Shen steels himself to let his son starve to death in order to protect the family's good name.

Shen Ao has been locked up for seven days, and Zhen Liuci has cried for seven days. At last, she goes alone to the Shen residence and kneels before Chancellor Shen, her youthful face set with determination, to beg him to spare Shen Ao.

She will find someone else to marry into her family in exchange. She only asks the Shen family to send Shen Ao a bowl of thin rice porridge.

When Shen Ao hears this, he spits a mouthful of blood onto the woodpile.

The once-proud and arrogant young noble has been reduced to a shadow of himself.

He thinks of his darling young lady, his Ci'er, who lost her mother as a child. Now her father is ill and unable to protect her.

She wears those ridiculous dark clothes and pretends to be mature, often staring at the pink and white clothes ordinary girls wear. Barely fifteen, she has to mix with the Hangzhou merchants, who would eat you alive without even spitting out the bones, and put on a show of being perfectly capable. In private, all she can do is bite her quilt and cry...

What a poor girl. Anyone could bully her. How could he have become one of the people hurting her?

Shen Ao gulps down the bowl of thin porridge and lies back on the woodpile. Though gaunt, his gaze burns bright. Looking at Chancellor Shen, he smiles. "Lord Shen, with me in the family, the Shen name as a respected scholarly clan is finished. Just spare my life today. Even if she marries someone else into her family, I'll sneak around with her for the rest of my life!"

-

When the female lead first appears, she is sixteen, and the male lead is nineteen.

Both leads have only ever been with each other.

The blurb was written on October 24, 2025, and a screenshot has been saved.

Upcoming novel: "Jade Thoughts"

On the night of her wedding, Yunian's husband dies in bed.

Her mother-in-law thinks she's bad luck and wants to leave her in the snow to die.

Then her husband's uncle appears and takes her away.

The Xie family is one of the most powerful and wealthy families in the land. The eldest son, Xie Zhao, is nearing thirty and holds a second-rank official post. He is a heaven-blessed prodigy at the height of his success.

He has a private residence in the capital, with carved beams and painted rafters as magnificent as a heavenly palace. It is a gilded cage built to hide a beauty away.

The woman living inside is his nephew's wife, his beloved, his Yunian.

An age gap, a size difference, and a sweet romance.

The female lead really is a bit of a ditz, but she can take care of herself. She's simply been pampered into being very delicate.

The male lead is thoroughly wicked. He respects neither elders nor children, beats up his peers, and kicks in the ancestral hall.

Message: Work hard and fight to make your own way in the world.