After I Was Widowed, My Late Husband’s Younger Brother Claimed Me by Force

[Straight-laced young widow x brooding, obsessive younger brother-in-law]

Because of a marriage contract, Meng He became the wife of the eldest son of the Xue family. She had been a country girl, but overnight she entered a wealthy household and became a bride from a prominent family.

But her husband was frail, and before they had been married for two years, he fell ill and died. Meng He was widowed at a young age.

On the day of the funeral, her mother-in-law handed her a divorce agreement. Meng He refused to leave and pleaded to stay with the Xue family, scraping by in a side courtyard.

A year later, an imperial decree arrived. The Xue family was sentenced to execution for crimes including salt smuggling and human trafficking.

When Meng He opened her eyes again, she had returned to her husband's funeral.

The incense had not yet burned out. Her mother-in-law was pointing at her and cursing her for bringing her husband to an early grave, then slapped a divorce agreement down in front of her.

Without a word, Meng He picked up a brush and signed it.

But the Xue family still held the contract binding Yingge, her maid and closest companion.

Just as she was at a loss, Xue Wangyan spoke in a gentle, composed voice: "Sister-in-law, you have nowhere to go. Would you be willing to live with me? I'll get your maid's contract back for you."

With nowhere else to turn, Meng He had no choice but to agree.

She had no idea that this small nod was like inviting a wolf into her home. From then on, she had stepped into the vast prison he had carefully laid out for her.

-

Xue Wangyan was the youngest son born to a concubine in the Xue family. He had been sent to the border city to be raised from childhood, ignored by everyone.

Others saw him as gentle, kind, respectful, and frugal. In truth, his mind had long since become obsessively twisted.

He studied diligently for ten years. No one knew that he had come first in the imperial examinations and now held secret investigative powers, with direct access to the emperor.

He settled his widowed sister-in-law beneath his own roof, living beside her day and night, watching the seemingly docile widow remain trapped in his grasp.

Living together day after day, surrounded at every turn by her warm, lingering fragrance, Meng He tossed and turned in distress whenever their boundaries slipped, regretting ever agreeing to come.

But Xue Wangyan was like a ghost clinging to her bones, enveloping her in tenderness as he tightened his hold step by step.

He beguiled her without a trace, quietly claiming her, leaving her no way out and trapping her in the small world he had made for them.

He had coveted his elder brother's marriage contract for years.

He was determined to have his elder brother's widow.

Reader's guide

1. The female lead is not a virgin. HE. Please don't read if that bothers you.

2. The male lead is an obsessive, mad, lovesick man desperate to be loved. He is an imperfect character and a very bad person.

3. Fictional setting. Later plot elements include a groveling pursuit of the wife, running away while pregnant, and an entire cast of villains, along with plenty of melodrama and a strong sense of forbidden desire. Please don't read if that bothers you.

4. Planning to start posting around September. The whole novel is already written, and I won't abandon it. I take every novel I write seriously and hope you enjoy reading!

Here's a preview of another upcoming novel~

[Cool and aloof senior disciple x playful junior sister]

For centuries, Qingyun Sect has produced one brilliant talent after another, but it also has a laughingstock: Ning Wan, whose wood spiritual root is so weak she can barely sense spiritual energy.

When someone laughs at her for being stupid, she says, "I've got Senior Brother."

When someone mocks her for being weak, she says, "I've got Senior Brother."

When someone sighs that she'll never reach the Great Dao, she says, "I've got Senior Brother."

Everyone: ...Fine. Your Senior Brother is Mo Zhu, so it's your call.

In Ning Wan's eyes, her all-powerful senior brother has only one flaw: his health is terrible, as if he has an incurable disease.

He goes into seclusion on the same day every month and always comes out weak. Recently, things have gotten even worse. He can barely stand when he sees her.

Feeling sorry for him, she secretly vows to cure her frail, sickly genius senior brother.

-

Mo Zhu is the only true disciple of Immortal Qingwei of Qingyun Sect. With his green bamboo sword, he can take on a thousand soldiers single-handedly.

Cool and aloof, pristine as moonlight, he is someone countless female cultivators in the cultivation world wouldn't dare dream of.

But he has a secret: he is in love with his junior sister.

The year he was poisoned by a fox demon, he contracted a love poison that can only be suppressed by spending time each month with the person he loves.

His monthly periods of seclusion are spent in a secret realm, where he conjures an illusion of his junior sister and bears the poison alone.

In two months, his junior sister will come of age.

He can wait. He is willing to wait.

-

On the night of her coming-of-age ceremony, Ning Wan finds an ancient remedy and learns that bathing in a mixture of spiritual spring water and medicinal herbs can open the meridians and cure illness.

It happens to be the day of her senior brother's monthly seclusion. He is soaking in the spiritual spring to recuperate, so she sneaks in, hoping to surprise her long-sick, frail senior brother.

The spiritual spring forms a mirror of water, and the mirror reveals the secret realm. Ning Wan peeks in and freezes on the spot.

In the secret realm, her cool and abstinent senior brother is clutching an illusion of her, whispering over and over, "Wanwan."

The next moment, she is pulled into the spring.

Her usually virtuous and dignified senior brother is wearing only a light robe. He wraps an arm around her waist from behind, his scorching breath against her ear as he says in a husky voice:

"Junior Sister, I love you."

Ning Wan's mind explodes. So her senior brother's cool restraint was all an act.

And the root of his illness was her.

Her face burns. She grits her teeth and manages to say, "Senior Brother, you are absolutely shameless!"

Theme: Everyone must bear the consequences of their actions.