Stealing Another Man's Wife

After her husband was killed in battle, Zhou Yun found a beautiful young man covered in wounds. The youth said his name was Bai Er. He’d been ambushed by river bandits while traveling on business, and begged her to take him in until he recovered. Zhou Yun let him stay, intending to send him on his way once his wounds healed. But even after he recovered, he still refused to leave. He took care of everything, inside and outside the house, from chores to fieldwork, making her life much easier. When villagers gossiped and spread rumors, he could silence them with his iron fists and sharp tongue. Especially late at night, when she felt lonely and missed her husband, he would rest his head on her lap and whisper shameless words into her ear, one after another. Her face would flush and her heart race, and she would raise a hand to hit him. He caught her finger between his lips and, speaking indistinctly, begged her to marry him. On their wedding night, her supposedly dead husband burst in, knife in hand and murder in his eyes. The two men fought like their lives depended on it. Only then did Zhou Yun learn that Bai Er’s name and identity were both fake. His real name was Gu Yibai, a young nobleman of the Marquis’s household. He had come to her side to capture her husband. But he insisted that all their tender moments and sweet words were real. He refused to leave, either, clutching their marriage contract and repeatedly claiming that he was her husband. ◆ When Gu Yibai first went undercover by Zhou Yun’s side, he thought her crude and cunning, hated how she deliberately made things difficult for him, and resented how she treated him like a pack mule every day. Later, he came to think she was brilliant, gentle, and genuine. If she went even one day without treating him like a pack mule, he felt restless all over. He knew he had no right to be by her side. Once his identity was exposed, she would surely abandon him. He pulled out every trick he had and coaxed her into agreeing to marry him. But then her husband came back, and she actually wanted to go back on her word. How could he let that happen? He had given her his virtue. Even if he turned into a ghost, he would haunt her. ◆ Zhao Ji risked his life and traveled a thousand miles to return home and reunite with his wife. His home was festooned in red, wedding candles burning bright. His wife had married his rival. His wife was young and innocent, deceived by another man. He would tear the bastard limb from limb. [Younger mad dog × beautiful, clever widow × older, rugged man] [The heroine and all male leads are virgins. No shipping wars.] Coming next: Spring’s Half-Cup of Pity: A young couple had recently moved into the neighboring garden. They were country folk, ignorant of refinement, planting melons by their gate and vegetables beside their peony beds. The woman was the niece of his father’s concubine. Orphaned, she had come to seek refuge. The man was the husband she had taken into her family. A scholar from a small town, he thought highly of himself and looked down on princes and nobles. Chen Cunzhong was bored during the long days, and sometimes watched the couple go about their lives through a carved garden window, like watching birds and ants. He watched them struggle for money, get embarrassed by their relatives’ cold stares, and weep together whenever the man hit another dead end, comforting one another. Later, the woman opened a restaurant and gradually saved some money. Her husband passed the provincial examination, basking in success, dressed in fine clothes and riding a fine horse. Later still, the woman knelt at his feet, her vulnerable neck bowed, begging him to intervene and allow her to divorce her husband. Chen Cunzhong gripped her chin, forcing her to look up. His thumb slowly brushed over her full, pale lower lip. Poor thing. An ignorant country woman, betrayed by her husband, could only cry herself to sleep in silence. Poor thing. Even now, she had no idea that it had been his suggestion to bring her husband into this glittering world of wealth and fame. ◆ After the divorce, Du Lengcui moved out of the marquis’s garden. A beautiful woman living alone without protection was bound to attract trouble. Chen Cunzhong came to visit her. The emperor’s gift palanquin stopped in front of her modest gate, and soon everyone knew that the white-robed chancellor, the emperor’s trusted aide, had a history with her. The swarm of lecherous men vanished at once. But her former husband came anyway, kneeling before her and weeping uncontrollably. He spoke of the love they’d shared as newlyweds, and how Chen Cunzhong had led him astray that day, tempting him with wealth and status until he betrayed his beloved wife. Du Lengcui went cold all over. At last, she understood the meaning behind the cool, appraising gaze that had watched her through the carved garden window. Someone knocked at the door, again and again, slow and unhurried, with endless patience. The rain fell like arrows, from every direction, crashing down in a deluge. Chen Cunzhong had arrived. She couldn’t escape. She had to escape. The author’s completed novels: Marrying Up in My First Year: Married first, fell in love later with my ex’s older brother My Brother Is No Saint: Obsession and a groveling redemption arc How to Humiliate a Cold, Powerful Official: Obsession and a male substitute The Wife of an Old Friend: A friend’s wife is off-limits Scheming for a Wife: Male virgin, female non-virgin / obsessive pursuit The Chancellor Regretted Our Divorce: An old-school groveling redemption arc Theme: The three of you should focus on living well together. Nothing matters more.