A distant cousin named Shen Fu came to the Duke of Yongan's residence. She had long, graceful brows, lovely eyes, and a beauty as ethereal as an immortal. She was also polite and well-mannered.
But no one in the duke's household liked her.
Who could blame them? Shen Fu was audacious enough to set her sights on the young duke, Yu Huaizhang.
The infuriating thing was, she actually managed to seduce him.
The Duke of Yongan's family had been upright for generations and kept a strict household, yet Yu Huaizhang, a gentleman as refined as an orchid, took Shen Fu as his mistress.
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“She's only a mistress, not fit to be seen in public. Just wait until the young duke marries. Then we'll see how he deals with this cousin.”
When Shen Fu heard this, she counted her money and paid no mind. She knew perfectly well that the whole ducal household, Yu Huaizhang included, had never thought much of her.
After a night of passion, Shen Fu leaned softly against the man's chest. “Young Duke, Qibaofang has a new style of hairpin...”
Yu Huaizhang studied the woman beneath him with a dark gaze, scoffing inwardly. Greedy for wealth and status, vulgar to the extreme. If I offered to bring her into the household, she'd be overjoyed.
Yet years passed, and Shen Fu remained content with her place, never once bringing up marriage.
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Since childhood, Shen Fu had been promised to her childhood sweetheart. He was gentle and talented, but frail and chronically ill, with his life hanging by a thread.
Her family was destitute, and her fiancé urgently needed money to save his life. So she set her sights on Yu Huaizhang of the Duke of Yongan's household.
After years as a mistress and enduring countless disdainful looks, she considered it a blessing to have secured her fiancé's safety.
But when she returned to her hometown with her belongings, her fiancé was nowhere to be seen in the thatched cottage. Instead, Yu Huaizhang's face was icy as he pushed her down onto the straw mat and rasped, “Fu, sign this marriage contract, and I'll let your husband go.”
Note:
1. The female lead is not a virgin, the male lead is.
Theme: Perseverance
