Zhao Liuyu is the esteemed daughter of the Chancellor, yet on her wedding day her scumbag groom humiliates her, demanding that she enter the household on the same day as his concubine while claiming he'll give her all the honors due to a principal wife.
A father-in-law who pretends not to hear, a mother-in-law who expects her to swallow the insult, and a muddleheaded, disgusting scumbag of a groom. Zhao Liuyu has never suffered such humiliation before. Bound by an imperial edict that cannot be overturned, she simply turns around and marries the groom's elder brother, who has a disabled leg. They're both children of the Pei family, so what's the difference whom she marries?
The scumbag pointed at the two of them. "One of you can't have children, and the other will die young. What kind of future could you possibly have?"
Only then does Zhao Liuyu learn that he can foresee the future. In the future, the Zhao family will become a stepping stone for Pei Huai, while her husband, Pei Yuan, the one with the disabled leg, will die young. To stop that from happening, Zhao Jin and her ally Pei Yuan decide to join forces and nip every threat in the bud.
On the day everything turns out completely different from the prophecy, Zhao Liuyu watches as the scumbag Pei Huai is imprisoned and brought to justice, with no chance of making waves again. At last, she lets out a sigh of relief. But when she returns to the Chancellor's residence, she finds her ally and husband, now strong and wealthy, crying to his father-in-law that he still has no proper status beside Zhao Liuyu.
Zhao Liuyu, gently persuaded by her parents that very day: Good one, Pei Yuan. I can't believe you'd pull this trick on me!
Pei Yuan offers her everything with a smile. His refined face makes her heart flutter. "My wife is as beautiful as ever, while I've grown old and lost my looks. I had no choice but to resort to this."
(Content warning: In her previous life, the heroine really did marry the scumbag. There may not be that many scenes of the scumbag getting his comeuppance.
It may not be as satisfying, since the story mainly focuses on the heroine's personal journey.)
Theme: Work hard for a better life
There's Something Wrong with Our Sect's Feng Shui
The Story of the Kittens
So You're the Church of Elysium?
Illness
Offering the Demon King to the New World
Hyperdimensional Messages [Five Summer]
Hyperthymesia and Mind Blindness [Gojo and Geto]
The Caged World
Spring Does Not Wait
The Young Marquis's Diary of Pursuing Love
A Guide to Interracial Romance
What Could a Beagle Possibly Do Wrong!