Obey Your Father, Then Your Husband

In her previous life, Yu Ni was certain that Zhao Shilan was the husband fate had chosen for her.

When their affair was discovered, she stepped in front of her adoptive father's blade.

"Am I supposed to stay by your side for the rest of my life?"

On the day she married, her adoptive father told her:

"At home, obey your father. Once married, obey your husband. Now that you are his wife, you and I have nothing more to do with each other."

Heartbroken, Yu Ni found comfort after the wedding only in her husband's tenderness.

But in the second year of their marriage, her adoptive father's influence at court began to wane, and everything changed.

Her husband showed his true colors, bringing two pregnant concubines into their household and coldly watching as his mother-in-law tormented and mistreated Yu Ni.

In the fourth year of their marriage, her adoptive father died of illness. Her husband made the acquaintance of a new favorite and wanted to marry his benefactor's daughter.

"Either ask to become a concubine, or I'll divorce you and have you made a government courtesan, bringing shame on that bandit Lin."

Only then did Yu Ni learn the truth: Zhao Shilan had schemed to win her over, then betrayed her adoptive father once he had gained power.

He seized the inheritance her adoptive father had left her, claiming that her father had severed ties with her, and wouldn't let the two of them meet one last time.

Yu Ni bitterly regretted her choices. On the night of Zhao Shilan's wedding, she set the Zhao residence ablaze.

When she opened her eyes again, she was back on the day after her wedding.

Her adoptive father was still at the height of his power at court, and Zhao Shilan was merely his student, entirely dependent on his support.

Yu Ni immediately asked to return to her family home to see her adoptive father, but her maid looked puzzled and told her that she was already at home.

"Look, this is the Lin residence. The lord sent someone to bring you home first thing this morning."

Her maid told her that Zhao Shilan had been posted away from the capital by her adoptive father and wouldn't be back for six months. In the meantime, she could stay by her adoptive father's side in peace.

Yu Ni looked at the gold lock hanging outside her bedroom door and remembered those words:

"At home, obey your father. Once married, obey your husband."

When she had been under her father's care, he had cherished and spoiled her for twelve years. Now she wanted to be his wife again, to obey him as her husband and let him take care of her all over again.

*

Lin Yingqin had risen to power at a young age, becoming a chancellor at court. He was determined to hold up the collapsing heavens and save his country from disaster.

But as the tide of history turned against him and he lay dying, coughing up blood, there was only one thing he regretted.

Zhao Shilan was a wolf at heart. He had married Yu Ni off into a den of wolves and ruined the rest of her life.

The girl he had cherished since childhood deserved to remain under his protection.

Now he had been reborn. A wife should obey her husband, he thought. It was time to take Yu Ni back and make her his wife.

2026.08.30

1. Both leads are reborn, both are devoted to one another, 16-year age gap.

2. The blurb is only a summary of the story. The term "adoptive father" is used for brevity; the actual circumstances are complicated. Please refer to the main story for details.

3. Clarification about the relationship between the leads: "adoptive father" is a title, and they are not related by blood. The heroine is the daughter of the hero's benefactor, who entrusted her to the hero's care. The hero taught her to read, but his mother took care of her daily needs. The heroine also has distant relatives on her father's side, and she belongs to their clan. She would visit the hero's home from time to time for short stays. Before the heroine married, neither of them had romantic feelings for the other. Their feelings develop only after they are both reborn in the second life. The heroine also has no romantic feelings for the second male lead during the marriage mentioned in the blurb.

Theme: Love through every life.