[False Heiress, True Heiress]
[Legitimate Daughter x Rugged Man]
If the false heiress's identity had never been exposed, Li Yanyue would have married into the Eastern Palace as the Marquis's legitimate daughter.
But then the true heiress came to the door.
Li Yanyue looked at her: thin, with her back held perfectly straight, and especially those eyes, startlingly bright.
The false heiress had usurped the true heiress's place and enjoyed her wealth. They ought to have returned to their rightful places, but the Marquis and his wife were away from the capital, so the aunt in charge of the household decided to keep the true heiress there.
As for Li Yanyue, she would give up her marriage to the Crown Prince, though she would remain the Marquis's legitimate daughter.
Li Yanyue had enjoyed the Marquis's wealth for sixteen years, so naturally she felt guilty toward the true heiress and agreed to her aunt's plan.
When the Marquis returned from the northwest and learned what had happened, he repeatedly asked Li Yanyue if she was truly willing. If she wasn't, he could find another way to compensate the true heiress.
By then, the true heiress had already met with the Crown Prince. Li Yanyue had seen it with her own eyes, and nodded to the Marquis several times.
The old Marquis put his hands on his hips and looked at Li Yanyue with exasperation:
"If you don't like the Crown Prince, then take your time picking someone else, A-Yan. Pick a few you like, and your dad will kidnap... bring them back for you."
She could bring home whichever man she liked?
Li Yanyue's eyes lit up. She pointed at the broad-shouldered man behind the old Marquis.
"I want him!"
The nth time Li Yanyue saw Zhao Lin was at a palace banquet.
The heir to the Marquis of Zhenbei had come to the capital, and the emperor had hosted a welcoming banquet. The general following the heir was Zhao Lin.
Zhao Lin stood tall and straight, his every step carrying the air of a soldier. As dancers performed at the banquet, he stole a glance at the woman seated up front.
Her clothes were exquisite. The hairpin in her bun was the very one he had secretly sent to the Marquis's residence last month.
Seeing it, Zhao Lin's usually stern face flushed red.
Li Yanyue happened to notice. Their eyes met, and she touched the hairpin on her head. Understanding at once, she smiled at Zhao Lin.
The young woman had bright eyes and pearly teeth. All around them was noise, yet Zhao Lin felt that, in that moment, only the two of them existed.
As a child, Zhao Lin wandered from place to place. When he was on the brink of death, a bowl of plain congee saved him, and he was later assigned to the Marquis of Zhenbei's army.
He seized his chance with all his might, enduring hardship in the army and fighting on the battlefield. His reckless way of fighting helped the Marquis of Zhenbei repeatedly drive back the northern barbarians.
On the day of victory, the emperor personally appointed him General of the Agile Cavalry, and he returned to the capital with the heir.
Rather than a return to the capital, it was more like an assignment to protect the heir, who was being held hostage. From then on, he would have no more chance to earn military merit.
But Zhao Lin didn't care.
He held the military honors he had earned, thinking only that he finally had a chance to repay his debt of gratitude.
But as he tried to repay that debt, he grew greedy. He watched the moon that had once hung high above him draw closer and closer, until he could no longer resist. He gave everything he had to climb up beside it.
Theme: Always repay kindness.
