After Taking My Eldest Legitimate Sister's Place as the Bride

A heroine with an unconventional way of thinking and an unstable mental state vs. a jerk of a hero

Wen Yin transmigrates as the second legitimate daughter of the Duke of Qingguo.

Her birth mother came from a noble family, but after her family fell into ruin, she became ill, sank into depression, and died. Her father then remarried a widow named Cui.

Stepmother Cui brought her daughter, two years older than Wen Yin, into the family when she married. The girl took the Wen surname and was named Wen Baozhu.

At the time, the original Wen Yin had only a childhood nickname.

Before long, the original Wen Yin was sent to a manor, going from the eldest legitimate daughter to a pitiful girl no one knew existed.

In truth, Cui had been having an affair with the Duke of Qingguo for years, and Wen Baozhu was his biological daughter.

Because of the power of his first wife's family, he had hidden her away instead of bringing her into the household.

Rumors in the capital say that Wen Baozhu's betrothed, Zhou Cong, became cruel and violent after being injured in battle and was left incapable of having sex.

The Duke of Qingguo can't bear to let her suffer, so he brings Wen Yin back from the manor to take her place as the bride.

Wen Yin: I must have the heroine's script. The rumors can't be true.

My husband is handsome and aloof, and utterly doting on me.

I'm always rubbing my sore back, unable to get out of bed. I'll get revenge on my scumbag father and elder sister and rise to the top.

On their wedding day, as they perform the marriage rites, Zhou Cong accuses the Wen family in front of all their guests of substituting the younger sister for the elder and fraudulently arranging the marriage.

The Great Yong marriage law states: "Anyone who fraudulently substitutes one bride for another shall be sentenced to one year of penal servitude. If the ceremony has been completed, the marriage shall be dissolved. If it has not, the original marriage contract must be fulfilled."

The capital is in an uproar.

Wen Yin is sent back to the Duke of Qingguo's residence. She has no idea whether the marriage counts as completed or not, or what punishment the household will face.

But she knows one thing for sure: she's doomed!

Wen Yin's rule for life: She is the absolute protagonist of her own life, and she'll have the last laugh.

If she can't laugh, she'll make everyone mourn with her!

Reader's guide:

This is a fictional setting. Please don't nitpick the historical details.

The hero is a jerk early on, and the heroine is a jerk throughout.

Theme: What does hardship matter?