Reborn as My Rival's Widowed Sister-in-Law

Reborn, Xu Yunwan has no desire to return to the palace and suffer, nor does she care for romance.

She planned to live alone for the rest of her life, but her grandmother forced her to marry, even threatening to die.

She decides to marry into the Ningguo Duke's residence to bring good fortune to her sick husband. She would rather be a widow, keeping a solitary vigil by the lamp, if it means she can lie flat and live out her days in peace.

*

On the day her husband is laid to rest, Xu Yunwan, dressed in mourning white, kneels on the ground and burns paper offerings.

As it happens, the duke's legitimate son, who had been living outside the household, returns that very day.

The young man, as bright as a pine crane beneath the moon, dismounts and heads straight into the mourning hall, where he respectfully offers incense to his late elder brother.

Smoke stinging her eyes, Xu Yunwan looks through blurred tears and sees, to her astonishment, a familiar face across from her...

In her previous life, when she was empress dowager,

she and this man fought for their entire lives and never made peace, not even at the end.

Sheng Henian, a grand councilor under three reigns, spent his life as a powerful official, devoted to his country and its people. His reputation was spotless, and he was as noble and pure as polished white jade. He was known as a minister of unmatched virtue.

His flawless reputation had only one tiny blemish, connected to the late demon empress.

On the anniversary of the empress dowager's death, he once lost control and got drunk in the Tang Garden. In his sleep, he murmured a name.

It was said to be the empress dowager's childhood nickname.

"Your Majesty... I have one regret in this life."

He had lived without betraying heaven, earth, or the people, yet he had wronged one person alone.

*

#After Being Reborn, I Became My Nemesis's Widowed Sister-in-Law

#The Chaste One Loses Control, the Saintly One Falls

Previous life: A beautiful, scheming empress dowager X a proper, ceremonious, cool-headed minister

This life: A woman who has renounced love and doesn't get the hint X a gentle, chaste, sweet-on-the-outside, dark-on-the-inside man

Content warnings:

1. One-on-one romance, both leads sexually inexperienced, happy ending. They loved and fought in their previous life; in this life, it's an uncle-and-sister-in-law romance full of extreme push and pull.

2. The male lead is four years older than the female lead. He gradually remembers his past life after being reborn.

3. In their previous life, the male lead was switched at birth. In this life, he is found and brought home, so the female lead doesn't know she married his biological older brother.

4. There are quite a few domestic family conflicts, along with a little court intrigue.

5. Food, clothes, and daily necessities are loosely based on the Ming and Qing dynasties. Everything else is made up.

First draft completed on December 1, 2023.

Theme: Regaining what you lost is one of life's greatest joys.