After the Substitute Bride Maid Ran Away Pregnant

Shen Yuan knows that she got this marriage by chance, so even her love for her husband is something she can hardly claim openly.

She was just a maid who swept the Zheng residence, but when the family's second young lady fled from her wedding, Shen Yuan took her place and married into the marquis's household. After the wedding, she lived in constant fear of being exposed.

Luckily, the young lady had a bad reputation, so everyone in the marquis's household kept their distance from Shen Yuan. Her husband was also too busy to get close to her.

For two years, nothing went wrong. There was only one unexpected complication.

She fell in love with her husband, Jiang Yan.

She hid it well, and no one noticed. Until one day, the second young lady returned home and exposed her feelings.

That night, amid wind and rain, Shen Yuan finally consummated her marriage with the drunken Jiang Yan. She had planned to summon the courage to confess who she really was, but early the next morning, Jiang Yan came to find her and said:

"Qingluo has served me for a long time. This morning, I made her my concubine. From now on, she will help Mother manage the household. You can carry on as usual."

Shen Yuan stood frozen.

She should have known that the feelings she had secretly harbored were nothing but a stolen, wishful happiness.

--

Jiang Yan knows that his wife's reputation is in tatters. She was originally engaged to his legitimate elder brother, but when his stepmother strongly objected, he was made to honor the engagement instead.

Fortunately, she has behaved herself for the two years since their marriage. She even seems to avoid him, as if she is hiding a secret.

It isn't until she is murdered that he learns his wife should have been called Shen Yuan.

Five years later, Jiang Yan meets Shen Yuan again. This time, he sees her face clearly. She is gentle and composed, sincere toward others, and always wears a kind smile.

She says she only deceived him by taking another woman's place because she had no choice. There had never been any real affection between them as husband and wife, and now she wants him to set her free.

His heart tightens, but he agrees.

But later, when he sees her standing tenderly beside another man, with a son and daughter nestled in her arms, looking like the picture of a happy family, his eyes turn bloodshot with rage.

He admits it: he regrets what he did.

But fortunately, he used to be a merchant, and what he does best is using any means necessary to get everything he wants.

Including her.

* Both leads are virgins. The male lead is chaste.

* A bittersweet secret crush, and the female lead runs away while pregnant (I really love this trope).

* The male lead is an aloof beauty, and he has to chase his wife after losing her.

-- Coming soon --

Brooding, obsessive childhood friend × Honest young wife

On her way home after fetching medicine for her mother-in-law, Su Baoying runs into a childhood friend she hasn't seen in years.

He says that he was robbed by bandits on his way to the capital to take the imperial exams. He has no money and is wounded.

Su Baoying takes him home and lets him recover for several days. Just as she remembers, he is refined, courteous, and gentle-tempered, nothing like her dull-witted husband who spends his nights with prostitutes.

In the two months he lodges with her, Su Baoying's life is turned upside down. Not only do her husband and mother-in-law die, but on the day of the funeral, her husband's relatives rush over, seize the family assets, and throw Su Baoying out.

In the pouring rain, dressed in mourning clothes and clutching the memorial tablet, Su Baoying is at a loss.

As always, Xie Yu stays by her side and says gently, "Baoying, would you let me stay by your side forever?"

Su Baoying is freezing as he holds her in his warm embrace. She gives a slight nod.

--

Xie Yu has been brilliant since childhood, with a mind so sharp it borders on the demonic. In just two years, he claims the position of head of the Xie family, and can easily see through other people's disguises.

He knows he is a wolf in human skin. And his childhood friend is a little rabbit, easily snatched away by anyone who takes a fancy to her.

She is simple and honest, and easily bullied and deceived.

Just like now, all it takes is a little trick for him to get his foot in the door.

--

She finally discovers his true identity.

Dressed in plain clothes and clutching the memorial tablet, she flees in the middle of the night. But she is caught without effort as soon as she reaches the city gate.

That night, Su Baoying is locked to a luxurious, elegant bed that smells entirely of Xie Yu.

Her eyes red from crying, Su Baoying watches as the man before her approaches with elegant confidence, dressed in a magnificent moon-colored brocade robe. All she can do is cower helplessly at the foot of the bed.

The man stares at her, disappointment and hurt filling his phoenix eyes.

He leans down and slowly devours the little rabbit, then takes her ear into his mouth as she trembles helplessly. In a wounded voice, he asks, "Baby, didn't you already agree to marry me? Why are you still running?"

1. The female lead is not a virgin, but the male lead is.

2. The male lead has no moral scruples. His gentlemanly manner is an act, and he is capable of anything.

3. The female lead is very honest. By the time the leads become a couple, she is already a widow.

Theme: Love yourself, and you can love others