On the day Rong Wanqing became engaged to Wen Linyu, heir to the Marquis of Ding'an's household, all of Chang'an said they were a match made in heaven.
She had once glimpsed him from afar at the Lantern Festival. Beneath the moon, the young nobleman had turned his head, gentle as jade, every bit the refined gentleman praised in the verse, “A noble man, polished and refined.” She had been more than willing to accept the match.
But when she entered the marquis's household with a heart full of hope, she found that her husband was not quite the man she'd imagined.
She had no idea that the man she married was not Wen Linyu.
*
He was Wen Linyu's twin brother, the “shadow” the Wen family kept hidden away in a secret chamber: a man with no name, no identity, no sense of self, whose sole purpose was to die in the heir's place if he ever faced danger.
On the eve of the wedding, Wen Linyu was unexpectedly gravely injured and fell into a coma. The Wen family could not afford to lose their marriage alliance with the Rong family, so the twin naturally took Wen Linyu's place as heir to the Marquis of Ding'an and married Rong Wanqing.
He put on his brother's robes, imitated his mannerisms, and obeyed orders as he played Rong Wanqing's husband.
But he never expected that this radiant, sun-bright young woman would make him feel, for the first time,
that standing in the light could be so warm. He wanted to live openly too, and to be her husband with honor.
But Wen Linyu woke up.
*
Watching his younger brother with his wife, Wen Linyu felt jealousy toward the shadow he'd kept under his heel since childhood for the first time.
He was nothing but Wen Linyu's “shadow.” Now that Wen Linyu had returned, the shadow should go back to where he belonged. And Rong Wanqing, who should have been his wife, could only ever be his.
As he wished, everything smoothly returned to its proper course.
The only thing that changed was Rong Wanqing.
“You're not him. Where is he?”
Her eyes, usually as gentle as water, were filled with icy hostility when she looked at him. Wen Linyu's heart lurched, and he pinned her against the bed.
“Rong Wanqing, have you forgotten whose wife you are?”
Theme: Love is not deception or possession, but respect and honesty.
