Tagline: A fragile, seductive beauty vs. a righteous gentleman driven to the brink of madness.
Born into a merchant family, Sang Wu married into a noble house—only to become a widow. Despite the cold indifference and cruelty she faced, Sang Wu gritted her teeth and endured.
When her father-in-law urged her to remarry, her eyes brimmed with tears. “I shared a deep love with Sixth Brother,” she sobbed. “I wish to treat you both as my own parents and remain a widow to fulfill my filial duties for the rest of my life!”
The very day after making this vow, she encountered a gentleman dressed in white on the willow-lined banks of West Lake. The Young Master was noble and handsome, as bright and pure as the moon. In the lines of his brow and eyes, there was a faint resemblance to her late husband.
Sang Wu: …
But she soon discovered that this man was her late husband’s cousin from another branch of the family. Not only that, but her father-in-law and mother-in-law hoped she and this cousin would follow the ancestral custom of Jian-si, producing a male heir to carry on her late husband’s lineage.
Under the guise of the spring scenery, Sang Wu secretly stole glances at those jade-like features. Her late husband had been gentle… surely this cousin would also be very considerate toward women?
Pei Si, also known as Pei Xu, possessed a stellar reputation; he was as refined and elegant as fine jade. Even in the capital, where talented men were as plentiful as carps in a river, he was a cut above the rest.
To avoid the turmoil of the imperial court, he returned to his ancestral home after years away. Only upon his return did he realize that the old estate held more than just a boisterous, clingy younger sister and a mother whose hair was beginning to gray. It also held a “gentle village” of soft jade and warm fragrance.
A gentle village is a hero’s grave. Beyond that, as the elder brother whom Sixth Brother had deeply respected, Pei Xu knew he must never become entangled with this woman.
He said coldly, “When I return to the capital, you need not follow.”
It would be best if she became pregnant before then, so she could stay in the old house to raise the child in peace and continue her role as the daughter-in-law of the third branch. No matter how clever her words or how well she acted her part, it had nothing to do with him.
His plan was perfect—until the moment Sixth Brother returned to life. Sang Wu wept with joy, but Pei Xu’s expression turned grim and cold.
In a secluded corner, Pei Xu pressed his hand against her slender, white neck, resentfully leaving a bite mark. “When a younger brother is gone, the elder succeeds; rites are established through righteousness…”
“Sang Wu, you can only be Pei Si’s wife.”
Reading Guide:
1.
Marriage before love, a “slap in the face” romance where the cold lead falls hard. Bittersweet HE (Happy Ending), SC (Pure).
2.
By the time the male and female leads enter the Jian-si relationship, it has been over a year since the second male lead’s funeral.
3.
Historical setting with private headcanons. The plot serves the romance.
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