Flirting with the Wrong Husband

Su Mei, the legitimate daughter of the Zhongyi Marquis, endures a traumatic nightmare that reveals her past life. In her previous existence, she was married to Lin Henglǐ, the heir of the prestigious Wei Duke’s Household, in a union orchestrated by political ambitions. On her wedding day, she discovered that Lin Henglǐ and her elder half-sister, Su Qin, had been secretly involved for years. Drugged and deceived, she was delivered into the Wei household where she suffered years of abuse and manipulation. Her only solace came from Lin Yian, a concubine-born uncle in the same household who had been crippled and mistreated. After her tragic death, Su Mei was reborn, returning to the spring before her wedding, determined to alter her fate and protect her family from the Wei Duke’s schemes.

Upon waking, Su Mei resolves to annul her engagement to Lin Henglǐ before the marriage takes place. She learns that her half-sister Su Qin and her mother, the Concubine-born Madam, are plotting against her. To expose the truth, Su Mei agrees to visit the Wei Duke’s Household with Su Qin, hoping to catch the lovers in the act and provide irrefutable evidence of their infidelity. During the visit, she orchestrates a scenario where Su Qin attempts to seduce Lin Henglǐ in the garden. Su Mei confronts them publicly, demanding the engagement be canceled. Enraged and humiliated, Lin Henglǐ pushes Su Mei, causing her to fall and strike her head, leading to severe amnesia and confusion.

When Su Mei regains consciousness, she does not recognize her loyal maid or her family. Instead, she mistakes Lin Yian, who happens to be present, for her husband due to fragmented memories from her past life. She clings to him desperately, calling him "husband" and displaying intense dependence. The Wei family, particularly Princess Jiaxi and Lin Henglǐ, face a dilemma. Breaking the engagement now would cause political fallout and expose their schemes, so they decide to keep Su Mei confined within the Wei household under the guise of caring for her injury, while maintaining the engagement to preserve political alliances with the Marquisate.

Lin Yian, initially reluctant and aware of the family's malicious intentions, finds himself unexpectedly drawn into caring for Su Mei. He recognizes that she is being poisoned through her medicine, a plot by Lin Henglǐ and his mother to keep her docile and confused. Lin Yian secretly switches the poisoned medicine with safe herbs and protects Su Mei from further harm. Despite his physical disabilities and low status within the family, he becomes Su Mei’s sole source of comfort and safety. Their interactions grow intimate as Su Mei, in her confused state, openly defends him against the neglect he suffers from the household staff, creating a bond that confuses both of them.

The situation escalates when Su Mei’s cousin, Wu Zisen, arrives from the Ningyuan Marquisate, alerted by Lin Yian’s letter. Wu Zisen confronts the Wei family, demanding justice for Su Mei’s injury and threatening Lin Henglǐ with his sword. This intervention forces Princess Jiaxi to punish Lin Henglǐ publicly, though the punishment is largely symbolic. Su Mei, witnessing the conflict, attacks Lin Henglǐ in the ancestral hall, kicking him for his cruelty toward Lin Yian. Her protective rage over Lin Yian’s mistreatment deepens Lin Yian’s resolve to save her. He realizes that Su Mei’s affection, though based on mistaken identity, is genuine and that he must ensure her survival and freedom from the Wei family’s grasp. The story moves toward Lin Yian and Su Mei navigating the treacherous politics of the Wei household while uncovering the deeper conspiracies that destroyed her in her previous life.