The Lasting Joy of Ashes

[The simplified Chinese edition has been signed for publication. For updates, see Weibo @Jinjiang Xianxiang.] Half a month after they consummate their marriage, Lu Jin learns by chance that his wife suffers from a chronic illness and cannot share a bed. That raises a question... Who was the woman who shared his bed for the past few nights? That night, Lu Jin says nothing. He grips the woman's waist and doesn't let her go until three in the morning. The next day, his wife's younger sister, visiting the Duke's mansion, arrives half an hour late for her morning greetings. [A little scene] Jiang Huarong has always thought she was placing a pawn by her side, since her half-sister is so meek and helpless. She never imagined she was actually letting a wolf into her home. On a snowy night, Jiang Huarong waits beneath the veranda with a bowl of soup, hoping to catch a glimpse of her husband, whom she has not seen in so long. She waits for half the night, but it is her younger sister who opens the door. Her sister's hair is slightly disheveled as she slowly steps out of the study, a room no one is ever allowed near. At a glance, Jiang Huarong recognizes that the robe draped over her sister is unmistakably her husband's inner garment. And beneath the robe, her sister's belly has somehow begun to swell. [Reading guide] A melodramatic romance 1. The hero and the elder sister have no real marriage, in keeping with the customs of ancient marriage. 2. The heroine has her reasons for taking her sister's place on the wedding night. The synopsis has many twists. 3. Chapters have been revised. Only the Jinjiang version is complete and error-free. Cover art by @Sanfen Youqi ★ A lighthearted, melodramatic story in my author collection: Lanterns to Lure the Moon. Please add it to your collection! What's more humiliating than losing to your sworn enemy's sword? Dying by your sworn enemy's sword? No. Catching a love-curse together with your sworn enemy, a curse that kills you if you don't kiss. Your mouth may hate them to the death, but your body tells the truth... In public, Lianqiao wishes Lu Wujiao would drop dead. In private, Lianqiao wishes she could kiss Lu Wujiao to death. Worse still, the longer it goes on, the stronger the love-curse gets. At first they only need to hug, then they have to kiss, and after that... Lianqiao can't take it! If they don't break the curse, she really will want to die. The cure is a long way off, and the two keep the curse a secret, each knowing the other is doing the same. Strangers in public, making out in private. But if you spend enough time by the river, eventually your shoes get wet. At the Immortal Sword Tournament, the two have a huge fight, then secretly meet in the back hills. Their friends and family are so alarmed that they rush over in the middle of the night to stop them. But when the door opens, they find the sworn enemies in disarray, kissing as if they can't bear to part. Everyone: ? Sorry to interrupt. So this is what you mean by a big battle. Humiliated beyond words, Lianqiao has no choice but to explain that she has a love-curse. But after examining her pulse, the divine physician hesitates. “Miss, your curse has indeed not been broken, but Lu Wujiao has already advanced. Technically, the curse stopped affecting him two months ago.” Lianqiao: ? She looks down again at the little note from Lu Wujiao asking her to meet him in the woods tonight to “continue the cure,” and her expression turns complicated. Theme: Marriage cannot tolerate deception.