The Eldest Sister-in-Law's Plan

In the fifth year of Changqi, Border Captain Lu Qingyuan died in battle. His wife, Ye Yixiang, was sent to the border camp as the dependent of a criminal, even being taken into the tent by a section chief for his amusement.

Everyone said that this former county princess, once renowned in the capital, was destined to become a camp prostitute, withering away in the mud.

Yet, under everyone's watchful eyes, she was taken back to the main tent by Lu Qingyuan's cousin, the cold-faced King Yama, Chu Huaili. He was the new commander of the Northern Army, a man who hadn't even deigned to touch a cup of celebratory wine at her wedding.

She wanted to find her deceased husband's belongings in his tent, but unexpectedly, he was bathing. “Your deceased husband's remains haven't even been found, yet you're already bowing and flattering others. It's late and dew is heavy, yet you boldly enter a man's bath tent... You're truly impatient!”

Her hair was disheveled, but she straightened her unyielding spine. “If I intended seduction, I would now be enjoying wealth and status in Adjutant Zhao's tent, not humiliating myself by the general's bathing tub!”

Chu Huaili remembered how this woman used her alluring eyes to make his cousin endlessly yearn for her. He had called her a “femme fatale” to her face.

But when she truly came to beg him to clear her deceased husband’s name, he couldn't bring himself to push her away again. Instead, he found himself clutching her waist in the dead of night, biting her earlobe as he questioned her, “Tell me, who is that name you cry out every night in your nightmares?”

She would rather humble herself before this cold-blooded and unfeeling man to gain the opportunity to investigate the truth and avenge her husband.

Until she discovered a half-bloodstained tiger tally hidden in a secret compartment in Chu Huaili's study. It fit perfectly with the other half she carried in her own satchel. “Chu Huaili, tell me,” she gripped the tiger tally, her voice trembling, “Where exactly were you the day Qingyuan died?”

With reddened eyes, he pulled her into his embrace, kissing the fading old marks on her neck. “I was saving you. I was the one who saved you then, I was the one who gave you the golden hairpin at the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet, and now...”

His thumb heavily grazed her swollen lips, his voice hoarse. “The one who loves you to the bone and goes crazy for you, is still me.”

——————

When the truth was revealed, she discovered that every encounter had been a meticulously designed plot by him. And the man she had hated to the bone had painstakingly paved all paths for her survival in corners she couldn't see.

PS. Her ex-husband was not innocent; his “death” was well-deserved. Character Settings: A seemingly cold and ascetic but secretly manipulative love-struck general vs. A seemingly weak and easily bullied yet sharp and decisive criminal wife.

Reading Guide: 1. Strong adversaries, love-hate relationship. 2. The female lead has a hidden identity, the male lead has been plotting for a long time. 3. Power struggles + investigation + border battlefield, full of emotional entanglement.

Theme: Even a small spark can ignite a beacon, welcoming the dawn. Keywords: Chu Huaili, Ye Yixiang. Tagline: A younger, devoted general x a seemingly innocent but secretly cunning young wife.