[Resilient Beauty x Obsessive Prince, Forceful Pursuit + Winning Her Back After Losing Her]
Marrying Pei Qingzhang, heir to the Marquis of Anyuan, was never Jiang Funing's wish.
Pei Qingzhang was aloof, sinister, and shrewd. She knew he had no affection for her either, so when she heard that he had died on the battlefield, she felt little grief.
As the Marquis of Anyuan's household fell into decline, its matriarch, Madam Meng, came to Jiang Funing in a rage. Using her younger sister as leverage, she forced Jiang Funing to leave the marquis's household and marry into a more powerful family.
Jiang Funing was naturally unwilling to become a pawn in a power struggle. But when she learned that the man who wished to marry her was none other than Xie Yunhuai, the unattainable son of the Grand Tutor whom she had admired as a girl, she agonized over it for a long time before finally agreeing.
In her eyes, Xie Yunhuai was like the moon in the sky and snow on the mountains. She had never dreamed that the man she once could only gaze at secretly from a corner would actually become her husband.
Xie Yunhuai treated her wonderfully. After they married, they lived together in perfect harmony, cherishing one another as equals.
Until one day, her husband, who had been dead for many years, suddenly returned.
*
From an unremarkable heir to the Marquis of Anyuan to the battle-hardened Prince of Pingbei, the man's temperament had grown even more withdrawn and cold. His bloodstained black iron mask made everyone in the capital keep their distance.
When he learned his wife had remarried, Pei Qingzhang was initially unconcerned.
She was no more than a woman he had married for the sake of mutual advantage. She wasn't worth a place in his heart.
Yet his gaze kept falling on her fingers intertwined with Xie Yunhuai's. His wife smiled sweetly at that handsome pretty boy, showing a gentle tenderness she had never shown him.
The man's eyes darkened. His fingers curled tighter and tighter, cracking audibly.
His attendant cautiously reminded him that Madam had married into the Xie family and was now rightfully Young Master Xie's wife.
Pei Qingzhang scoffed.
So what if she was another man's wife? He would just take her back. She had been his from the start, and could only ever be his.
Inside the Xie family's carriage, the man's shadow loomed over her, towering above her.
The beauty in his arms had swollen red lips and tear-filled eyes, silently begging him.
Watching Jiang Funing's frightened expression, the man curved his lips with amusement. His dark eyes fixed on her, cold and damp, as if she were prey he was certain to claim.
"Madam, it's been a while."
[Important Content Warnings]
1. Neither the male lead nor the second male lead has been with anyone before. The male lead has eyes for the heroine alone from beginning to end. Only after the heroine and the second male lead divorce will she and the male lead begin a mutual romance and intimate relationship.
2. This is a completely fictional setting. Please don't apply historical research.
[Coming soon: Seize the Moon. Please add it to your collection. Winning Her Back After Losing Her + Second Male Lead Takes the Lead]
Jiang Lanshu knew that she and her older sister were worlds apart. Her sister was the family's precious jewel, while she was merely a lowborn daughter of an illegitimate woman, born in secret and shame.
Her sister and Shen Du, the eldest son of the Shen family, were in love. But her sister's life was cut short, and she died before their wedding. Shen Du swore he would never marry again. The Jiang family couldn't bear to give up the chance to attach themselves to the Shen family. Since Jiang Lanshu's face looked seven parts like her sister's, they ignored the fact that she was already engaged and sent her to Shen Du's bed.
At the time, Jiang Lanshu was engaged to someone else, but one word from her family was enough to leave her serving Shen Du without a name or a proper place.
Fortunately, she had never met her fiancé, and felt no affection for him. She didn't regret losing that marriage.
Besides, she had admired Shen Du for a long time. But her lowly status meant she was beneath his notice. Even after she took her sister's place as his woman, all he looked at her with was disgust.
Jiang Lanshu knew that he loved her sister deeply.
But she thought that perhaps one day she could warm his heart and make him see her good qualities.
Until the day she saw Shen Du holding his newly taken concubine, gently promising her, "She's just a shameless bed-climber, trying to become a phoenix by clinging to the fact that she looks a little like A Ying. Why bother with her? Hit her or scold her as you please. Just treat her like a lowly maid to vent your anger on."
Jiang Lanshu's heart went completely cold.
That night, as torrential rain poured down, she fled the little courtyard where she had been imprisoned, heavily pregnant. Surrounded and with nowhere to turn, she could only cling to a faint hope and knock on the gate of the neighboring residence.
The gate opened. A handsome, refined man stood there holding an umbrella. She grabbed his boot without hesitation, tears welling in her eyes. "Sir, please save me."
Pei Ji was slightly taken aback. It was obvious that Jiang Lanshu did not recognize him,
not even though they had once had a marriage contract and had been just one step away from becoming husband and wife.
*
When Shen Du heard that Jiang Lanshu had run away, he paid no attention.
She was so devoted to him. How could she bear to leave? She was just playing some tricks to win his sympathy.
But he waited and waited, until the spring flowers had bloomed and fallen again, and Jiang Lanshu still did not return.
Shen Du completely panicked.
Everyone said the eldest son of the Shen family had gone mad. For the sake of a lowly maid, he had nearly turned the entire capital upside down.
He could no longer find the girl who used to call him "young master" in a gentle voice. Just as he was utterly despairing, he saw the face that haunted his dreams at the wedding banquet of the Emperor's maternal uncle.
He heard that the Emperor's maternal uncle had been separated from his family as a child and had spent many years recuperating in the countryside before finally returning to the capital and reuniting with his relatives. The Empress pitied her elder brother for all his hardships and specially asked the Emperor to arrange a marriage for him.
The bride raised a cup of wedding wine to him. Shen Du grabbed Jiang Lanshu's hand like a madman, only to be roughly forced to his knees by the guards.
The refined, aloof young man stood in wedding robes, shielding Jiang Lanshu firmly behind him. He looked at Shen Du as if he were an ant he could crush at will.
Shen Du's heart turned to ash. He watched helplessly as his A Shu wore a polite smile and spoke each word like a blade piercing his heart, leaving him bleeding inside.
"Sir, you've mistaken me for someone else."
Theme: Pursuing a love that brings happiness
The meme is quite good, but the female protagonist is too bad at eating. The second male lead is described in a bad way. I understand it is to make way for the male protagonist, but it indirectly reflects the poor taste of the female protagonist.
Judging the relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law: one boy, two boys...
Finally, I ended the whole article with 1.5 Million words. Don't you think the progress is too fast? This chapter can advance the second half. It was originally well written, but in the end it was finished hastily.
Is it over like this...???
I really admired these two parents-in-law. They couldn't explain the problem clearly, and the more they thought about it, the more biased they became. The prince is also very annoyed. The little girl doesn't hate you but rejects you, and insists on meddling in arranging other people's marriages. He didn't force him to stay like his brother, but what he gave was another kind that he couldn't refuse.
This prince doesn't look like a good person. He should be a white-blooded person. How could he get married so easily?
The prince learned how to do Goulan today
Can there be a side story about Prince Edward and Yinyin?
Very good! His wife and children have left this self-righteous prince, and it's time for him to taste the pain! Seeing it makes me angry
The male protagonist keeps having sex, and the female protagonist firmly believes that the male protagonist does not love her. The plot is a bit uncomfortable to watch.