Chapter One: The Return of the Deceased Husband

In the main hall, six rosewood armchairs stood neatly occupied.

The moment Dou Hongyan stepped inside, she saw a woman rise with graceful courtesy and say in a soft, timid voice, “Sister, at last I have seen you. My husband regained his memory a while ago, and only then did I learn that he already had a family. I have been deeply ashamed. Now that I see you living so well, I can finally put my heart at ease.”

As she spoke, a few guilty tears shimmered in her eyes.

Dou Hongyan smiled faintly. Without the slightest trace of haste, she removed the fox-fur cloak worth a fortune from her shoulders, handed it to the serving matron, and took her seat in the place of honor. Only then did she look toward the tall man seated below.

Fourteen years had passed.

His features had changed quite a bit, yet from the outline of his brows and eyes, she could still tell that he truly was the husband who had gone off to war on their wedding night and died halfway there.

This should have been a cause for celebration for the whole family.

But...

She had already borne children in his name with another man.

If he came back now, would everything not be exposed?

Holding the warm hand-warmer in her lap, Dou Hongyan felt chill after chill spread through her heart.

He had faked his death for another woman and taken away most of the family fortune. He deserved to die out there!

And his “dead” return could not have come at a worse time.

Her lover had just been sent by the emperor to command the war in the northern frontier, and would not return for two months.

Otherwise, he would have died cleanly before ever setting foot in the capital.

“Sister... are you ignoring me... because you resent me for stealing your husband?”

Seeing no response from the woman above, Liu Xiner’s pitiful expression stiffened awkwardly. In a hurry, she tugged at the man beside her.

Only then did the man turn to Dou Hongyan with obvious reluctance, a flash of astonishment flickering fleetingly in his eyes.

After so many years apart, Dou Hongyan had cared for herself well. She still looked scarcely older than sixteen or seventeen, with a lovely nose, elegant features, bright eyes, and white teeth.

Yet her dress and ornaments were extravagantly opulent, pearls and jade crowding her head, brocade covering her from head to toe, even her fingers sheathed in gold-and-jade guards. She was no different from the nouveau riche woman she had once been, forever piling the finest things upon herself.

Thus when he spoke, his voice was full of disdain. “Lady Dou, I know these years have wronged you. But if not for Liu Niang saving my life back then, I might not have lived to see this day. If you dare make things difficult for her, I will not let you off easily!”

“Please do not take offense, Sister. My husband is simply that sort of person...” Liu Niang hurried to play the gentler role, then cast the man a shy, reproachful glance. “And you, Husband, how could you speak so harshly to Sister?”

The man immediately softened, lowering his voice to coax her. “All right, all right, it is all my fault.”

Dou Hongyan watched them and felt a headache coming on. Lazily, she shifted into a more comfortable posture, her jade-white chin sinking half into the snowy fox-fur collar. Her expression was languid, like a fox at rest.

The man’s disgust deepened.

After all these years as mistress of a noble household, she had not improved the least in manners or bearing.

If not for the Dou family using a life-saving favor to force him into marrying her, Dou Hongyan would not even have been qualified to enter the marquis’s manor, let alone compare with Liu Niang, who could share with him the joys of a fine, cultured life.

He could not help frowning as he said, with clipped annoyance, “Lady Dou, Liu Niang has not only saved my life. She has cared for me for fourteen years and borne my children. Therefore I intend to take her as a secondary wife, so that from now on she and you will both be mistresses of this marquis’s estate.”

Liu Niang was thrilled inwardly, yet on the surface she remained as delicate as a willow in the breeze, saying softly, “So long as I may stay by Husband’s side, I do not care for empty titles.”

Shen Yishu was deeply moved. He clasped Liu Niang’s hand with great tenderness. “Liu Niang, I know your character is noble and that you have never cared for worldly possessions, but how could I let you suffer such humiliation?”

Watching the two of them speak with such earnest feeling, Dou Hongyan’s eyes gleamed with amusement.