#Back then, I would not marry the east wind, yet somehow I was misled by the autumn breeze#
Second male lead takes the lead | A wife-chasing crematorium where he can't win her back | A rivalry-filled battle for her affection
When Jiang Jinyi reunited with her nemesis Cen Yun, she was in the depths of misery because her husband was about to take a second wife.
Her husband, Cui Wenrong, had shared years of loving companionship with her, but his heart had changed.
When his new love publicly humiliated and excluded her, Cui Wenrong turned around and blamed her. “Jinyi, she and I are each getting what we need. You are still my most beloved wife, so why deliberately make things difficult for her?”
When his new love deliberately provoked her and coveted her dowry, Cui Wenrong said again, “Those things are just material possessions. Once I rise to a higher position, I'll make it up to you with something even better.”
But at a banquet attended by the great houses, to shield his new love from any embarrassment, Cui Wenrong would rather put Jiang Jinyi forward to pour wine for all the noble young men.
At that moment, Cen Yun sat among the guests, watching her with an amused, knowing smile.
Her patience had run out after days of this. Jiang Jinyi could endure no more.
In full view of everyone, she hurled the wine pot at Cui Wenrong. “You and these people aren't important enough for this kind of deference. Let's divorce.”
Leaving behind a room full of dismay and astonishment, she turned and walked out.
In the covered corridor behind the courtyard, Jiang Jinyi unsurprisingly saw Cen Yun.
He leaned against the railing in a relaxed pose. His crimson brocade robe snapped in the night breeze, and he looked utterly carefree and spirited.
He didn't look particularly well-intentioned, either.
Jiang Jinyi curled her lip. “Haven't you had enough of watching the joke, or are you hoping for another spectacle?”
Cen Yun stood with careless ease and nodded in agreement. “It was pretty funny.”
“Then, Your Highness, would you like me to take you back to the capital?”
Jiang Jinyi had known Cen Yun since childhood, but they had never gotten along. They had tripped each other up and rejected each other's marriage proposals; they were only one step away from cutting all ties.
After divorcing and returning to the capital, Jiang Jinyi never expected to have anything more to do with him.
But Cen Yun wasn't about to let her go.
Relying on the favor of having taken her back to the capital, Cen Yun blocked her path, holding their abandoned marriage contract between his fingers. “My family is pressuring me to marry. Since Your Highness is unmarried, why not return my favor and help me out of a tight spot?”
Jiang Jinyi: ...What kind of nemeses get married?!
During one trip to the capital to report on his duties, Cui Wenrong finally saw Jiang Jinyi, who had been gone without a trace.
Amid the autumn breeze, Jiang Jinyi galloped across the vast hunting grounds, raising her hand to draw her bow, her smile bright and bold.
She was just like the dream he had regretted losing a thousand times, yet could never reclaim.
Cui Wenrong was secretly delighted.
But when he found Jiang Jinyi and tried to confess his remorse and make things right between them, he saw someone else reach her first.
It was Cen Yun, already a close confidant of the emperor, wielding authority over the Ministry of Personnel and commanding armies on the frontier.
Casting aside the disdain with which he had once denounced Cui Wenrong as utterly worthless, Cen Yun naturally and intimately slipped an arm around Jiang Jinyi's waist. He smiled innocently. “Lord Cui is a man of noble character. Surely he wouldn't rudely disturb my wife, would he?”
“Through a thousand nights of spring, I once waited for you.”
Tips:
The female lead is not a virgin; the male lead is.
The poem is quoted from He Zhu's Song Dynasty poem, “Heart's Bitter Longing: Willows by the Pond.”
First posted on 2023.08.10
Blurb revised again on 2026.05.05
Theme: Before pursuing love, you must first pursue yourself.
