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The second daughter of the Wen family, Wen Yunci, is graceful and refined, gentle and virtuous.
Though born into a family of minor officials, she has the bearing of a great lady, and was betrothed at an early age.
Just as Wen Yunci is happily awaiting her wedding, she unexpectedly becomes intimate with her fiance before the wedding.
Fortunately, the wedding is near, and she sets her worries aside.
But after that night, a low, husky voice appears in her dreams again and again, asking, "Young Madam Cao, how did it feel to do that with another man right in front of your future husband?"
At first, she thinks it is a dream. But on her wedding day, she sees the Cao residence surrounded by heavily armed soldiers, and realizes the nightmare has come true.
~
Liang Jichu is young, yet already holds great power. Everyone says he is a gentleman as polished as jade, as pure as a lotus.
Only he knows how many wicked thoughts lie in his heart.
That night, poisoned by an aphrodisiac, he sees the woman on the bed, her eyes alluring as she feigns ignorance. The evil thoughts in his heart struggle and roar like a beast trapped in a cage, breaking free.
He touches her tender cheek, smiling without warmth. "Cao Yu is certainly generous, sending you here to offer yourself to me!"
Since they have schemed against him, he might as well play along. He has never tried stealing someone else's beloved before.
With a few deft moves, he forces the woman to stay by his side.
Then, when he learns the truth, his heart trembles. He tries everything to keep it from her, terrified that even the smallest thing will give him away.
But later, even when he is willing to be her secret lover, he still cannot keep her.
~
Cao Yu is a low-ranking and insignificant figure in the officialdom, constrained at every turn.
He knows his fiancee is breathtakingly beautiful, and he has spent who knows how long deciding to sell her out for his own advancement.
One moment of weakness, and she is lost to someone else.
After that night, he comforts himself with the thought that from then on, they will surely live in harmony as husband and wife.
But on their wedding day, he abandons her once more.
Through a series of misunderstandings, the truth is buried, and Yunci never learns what happened.
Cao Yu secretly congratulates himself on his good fortune.
Then, on the day he takes her away from that man, the truth can no longer be hidden. She learns the filthy truth: he offered his own wife to another man.
Beside the green hills and clear waters, no matter how desperately he begs, he can only watch as she obediently falls into another man's arms and gently says she will not run away again.
Cao Yu cannot understand. He and Liang Jichu are much the same, so why did she choose him?
But what he does not know is that from the moment Wen Yunci told the carriage to stop, she had resolved to destroy everything he had, by any means necessary.
Note:
One-on-one romance, both leads sexually inexperienced. The heroine did genuinely love the second male lead, but she is a victim. Quick-witted, she discovers the truth before long and begins her revenge.
Entirely fictional setting! Lots of melodrama, so read with caution if that's not your thing.
The heroine will become ruthless, in a positive sense, and will enter government service later in the story.
Purpose: Those who understand the times are wise.