Chapter 1: Entering the Wrong Bridal Chamber

The night was late, the wind sighed through the window frame, and the flickering candlelight swayed alongside the tilted pillows.

The crisp scent of wine filled her nose. Yan Funing struggled to open her eyes, pulled off the red cloth covering her head, and froze.

It was actually a red bridal veil embroidered with the "Double Happiness" symbol!

In an instant, a glimpse of an incomparably handsome face caught her peripheral vision.

Startled, she sat up with a jolt.

The man before her looked like a youth of eighteen or nineteen, possessing a transcendent beauty that seemed otherworldly; both his features and his bone structure were peerless.

What was going on?

She intended to get out of bed to investigate, but unexpectedly found her skirt pressed beneath the man. She had no choice but to kneel and reach out to pull it.

Fearing she might wake him, she pulled with extreme care and caution.

Suddenly, she felt the man move. The light and shadow shifted with his body, eventually enveloping her in his shadow.

Yan Funing’s hand, clutching the skirt, paused. She looked up at him. "Hello, may I ask where we are?"

Fu Ciyi cast a cold, dark glance at her. He sat on the edge of the bed and lowered his eyes to press against his temple.

"Yan Funing, what kind of scheme are you playing?"

His voice was clear and pleasant, like a cold spring striking stones in a lonely valley, yet it was laced with mockery.

As soon as Yan Funing's toes touched the floor, hearing him call her name made her forget to stand up. "You know who I am?"

Fu Ciyi stood up and said coldly, "A poor family, a blind mother, a crippled sister, and an idiotic brother—how could you be worthy of marrying me!"

The atmosphere froze, as if coated in frost.

Yan Funing’s heart skipped a beat, like a sudden clap of thunder.

Wasn't this the plot she had read in the book last night?

There was a cannon fodder female supporting character in the book named Yan Funing, who shared her name but had a different surname.

The female character had an engagement with the male protagonist, Fu Ciyi.

In Ling County, the Yan family was the wealthiest merchant family, while the Fu family had produced a County Vice Magistrate.

Fu Ciyi was the nephew of the County Vice Magistrate.

However, just before the wedding, Yan Funing despised Fu Ciyi's poverty, his mother's blindness, his sister's limp, and his brother's idiocy. Consequently, at the entrance of the literary society, in front of all the prominent scholars, she broke off the engagement.

She had caused him to lose all face.

She walked toward him blankly. "Fu Ciyi?"

Suppressing the heat within his body, Fu Ciyi gave a short, light laugh. "What trick are you playing this time?"

He had been forced to drink heavily at the banquet; he had likely been drugged then.

With coldness in every corner of his eyes and brows, Yan Funing's heart trembled inexplicably, and her confusion grew even deeper.

She pointed to the wedding dress she was wearing and the celebratory robe he wore. "We... got married?"

Fu Ciyi's gaze turned cold. "At this moment, you should be in my eldest brother's room."

"Huh?"

Yan Funing cried out in surprise. Suddenly, she felt a sharp pain in her forehead. Reaching up to touch it, she realized there was a large, protruding bump.

As she pressed it, it was as if a switch for her memories had been flipped.

Yan Funing's memories flooded into her mind. The memories before the broken engagement were exactly as written in the book.

But after that, things were different.

Today was the day the Yan sisters were to marry the Fu brothers—

The eldest Yan daughter, Yan Haitang, was to marry the second Fu son, Fu Ciyi; the second Yan daughter, Yan Funing, was to marry the eldest Fu son, Fu Minghe.

But she was currently in Fu Ciyi's room, and they had just been lying together.

Yan Funing was dumbfounded. "The brides were swapped. Why aren't you panicking?"

Fu Ciyi remained silent.

If he had a choice, he wouldn't want either of the two Yan daughters.

This woman had just pretended not to know him, yet now she knew the brides had been swapped.

Could entering the wrong bridal chamber be her prank?

Yan Funing said urgently, "Since they're swapped, we have to switch them back immediately!"

According to the book, the two had no further interaction after the broken engagement until Fu Ciyi achieved great success in the imperial examinations and became a powerful official.

He first cut off the Yan family's wealth, then imprisoned all the Yan men under various charges.

When she went to beg him, he instead imprisoned and tortured her daily.

It was clear this man had a heavy vengeful streak. If they became husband and wife, then in the future, she...

They had to switch back on the wedding night; by tomorrow, it would be too late.

Having said that, she began walking toward the door.

Fu Ciyi tugged at his collar. As the alcohol dissipated, the heat in his body became even more pronounced.

He sat by the table, clenching his fists, struggling to restrain the discomfort.

Sensing that the man hadn't followed, Yan Funing turned back and walked up to him.

"What's wrong with you?"

She tilted her head to look at him. Seeing his flushed face and ragged breathing, she reached out to touch his forehead, only to be subtly dodged by him.

Yan Funing frowned; this man had likely been hit with an aphrodisiac.

Things were getting weirder and weirder. Who drugged him?

In his current state, he probably couldn't go with her to swap the brides. But if he didn't go, she wouldn't be able to explain things on her own.

Moreover, the aphrodisiac in his body needed to be neutralized as soon as possible.

With this thought, she walked behind the screen, grabbed a basin of cold water, and splashed it directly onto his face and head.

In this cold weather, the splash left his hair and face soaking wet, and his celebratory robe was quite damp.

"What kind of madness is this?"

Fu Ciyi stood up to brush the water off his body, his cold eyes staring at her.

Yan Funing blinked. "Do you feel any better?"

The heat in his body was diluted by the cold water, and a trace of scrutiny rose in Fu Ciyi's cold eyes.

Who drugged him?

This woman knew how to counteract this drug; could it be her?

On second thought, she didn't want to marry him; she likely wouldn't use her own chastity as a wager.

"You want to switch back?" Fu Ciyi stood up.

Regardless of what role she was playing in today's conspiracy, he did not want her to stay here.

Yan Funing nodded. "Yes, switch back! Which way to the Eldest Young Master's bridal chamber?"

In the book, he had confined her to a villa; that series of frantic retaliations flashed through her mind.

Even the act of lightly stroking her face with a blade would have been an extremely gentle gesture compared to what was coming.

Since she had transmigrated, survival was the top priority. This wrong marriage had to be corrected as quickly as possible!

Seeing Fu Ciyi stepping toward the exit, she hurriedly followed.

——

The night was deep, as if a leaden cloud were slowly settling over the firmament.

Red silk hung high throughout the manor, and lights shone brightly.

Because it was late at night, the path was quiet. Before long, the two arrived at the West Courtyard.

To Yan Funing's surprise, while the East Courtyard was simple and elegant, the West Courtyard was magnificent and grand, filled with clusters of flowers, ponds with arched bridges, water pavilions, long corridors, rockeries, and towers—every detail was exquisite.

The only similarity between the two courtyards was the red glow of the dragon and phoenix wedding candles shining through the windows of the bridal chambers.

Just as she was about to approach the door adorned with large red "Double Happiness" characters, an old maidservant blocked her with outstretched arms.

"Second Young Master..." The old maid bowed to Fu Ciyi, then turned to see the wedding dress on Yan Funing and called out, "Second Young Mistress, why have you two come to the West Courtyard on your wedding night?"

Yan Funing said urgently, "It's a mistake! The brides were mixed up! I am the second daughter of the Yan family, the Eldest Young Mistress."

Fu Ciyi's brow furrowed slightly.

Inside the bridal chamber, Fu Minghe and Yan Haitang were startled awake by the voices.

The heavy wedding curtains were pulled back, and as candlelight spilled in, the two realized they had slept with the wrong person.

Yan Haitang hurriedly threw on her clothes and an outer robe and opened the door.

Seeing Fu Ciyi in his red wedding robe, her eyes filled with admiration.

She dazed for a moment before glaring at Yan Funing.

"Second Sister, why did you wait until now to speak? What is the meaning of this? You kept saying you didn't want to marry the Second Young Master and even broke off the engagement in front of everyone. Now, look at you—you're still clinging to the Second Young Master."

Fu Ciyi was handsome and was the dream man for many young girls.

So, it turned out Yan Funing's breaking of the engagement was just a game of playing hard to get?

"I just woke up from being unconscious, and I came to switch them as soon as I woke up," Yan Funing retorted. "On the contrary, Eldest Sister, you've been in here all night; how did you not realize you entered the wrong bridal chamber?"

(End of Chapter)