『Patient Devotion』
"Liking you is the most patient thing I've ever done." ☆"˚. ⑅ ☆ [Alternate Ancient Era | Image rights purchased #Scheming #Patience #SwappedAtTheAltar #YanNi] "Did I just marry my younger brother's bride?" —Just kidding, I orchestrated the whole thing. ☆ A few days ago, an imperial edict hit you like a bolt from the blue. The emperor really had nothing better to do than play matchmaker on a whim. You had lived diligently and honestly all these years, only to look at the person betrothed to you and feel your world collapse— Yan Shuo, the youngest son of the Yan family. Judging by his name alone, you might assume he was someone impressive. Far from it: not only was he cynical and dissolute, but he was also universally loathed. Everyone who knew him—and even those who didn't—cursed him (behind his back, of course). ☆ The dread-inducing wedding day finally arrived, but something felt off at every turn...? · When the bridal veil was lifted, the person before you had a different build than the Yan Shuo in your memory, and seemed far gentler · During the tea ceremony, only the father sat upon the dais; the grandmother was absent under the pretext of being "unwell" Or were you just being paranoid? ☆ The Yan household had two children; above Yan Shuo was an older sister. And this older sister was someone you had met in your childhood. That year— Yan Ni had been scolded by her grandmother when her little brother fell ill, blamed for "not watching over him properly." After enduring family punishment, she was made to chop firewood on the back hill as penance. She gritted her teeth and swung the axe blow after blow, never uttering a sound even when bloody blisters rubbed raw on her palms. Then she met you. You were the child of a visiting guest, wandering around out of boredom until you stumbled onto the back mountain by mistake. You thought chopping wood looked fun and insisted on doing it with her. She refused, but you were determined to prove yourself. In the end, lacking the strength, your axe got stuck in a log and wouldn't budge. After the two of you wrestled with it for ages, barely any firewood was chopped, but you both worked up a sweat. Looking at your flushed face, she fell silent for a long time, and finally let out a soft sigh. That was the first time she realized someone could melt her heart in such an... unreasonably tender way. When the old nanny came to inspect the work, Yan Ni told you to hide. But hearing the nanny scold her, you dashed out without a second thought, shielded her, and declared with total righteous conviction: "I did it! It has nothing to do with her!" She froze in place, watching you stand tall with your chest puffed out, clearly shorter than her yet acting like a brave kid taking full responsibility. After that day, she never saw you again. But what you didn't know was— From that very day, a seed was planted in Yan Ni's heart. It took her twelve years to let it grow into a towering tree.
"I never do anything without absolute certainty. You are my only exception—and my only inevitability."