This was supposed to be a preorder, but I accidentally started posting it!!
Fake-cold, true-villain marquis uncle x kind, timid widowed sister-in-law who runs away while pregnant
Both leads are reborn / Younger man / Coercive pursuit / Forbidden romance / Winning her back / Pregnancy and flight
1.
When Jiang Qiao was sixteen, her parents sold her to a hunter at the village entrance for three strings of cash.
Her husband was a little rough, but aside from having a younger brother who treated her coldly, her life was bearable.
But her good fortune didn't last. Her husband died unexpectedly, and her husband's family branded Jiang Qiao a jinx and threw her out.
After she returned to her parents' home, they tried to sell her off again. She refused with all her might and threw herself into the water.
When she woke up, it was the seventh day after her husband's death. Her younger brother-in-law, who had looked down on her ever since she married into the family, had returned.
He helped her settle her family troubles, and the two of them lived in neighboring rooms in the old house.
But she gradually realized that her brother-in-law had changed. He was now considerate and attentive toward her.
Until one day, she found the scarlet undergarment she'd lost three years ago beneath his pillow.
2.
Zhao An was born without much capacity for emotion. He was indifferent to human life and had no interest in the imperial examinations, so he joined the army and went to war. But his sworn brothers betrayed him, and he was ambushed at the foot of Wolf Mountain.
When he woke again, he was back on the day before he'd decided to enlist.
His elder brother had married a woman who seemed weak and easy to bully. He hated women like that.
What he couldn't stand most was that every night, once darkness fell, the paper-thin wall next door carried the sound of his sister-in-law's muffled cries.
Halfway through the night, he was woken again by those sounds. He pushed the door open and found his sister-in-law flushed, her slender white legs wrapped tightly around his brother's waist.
Worse still, his sister-in-law saw him.
3.
On the seventh day after his brother's death, he returned home in disguise and found his sister-in-law being bullied, lonely and frail, with no one to depend on.
Amid his sorrow, a secret delight rose in his heart.
His sister-in-law was so fragile that anyone could bully her. How could a household manage without a man?
He knew he shouldn't think that way, but he couldn't help himself.
His innocent, kind sister-in-law naturally had no idea what he was thinking and treated him with kindness at every turn.
Until one day, she discovered his secret and trembled with anger.
"Zhao An, this goes against all moral principles!"
He smiled cruelly. "A father passes things to his son, and a brother's widow to his younger brother. It's only right and proper."
Content warnings:
1. The female lead has had other partners, the male lead hasn't. Younger man; the younger brother becomes very unhinged later on and pursues her coercively. Written purely to indulge my tastes. Don't read if that's not for you.
2. One-on-one, with no love triangle. There is a male supporting character with unrequited feelings for the female lead. A firmly happy-ending story!
Theme: Face desire and fate.
