Mistakenly Breaking Off a Promising Match

Wen Li did everything she could to marry into the Shen household, all so she could remain there and complete the task her master had assigned her.

But the groom died unexpectedly before the wedding ceremony, and Wen Li was on the verge of failing and losing her life.

In her desperation, the old madam, desperate for a grandchild, spoke coldly: if Wen Li could make Shen Mingzhu, the second young master who kept his distance from women, fall for her that very night, she would accept her as her daughter-in-law.

That night, her mother-in-law kindly lit incense in their room, but even that couldn't make him give in. Shen Mingzhu, pure and refined, had red-rimmed eyes and lips like fire, yet still gritted his teeth and promised her:

"Don't worry. I... will never tarnish your virtue."

Wen Li clenched the medicated handkerchief in her sleeve and sighed to herself. What good was her virtue if she was dead?

She steeled herself and moved closer, gently laying the handkerchief over his nose. Her voice was earnest and innocent:

"Husband, there's really no need to... guard your virtue so carefully."

**

In the eyes of the world, Shen Mingzhu was the refined, sickly young master of a marquis's household, as well as the youngest compiler at the Hanlin Academy.

No one knew that he was also Mr. Cangwu, the foremost strategist in the rebel army whose campaigns threw the realm into turmoil, a man who planned every move and never miscalculated.

He had spent his life playing the game without regret, leaving no trace with every move, yet somehow he stumbled over a young woman whose identity was shrouded in mystery.

A long-buried bloodshed, the breathing beside her pillow, the fog in the mirror...

Some calamities are destined from the first glance.

Some romances only draw you deeper the more you investigate.

Theme: Life is full of surprises.