Stealing My Younger Brother's Wife

[A brothers' love-triangle showdown over the younger brother's wife / forced marriage and possession / delicate, foolish beauty x cruel, unhinged heir]

Su Lingyue's husband was Lu Wenzhi, the refined and handsome second son of the Duke's household, whom everyone in the capital praised.

Their newlywed days were blissful, and Su Lingyue was happy with everything.

If she had to be picky, there was just one thing she didn't like: her husband's full older brother, Lu Wenting, heir to the Duke of Zhenguo's estate, who was rumored to be ruthless and violent, yet deeply trusted by the emperor

was an absolute madman.

Lu Wenting's moods were unpredictable. When he was pleased, he might casually give her a hairpin worth hundreds of taels. When he was displeased, he would turn cold and make her copy the scriptures over and over.

All in the name of disciplining his younger brother's wife on his behalf.

Su Lingyue feared and respected him, and had no choice but to act sweet and obedient.

Until one day, a mysterious fire broke out at the Duke's estate. Amid the flames, Su Lingyue covered her mouth and nose with a handkerchief to keep the thick smoke from filling her lungs.

Just before she could hold on no longer and faint, she saw a man in military uniform walking calmly toward her. He scooped her up in his arms.

*

When Su Lingyue opened her eyes, she found herself in a completely unfamiliar room.

Lu Wenting was sitting at the foot of the bed. Seeing her slowly come to, he raised his striking brows and smiled with cruel arrogance.

"The second madam of the Duke of Zhenguo's household died in the fire. They're probably already preparing her funeral."

Su Lingyue's eyes widened in disbelief. "What did you say?"

Lu Wenting had always been particularly fond of women's pale, delicate feet.

Many times, he had imagined what it would feel like to hold her slender ankle and toy with it.

Now that he was actually touching her, he realized her delicate foot was even more tender and fragile than he'd imagined.

"I said that from today on, you're no longer the second madam of the Duke of Zhenguo's household. You're my mistress, Lu Wenting's."

Su Lingyue finally understood. The man had carefully planned all of this for the sole purpose of taking his brother's wife.

And she had no idea when he had first set his sights on her...

[Male lead's point of view]

At first, when Lu Wenting heard his younger brother planned to marry a Su daughter, he was contemptuous and dismissive.

The Su family was small and insignificant, and their daughter had been raised to be soft and timid. Marrying into the Duke's household was far above her station.

However, after Su Lingyue entered the household, Lu Wenting noticed that she would carefully prepare meals for his younger brother. When his brother was held up by his duties at the government office and came home late, she would wait at the door to welcome him.

Lu Wenting had seen her smiling and chatting happily with his brother, her eyes curving into crescents.

But whenever she faced him, the young wife was always like a startled rabbit, jumping at every little thing as if he were some unforgivable villain.

Well, she wasn't wrong. He, Lu Wenting, was no good man.

She was just a woman. If he wanted to take her, he would. He could always find his brother a few daughters from prominent families as compensation later.

After all, he had immense wealth and power. There were very few people in the world who could defy his wishes.

But Lu Wenting never expected that the woman he looked down on would not only dare to defy him, but repeatedly pull little schemes right under his nose and even plot to run away.

[If a disobedient bird won't behave, just wring its neck. There's no need to keep thinking about it so much.]

But Lu Wenting clenched his teeth until they ached, and still couldn't bring himself to truly hurt her.

Theme: When you bloom, the butterflies will come