[Beautiful, silly village girl x sinister, patriarchal head of a powerful family]
[Pregnancy before love / taking by force / age gap]
Zhao Yuhe had been married for three years, but she still hadn't gotten pregnant.
Her mother-in-law forced her husband to write her a divorce letter. He meekly agreed, then took her hand and said, "How about you... borrow some seed?"
Dazed and confused, Zhao Yuhe was pushed into the ruined temple at the east end of the village.
In the dark, the man's strength was terrifying. She whimpered and cried all night, then ran away at dawn while he was still asleep.
Three months later, her belly began to show. But her former husband turned on her and refused to take her back.
With starvation looming, Zhao Yuhe hid her belly and went to the city to work as a maid. One day, as she carried a bundle of dirty laundry past the front courtyard, she caught sight of the stern, intimidating Master Shen scolding his servants.
Their eyes met, and Zhao Yuhe's knees went weak.
Why does this man look so familiar...
*
Shen Xiuming, head of the Shen family, was stern, taciturn, and ruthless.
That night, a rival had drugged him. He had intended to silence the witnesses with his blade, but when he woke, everyone had already disappeared.
He never expected the little maid to come to him on her own.
He said coldly, "Drag her out and beat her to death."
Zhao Yuhe shuddered in fright and covered her mouth as she retched. Her coarse clothes could not hide the slight curve of her belly.
Shen Xiuming stopped just as he was about to leave, his brows drawing together. The timing fits. Could it be...
She was pregnant and still came to work as a menial maid? Did she have a death wish? His gaze passed over her pale face.
"Never mind the beating. Throw her out of the manor."
She raised her tearful eyes and looked at him timidly.
QwQ...
After a moment, the man turned his face away and swept off. "Keep her. Put her to work in my courtyard."
*
Later, the maid became his bedchamber attendant, and then moved into the finest heated chamber in the Southern Courtyard.
Her former husband somehow heard that Zhao Yuhe was living well in the Shen manor, and shamelessly came to call. Shen Xiuming set his teacup down with a thud, his expression cold and menacing.
He turned to Zhao Yuhe, huddled behind the screen. "I'll take you as my concubine."
Zhao Yuhe was stunned. "Huh?"
"Is that still not good enough for you?" Shen Xiuming frowned. "Then I'll marry you as my wife. I'll bring eight sedan bearers, open the ancestral hall, and enter your name in the family register."
Zhao Yuhe was even more confused. "What (*ﾟﾛﾟ)?"
The man finally lost patience and darkened his expression. "That child is mine. You dare say no?"
Reading Guide:
1. Happy ending, both sexually inexperienced (because the former husband doesn't count).
2. The dynasty is fictional. Please don't nitpick the historical details.
Theme: Everyone should live their own life to the fullest and make it a wonderful one.
