Jade Dew on the Tang Blossom

[Substitute Bride: The Honest Young Concubine's Daughter vs. The Powerful, Chaste Minister]

The years Fang Youmian spent in the Yu household after marrying in place of her legitimate elder sister were like walking on thin ice.

Above her was a fierce, oppressive mother-in-law. Below her were sisters-in-law who made things difficult at every turn and loved to meddle in everything, along with a husband who was away most of the time and had someone else in his heart.

If not for her younger sister's health and her younger brother's academic success, she would never have yielded to her stepmother's coercion and agreed to protect the family's interests. Even if the man were the eldest legitimate son of a century-old, illustrious family, handsome beyond compare and nobly refined, with a reputation renowned throughout Yingjing and all under heaven, she would never have married into his family.

She endured those miserable days for three years.

Thankfully, once she made it through the New Year, her brother would have earned his title and her sister would have recovered. Perhaps then she could be like a bird perched on a branch, spreading her wings and flying free of the Yu household.

Flying high and far.

-

When Yu Lin first met Madam Fang, he barely saw her face.

She stood at the very end of a group of women, head bowed and silent.

Her pale spring-green dress was simple, and the begonia hairpin by her temple swayed gently. Dawn filtered through the roof tiles, surrounding her small, delicate ear.

At the time, Yu Lin mistook her for a childhood friend of his younger sister, visiting the household.

After the elders had finished their pleasantries, his grandmother called her over. A shy, awkward