Because Young Master Liu was unaware that Miss He, with whom he had secretly pledged his life, was an illegitimate daughter of the He family.

This Miss He is named He Xiaodie, and her elder sister is named He Mingzhen.

Young Master Liu and He Xiaodie met during a meticulously planned rescue. Yes, the mastermind has probably guessed it; the planner was He Xiaodie.

This 'beauty' is also He Xiaodie, and the hero is naturally Liu Hong, whom she carefully selected.

Those lecherous men who attempted to molest her were also idlers hired by He Xiaodie.

They openly harassed the beautiful and charming daughter of an official on the street, a route Liu Hong was bound to take.

This immediately aroused Liu Hong's protective instincts, and he immediately came to the rescue of the damsel in distress. From then on, the two fell in love and got along well.

He Xiaodie and Liu Hong met under the name He Mingzhen, the eldest daughter of the He family. They also corresponded privately under the name He Mingzhen.

Three days ago, Young Master Liu suddenly sent someone to the He family to propose marriage, without informing He Xiaodie beforehand. Therefore, the current marriage negotiations are between Young Master Liu Hong and He Mingzhen, the eldest daughter of the He family.

"The two of them will definitely meet before the wedding, right? Won't they realize they've got the wrong person when they meet?"

Since they're not married and are sisters, it shouldn't be a big problem for them to switch people in private.

It's just unknown whether the Liu family would be willing to replace their legitimate daughter with an illegitimate daughter.

He Xiaodie wouldn't let Liu Hong discover the mistake. She originally used her elder sister's name to facilitate the marriage between the Liu and He families; how could she let Liu Hong find out before the wedding?

"Why is He Xiaodie doing this? Is there something wrong with this Young Master Liu, and she's deliberately setting a trap for her own elder sister?"

It is true that she dug a pit for her own elder sister. After all, Madam He did not treat the wives and concubines in Lord He's household well, especially He Xiaodie and her aunt.

He Xiaodie believes that daughters should repay their mothers' debts, a lesson she learned from Madam He.

So she not only wanted to ruin her elder sister's reputation but also her marriage. As for Liu Hong, he didn't have any major problems; he was just a bit simple-minded, soft-hearted, and easily fooled.

Liu Hong was the future husband that He Xiaodie had chosen for herself a year ago. She had selected three men like Liu Hong in total.

Of the four, only Liu Hong was eager to marry her. Wanting to surprise his sweetheart, he informed his parents without consulting He Xiaodie beforehand and asked someone to propose marriage to her.

"Is He Xiaodie playing the role of a substitute bride?"

[The master is so clever. He Xiaodie’s initial plan was to roughly select the target first, then use a large net to catch fish, and catch whichever one she caught!]

Anyway, she always chose soft-hearted people. Even if she found out the truth later, she felt that with her looks and the emotional foundation she had built, the other party would most likely accept it after things had escalated to the point of no return.

"He Xiaodie is quite bold. With her courage and resourcefulness, why doesn't she just find someone decent to marry instead of pulling this stunt?"

Because of her status as an illegitimate daughter, even with Lord He's favor, she could never marry into a wealthy and powerful family. Besides, she once overheard Lord He and her aunt saying they wanted to marry her off to a poor scholar.

He Xiaodie has always been strong-willed and looks down on those from poor families. Even though Lord Liu said that the other party was talented and would surely pass the imperial examination in the future, He Xiaodie did not want to suffer with her husband step by step.

She always prided herself on her beauty and believed she should marry into a wealthy and powerful family. What made her even more resentful was marrying someone less fortunate than her elder sister.

"Isn't she afraid that things might go wrong and actually lead to her elder sister's marriage with Young Master Liu? Liu Hong was handpicked by her; is she really willing to take such a risk?"

[Hehe, He Xiaodie has successful case studies to help her, what is she afraid of?]

"Successful cases: Which member of the He family successfully married in place of another?"

Upon hearing this, Steward He thought to himself, "Oh no, the shameful things in my family will probably be exposed by the Divine Artifact today."

His colleagues couldn't help but look at him, and Manager He felt instantly embarrassed. His face flushed red, and he covered his face with his sleeve, muttering to himself, "What a misfortune for my family! What a misfortune for my family!"

Emperor Mingxi and his ministers were now somewhat regretting the screen that had been put up around their table. They were right there, but no one could understand the feeling of not being able to witness the scene of the person involved's change of expression!

Let me tell you one first, about He Xiaodie's aunt. She grew up listening to her aunt's story.

This was one of the things her aunt was most proud of in her life, so she often showed it off to He Xiaodie when she was very young.

She said that the fact that she became a housekeeper's daughter, rather than a peasant girl or a merchant's daughter, was all thanks to her aunt.

Her aunt, Hu Chunrui, came from a small wealthy merchant family in Ping'an County, which was under the jurisdiction of the capital. Hu Chunrui was also a concubine's daughter in the family.

Back then, her father, Hu Qianjin, climbed up to Lord He, who had already passed the imperial examination, and wanted to marry his eldest daughter to him as a concubine.

Lord He thought that he could get both a beautiful woman and a concubine's generous dowry, so he gladly accepted.

Master, in the Dayan Dynasty, concubines normally did not have a dowry. So the dowry that the Hu family gave to their daughter was actually for Lord He, just given a nicer name.

Hu Chunrui and her aunt soon found out about this. Although the Hu family were wealthy merchants, they were not comparable to truly wealthy merchants.

The legitimate daughter was going to become someone's concubine, and the illegitimate daughter would only marry worse off. So, the mother and daughter conspired to steal the marriage and marry in each other's place!

On the day of her wedding, her aunt was responsible for drugging the bride. Hu Chunrui took the opportunity to whisper to her sister to change into her wedding dress. Once the veil was on, she was carried into the He family's house through the back door in a sedan chair that came to pick her up.

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