Reborn to Marry My Ex's Younger Brother

[Updates at 7:00 a.m. Dialogue comments are open] Zhu Xueyao had no royal blood, yet the emperor and empress cherished her like the apple of their eye. Her parents had fought alongside the emperor to conquer the realm, and both had died protecting him, leaving behind only a baby in swaddling clothes. Once the realm was at peace, she was immediately granted the title of Lady Fuhui. --A woman granted a noble title, with the status of a princess. The empress raised her herself, and she had even ridden on the emperor's shoulders to pluck flowers from the branches. The princes and princesses older than her called her little sister, while those younger than her called her big sister. Later, when she reached marriageable age, there was no question who she would marry: Yan Jue. Yan Jue was both the eldest and the legitimate heir, renowned for his virtue and benevolence, and the undisputed crown prince. In everyone's eyes, this was a perfect match. --To the empress, marrying her beloved adopted daughter to her own son meant strengthening family ties. --To the emperor, marrying his benefactor's daughter to the crown prince made for a heartwarming tale of loyalty between ruler and subject. --To Zhu Xueyao, Big Brother was the kindest of all her siblings, and she was willing to become his wife and help him rule! Unfortunately, everyone overlooked one small thing. Unknown to them, Yan Jue had found his true love. Since she was born a commoner and had a fiery temperament, she could never become crown princess, so he had no choice but to marry Zhu Xueyao. Zhu Xueyao only learned the truth after the wedding and had no choice but to endure it. She thought she had suffered a terrible injustice, but she had no idea that in Yan Jue's eyes, he was the one who had been wronged. Later, the empress and emperor passed away one after the other, and Yan Jue ascended the throne. He finally stopped enduring this so-called injustice and immediately trumped up charges to depose Zhu Xueyao, because he did not want her to have any claim to the throne. He wanted his true love to be his first empress. On the day of Yan Jue's enthronement, Zhu Xueyao was strangled by a eunuch in a woodshed in the Eastern Palace, her heart full of resentment. When she opened her eyes again, Zhu Xueyao had returned to the time when she was choosing a husband. Remembering a life in which she had been used as a stepping stone and then died horribly, Zhu Xueyao turned her attention to the Fifth Prince, Yan Xuan. Yan Xuan had been raised by the empress dowager, and everyone said he loved pleasure and wanted no part in worldly affairs. More importantly, Zhu Xueyao knew he had no true love. In her previous life, he never married before she died, and kept only a lot of kittens for company. So Zhu Xueyao thought, since he had no true love, marrying him wouldn't get in anyone's way. They could treat each other with respect and raise cats together. It sounded rather pleasant. So she became the Fifth Prince's consort and got the life she'd hoped for, spending every day petting cats. But she overlooked one more small thing. ...Yan Xuan had raised a whole courtyard of cats because he had once looked after his study companion's cat when he was six. And during that time, she had visited him every day to play. [Before you start] *Some of the cats in this story may live implausibly long lives. The author has cats, too, and simply can't bring herself to write a kitten's death. Thank you for understanding. *Though the male lead is royalty and the female lead holds a noble title, they will have both biological and adopted children. The adopted children join the family before the leads fall in love. If this bothers you, or if you care strongly about bloodlines, please don't read this story. *The emperor and empress rule together, so the emperor is addressed as Your Majesty and the empress as Sage. *The setting is entirely fictional and combines elements from various dynasties the author wanted to use. Please don't try to match it to or research any particular dynasty. *Although the female lead calls the male lead and other male characters her brothers, they are not related by blood. They are not related by blood. They are not related by blood. (I think the synopsis makes that pretty clear, haha. This disclaimer is just extra protection in the current climate.) Theme: Pursue truth, goodness, and beauty