Three Years After the Substitute Marriage

[Blurb]

The Zhou and Lin families arranged a marriage. The eldest daughter of the Lin family entered the Zhou household in a grand procession with a lavish dowry, and the magnificent wedding banquet filled everyone with envy.

Lin Jiayue sat in the bridal sedan wearing a wedding dress that didn't fit. She went through the wedding ceremony and became Madam Zhou in place of her twin sister, Lin Zhijia.

The Lin family had an ancestral rule: whenever twins were born, one had to be cast out to ensure the family's prosperity for generations. Lin Jiayue was the one her parents and relatives abandoned.

As soon as she was born, her parents threw her onto a mountain. Fortunately, her adoptive parents found her and raised her safely.

As the wedding between the Zhou and Lin families drew near, Lin Zhijia eloped with her lover and vanished without a trace. Only then did her birth parents seek out Lin Jiayue, forcing her to take her sister's place by threatening the life of her adoptive mother.

One was a refined young lady raised in the inner quarters; the other, a common girl who had grown up in the countryside.

Their faces were similar, and one could imitate the other's mannerisms, but not her voice. A high fever in childhood had damaged Lin Jiayue's throat.

Her slightly hoarse, low voice and her sister's sweet, gentle, lilting voice made it easy to tell them apart.

On their wedding night, Zhou Yanxing didn't even lift her veil. His warning fell like frost. "You don't need to speak from now on. Remember, you're mute."

"When your sister comes back, you'll each take your rightful place."

Lin Jiayue clenched her fists until crescent-shaped marks appeared in her palms. Thinking of her seriously ill adoptive mother, she gritted her teeth and nodded.

For three years as Madam Mute, Lin Jiayue thought about leaving every single day.

One day, she received a letter claiming to have proof that she had usurped her sister's place. The sender used it to threaten her into stealing a confidential letter from Zhou Yanxing's study.

Looking at the letter, Lin Jiayue smiled.

It was just like having a pillow delivered when you felt sleepy.

The Zhou family was a century-old clan with deep roots, the foremost of the three great families in the capital. The Zhou family's legitimate eldest son, Zhou Yanxing, was refined and unworldly, as imposing as a mountain and as deep as an abyss. He had made a name for himself at court before the age of twenty, and in just three years had risen to the highest position in the government.

The two families had arranged the marriage long ago. No one expected Lin Zhijia to flee on the eve of the wedding, so the Lin family proposed that her younger sister take her place. The Zhou elders all objected, but Zhou Yanxing alone gave his silent approval.

In the three years since the wedding, Zhou Yanxing had been busy with government affairs and rarely returned to the inner residence. He and Lin Jiayue had treated each other with mutual respect and courtesy.

He thought that giving Lin Jiayue the status and honors due to a wife would be enough.

Who could have imagined it would earn him his wife's betrayal and a cool dismissal: "Let's divorce as soon as possible."

Note:

Marriage first, love later; an aloof nobleman who takes what he wants; a groveling husband seeking his wife's return; happy ending.

--- Next book coming soon: The Bride Swap ---

[Blurb]

The Li family of Tongcheng had two beautiful daughters.

The elder sister, Li Jingyue, was gentle and kind; the younger, Li Nanxi, was shrewd and independent.

Li Nanxi had been betrothed to Zhao Yuanxiao, Prince of the Western Frontier, since childhood, and their wedding was set for August that year. On the eve of the wedding, an imperial decree arrived from the capital, betrothing her elder sister Li Jingyue to Jiang Yanshan, the Grand Secretary. The sisters were ordered to marry on the same day.

Jiang Yanshan of the capital was nearly thirty, a widower with a daughter, and known for his cold nature. They said his household was a mess, with a biased mother, a spineless older brother, and a troublesome younger brother.

After receiving the decree, Li Jingyue cried for three days and nights. Their father was consumed with worry. He had once served as the emperor's tutor, but a leg ailment had kept him from rising beyond the third rank, and he had returned to his hometown to recuperate. His eldest daughter was timid and soft-hearted. What would become of her in the Jiang household, a den of wolves and tigers?

Li Nanxi made up her mind and discussed swapping places with her sister.

Though Zhao Yuanxiao was disfigured, the Prince of the Western Frontier's estate was far away in Shaanxi, where Li Nanxi could manage her own household and live as she pleased.

Besides, the sisters had grown up in Tongcheng and had never met Jiang Yanshan or Zhao Yuanxiao.

So Li Nanxi went to the Jiang household in the capital, while Li Jingyue went to the prince's estate in Shaanxi.

**

Jiang Yanshan went through the wedding ceremony with a face cold as frost, watching his fake wife, his real sister-in-law, wreak havoc in the inner residence and turn the Jiang household upside down.

Li Nanxi scoffed. "An imperial marriage decree means we can't divorce, but does it mean I'm not allowed to live separately?"

It wasn't until the sly, foxlike beauty tried to escape that Jiang Yanshan couldn't resist lifting her into his arms and carrying her to bed.

"You want to make sure there's no going back?" His voice was low and husky as Jiang Yanshan kissed Li Nanxi's earlobe. "You're the mistress of the Jiang household. You can forget about ever leaving."

Zhao Yuanxiao knew his wife was the Li family's younger daughter, clever and bold since childhood and skilled at winning over her elders. At the palace banquet, even his father had liked her at first sight and wanted her as his daughter-in-law.

So who was this delicate beauty in front of him?

Li Jingyue was gentle, obedient, attentive, and considerate. Each night, Zhao Yuanxiao held her fragrant, tender form in his arms and went to sleep content.

Until one day, the truth came out.

His little wife, eyes red, tearfully asked for a divorce. "I'm sorry. It's all my fault."

Zhao Yuanxiao, fuming with rage: ...

What was he supposed to do? He couldn't bring himself to scold her.

# An aloof nobleman goes mad for love

# Love and hate entangled

# A hundred ways for a straight-laced man to dote on his wife

Note: Both couples are each other's first and only partners, and the ending is happy. The plot serves the romance.

Two couples:

Aloof, powerful minister VS younger sister who plays the pig to eat the tiger

Dignified, straight-laced prince VS gentle, soft-hearted older sister

Theme: Keep striving even when life puts you in adversity