Chapter 2

In her previous life, before being locked up in the separate courtyard, Shen Qingtan heard that Zhao Yi had returned to his family home in Wu County because he was seriously ill. Everyone knew his sickness was very severe, and he would never recover.

Zhao Yi was upright and gentlemanly, like a clear sky after the rain, and extremely talented.

He passed the imperial exam at sixteen, became the top scholar at seventeen. If not for his weak health, he might have become prime minister or a noble lord in the future.

In the capital, people praised him as “a man of unmatched beauty and talent in the world.”

In her past life, after Zhao Yi’s marriage to Shen Mingzhu was canceled, and until he left the capital in poor health, she never heard of him marrying anyone.

Shen Qingtan made her choice — being able to marry such an extraordinary man was her good fortune.

In his short remaining life, she would treat him well.

Without hesitation, Shen Qingtan gently placed her hand in Zhao Yi’s palm.

Zhao Jue had tried to kill her for the title of Duke, but she would never let him succeed!

With Zhao Yi’s support, Shen Qingtan stepped down from the wedding sedan, crossed the fire basin, was given a red silk cloth, and followed Zhao Yi into the mansion.

Every step she took was steady and firm.

With the master of ceremonies calling out the wedding rites, she and Zhao Yi finished the bowing ceremony and were sent into the bridal room.

Unlike the shyness and nervousness of her past life, this time she felt no waves in her heart and had no expectations for the marriage.

She sat on the wedding bed and listened to the footsteps of people leaving the room.

One set of footsteps slowly came toward her. A pair of black leather boots came into view. Her heartbeat quickened a little — she wondered, if Zhao Yi realized the bride had been swapped, how would he react?

Before she could think further, a jade ruyi entered under her red veil. She instinctively raised her hand to stop it.
“It’s not yet time for the wedding-night fun. Lifting the veil now isn’t proper.”

Zhao Yi’s hand paused. He looked down at her slender, fair hand and said gently,
“The phoenix crown is heavy. You’ve been wearing it all day — your neck must be tired.”

Shen Qingtan froze for a moment.

“The ceremony is already complete,” Zhao Yi said, coughing lightly. “You haven’t eaten all day. Wearing the crown makes it hard to eat. If you care about tradition, you can put it back on during the wedding-night games.”

Shen Qingtan had never interacted with Zhao Yi before, only seen his graceful appearance when he rode through the streets as the top scholar. She hadn’t expected him to be so considerate.

Now that he mentioned it, she really did feel her neck and back aching.

It was fine to lift the veil now — this would also prepare him for the truth.

She withdrew her hand.

The veil was lifted bit by bit. She saw him in a bright red round-collared robe with an embroidered rank badge, his bearing elegant and refined.

Zhao Yi looked at her in surprise. She was extremely beautiful, her makeup delicate, her face like a lotus flower, even more stunning.

He had never seen Shen Mingzhu, but he had seen Shen Qingtan at the Duke’s residence before.

Now, she sat upright on the bed, not shocked at all to see that he wasn’t Zhao Jue, and remained completely calm.

Zhao Yi’s brows furrowed.

Shen Qingtan guessed that he was surprised she wasn’t his bride, and that her lack of shock made him suspicious.

She explained softly,
“Second Master, you are a civil official, Zhao Jue is a military man. Your body shapes and bearing are different. The moment you helped me out of the wedding sedan, I knew you weren’t him.”

Zhao Yi saw the calm in her eyes and the clear way she spoke despite the groom swap. He began to view her differently.

He asked, “Since you recognized me, why did you still marry me?”

“If I had made a scene outside, pointing out the wrong bride, it would have made the Duke’s residence a laughingstock and hurt both my and my second sister’s reputation.”

She watched him carefully. Aside from his initial surprise, his face soon returned to calm, with only understanding in his eyes — as if he had already guessed what had happened.

She added with a hint of cunning,
“The maids who were supposed to accompany me had an ‘accident,’ so they replaced them with new ones. The new maids hadn’t known me for long and didn’t recognize me. They followed the wrong sedan, which caused this bride swap.”

In truth, the Duke’s household had deliberately caused confusion and sent her to the wrong sedan.

Zhao Yi was intelligent and gifted. She mentioned the maid change on purpose, hoping he would realize the swap was no accident.

In the past, she had trusted the Duke’s people and never suspected them, even when her maids got into trouble.

Now she realized that from the moment Shen Mingzhu returned to the Duke’s residence, they had been planning this.

She asked softly, “Second Master, we have already completed the wedding ceremony… What do you plan to do?”

The moment he lifted her veil, Zhao Yi already had a guess — if the Duke and Zhao Jue hadn’t agreed on it, this bride swap could never have happened so smoothly.

With the Duke’s cooperation, replacing the bride was easy.

Her mention of the maid change confirmed for him it was intentional.

There were no such coincidences — only carefully planned schemes.

Since she was calm, she had likely also figured out the Duke’s plot, which was why she didn’t ask to be sent back.

He was weak and not expected to live long. In everyone’s eyes, the title of Duke would go to Zhao Jue.

Even so, as long as Zhao Yi lived, he remained a threat to Zhao Jue.

Shen Qingtan had been favored in the Duke’s house, outshining Shen Mingzhu. Anyone smart would know whom to marry.

Zhao Jue gave up his longtime childhood sweetheart and went to so much trouble to marry Shen Mingzhu — showing how much more valuable she was to him.

The Duke’s willingness to cooperate meant Shen Qingtan was now an abandoned pawn, no longer backed by her family.

By marrying her to Zhao Yi, they stripped him of political support and made it easier for Zhao Jue to get the title.

Zhao Yi found Zhao Jue’s fear of him amusing.

He didn’t need a woman’s power to win the title, so it didn’t matter who he married.

Considering her history with Zhao Jue, he didn’t make a decision right away:
“I will discuss this with my third brother later.”

Seeing her looking tired, he added gently,
“I’ve asked the kitchen to prepare food for you. Eat first — leave the rest to me.”

Shen Qingtan replied obediently, “Thank you, Second Master.”

He gave his orders and left the room.

She looked at the closed door and heard him tell the maids outside to come in and serve her.

When the door opened, two dowry maids came in.

They froze when they saw her, shock on their faces — clearly not expecting the bride in the main room to be Shen Qingtan.

After all, they were Shen Mingzhu’s maids.

Seeing their pale faces, Shen Qingtan sneered inwardly. Whether they truly didn’t know or were pretending didn’t matter.

Those who owed her would pay their debts, one by one.

She calmed her thoughts and said,
“Don’t just stand there. Come and help me freshen up.”