The Substitute Bride

Everyone says the engagement between the Shen family's legitimate daughter and the Xue family's eldest son is a match made in heaven.

But then the Crown Prince is deposed, and the Xue family is implicated and stripped of its official posts.

At a banquet, Shen Hui sees her once-glorious fiance, Xue Tingyuan, looking utterly down and out. With a subtle movement of her hand, she pushes her half-sister, standing beside her, into his arms.

In full view of everyone, the two become physically intimate.

It is the concubine-born daughter, Shen Yun, who is now set to marry into the Xue family.

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Time passes, and in the end, the Crown Prince still ascends the throne.

Xue Tingyuan is promoted and ennobled, returning to the heights of power.

When Shen Hui sees him again, Xue Tingyuan is personally straightening Shen Yun's hem.

The two are ushered to the seats of honor, surrounded by endless praise for the handsome couple.

Everyone's gaze turns to Shen Hui, as if mocking her for failing to recognize a good thing.

Furious, Shen Hui storms out, only to run into Shen Yun, now dressed in finery.

The timid, meek girl of the past is gone. She has completely transformed into a dignified Duchess.

With a smile playing on her lips, she tells Shen Hui, "I owe my life today to you, Sister, for bringing us together back then."

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A marriage first, love later. Sweet and satisfying.

The heroine is sweet on the outside, dark within; the hero is dark through and through.

2022/10/08

Theme: Don't fawn on the powerful and look down on the weak