My stepsister tried to steal the prince's hand in marriage, but little did she know I had been

Madam Wen's heart skipped a beat, but she steadied herself and said in a deep voice, "Where did you hear this rumor? It's true that Yi Tong and Chen Che fell into the water, but one is your own sister and the other is your fiancé. Are you really going to fuss over such a small matter?"

"I had no such intention!" Wen Shuyao stammered, clutching the hem of her dress, but suddenly launched an attack when Madam Wen lowered her guard. "It's just that the matter between my second sister and Chen Che... has already spread far and wide..."

That's right. Before coming to Cuiwei Hall, she had already had her maid spread the word about it.

Mrs. Wen saw stars and staggered back a few steps, bumping heavily against the corner of the table. The sharp pain in her waist brought her back to her senses, and she stared intently at Wen Yitong.

She thought that Wen Yitong had deliberately leaked the news in order to force the issue.

"Are you crazy?"

If the news that the younger sister stole her older sister's fiancé got out, the entire Wen family would be utterly disgraced.

Wen Yitong turned pale with fright. Before she could speak, she heard a roar from outside the door.

"evil creature!"

Duke Wen stormed in, his face ashen. He glanced at Wen Yitong, who was so frightened that she hid behind her maid.

While angry, Madam Wen instinctively protected Wen Yitong.

"Why is the master back?"

"The news has spread far and wide, and you still want to cover it up for her? Today I will beat this wretched child to death!" Duke Wen grabbed a stick and lashed it hard at Wen Yitong.

Fortunately, Granny Lin intervened in time and blocked the attack for Wen Yitong.

Duke Wen was furious, and this blow was truly heavy.

Granny Lin gasped and collapsed to the ground, but even so, she clung tightly to the stick.

Wen Yitong stared blankly at Duke Wen, completely unable to understand why her father, who had always doted on her, would treat her so roughly.

Madam Wen, with tears streaming down her face, pleaded, "This was just an accident! Yi Tong is still so young, how could she understand the wickedness of people? She was clearly tricked!"

"Being set up?" Duke Wen wasn't stupid. He sneered, "Was she lured into the lake by someone else? Or was she seduced by someone else to seduce her own brother-in-law?"

Between the dignified Prince Jing and a mere second son of the Chen family, who is more important?

Does Wen Yitong not even understand this?

"Losing face is a small matter, but offending Prince Jing is a big deal..." Duke Wen looked at his second daughter, on whom he had once placed great hopes, with utter disappointment.

His eyes were the ones Wen Yitong had seen countless times in her dreams.

No more!

Wen Yitong silently vowed in her heart that this time she would marry Chen Che and become a glorious first-rank noblewoman! She would never let Wen Shuyao surpass her again!

As if possessed, she blurted out, "Then I'll switch marriages with her!"

Upon hearing this, her thoughts became clear.

She said firmly, "I will exchange marriages with my elder sister. I will marry Chen Che, and my elder sister will marry Prince Jing."

She paused, then lowered her head to hide her gleaming eyes: "With your beauty, elder sister, you'll surely make Prince Jing willingly accept this marriage!"

"I disagree!" Madam Wen interrupted her rambling with a ferocious expression.

Absolutely not! How could such a wonderful marriage be allowed to fall into Wen Shuyao's lap?

To everyone's surprise, Duke Wen frowned and fell into deep thought: "If Prince Jing agrees to the marriage exchange, it would be a win-win solution."

Wen Shuyao blinked.

—Is there really such a thing as a free lunch?

Wen Yitong actually wants to swap marriages with her?

Wen Shuyao lowered her head, almost bursting out laughing.

She couldn't believe such a wonderful thing had happened!

When it comes to King Jing, everyone in the Yan Kingdom knows him.

Prince Jing is the younger brother of the current emperor, and is more than ten years younger than the emperor. He was raised as a son by the emperor and empress.

In addition, King Jing went to the battlefield at the age of fourteen and won a great victory against the Northern Di with fewer troops. Moreover, King Jing was handsome, and his face alone was enough to make countless girls fall in love with him.

His only flaw was his aversion to women—he was already of age but didn't even have a concubine, and there were even rumors that King Jing was impotent.

In an instant, countless young girls' dreams were shattered, for in their past lives, Wen Yitong had gotten a good deal by marrying Prince Jing.

She had also heard Wen Yitong complain that Prince Jing was rarely home.

But for Wen Shuyao, these shortcomings are actually advantages.

Where can you find a husband who is rich and powerful but doesn't come home?

"Impossible!" Madam Wen reacted strongly. "The marriage between Yi Tong and Prince Jing was arranged by His Majesty and the Empress. How can they think of changing the bride so hastily?"

When Madam Wen spoke, she indeed intimidated Duke Wen.

But Wen Yitong's mind works faster than anyone else's when it comes to this matter.

"Although it was a marriage bestowed by the Emperor, the imperial edict did not specify which daughter of the Wen family it was, only that it was the eldest daughter of the Wen family."

"My elder sister and I are both legitimate daughters of the Wen family. What's wrong with my elder sister marrying Prince Jing?"

Duke Wen nodded without further hesitation.

So... it doesn't seem wrong?

Madam Wen clutched her chest, her eyes seeing stars.

These are the words of her carefully raised daughter?

"You're insane! You're absolutely insane!" Lady Wen murmured. "You're blind to reject such a wonderful marriage offer from Prince Jing!"

Wen Yitong turned a deaf ear to this. When Prince Jing fell from power and became a commoner under house arrest, while Chen Che transformed himself into a high-ranking official, her mother would realize how correct her decision was.

She seized the initiative and was determined to make her life a hundred times, ten thousand times, better than Wen Shuyao's!

"Shu Yao, what do you think?"

Duke Wen had already made up his mind. The truth will out eventually come out, and Wen Yitong and Chen Che's affair will be exposed one day.

Rather than living in fear and covering up the matter to let Wen Yitong marry Prince Jing, it would be better to... let Wen Shuyao marry Prince Jing directly!

Both are legitimate daughters; it doesn't matter which one she marries.

Having made up his mind, he cleared his throat and asked in a mocking tone, "Shu Yao, what do you think?"

Wen Shuyao lowered her head, twisting her handkerchief in her hands, looking uneasy.

"But...would King Jing be willing?"

She stammered out the question, and when Duke Wen saw her cautious and timid appearance, a long-lost feeling of paternal love welled up in his heart.

"Don't worry, Prince Jing and your eldest sister only met once before, at a palace banquet."

Where no one could see, Wen Shuyao's eyes sparkled as she tried her best to suppress her laughter.

"Whatever Father says, I will do," she replied softly.

"Good, good, good." Duke Wen clapped his hands and laughed. "You are so well-behaved, your father will certainly not mistreat you."

Madam Wen's face was pale, her lips moved twice, but she did not utter another sound.

She knew her husband's nature—he was extremely timid and fearful, and wished he could nip all risks in the bud.

As for Wen Yitong and Chen Che's matter today... no matter how he tries to mediate, he will never let Wen Yitong marry Prince Jing again.

The Chen family is indeed a good place to go, but Chen Che is far inferior to Prince Jing. Why is his daughter so determined to marry Chen Che? What does Chen Che have that makes him superior to Prince Jing?