The Wrong Marriage

The Ji family had two beautiful daughters. The elder was betrothed to the heir of the Marquis of Zhenbei, while the younger had an engagement with the household of General Huaihua. Everyone in the capital envied them. Who wouldn't praise the Ji sisters for their good fortune?

But on the eve of the wedding, an accident occurred, and Ji Rou became intimate with Rong Zhen, the heir of the Marquis of Zhenbei.

Faced with such a scandal, the Ji family had no choice but to hastily switch the betrothal documents, resorting to the desperate measure of swapping the sisters' marriages.

Ji Rou took her elder sister's place and married into the marquis's household, while her own fiance became her sister's husband.

On their wedding night, Ji Rou lifted her red bridal veil and saw an unfamiliar face. His eyes, already indifferent, were now as cold as ice.

Ji Rou asked for no marital affection, only a peaceful life. But the more she endured and tried to keep the peace, the more Rong Zhen became convinced that she had ulterior motives.

Even after she became pregnant, Rong Zhen remained cold toward her.

Ji Rou was miserable, but gradually grew to look forward to the baby. She thought that once the child was born, her relationship with Rong Zhen might improve. Then, at the Mid-Autumn family banquet, she learned that her parents had plotted the accident before the wedding. Her elder sister had fallen for Ji Rou's fiance and wanted to break off her engagement and marry someone else, but she couldn't bear to damage her reputation.

So they schemed against Ji Rou.

It was outrageous, yet her parents had agreed to it without a second thought and shown her no compassion at all.

Dazed and devastated, Ji Rou left, only to accidentally overhear Rong Zhen talking with a friend.

She learned that her husband had always hated her, and that his feelings had never changed in the slightest.

Ji Rou's heart turned to ash, and she asked for a divorce. Rong Zhen refused. When she became gravely ill, he finally agreed to send her back to her parents' home to recuperate. But then came the terrible news.

*

Three years later, Rong Zhen was dispatched east by imperial decree. In a small fishing village by the East Sea, he came across a village woman and recognized Ji Rou at a glance.

She hurried past, holding a child of two or three, leaving Rong Zhen deep in thought.

Rong Zhen had always thought he hated Ji Rou. She was scheming, currying favor with the powerful, and willing to do anything to get what she wanted.

Their marriage had begun in disgrace and ended all too suddenly.

But not until he saw her again did Rong Zhen realize, in a daze, that he had never forgotten Ji Rou.

One-on-one romance, with a husband chasing his wife after losing her.

It should be angsty: an old-school, melodramatic story, and the male lead will not be replaced.

Theme: Make peace with yourself and keep your distance from your family of origin.