After a Powerful Official Stole Her Away as His Bride, the Country Girl Became the Most Cherished Woman in the Land

【Sweet and satisfying + aloof male lead brought down from his pedestal + marriage of convenience + ensemble cast + devoted to each other】 To pay for her childhood sweetheart and fiancé's education, Lin Zaixi sold herself into service as a maid in the Duke's mansion and gave everything she had to support him. But after he passed the imperial examinations, he climbed the social ladder and got together with the young lady of the household she served. As if things weren't bad enough, her remarried mother tried to curry favor with her new husband's family by forcing her to marry her stepsister off to a villain. With an unkind mother and an unfaithful fiancé, Lin Zaixi was driven to the brink. She turned around and married Pei Zongyao, the young master of the household she served. Pei Zongyao, the eldest son of a ducal household, was a brilliant talent and the unattainable dream of every woman in the capital. Yet this cool, aloof gentleman who had no interest in women snatched a country girl away to make her his legal wife, creating a sensation in the capital. The ducal household was powerful and full of complications: mother-in-law and sisters-in-law, brothers' wives and younger brothers, men competing for the title and women fighting over household authority. Everyone was certain that Lin Zaixi, a common-born eldest daughter-in-law, would be overwhelmed, and waited to see her make a fool of herself. Unexpectedly, though born into humble circumstances, she was not only skilled in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, but also exceptionally learned. Her manners and bearing made her seem more like a noblewoman than the daughters of the aristocratic clans. Her regretful former fiancé circled around her every day, while her aloof husband turned into a jealous man. Lin Zaixi: “Don't forget, we're only pretending to be married. This is just a partnership.” Pei Zongyao: “We were married with all the proper rites and ceremonies. How can it be pretend?” Their marriage of convenience was supposed to be an act, but they ended up playing their parts for a lifetime.