[Marriage First, Love Later] [The Husband Begs for Her Back]
Jiang Yueheng grew up in the countryside, working in the fields. At sixteen, she was suddenly told that she was the biological daughter of a noble family, switched at birth with the girl they had raised as their own.
Her birth parents could not bear to send their adopted daughter back to a life of hardship, so they kept her by their side and continued to dote on her as before. But they nitpicked Jiang Yueheng, their own daughter, at every turn, and could hardly stand her.
Her grandfather had once arranged a betrothal for her. Her intended, Xie Xuan, was handsome and valiant, and had been appointed Commander of the Imperial Guards at a young age.
Her birth mother was so biased that she even wanted Jiang Yueheng to give up this fine match to the adopted daughter. Her grandmother could not stand by and watch, and insisted that her own granddaughter marry into the Xie family.
But after the wedding, her mother-in-law found her uncouth and was deeply dissatisfied with a daughter-in-law raised in the countryside. Her sister-in-law mocked her and showed her no respect, even declaring in public at a banquet that she would rather have the adopted daughter as her sister-in-law.
Even her husband was devoted to the adopted daughter at every turn and treated Jiang Yueheng with icy indifference.
Jiang Yueheng watched him pair off with the adopted daughter. She had been reduced to utter desperation, yet still clung to a foolish hope that she could warm this cold jade heart.
Until, in a ruined temple, a vicious man in black held a sword to her and the adopted daughter's throats and asked him:
"Your wife and her. Only one can live. Which one do you choose?"
Without hesitation, Xie Xuan chose the adopted daughter.
At that moment, Jiang Yueheng's heart turned to ash.
After surviving by sheer luck, she offered him a divorce agreement of her own accord, without a hint of regret.
"Xie Xuan, let's get a divorce."
*
Xie Xuan excelled in both letters and arms, with a promising future ahead of him. He was the dream husband whom countless noblewomen in Chang'an adored, yet he was forced to marry an illiterate country girl.
After their marriage, he kept her at arm's length, ignored her affection, and treated her with cold indifference at every turn.
He never imagined that his wife, who had always been so devoted to him, would one day be the one to ask for a divorce.
At first, Xie Xuan thought his wife was just sulking for a few days and would eventually come back to him on her own.
But after waiting and waiting, all he got was news that the heir of the marquis's family had come to ask for her hand.
At that moment, Xie Xuan could not sit still any longer...
Theme: Stand on your own two feet, and love yourself before loving someone else.
