[Marriage first, love later; slow-burn romance; farming/slice-of-life + imperial examinations]
Xie Jiujiu is the eldest child in her family. Her father gave her this name in the hopes of being able to father a full nine children.
Unfortunately, Old Xie lacked the strength to match his ambitions. Before he passed away, he left Xie Jiujiu with a sickly, frail younger brother and a little sister whose nose was perpetually runny.
Her widowed mother is fierce but easily swayed, unable to protect the family business her father spent a lifetime building.
Xie Jiujiu had no choice but to take her own birth chart to a matchmaker.
“I want to find a matrilocal husband who is formidable, shrewd, and brave enough to risk his life if we are wronged!”
Dazzled by the matchmaking fee, the matchmaker introduced her to the city’s notorious down-and-out man, Pei Yuan.
Pei Yuan was originally an illegitimate son. Because his grand-uncle’s branch of the family had no sons, he was chosen for adoption. In exchange, the grand-uncle even surrendered the family’s only hereditary military post.
Now, Pei Yuan is stuck with a grand mansion he can neither sell nor maintain; his annual income isn’t even enough for the repairs.
Before any money he earns can even get warm in his pocket, it is gone. In a moment of desperation, he hardens his heart and sells himself to Xie Jiujiu as a matrilocal husband.
