1 The Refined Lady Sister-in-Law × The Beautiful, Delicately Ill Woman 1

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“Madam, I know your heart aches, but you mustn’t be foolish and quarrel with the Marquis...” A Ying gazed at the woman lying on the couch behind the gauze curtain. Seeing no response at all, she couldn’t help but feel a pang of sorrow.

As a close maid, how could she not understand her mistress’s feelings for the Marquis?

Since marrying into the Marquis’s household, Madam had been diligently nursing her health, hoping to soon share a bed with the Marquis and conceive the young heir smoothly.

Unfortunately, she had taken bitter medicinal decoctions one after another and sought many folk remedies prescribed by healers, yet her health showed no improvement.

And the Marquis… he was secretly keeping a concubine behind her back.

Suppressing her sadness, A Ying continued to counsel, “Since the Marquis hasn’t exposed it, Madam can pretend not to know. After all, a concubine is just a concubine. As long as she doesn’t cause trouble before you, there’s still room to maneuver.”

“Whatever happens, you must not gamble with your health...”

Suddenly, the curtain before her stirred.

Wu Xinyi—no, it should be Xinyi—sat up.

Her pale, beautiful face seemed momentarily stunned, her delicate brows and slender neck, clad in thin robes, looked as fragile as a paper butterfly about to be blown away by the wind.

As A Ying’s eyes welled up, the woman turned her head slightly, furrowing her brows and asked, “Is there any food?”

A Ying was taken aback.

The comforting words stuck in her throat. After a long while, she finally said, “Madam... do you wish to dine?”

Xinyi nodded, “Of course.”

For the original Wu Xinyi, the news of her husband’s concubine was like a bolt from the blue. Before she entered this body, Xinyi had not had a drop of water for over a day.

The original was not hungry, but she was.

She was starving.

A Ying’s face lit up, wiping away the tears still lingering, her tone brimming with restrained excitement as she nodded repeatedly, “Yes, yes, Madam, what would you like to eat? I will prepare it right away!”

“Sweet and savory, bring a bit of everything,” Xinyi decided, mostly because she wasn’t familiar with the delicacies of this era.

She thought for a moment, then added, “Oh, and a bowl of plain congee.”

After the maid’s figure disappeared, Xinyi threw off the covers and got out of bed, shaking her dizzy head hard. Ouch, it still hurt terribly.

Holding her head, she asked, “System, when will the aftereffects of this time-space traversal subside?”

A cold, mechanical electronic voice slowly echoed in her mind, “Host, do not worry. Your headache and discomfort will diminish in about half an hour.”

Relieved by the confirmation, Xinyi approached the bronze mirror by the dressing table and studied her reflection in this small world.

She was stunned by her own beauty.

Almond-shaped eyes and smoky brows framed her oval face, which radiated an air of scholarly refinement and gentle grace—playing the part of a mourning Xi Shi would be effortless.

If she had to find fault, it would be that the original had long been ill, her complexion showing an unhealthy pallor.

Yet, she was still very beautiful.

A gentle beauty, perfumed faintly with the scent of medicine, fragile like shattered porcelain.

“Looking like this… and still being treated like trash?”

Xinyi could not understand: if the wife was this beautiful, how could that scoundrel still be dissatisfied and seek a concubine?

The system, keenly sensing her inner thoughts, warned, “Host, you were sent here on a mission, not to engage in self-pity.”

“*Ahem*...” Xinyi coughed lightly, her gaze still fixed on the mirror. “Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing.”

The time-space company she belonged to was developing an immersive game requiring realistic data models to perfect the gameplay and handle unexpected scenarios.

Hence, Xinyi was selected for this test.

This was a historical period that never existed before.

The original was named Wu Xinyi, a typical daughter of an aristocratic family, trained from childhood in music, chess, calligraphy, painting, and etiquette.

Before sixteen, she was betrothed and married to the eldest son of the Marquis’s household—now the Marquis himself, Shen Gui.

Unfortunately, the original was a frail lady with heart palpitations. On the wedding night, she fainted from a palpitating attack, and the couple never consummated the marriage.

Later, whether out of concern for her health or disdain for that unfortunate night, for almost two years after marriage, Shen Gui never stayed overnight in her room and only exchanged a few words with her on festivals before leaving.

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The original was timid and unassertive, secretly shedding countless tears but never daring to protest openly.

Until Shen Gui met the woman who truly stirred his heart: Zheng Wu.

Zheng Wu was the daughter of a tea merchant from Jiangnan, who came to the capital with her father. Unexpectedly, she was harassed by a rogue in the street and was rescued by Shen Gui, who passed by. From then on, she secretly adored him.

Knowing he already had a wife, her feelings were bittersweet but without regret. She willingly became his concubine.

In the original story, Shen Gui would soon bring the pregnant Zheng Wu into the Marquis’s mansion, and several months after her childbirth, elevate her from concubine to primary wife.

Meanwhile, Wu Xinyi would be moved to a more distant wing of the residence, her health deteriorating day by day until she eventually passed away.

Shen Gui’s fortunes also turned sour.

In the struggle for succession, the Marquis household, with Shen Gui as its representative, backed the wrong faction and was utterly defeated. Not only was his marquisate usurped by his younger brother Shen Rujie, but he also lost the woman he loved most.

Yes, in this melodramatic tale, the Marquis’s illegitimate son Shen Rujie also fell for Zheng Wu.

Their first meeting was highly dramatic.

Shen Rujie and his brother were not on the same side. Shen Gui was aligned with the Crown Prince’s faction, while Shen Rujie worked for the Seventh Prince.

Occasionally, Shen Rujie would secretly eliminate obstacles hindering the Seventh Prince.

Once, severely injured, Shen Rujie fled into Zheng Wu’s chamber. She did not panic like most ladies would.

Not only did she keep his presence secret, she cleverly helped him hide, only making one request: “Please do not harm my master or me.”

That rainy night and fleeting glance left a deep impression.

From then on, he could not forget Zheng Wu.

After the Seventh Prince rose to power, Shen Rujie gained control of the Marquis household.

While avenging Shen Gui, his gaze fell again on Zheng Wu. His feelings, far from fading, grew stronger after repression, to the point of obsession.

Thus began the subsequent story of forcible seizure and passionate entanglement.

Shen Rujie threatened Zheng Wu with Shen Gui’s life, forcing her to marry him. Humiliated and reluctant, Zheng Wu agreed. But before she could settle in, she heard news that Shen Gui and his young son had perished in a fire.

Convinced Shen Rujie was behind it, she hid a dagger in her wedding gown’s sleeve and on their wedding night, perished alongside him.

After hearing the entire story, Xinyi sighed, holding her face: “Isn’t this just a deep, tortured love story about the second male lead rising to power?”

Though his rise wasn’t legitimate and involved forceful conquest, ending in a tragic breakup for the protagonists.

System: “Host may think so if she wishes.”

“So who is my target this time?”

System: “Shen Rujie.”

Xinyi: “...”

Looks like her excitement was premature.

In the silence, the system quickly pulled up more detailed information about the target and diligently uploaded it into Xinyi’s mind.

— Shen Rujie, second son of the Marquis’s household.

His biological mother was a lowly bed-warming maid who was caught meeting her lover and drowned along with him by the enraged old Marquis’s orders.

But the matter did not end there. As Shen Rujie grew into a youth, the old Marquis’s suspicion deepened, feeling the boy was not his own flesh and blood.

He feared killing the wrong person yet felt uneasy showing affection.

Therefore, Shen Rujie lived a miserable life.

Not only was he bullied by elders in the household, but even juniors found excuses to humiliate him.

The only two who never mistreated him were Zheng Wu, his cherished red mole, and the original Wu Xinyi.

Because the original was nothing but a background prop: while others schemed, she was the backdrop; when brothers fought, she was the backdrop; when passion and hatred intertwined, she was still the backdrop.

So invisible, it was as if she did not exist.

Her presence was so negligible that no one hated or loved her, and when she died of illness, few truly cared.

“Ding,” the information download completed.

The system began issuing the mission: “Host currently has two tasks, divided into main and side quests.”

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“Main task: Prevent the tragedy, and win over each stubborn second male lead in every small world, achieving 100% favorability.”

“Side task: Achieve the ‘Abuse the Scoundrel’ achievement, triggering the scoundrel’s fiery pursuit and humiliation.”

“In addition, all targets in the small worlds have paranoid personalities. Host must teach them how to experience normal love.”

Xinyi: “...”

With their tangled relationships, normalcy was a fairy tale.

Just as she was about to protest, a transparent vial suddenly dropped from the air into her hands.

“What’s this?” Xinyi inspected it, then sniffed cautiously—no scent.

“Emotional Suppressant. You can think of it as an upgraded version of ‘Forget Love Potion.’”

Xinyi frowned.

The system explained, “Everything here is fake. You only need to complete the mission without genuine feelings. This suppressant has no side effects except dampening emotions. You may take it safely.”

After hearing the explanation, Xinyi decisively opened the vial and drank the sweet liquid inside.

She then held the empty vial upside down. “There, is that enough now?”

“Yes, Host.”

“May I ask why I was chosen?”

Though she had done a few missions before, they were as true cannon fodder side characters, dying off quickly with no real experience in romance conquests.

“Do you remember the questionnaire?”

“Yes.”

“System evaluation shows your green tea personality is the most prominent.”

Xinyi: “...”

Why doesn’t this system speak human language?

She felt like writing it a little essay—eight hundred words, at least.

So when A Ying came in carrying a food box, she found Xinyi’s face flushed with a mixture of embarrassment and anger: “Madam... are you upset with the Marquis?”

But this was better than the previous hopelessness, which had drained her spirit. Since learning about the concubine, Madam cried at the thought of the Marquis, cried while dressing, and cried herself to sleep.

Her tears could have filled West Lake.

But the moment Xinyi smelled the aroma of food, her broken heart was already half mended.

Nothing was more important now than eating, for she was starving, her chest pressed tight against her back.

The sky outside, already gloomy, suddenly began to rain. Slanting raindrops tapped against the window frame, the redwood creaking in the wind.

A Ying hurried up to close the window and, turning, saw Madam obediently sitting at the table eating. Her heart was filled with relief.

After finishing the meal, which took about two incense sticks’ time, A Ying asked, “Madam, since you’re feeling better, would you like to stroll in the pavilion for some fresh air?”

“That sounds good.”

No sooner had Xinyi nodded than a maid standing outside whispered that someone from the Marquis’s side had come and called for her.

“What could he want?”

In the original story, Shen Gui rarely sought her out, and whenever he did, it was never good news. Every meeting left her more heartbroken and weakened.

Was this a weasel paying respects to a chicken?

A Ying seemed to recall something and whispered in her ear, “I guess it’s the second young master back.”

“Shen Rujie?”

“Madam, don’t you remember? Recently, the Marquis heard of an herb in Youzhou that cures heart disease, growing on perilous cliffs surrounded by wolves and tigers. He sent the second young master alone to fetch this divine medicine. When I was preparing lunch earlier, I saw the second young master’s horse.”

A Ying’s voice grew firmer: “It must be true! The Marquis still cares for Madam!”

“...”

Ha. What nonsense.

Using her frail, palpitating health as an excuse to torment Shen Rujie was more likely. If he could, he would rather Shen Rujie die out there.