A Record of the Substitute Marriage

Pei Ningxuan thought his new bride, the young princess consort, was a spy and an enemy.

But she admitted outright that she was only a counterfeit, a substitute bride.

He mobilized every spy he had, yet still couldn't uncover her identity or origins.

Luo Xun sighed, wondering if his luck had finally turned, since a beautiful wife had fallen out of the sky into his lap.

He accepted her.

But as time passed, he realized that his young princess consort seemed connected to the fragmented dreams that had haunted him lately.

Later, he awoke from a long dream.

Pei Ningxuan finally remembered.

This was the person he had begged the heavens to return to him, giving up everything he'd gained in his life and offering up his very flesh and blood.

What he'd lost was a dazzling, radiant sun.

But the woman before him was a bright, luminous moon.

When he found her, she was not wearing the vivid, beautiful dress she loved. Instead, she lay across a horse's back in a plain robe stained with blood, bathed in the scent of blood and the moonlight pouring down from above.

When she noticed him, the young woman calmly turned her face and pointed to the full moon overhead. Smiling, she said, "Look, the moon is so bright tonight... How lovely."

*

She had lived two lives, transmigrating twice to the same place and meeting the same people.

Only later did An Ziye understand that some things, and some people, were simply impossible to avoid.

So she chose to settle her blood debt and sever the grudges of her past life.

In the years that followed, she often rode through the magnificent mountains and rivers she had longed to see. When tired, she would rein in her horse and stop at a tea stall, sipping tea as she quietly savored the myriad forms of life she had once ignored.

When she was in a particularly good mood, she would generously invite the white-clad young man who silently followed her and sat resting nearby to have a tea cake, or one of the candies he liked.

----Coming Soon: The Beauty's Account Book----

#Clever, Clear-Headed Beauty VS. Noble, Innocent Sickly Young Master#

Marriage before love, one-on-one

Liangzhou has two wealthy families: the Jin family and the Lu family.

The two families arrange a marriage, to secure both their business interests and a happy union.

The Song family's young lady is stunningly beautiful, gentle, and kind.

The Lu family's young master is handsome and elegant, with a gentle, refined nature.

Everyone sighs: This is sure to become a beautiful love story.

Unexpectedly, the Lu family's business falters and the family falls into decline. The Song family takes the opportunity to call off the engagement.

*

Her father, blinded by profit and faithless to his word, broke the marriage pact made when she was still in the womb.

Hearing that her fiance was clever, Song Hua planned to secretly help him and discuss marriage again once he had rebuilt the family business.

But her fiance was too proud to accept help. He left without a word and vanished without a trace.

Later, her father decides to marry her off to a notorious playboy in town.

On the wedding day, the newly appointed prefect arrives with a marriage contract in hand and, citing the broken engagement, has both her father and the playboy thrown into prison.

Only then does Song Hua learn that the prefect is the young master of the Lu family, returned to take revenge for how they kicked him when he was down.

To save them, she personally goes to plead with him.

Unexpectedly, he looks her up and down for a long moment, then says with a half-smile, "I have always been fair. Those at fault must be punished, and whatever is owed must be repaid."

Song Hua thinks it over, then suddenly understands.

"All right, then let's get married."

*

Once the favored son of heaven, Lu Zichen had fallen from wealth, lost both his parents, and now faced the loss of his engagement. Frail and sickly, he had long since given up hope.

He thought, If she wants to break it off, so be it. In my current state, I shouldn't drag her down with me.

Lu Zichen personally brought the marriage contract to her home, intending to end things for good.

But he accidentally overheard his future father-in-law negotiating with someone.

So the Song family wanted to monopolize the business.

So the Song family was responsible for the misery he was in now.

Lu Zichen clenched his teeth, glared at the marriage contract in his hand, and resolutely left Liangzhou.

He went to the capital, took the civil service exams, and eventually became a prefect. Then he returned to his old home.

He heard his fiancee was about to marry someone else?

"As if I'd let you have your way."

So he took his men and threw the father and son-in-law into prison.

When his fiancee came to plead for them, he deliberately made things difficult for her, saying, "I have always been fair. Those at fault must be punished, and whatever is owed must be repaid."

The Lu family was owed justice, and it was only right for them to pay it back.

But after thinking it over, the young woman suddenly said, "Then let's get married."

Lu Zichen: ?

In the years that followed, people out boating would sometimes come across the prefect and his wife, perfectly in tune and deeply in love.

The people of Liangzhou were amazed: Three years later, the love story had come true after all!

[Little Scene]

Lu Zichen learns that his wife had used their marriage arrangement to extort part of the family estate from her greedy father.

That night, in a soft blue gauze bed-curtain, Lu Zichen suddenly stops and gazes down at his wife in his arms, her eyes glistening and her face heartbreakingly sweet. His gaze turns dark as he asks in a restrained voice, "You kept a house and farmland from me, hundreds of miles outside Liangzhou. Were you planning to divorce me?"

Song Hua, who really had been planning just that, is secretly startled. She keeps her expression calm, clings to his neck, and sobs as if deeply aggrieved.

"Back then, I thought you had come back for revenge and would drive me out sooner or later. I was only keeping a fallback plan."

At her tears, Lu Zichen is at a loss. He knows it's an excuse and a lie, yet he still bends down to kiss the tears from the corners of her eyes and gently comforts her.

"I won't drive you away."

"And we won't divorce."

Theme: No matter how many hardships we endure, we must remain true to ourselves and press bravely forward.