the lady is expecting

In the dimness, the hem of her skirt was slowly lifted. Shen Sangning thought it was an illusion. As the respected matriarch of the Ningguo Duke’s residence, who would dare to climb into her bed in the middle of the night? Until pain struck, Shen Sangning abruptly awoke and opened her eyes to darkness. There was a man on top of her. Heaven’s mercy! Shen Sangning was horrified and immediately reached out to push him away. “How dare you, you scoundrel—” Her words seemed to be shredded by the spring air. Indeed, the world had fallen, and human hearts were not what they used to be! Having been widowed for several years, Shen Sangning, now at forty, never expected to endure such humiliation. The shock was so great that she didn’t even notice her voice had become younger. “Scoundrel!” She couldn’t push him away or resist, so in desperation, she bit down hard on the man’s shoulder, wanting to tear off a piece of his flesh. “Ugh!” The man inhaled sharply. The smell of blood spread across Shen Sangning’s tongue and nose. The man stopped, his powerful aura cooling the surrounding air, and, suppressing his anger, he ordered in a deep voice— “Get someone!” Shen Sangning stared in disbelief. Did he still dare to call for people? As the maid was about to enter the room, she had no time to hide. She quickly fumbled on the bed, finding her clothes and putting them on. She still had her dignity! Soon, the oil lamp was lit by the maid, casting a dim light on the unfamiliar bridal chamber and the young man before her. When Shen Sangning finally saw his face, her humiliation and anger turned into shock. Because the man was the spitting image of her late husband’s short-lived older brother, Pei Ruyan, in his youth. At this moment, Pei Ruyan had his thin lips pressed together, a high nose bridge, and a pair of slender Danfeng eyes fixed on her, revealing no emotion, with a faint reddish tinge at the corners of his eyes. He was bare-chested, showing eight-pack abs, a narrow waist, broad shoulders, and a thin sheen of sweat, with small bite marks on his shoulder dripping with blood. Shen Sangning had no mind to admire him, her thoughts were in chaos. Looking down at her own smooth wrists, she suspected she had been reborn. But reborn or not, she shouldn’t have ended up in her brother-in-law’s bed! What an improper situation! At that moment, Pei Ruyan’s stern voice echoed— “Did I hurt you, or… do you not want to marry me?” Marry? Shen Sangning was even more shocked. How could she be marrying Pei Ruyan? Wasn’t it her younger sister who was supposed to marry him? No, the original engagement was indeed set between Shen Sangning and the heir Pei Ruyan. But her younger sister, Shen Miaoyi, also wanted to marry into the Duke’s family. So, she created a chance encounter with Pei Ruyan, which made him fall in love, leading to the marriage arrangement. Before the marriage, Shen Miaoyi was still unwilling to marry the non-inheritable Pei Er, so she took advantage of the wedding day loophole to swap the wedding attire and the marriage arrangement. Shen Sangning had ended up marrying Pei Er by mistake, and ultimately had to accept this reality. Why was it different this time? She was lost in thought, completely oblivious to Pei Ruyan’s increasingly grim expression. Seeing his new wife unable to answer, Pei Ruyan furrowed his brows and said, “If you don’t want to marry, why didn’t you say so earlier? Did I have to marry you?” Throughout, Pei Ruyan never mentioned the bite marks on his shoulder. He quickly dressed, left the bed, and, seeing that Shen Sangning showed no sign of keeping him, left the bridal chamber without a second glance. Shen Sangning was in such a rush to clear her mind that she barely noticed him. She ran to the mirror, saw her face returned to her eighteen-year-old self, and fell into a long period of confusion. In her previous life, due to the marriage swap, she had married the Pei Er she admired, while having to deal with his dissatisfaction and endure her mother-in-law’s disdain. It wore down her originally gentle nature into a fiery temperament. She first won her mother-in-law’s favor and then used her authority to reform Pei Er, a prodigal son, who eventually turned loyal to her. Later, Pei Ruyan died suddenly, Pei Er inherited the title, achieved success on the battlefield, and restored the Ningguo Duke’s residence to its top position. Shen Sangning became the object of envy among the noblewomen of the capital. After years of hard work, she had finally achieved a comfortable life. Now, she had to start all over again?! And this time, she wasn’t swapped out by her younger sister. Her husband was the only Pei Ruyan, who had only two years left to live… “Miss, why did the heir leave with a dark face?” The maid, Ziling, rushed into the room, finding Shen Sangning melancholy in front of the mirror. She thought she was upset because the heir had abandoned her on their wedding night and immediately began to cry. “How could the heir be so cruel, abandoning you on the wedding night? How will you manage from now on?” Shen Sangning, reminded by Ziling, recalled her actions during their consummation. Now, she deeply regretted it, thinking she should have bitten him more gently. Pei Ruyan was already disinterested in women; what if he refused to sleep with her again? Thinking of this, Shen Sangning felt a buzzing in her head. She changed into clean clothes and ran out. She had to find him—apologize if needed and win him over if necessary.