Everyone in the capital knew that Ning Yuchun, heir to the Duke of Ning's estate, would not live past twenty-five.
Lin Chuchu thought his life was too short and refused to marry him.
Ji Xiaorou, however, tied up her cousin, put on the wedding dress, and climbed into the bridal sedan herself.
She wanted no wealth or status. She wanted the Ning family name to help clear her father and brothers of their false charges.
On their wedding night, she introduced herself: “I want the position of the heir's wife.”
Ning Yuchun smiled. “And what makes you think you deserve it?”
She revealed his secret.
That night, the bed collapsed, the incense burner shattered, and the Ning household gained a new bride they couldn't get rid of.
When her mother-in-law laid down rules, she bowed her head and apologized, then turned around and used those same rules against her.
When the second branch hoped to see her humiliated, she smiled more sweetly than anyone, but struck more precisely than anyone.
Everyone said the heir of the Ning family doted on his wife.
Only Ji Xiaorou knew that he protected her in public while investigating her in secret.
She used the Ning family to save her father and brothers. He used her to investigate the jade pendant and the old Yunluo case.
As the investigation went on, Ning Yuchun discovered that the person he had guarded against most was also the person he had wronged the most.
Later, they met again on the snowy frontier.
He was still the heir of the Duke of Ning's estate.
But she now held the military seal and was no longer a young bride relying on the Ning family to survive.
This time, she was the one who asked him, “Ning Yuchun, what makes you think I should come back to you?”