That Bastard Son-in-Law Lied His Way into Marriage and Ran Off!

Xu Rong is the laughingstock of every village for miles around.

Everyone says, "That ghoul of an ugly ger from the Xu butcher family in Qingshui Village will never find a husband, so he picked up a live-in son-in-law for himself."

His son-in-law can't lift a finger or shoulder a load, but he's so handsome that Xu Rong was blinded by his looks. He paid for his studies and exams, and treated him with all his heart. In the end, that bastard swindled him out of his money and his virtue, then ran off halfway to the capital to sit the exams!

Xu Rong was so furious he nearly toppled over. In a rage, he set out to storm the capital and hunt down that ungrateful Chen Shimei.

But just as he'd finished packing, he heard that the border was in crisis and his father, Xu the Butcher, was to be conscripted to fight.

His father was getting on in years, so Xu Rong gritted his teeth, disguised himself as a man, and joined the army in his father's place.

Years later, Xu Rong finally reached the capital, thousands of miles away. He reined in his horse beneath its towering walls and thought of his ex-husband, who was so good at putting on an act. Gritting his teeth, he vowed, "You like running away? I'll break your legs!"

[The Serious Version]

A few years ago, Xu Rong pulled a young man out of the water. Smitten by his face, he made a decision he would regret for the rest of his life.

Now, whenever he sees Shen Xuan's strikingly handsome face, smooth as jade, he wants to punch it.

A few years ago, Shen Xuan enjoyed being kept by someone. It was so good, he wanted to enjoy it for the rest of his life.

No one knew that the most satisfying thing in the life of Lord Shen, a powerful and trusted court official close to the emperor, was neither his rapid rise to power nor having his name recorded in the history books. It was the face his mother had given him.

Confident Lord Shen: A groveling arc? With this face, my wife won't be able to hit me.

When the young couple, who had once pretended to be married, reunited after years apart, Xu Rong learned that Shen Xuan had been scheming against him from the very beginning, with nothing but bad intentions. They'd agreed to pretend until it became real, but Xu Rong was the only one who'd taken it seriously.

Shen Xuan: "Brother, please let me explain... If you're still angry, how about you beat me every day to vent?"

Xu Rong sneered. "I'm not hitting you anymore. This time, I'm divorcing you."

Lord Shen, who was supposed to be calm and in control, panicked at once. In front of the entire Xu clan, he went mad in the family shrine, eyes red as he cried, "You can't divorce me! My name is on the Xu family register!!!"

The villagers: "... Weren't we here to laugh at Xu Rong, the ugly ger who got dumped? What's going on???"

[Overpowered, softhearted, sincere, and obsessed with pretty faces shou

✘ A pretty face who lives off his spouse, a sweet-talking, black-hearted green-tea gong]

Next book, The Stolen Wife, available to preorder in my author page

[Preorder Blurb]

Everyone in the prefectural city praises the eldest Wen son as the most gentle and proper gentleman around, disciplined and decorous, bright as the moon. Yet he seduced his younger childhood friend and brother into bed.

No one knew that Wen Yun, so elegant and unblemished in public, had a private affliction he was too ashamed to discuss. He suffered from a strange illness that left him burning with heat and overwhelmed by desire for several days each month. He had searched through ancient texts and medical books and secretly consulted every renowned doctor he could find, but no one could cure him.

As he grew older, the illness worsened. Whenever it struck at night, Wen Yun would be tormented until his bedding was soaked through, his mind clouded and his shameful behavior on full display.

After waking, Wen Yun decided he could no longer endure this. He came up with a solution: find a man to help him through his period of desire. He just had to be careful not to get pregnant.

There were two suitable candidates: the two sons of the Wen family's betrothed, the Wen family. Wen Yun looked at the eldest Wen son, who was upright and proper and had been praised since childhood, then at the second son, who was idle and carefree all day. Without hesitation, he chose the younger one, who looked foolish and easy to fool.

Wen Yun had kept their affair perfectly under wraps. Unfortunately, his little brother's belated rebellious phase finally arrived. After two years, he suddenly no longer wanted to do it, and several times he nearly let their secret slip. With a headache, Wen Yun had no choice but to end things with him and look for another little brother.

Who could have guessed that Wen Ruzhuo would storm the Wen family home and throw a tantrum in front of the elders?

"You can't break off the engagement! I'm carrying your child!"

What a fool!

Wen Yun's brow throbbed. At last, everything went black and he fainted from anger. The physician checked his pulse and repeatedly offered congratulations. "The baby is three months along."

Wen Yun: "... The sky is falling."

*

Wen Ruzhuo had known since childhood that the Wen and Wen families had an engagement, but it had nothing to do with him, since he had an older brother who was the pride of the Wen family and admired by everyone.

Watching his brother compose poetry, play the qin and chess, and meet his soulmate in a kindred spirit, all with his future sister-in-law, Wen Ruzhuo was so annoyed he avoided them. He snorted to himself, "Thank goodness I'm not the one marrying him!"

When he was young and ignorant, he liked trailing after Wen Yun like a little shadow. But Wen Yun was only gentle and proper in front of other people. With him, he couldn't even be bothered to pretend, and had bullied him alone from childhood onward. Now that he was grown, he naturally wouldn't go running after him anymore.

He was convinced that Wen Yun would one day marry into their family and become his brother's wife. But on a rainy night, Wen Yun collapsed helplessly among the warm quilts and embroidered covers. His pale skin was flushed, half-hidden and half-revealed, and his bright, beautiful eyes shimmered with tears. He furrowed his brows and bit his wet lips, a few helpless sobs escaping his throat.

He said, "Wen Ruzhuo, if you're not going to do it, get out."

It was always like this. Wen Ruzhuo was bitter with frustration. He takes advantage of the fact that I can't be hard on him!

Wen Ruzhuo put on a brave front. "Fine, I'll go!"

Then he turned around and pounced, biting down hard on the pale skin at the back of Wen Yun's neck. Grinding his teeth in anger, he demanded, "Would you do this to my big brother too?"

He got slapped. Wen Yun glared at him through watery eyes and panted, "So... many... stupid questions..."

This shocking secret affair had carried on in secret for two whole years. Then Wen Ruzhuo's eldest brother, who had been studying away from home, the man betrothed to Wen Yun, was coming back.

Wen Ruzhuo tossed and turned, unable to sleep for a month. He pored over dozens of military strategy books before finally coming up with a clever plan to switch one thing for another.

*

After two years away, Wen Hanchen returned home having completed his studies, only to be told that his betrothed had somehow become his younger brother's spouse?

Wen Hanchen: "??!"

[Disguised as a gentle gentleman, but rebellious and unruly to the core, a cunning beauty shou who has spent his life hunting geese only to have one peck out his eye

✘ Played like a puppet by his wife, clever only when it comes to stealing him away, a pretending-to-be-a-fool gong who uses what little cunning he has against his own big brother]

[Reader's Guide]

1. This story is set in an alternate world! No transmigration or rebirth, just two natives of this era falling in love.

2. Not a typical farming story.

3. Both leads are each other's first and only love. The main couple only have eyes for each other.

Theme: Break free from society's constraints and let my heart choose freedom