She Changed Her Heart in the Third Year of Marriage

With the wedding fast approaching, Pu Wange—her legitimate elder sister—was suddenly struck by a grave illness.
Only then was Pu Jinyu, who had been raised in the countryside and long forgotten, brought back to the capital.

Her stepmother threatened her beloved concubine mother’s life, forcing Pu Jinyu to change her identity. She studied her sister’s mannerisms and speech, taking her place and marrying into the Yan family. The plan was simple: once her sister recovered, the marriage would be quietly returned.

But her sister never recovered.

She died.

The Yan family was one of the most powerful noble houses in the capital. Inside its towering walls, rules were strict and merciless. Bearing her sister’s face and name, Pu Jinyu lived every day on edge—carefully serving her in-laws, navigating tense relationships with her sisters-in-law, and exhausting herself trying to please a cold, distant husband.

She dared not relax for even a moment.

Her stepmother, blaming her for Pu Wange’s death, made her life even harder.

In the end, Pu Jinyu collapsed both physically and mentally. She died in childbirth at twenty-nine—still carrying her sister’s name—her soul trapped forever in that devouring aristocratic household.

Only after death did she learn the truth.

Her sister hadn’t died of illness at all.
She had faked her death to escape and reunite with her true love.

And the concubine mother Pu Jinyu trusted most? She had never been threatened. For her own status and future prosperity, she had repeatedly used and abandoned her daughter, sacrificing Pu Jinyu to secure wealth and comfort.

Looking back on her life—

Born the daughter of a mistress, she had been forced to disguise herself as a boy to please her biological father. But lies couldn’t last forever. Once she grew older and her identity could no longer be hidden, her mother coldly arranged for her to be sent away to a remote, desolate place.

Back then, Pu Jinyu had mistaken her mother’s tearful eyes for love.

Now she knew better.

…

When she opened her eyes again, she had returned to the third year of her substitute marriage.

Red bricks. Green tiles. Gauze curtains drifting softly in the Yan residence.

Lowering her lashes, she smiled gently—obedient, pitiful—while hiding the storm of emotions raging beneath.

***

The Yan family had stood glorious for a century, ranking first among the capital’s noble houses.

Its eldest legitimate son, Yan Chiyun, was elegant beyond compare—aloof and immaculate, already risen to the highest ranks of power at a young age. A man admired from afar, never truly approached.

The Yan and Pu families had been engaged for years. When the time came, Yan Chiyun followed his elders’ wishes and married the most flawless noble lady in the entire capital.

After marriage, he was restrained in intimacy and consumed by official duties, leaving early and returning late. Though they rarely met, they treated each other with formal courtesy. For three peaceful years, they lived like strangers sharing a household—calm, distant, untroubled.

He assumed this was how life would always be.

Until one day, his once gentle, well-behaved wife betrayed their marriage alliance.

Even when he caught her in the act, she showed no panic. Calmly dressing and rising from the bed, she met his furious gaze with chilling indifference.

“Since you’ve already seen it,” she said lightly,
“then let’s divorce.”

So enraged he laughed darkly, Yan Chiyun stared at her serene, gardenia-like profile.

And suddenly realized—

He had never truly known this woman.