[Blurb]
The Li family of Tongcheng has two lovely daughters.
The elder sister, Li Jingyue, is gentle and kind; the younger sister, Li Nanxi, is clever and independent.
Li Nanxi was betrothed to Zhao Yuanxiao, Prince of Zhenxi, when they were children, and their wedding was set for this August. Just before the wedding, an imperial decree arrived from the capital, granting Li Jingyue a marriage to Jiang Yanshan, the current chief grand secretary, and ordering the sisters to marry on the same day.
Jiang Yanshan of the capital is nearly thirty, a widower with a daughter, and known to be cold-hearted. They say his household also has a biased mother, a spineless elder brother, and a troublesome younger brother. His family is a thoroughly troubled place.
After receiving the decree, Li Jingyue cried for three days and three nights. Their father, Li, was deeply worried. He had once served as the emperor's tutor, but a leg ailment had kept him from rising beyond the third rank, and he had returned to his hometown to recuperate. His eldest daughter was timid and soft-hearted. How would she survive in the Jiang family's den of wolves?
Li Nanxi made up her mind and discussed switching brides with her sister.
Although Zhao Yuanxiao was disfigured, the Prince of Zhenxi's residence was far away in Shaanxi, where Li Nanxi could run her own household and live as she pleased.
Besides, the sisters had grown up in Tongcheng and had never met Jiang Yanshan or Zhao Yuanxiao.
So Li Nanxi went to the Jiang household in the capital, while Li Jingyue went to the prince's residence in Shaanxi.
**
Jiang Yanshan went through the wedding ceremony with an icy expression, watching as his fake wife, who was really his sister-in-law, threw her weight around in the back courtyard and turned the Jiang household upside down.
Li Nanxi snorted. "The emperor arranged this marriage, so I can't leave. But does that mean you can stop me from living separately?"
Only when the cunning, foxlike beauty tried to escape did Jiang Yanshan finally sweep her up in his arms and carry her to the bed.
"We'll make it a done deal?" His voice low and husky, Jiang Yanshan kissed Li Nanxi's earlobe. "You're the mistress of the Jiang household. You can forget about ever leaving."
Zhao Yuanxiao knew his wife was the younger daughter of the Li family, clever and bold since childhood, and skilled at winning the elders' favor. At a palace banquet, his father had liked her at first sight and wanted her as his daughter-in-law.
But who was this gentle beauty in front of him?
Li Jingyue was docile and considerate, attentive in every way. Each night, falling asleep with such a warm, fragrant beauty in his arms left Zhao Yuanxiao completely satisfied.
Until one day, the truth came out.
His little wife, eyes red, pleaded through her tears for a divorce. "I'm sorry. It was all my fault."
Zhao Yuanxiao, furious: ...
What was he supposed to do? He couldn't bring himself to scold her.
# The aloof beauty goes mad for love
# Lovers who spar with each other
# A hundred ways for a straight-laced man to spoil his wife
Note: Both couples are each other's first love, and the ending is happy. Everything in the plot serves the romance.
Two couples:
Aloof, powerful minister × younger sister who plays the pig to eat the tiger
Noble, straight-laced prince × gentle, soft-hearted elder sister
Theme: No path is ever smooth. Be brave and keep moving forward.
