After Marrying My Late Husband's Older Brother

(Uptight, Chaste Older Man x Radiant, Voluptuous Beauty)

Shen Wu was dazzlingly beautiful and born into a distinguished family. If her family had not fallen on hard times, she would not have married so young.

She and Lu Xun of the Jingzhao Lu family had grown up together, childhood sweethearts. After she came of age, the Lu family came to ask for her hand in marriage. Her father wanted to secure her a good future, and within three months, the two were wed.

Who could have guessed that the Lu family had concealed Lu Xun's illness? Just a year later, he died, leaving Shen Wu widowed at a very young age.

Her mother-in-law pitied her frailty and feared that greedy relatives would come after the family fortune. With no other choice, she suggested that her eldest son, Lu Jing, take on the duties of both branches of the family, all so Shen Wu could have a child to rely on.

Shen Wu was dumbfounded by this outrageous proposal.

She had met her taciturn elder brother-in-law a few times, always in public.

She had heard that Lu Jing entered public service at a young age and shouldered the honor of the entire Lu family on his own, but she did not know why he had never married.

Shen Wu assumed her mother-in-law was talking nonsense and paid it no mind.

It was not until a month later, when her mother-in-law urged her on and said that tonight was the perfect opportunity, that Shen Wu realized the outrageous suggestion tossed out so casually had become a reality.

What shocked her even more was that her brother-in-law had actually agreed.

That night, she entered the eldest branch's courtyard, anxious and unsettled.

In the dim candlelight, as unease clouded her mind,

she heard his cold, indifferent voice: "This must be kept quiet. Once you are pregnant, I will have someone look after you."

Shen Wu was amazed that he was willing to go along with it. Even as a maiden, she had heard of Lu Jing's reputation, but she had never imagined that one day this stern, aloof man would, at his mother's request, share her bed day after day.

At last, two months later, Shen Wu was found to be pregnant.

The Lu family was overjoyed, and Shen Wu breathed a sigh of relief.

She had thought that once she gave birth, Lu Jing would eventually marry, and they would have nothing more to do with each other.

But one rainy night, with the road muddy beneath her feet, she came in from outside under her umbrella. When she looked up, her gaze met a pair of dark, fathomless eyes.

"Elder Brother," she greeted him respectfully, but sensed that something was wrong.

As they passed each other, Lu Jing suddenly seized her wrist.

"Why... are you avoiding me?"

*

At first, Shen Wu thought Lu Jing was a stern, chaste man, a rare gentleman who would never agree to such an absurd request.

Later, she realized not only had she misjudged him, she had also provoked someone she should never have provoked.

In bed, he was insatiable. During that time, Shen Wu could barely get out of bed day after day.

She thought he was helping her conceive as quickly as possible so they could end things sooner.

But she never imagined that even after she became pregnant, this relationship, so contrary to propriety, would continue.

"Lu Jing, I am his wife."

Shen Wu's eyes reddened. Her raised arm hung frozen in midair, easily restrained by him. The man leisurely kissed the tear tracks at the corner of her lips. His usually cool, detached eyes were now filled with an unnatural desire, and his voice was low and hoarse.

"But you're carrying my child."

*

Lu Jing was cold by nature. Once, after being poisoned and stranded in a remote mountain wilderness, he was wracked with pain when a sweet, cloying fragrance reached his nose. After being blind for several days, his vision finally began to return, but he had no idea where the person who had stayed with him had gone.

Then, one day, his younger brother got married.

The bride entered the family.

That long-missed, sweet fragrance swept over him once more.

[Reading Guide]

1. The former husband is dead, and the heroine is widowed.

2. The hero seems stern and chaste, but he has hidden traits waiting to be uncovered.

3. The female lead is not a virgin, the male lead is. Read the story for the rest.

Theme: Don't lose yourself. Have the courage to fight back.