After I Was Widowed, I Became My Cousin's Concubine

Content warnings:

Happy ending | The female lead is not a virgin | Widow romance | Face-slapping | A concubine wins the man's heart and rises in status | The male lead is head over heels for her

Shen Yurou is breathtakingly beautiful, but fate has never been kind to her. She loves reading romantic fiction, has poor eyesight, and loves pretending to be a talented woman.

She had barely enjoyed two years of married life in a wealthy family when her husband suddenly died, leaving her a young widow everyone coveted. After half a year of mourning, her great-aunt, who had married well and settled in the capital, suddenly came to visit.

Her great-aunt took her hand. "How would you like to become your cousin's confidante?"

Blushing, Shen Yurou agreed. "I'll leave everything to you, Great-Aunt."

She was long tired of living in poverty, and half a year of mourning was enough to prove her devotion.

Zhou Tingzheng is the very image of restraint, propriety, and respect for rules. Just as he is about to marry, his grandmother foists a widow, the daughter of a distant cousin, on him as a concubine.

"Grandmother," he says coolly, "I have no wish to take a concubine."

From the first moment Zhou Tingzheng sees her, he takes an instant dislike to her. Her eyes are alluring and her waist soft and slender, nothing like the refined young ladies of the capital's great houses.

Shen Yurou knows he doesn't like her, but she neither cries nor makes a scene. She simply continues to offer him gentle, tender kindness.

Zhou Tingzheng thinks there is an unintentional sensuality about her from head to toe. She looks like trouble.

He turns her down coldly, time and again.

But Shen Yurou acts as if she can't understand.

The more annoyed he gets, the more, somehow, he finds himself changing.

When she comes close, his throat tightens.

When she counts her banknotes, her eyes sparkling, he finds her adorable.

When someone bullies her and her eyes turn red, his heart inexplicably feels as if someone has squeezed it.

He tells himself to let it go, and just treat her like another younger sister to protect.

Until one day, he sees another man hand her a marriage proposal with his own eyes.

Before Shen Yurou can even speak, Zhou Tingzheng's eyes redden first.

Before long, everyone in the capital knows that the Grand Secretary dotes on his charming concubine and holds her in the palm of his hand.

Theme: Love can overcome any obstacle.