The Stepmother’s Daily Life

After I Was Ruthlessly Pursued by a Cold and Aloof Young Master, My Almost Brother-in-Law Took Me by Force. New story, please add it to your collection ^ ^

After his former wife deceives him in body and heart, the cold and aloof chief minister pursues her with their child in tow.

Both virgins | Pursuing his wife | Rekindling an old romance | Raising a child

Lan Zhi, an illegitimate daughter of the Marquis's household, was traveling by river when her boat was attacked by pirates.

Because of her outstanding beauty, the pirate chief seized her and made her his bride.

To escape, Lan Zhi thought quickly and seduced a low-ranking pirate on her wedding night. But while fleeing, the poison of lust took effect, and she spent a night with that same underling. Before long, she discovered she was pregnant.

Lan Zhi was frail. If she hastily aborted the child, she would never be able to bear another. To preserve her health, she had no choice but to give birth to a son.

Every sweet word and vow of eternal love she had spoken to the underling had been a lie.

After her month of postpartum rest, Lan Zhi claimed she was going out to pray for a talisman to keep her son safe. She left and never returned.

So what if she abandoned her husband and child? She was a noblewoman of the Marquis's house, destined to marry well. From then on, she and her husband, a poor farmer in a remote mountain hollow, would never meet again.

Half a year later, Lan Zhi returned to her family home.

Though they knew she had been away in hardship for two years, her elders still pitied her for her lovely face and kept her, intending to present her as a gift to a powerful nobleman.

From then on, Lan Zhi became once more the highborn lady who had only to stretch out her hand for clothes and open her mouth for food.

Everyone knew that Xie Lin, the chief minister who held the court in his grasp, came from a humble family.

As the sharpest blade in the emperor's hand, he had once gone in disguise to a local prefecture, posing as a pirate to risk his life suppressing bandits. He had also infiltrated the circle of treacherous officials, clearing obstacles to the emperor's rule.

Despite his lofty position and immense power, after his former wife died, he raised their six-year-old son alone and never took another woman into his household.

That is, until the Marquis's household offered up the beauty Lan Zhi in an attempt to win over the newly powerful minister.

Xie Lin never let his emotions show when dealing with others, yet the moment he saw Lan Zhi, he crushed his wine cup in fury.

Lan Zhi looked toward the cold, otherworldly man at the desk and could not help trembling with fear.

Only when the man glared at her with his swordlike brows did he sneer.

“Madam abandoned her husband and child for years. I wonder which lofty branch you climbed?”

Lan Zhi: “...”

Content warnings:

(1) The age gap is six years. The male lead belongs to the female lead in both body and heart, and is a virgin.

(2) This is a melodramatic story of tangled relationships. Both leads have flaws, so please read with care if you dislike flawed protagonists. There will be vicious female and male supporting characters. Evil characters can be of any gender, so please do not read if you cannot accept villains.

(3) The leads have sex only after the female lead has come of age. The blurb's plot may differ from the main text, and is only meant to introduce the characters and background. The dynasty is fictional, with some original worldbuilding. Please don't argue about it; if you do, I'll drop to my knees and surrender.

(4) This is not a strong-female-lead story. The male lead is strong and the female lead is weak, and they save each other. Branchi's storyline and Second Brother's storyline will both be developed; the story will not focus on just one character. Please don't force yourself to read if that's not to your taste.

(5) Youyou and Ruzhuo are not blood-related, because Youyou's father is not Marquis Ji's son. This is explained in the extra chapters ^

Weibo: Dear Caodeng Daren

All rights reserved. Unauthorized reposting and plagiarism of plot ideas will be pursued.

The next story will be When I Was Ruthlessly Pursued by a Cold and Aloof Young Master

Both virgins | Forced love | A high-and-mighty beauty turns dark

During a time of chaos, the powerful Cui clan sought to throw off their pursuers. Between their two daughters, they chose the eldest, Cui Qin, to represent the family.

They sacrificed their second daughter, Cui Yue, leaving her carriage behind as a decoy before riding off without her.

Cui Yue fell into the hands of the rebels and endured every hardship. It took her five years of wandering before she finally returned to the Cui family.

She was only fifteen when she came home.

-

By then, imperial power had waned, and the thousand-year-old Xie clan ruled the land.

To secure their standing, the Cui family grovelingly ingratiated themselves with the Xies. They even put forward their talented eldest daughter, hoping to arrange a marriage between her and the eldest young master, Xie Jingxue.

Xie Jingxue was refined and elegant, disciplined and courteous, the very model of a noble young master. As for the proposed marriage, he neither approved nor objected.

The Cui family took this as tacit approval and gladly sent both daughters to stay at the Xie residence. They claimed the girls were there to study, but their real aim was to bring the two lovers together.

And so Cui Yue was fortunate enough to stay at the Xie residence too.

-

Cui Yue knew that after being lost for years, her family looked down on her and her clan relatives despised her. Even her elder sister's gentleness concealed contempt and disdain.

Cui Yue accepted it all without a word. Even when she held a grudge, she never let it show.

After suffering so much, she wanted her elder sister to feel frustrated for once.

So Cui Yue set her sights on her sister's betrothed, Xie Jingxue.

Her elder sister admired the eldest young master, so Cui Yue would play the villain who stole him away.

But Xie Jingxue was exceptionally clever and indifferent to everyone. No matter how hard Cui Yue tried, she could not make him glance her way even once.

Until one day, Cui Yue was set up by someone. Her lovely face flushed with sweat as she fell into the arms of the refined young master.

Pretending to cry, Cui Yue toyed with the thin sash on Xie Jingxue's robe and pleaded timidly for his compassion.

No matter how she tempted him, Xie Jingxue remained like the moon suspended high in the sky, unmoved.

Humiliated and ashamed, Cui Yue decided to give up.

Soon afterward, her elder sister saw through Cui Yue's schemes. Fearing she would cause trouble, the clan sent her to the countryside to marry some down-at-heel member of a noble family and be rid of her quickly.

Yet on her wedding day, Cui Yue did not find the husband whose eyes were supposed to hold only her.

When her veil was lifted, she saw a pair of icy phoenix eyes.

Xie Jingxue pressed his knuckles against Cui Yue's chin and forced her to look up, then asked gently:

“Yue Niang, have you cast me aside to marry someone else?”

“Such a pity. I've already killed your lover.”

Cui Yue was stunned.

Only then did she realize what sort of monster she had provoked...

She wanted to run, but it was already too late.

A scheming, flirtatious noblewoman x a dark, unhinged high-and-mighty beauty

Theme: Striving for perfection.