Five Years After Faking My Death

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Shen Jingzhi and Fu Yuzhang had been married for three years. They had once shared a blissful, inseparable love, but it all fell apart with the arrival of Xu Qingyue.

Xu Qingyue was the one Fu Yuzhang had loved in his youth but never been able to have, the woman who made him sigh in the middle of the night whenever he thought of her. Shen Jingzhi had cried and made a scene, even begged Fu Yuzhang to send Xu Qingyue away. None of it mattered against Xu Qingyue's plaintive, resentful call of "Fourth Brother."

She finally understood: what was not hers would never belong to her.

On the eve of the night Fu Yuzhang welcomed Xu Qingyue into the household with all the ceremony due a principal wife, Shen Jingzhi used a fire at the country estate as cover to flee this place of heartbreak.

Five years later, in a small town in Jiangnan, she unexpectedly reunited with her father. He wept openly and spoke again and again of how much he had missed his daughter all these years. Unable to bear his grief, she agreed to return to the capital for a short stay. She never expected to run into Fu Yuzhang as soon as she got back... and Xu Qingyue too.

The past was nothing but a passing cloud.

She slipped into the crowd and turned away, intending to visit her mother's grave. But on the way, she ran into Xiao Yi.

Xiao Yi, the Duke of Dingguo, had been the Crown Prince's companion in his studies. He had risen to great power at a young age, and Fu Yuzhang had to call him Second Brother. Shen Jingzhi had seen him a few times while she was still at the Fu family home. Each time, he had seemed so imposing that no one dared approach him.

She had hoped to use the opportunity to escape, but Xiao Yi saw through her identity with a single sentence.

With nowhere left to run, she could only plead, "I beg the Duke of Dingguo to let me go."

Xiao Yi stood on the stone steps, looking down at the woman before him. He slowly smiled. "All right, but there's something I'd like Miss Shen to help me with, too."

An hour later, Shen Jingzhi stared at the marriage contract between herself and Xiao Yi, lost in thought...

She was getting married for the second time just like that?!!!

Coming Soon: Moonlight Bent Out of Shape

Xie Qingyi was the eldest legitimate daughter of the Xie family of Jinling, beautiful as an immortal and born to a noble status. After her coming-of-age ceremony, eligible families rushed to ask for her hand in marriage. In the end, she chose Cui You, the third son of the Cui family.

At an elegant gathering in the western residence, the young ladies gathered to chat and laugh, discussing the major and minor events taking place in the capital. Someone suddenly asked her, "A-Zhi, what do you think of the fifth son of the Huan family?"

Huan Jie, the fifth son of the Huan family, came from an obscure background, and his ancestors were virtually unknown. It was only in the past couple of years that he had begun to make a name for himself in the capital.

Xie Qingyi had never liked him. He was the sort who chased fame and fortune, ingratiating himself with the great families. So she replied, "The fifth son of the Huan family is good at reading the wind and trimming his sails. He's a smooth-talking flatterer."

Everyone burst out laughing, not realizing that Huan Jie, standing behind them, had heard every word.

Years later, Huan Jie held power over the entire court and became the governor, second only to The Outcast. The first thing he did was ask the Xie family for Xie Qingyi's hand in marriage.

He wanted to see what expression the lofty Miss Xie would wear when she married a smooth-talking flatterer like him.

A grand wedding procession stretched for miles, and the bride wore a phoenix crown and red bridal robes.

The wedding day was almost here when the bridal carriage plunged into the river while crossing Qujiang. The bride drowned, and her body was never found.

Huan Jie went to Qujiang himself. On the riverbank, he found the discarded wedding dress and slowly smiled.

Theme: Don't wait until the flowers are gone to break a branch.