[Innocent yet cruel young nobleman x Gentle, strong-willed orphan girl x Silent, ruthless powerful minister]
Ye Qingyu, sixteen years old, only daughter of the Great General Who Guards the Nation.
After her parents died in service to their country, the emperor granted her a marriage to Xie Ke, heir to Prince Huan, as a gesture of compassion.
As the orphaned daughter of loyal subjects, she was treated with great courtesy by everyone in Prince Huan's household.
After marrying, Ye Qingyu led a fairly comfortable life.
Though she had heard through the gossip that her husband once had a childhood sweetheart, and the two had been on the verge of an engagement they never got to discuss openly.
Though her husband was cool and polite toward her during the day.
Though he never let her set foot in his study.
Ye Qingyu knew her husband had feelings for her. Or perhaps they had gradually grown with time.
She still remembered their wedding night. Her husband had only lifted one corner of her skirt a little and told her to turn around, keeping his distance.
Now three months had passed, and every night he came to cling to her, wielding a sharp edge as he drove her soft body to the brink, calling her, "Ayu, Ayu..."
Once, overcome with passion, Ye Qingyu called him "Langjun Ke."
For some reason, her husband seemed to take it as a sore point. He fell silent and grew fierce, nearly breaking her.
Ye Qingyu thought it over and realized her mistake. "Langjun Ke" was what her husband's childhood sweetheart used to call him.
She had taken someone else's place and stolen another woman's destined match. If her husband still couldn't let go, she wouldn't settle for a half-hearted marriage.
She found him in his study. "I don't want to ruin your life. If you wish to bring her into the household, you can give me a divorce agreement."
Xie Ke said nothing.
Ye Qingyu lowered her eyes, her face gentle and warm, and rubbed her belly. "I already have someone to depend on inside me... but this child will belong to the Great General's Residence, and bear the surname Ye."
"You're pregnant?" Xie Ke's gaze suddenly darkened. "You want your husband to marry someone else? You want your husband... to share a bed with another woman?"
"You needn't worry, my lord. My husband's elder brother is head of the household now. I'll do my best to persuade him."
Ye Qingyu tried to keep smiling, though her husband had never called himself "your husband" before. Her brother-in-law looked down on everyone and usually acted as if she didn't exist, and she was afraid to ask him for help.
"Don't go," Xie Ke said coldly.
After that, Xie Ke's temperament changed completely. He clung to her day and night, speaking tenderly and never leaving her side.
Ye Qingyu thought the clouds had finally parted and her husband had at last fallen for her. She thought they might as well live a good life together, until a small detail one night sent a chill through her body.
The man who had been whispering sweet nothings to her every night was not her husband at all. The father of the child in her belly was someone else.
There weren't many men in the prince's household. Once Ye Qingyu guessed who it was, her legs nearly gave way.
And in the shadows she could not see, the man who never so much as looked her in the eye during the day, Xie Yinzhi, a powerbroker at court, was barred from entering her room for the first time.
He wanted to go in, but couldn't. He wanted to get close, but couldn't. He wanted to endure it, but couldn't...
Hearing what was happening inside, Xie Yinzhi slowly went mad, completely forgetting that he had been the one to agree when his younger brother knelt and begged him to act out the wedding night.
Now, the act was over.
#My sweet, clueless sister-in-law, do you know why you're suffering morning sickness?#
#My brother-in-law, who turned make-believe into reality, seems to have gone mad#
Theme: Deception is unforgivable.
