[Writing a backlog] [Beautiful, honest young widow x cold, feudal-minded elder brother-in-law]
[Forced possession / groveling pursuit / brother steals younger brother's wife] (This one is coming early!)
Three years ago, Zhuang Wan married into the marquis's household to bring her husband good fortune. Not long after the wedding, however, he died. Since then, her mother-in-law and sister-in-law have treated her coldly and made things difficult for her at every turn, calling her a husband-killing jinx.
But compared to the secret she kept in her heart, none of that mattered to her.
She remembered accidentally seeing her elder brother-in-law standing by her husband's sickbed on the night he died, apparently doing something.
Ever since, whenever she saw the noble and upright eldest master of the marquis's household, Xie Huaiyun, she couldn't help trembling in secret.
Fortunately, when her mother sent her off to marry, she had warned her again and again: the Xie household is a deep pool. If you want to stay alive, you must pretend to be mute.
Keeping her mother's words in mind, Zhuang Wan never spoke, playing the part of a weak, harmless little mute.
After remaining in her husband's household for years, she had finally saved enough silver to remarry. But on the night before the wedding, before she had even changed into her bridal dress, someone brought guards and dragged her back to the marquis's household.
“Pretending to be mute?” Xie Huaiyun lifted her chin and suddenly sneered. “Do you still remember what you saw that day?”
*
Zhuang Wan was hauled back to the marquis's household and confined in a separate courtyard, a bird in a cage.
Xie Huaiyun visited whenever he had a moment to spare. He made things difficult for her in every way, seemingly enjoying the sight of her lowering her eyes and submitting.
One day, she finally found the chance to escape. She slipped into a merchant caravan and made it out of the city. But Xie Huaiyun personally led people after her and caught her at an inn.
When she cried out to the others for help, he calmly drew her into his arms and smiled apologetically. “My concubine is throwing a tantrum at home. Please forgive the scene.”
*
Xie Huaiyun had never thought much of the younger brother's wife who had married into the family to bring good fortune. Now that he knew she had been pretending to be mute, he was even more convinced she was a scheming woman.
He thought keeping her by his side would make her behave, but she proved impossible to keep in line, trying to escape time and again.
At first, Xie Huaiyun thought that if he couldn't keep her locked up, he might as well take her as a concubine and use that status to keep her tied to him.
But later, deep in the night, as he heard the woman in his arms trembling and calling his name over and over, he felt the unspeakable feelings in his heart grow wildly, like grass and trees.
She was already his woman. It was only right that he discipline her properly.
“From today on, you'll learn the rules. How to behave, how to serve your master...” He lowered his head and gently bit the ear of the woman in his arms, his voice cold and leaving no room for argument.
“I'll teach you myself, one thing at a time.”
Reading Notes:
1. Beautiful, honest young widow x cold, feudal-minded elder brother-in-law.
2. Happy ending, both virgins, fictional dynasty. Please don't nitpick historical accuracy.
Theme: Love helps people grow together.
