A Match Made in Mistake

Chen Zhiyu was born to a poor family. At sixteen, she traded her marriage for her uncle’s freedom from prison. She heard that the family she’d been promised to was a powerful household that had fallen into disgrace. If they hadn’t offended the emperor and been barred from marrying into the nobility, such a fine match would never have fallen to her. The man she was to marry was Lu Yao, the eldest son of the Grand Tutor’s household and heir to the Lu family. He had passed the imperial examination at a young age and was renowned for his striking looks and graceful bearing. Every noble young lady in the capital dreamed of marrying him.

At first, she viewed the marriage as a transaction and constantly reminded herself to be a good mistress of the Lu household. But being a good mistress was far harder than she’d imagined. Her husband’s former fiancée was waiting for a chance to strike, her muddleheaded stepsister kept causing trouble at home, and she also had to watch out for the occasional probing of someone in the imperial palace. She could handle all of that. What she couldn’t quite manage was getting along with the husband she’d married under contract.

When he first learned of her, he said, “What gratitude? She’s obviously trying to climb the social ladder.” When they first met, he said, “If I’d known she was coming, I should have gone to meet her.” When others slandered her, he said, “My wife is clever, gracious, and well-read. What idiot started those rumors?”

Later, the Lu family’s crisis was resolved. Chen Zhiyu packed her belongings and prepared to leave, only for Lu Yao to pin her against the doorway. The usually dignified man’s eyes were red-rimmed. “You won the Lu family a fortune, and now you’re going to abandon your husband and children?”

She looked blankly at the two little cherubs peeking from beneath the veranda. “I’m only going home to visit my family for half a month. Just take good care of the children…”

“No.” He pulled her into his arms and swallowed hard. “Don’t treat me like a stepping-stone you can toss aside once you’re done with me.”