The Madam Is Ill

Chu Shuying was born into a distinguished family and had been a beauty in the making since childhood.

Everyone knew that the Chu family of Chang'an had a daughter who was learned, sensible, gentle, and virtuous.

When she came of age, her family began arranging a marriage for her.

Xi Yuhuan was the husband her family had chosen for her: the eldest legitimate son of the Duke Dingguo's household, a man as refined as a breeze beneath a clear sky.

Chu Shuying was quite pleased with him too.

But after the two families became betrothed, Chu Shuying realized that something seemed a little off.

At first, she only found it strange.

Because people kept discreetly probing her: "A Ying, what exactly is your relationship with that man from the Xi family?"

That man from the Xi family?

The person who made everyone in the capital bite their tongues couldn't be Xi Yuhuan. It could only be Xi Yanshen, the second young master of the Xi family.

A treacherous official everyone cursed in private, yet dared not even mention in public.

Chu Shuying was baffled. What could she possibly have to do with Xi Yanshen?

Then one day, she suddenly awoke standing before a bronze mirror.

She wore a flimsy dress, her eyes bright, her waist slender, her hair dark, and her shoulders fair as snow.

Someone gripped the hem of her skirt, wrapped his arms around her waist from behind, and buried his face against her neck. Watching her in the mirror with a teasing smile, he said nonchalantly:

"Sister-in-law, haven't you had enough of looking?"

Sister-in-law?

When Chu Shuying recognized the person behind her, she froze on the spot.

Why was she with Xi Yanshen?!

Chu Shuying had always known she suffered from amnesia. Only now did she realize she might have forgotten something quite extraordinary.

Little bonus scene:

Chu Shuying kept writing letters to her amnesiac self: "Isn't Xi Yuhuan good enough? He's refined and a fine young gentleman from a noble family. Why would you fall for Xi Yanshen?"

The next day, she received a reply:

"He's handsome."

Chu Shuying stared at the letter, speechless for a long while.

When it came to looks, who could compare to Xi Yanshen, whose smile could captivate all of Chang'an?

Chu Shuying had never known she could be so bold.

She had actually dared to set her sights on Xi Yanshen.

Xi Yanshen had never expected her to be so bold either.

She planned to marry his elder brother, yet secretly flirted with him behind his back.

And the next day, she would turn around and act like she didn't know him.

Hah. So the Chu family's daughter was gentle and virtuous?

P.S. They will regain their shared memories soon.

[My next book will be this one, After Becoming a Widow. Girls, please add it to your want-to-read list. You can bookmark it in my author page~]

Synopsis:

Tan Shuying was born into a distinguished family, but when she was young, her mother died a tragic death. Her father brought his mistress into the household, along with an older daughter, leaving Tan Shuying dependent on their charity.

When she came of age, her stepmother casually arranged a marriage for her.

She was sent far away from the capital at a young age.

Her stepmother had no good intentions. In just four years, her husband died of an illness.

Overnight, Tan Shuying became a widow.

Just then, a horrifying case occurred in Wuzhou, and an influential man from the capital arrived to oversee the investigation.

Tan Shuying looked toward the noble, aloof man sitting astride his horse.

She knew him. Back when her older sister married him, she had called him brother-in-law.

Her husband's family made life difficult for her, and all Tan Shuying wanted was to use his help to return to the capital.

Later, Tan Shuying bowed her long, fair neck before him, lowering her eyes and speaking in a trembling, cautious voice again and again:

"Brother-in-law."

There was just one thing Tan Shuying couldn't understand.

Every time she called Xie Chuyuan "brother-in-law," he would pause in a suspiciously awkward way.

No one had expected Xie Chuyuan to return from Wuzhou with a woman.

Everyone said he was cold and distant, and that even with his former wife, Tan Xuning, their relationship had been no more than one of mutual respect.

But that day, everyone saw how tenderly he helped the woman down from the carriage and wrapped his crane-feather cloak around her, as if afraid she might feel even the slightest chill.

After their divorce, Tan Xuning had always wanted to remarry Xie Chuyuan.

But she never imagined that her ex-husband, who had little interest in romance, would one day bring a woman back to the capital.

Still less did she expect that the woman Xie Chuyuan brought home would be the person she hated most in the world.

P.S. Both the hero and heroine have been married before, and neither is a virgin.

Theme: Breaking free from constraints