After Being Widowed, I Married My Brother-in-Law

Zhao Jianiang was raised from childhood in her uncle's home. Her dowry consisted of a cabinet of books, two trunks of clothes, and three hundred taels of silver, along with her aunt's constant scorn in every season.

Still, she was lucky. A matchmaker introduced her to Pei Shiliulang, a concubine-born son of the Pei family, one of the most prominent official families in Hangzhou.

On the day they met, Zhao Jianiang saw her future husband and also encountered a handsome, refined, impeccably mannered man. It wasn't until the tea ceremony on the day after her wedding that she learned the man was Pei Dalang, the legitimate eldest son of the Pei family's main branch, and her husband's elder brother.

Jianiang was captivated by her brother-in-law's bearing.

Over the next few years, her brother-in-law's career flourished. He protected his clan, was fair and astute, and took excellent care of his family. Zhao Jianiang couldn't help thinking how wonderful it would be if her husband were like him.

Unfortunately, Jianiang's husband was lazy and unambitious, gambled, let others sway him, and resented her for giving birth to a daughter. Her mother-in-law was mean, miserly, and unbearably vulgar.

Zhao Jianiang didn't want to spend her whole life like that, so she tried every way she could to divorce her husband. Her brother-in-law urged her to reconsider, but she wouldn't change her mind: If only she had married him instead.

Unexpectedly, her husband died in an accident, and her mother-in-law forced her to remain a widow.

At that point, Pei Dalang could no longer hold back. He asked her, “Would you be willing to marry me?”

PS: 1. The leads fall in love but observe propriety. They spend time together before marriage, and there is no infidelity.

2. The leads are natives of this world; neither transmigrates.

3. Both leads have been married before. If that bothers you, don't read. Muah!

Theme: Live earnestly and follow your own path!