My Cousin Insists We Swap Marriages

Coming soon next door: I Won't Be a Concubine and Pregnant with My Ex-Husband's Uncle's Child. Please add them to your reading list!

Blurb:

Xinlü's mother dotes on her younger sister, and by extension, her niece. Her cousin has always clamored to marry into a prestigious family, so her mother went to great lengths to arrange a match for her with the Prince of Jun's household. Xinlü, on the other hand, has always been easygoing. She decided long ago to marry her second cousin on her maternal side. He was handsome and gentle, and she was sure life with him would be smooth and happy.

Their marriage documents had been exchanged, and the young woman was simply waiting for her wedding day. But then her cousin woke up one morning and suddenly refused to marry into the Prince of Jun's household. Instead, she insisted on marrying Xinlü's second cousin.

Faced with a difficult choice, Xinlü's mother decided to grant her niece's wish. Ignoring Xinlü's feelings, she switched the matches. Heartbroken, Xinlü married into the Prince of Jun's household without looking back.

Before her wedding, Wen Xinlü had heard that the Prince of Pingwei was eccentric and born with a taste for blood. On their wedding night, she waited nervously for her new husband's judgment. But the taciturn prince simply tossed her a ring of keys. "From now on, you will manage this household. Spend whatever you like from the storeroom."

The next day, Xinlü saw the gold and silver treasures packed into the storeroom until there was barely room to spare, and sucked in a breath. The rumors had never mentioned that the prince was so rich and generous...

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Li Jingqi inherited his father's ambitions, waging war across the land to bring peace and stability to the people. He never expected that the Prince's Consort would secretly make grand pronouncements about rebellion. In the end, they were both confined by the emperor and forbidden to leave until death. Before he died, he heard a guard say that the Iron Cavalry had breached the border at Weinan, leaving the land devastated and its people destitute. But by then, none of it had anything to do with him.

When he opened his eyes again, it was the night of his wedding. Li Jingqi had planned to take his own life and his bride's with it, but beneath the bridal veil was his former wife's younger sister.

They had only met twice in his previous life. Once, when his wife’s younger sister came to visit after the wedding, Ye Shiyu had mocked her. The other time was at a family banquet, where she arrived looking deathly pale. He had heard she had failed to carry her child to term, and she was painfully thin and utterly pitiful.

They were both unfortunate souls, so Li Jingqi drank the nuptial wine and accepted her as his wife.

After their marriage, remembering how his wife had lost several children in her previous life, Li Jingqi wondered if she had a weakness in her constitution. He treated her with respect but kept his distance. Yet a few days later, he overheard her whispering to her maid, wondering if he was impotent. Her words were full of sympathy.

Li Jingqi: ?

At court, Li Jingqi took an extended leave and wanted nothing to do with the throne. Yet, to his surprise, the very people who had accused him of plotting rebellion in his previous life came to his door one after another, crying and begging him to lead the troops.

Li Jingqi: ...

One morning, the emperor woke to find that his sons were dead, stupid, or vicious. Only his grandson, Li Jingqi, could write to bring peace to the land and ride into battle to secure it, while having no desire for the throne. So he picked up his brush and issued an imperial decree, passing the throne to his grandson, Li Jingqi.

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Ye Shiyu had been doted on her entire life. A master once said she had the bearing of a noblewoman, and sure enough, at eighteen, she married the Prince of Pingwei, who was highly likely to ascend the throne.

But life is full of unexpected turns. Three years later, for reasons no one knew, the prince fell out of favor with the emperor and was stripped of his title and confined. She lost everything along with him and endured endless hardship.

Meanwhile, her unremarkable cousin married their maternal cousin, and the pair lived in perfect harmony. Her husband was diligent and studious, and soon after their wedding, he passed the palace examination and ranked third. Later, he earned merit by supporting the future emperor, winning his wife a first-rank noble title. Ye Shiyu bitterly regretted her choices.

Fortunately, Heaven took pity on her and gave her another chance at life. This time, she was quick to steal her cousin's marriage and, as she wished, married the male lead, who would one day rank among the Three Dukes.

But she waited and waited, and no first-rank noble title came, let alone a loving marriage. All she got was news that the Prince of Pingwei had ascended the throne and her cousin had become empress.

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The male lead is a virgin in both lives.

Theme: A wonderful life is yours to make, and good people are rewarded