Because Young Master Liu was unaware that the young lady he had secretly pledged himself to was actually the illegitimate daughter of the He family.

This young lady was named He Xiaodie, while her legitimate elder sister was called He Mingzhen.

Young Master Liu and He Xiaodie first met during a meticulously orchestrated "hero rescues the beauty" scenario—yes, as one might guess, the mastermind behind it was none other than He Xiaodie herself.

The "beauty" in question was He Xiaodie, and the "hero" was none other than the carefully selected Liu Hong.

The ruffians who attempted to harass her were actually hired thugs paid by He Xiaodie.

They accosted the delicate and elegant young lady from an official family on the very street where Liu Hong was bound to pass, instantly igniting his protective instincts. He swooped in to save the day, and from that moment on, the two developed mutual affection, their hearts entwined.

When He Xiaodie first introduced herself to Liu Hong, she used the name of the legitimate daughter of the He family, He Mingzhen. Their subsequent private correspondence also bore He Mingzhen’s name.

Three days prior, Young Master Liu suddenly sent someone to the He family to propose marriage, without first consulting He Xiaodie. Thus, the current marriage negotiations were between Liu Hong and the legitimate daughter of the He family, He Mingzhen.

"Surely they’ll meet before the wedding, won’t they? Wouldn’t that expose the mistaken identity?"

After all, they weren’t yet married, and they were sisters—switching places privately shouldn’t be too difficult.

The real question was whether the Liu family would be willing to accept an illegitimate daughter in place of the legitimate one they had agreed to marry.

[He Xiaodie had no intention of letting Liu Hong discover the deception. She had borrowed her elder sister’s name precisely to ensure the marriage alliance between the Liu and He families would proceed smoothly. There was no way she’d let him uncover the truth before the wedding.]

"What does He Xiaodie stand to gain from this? Could it be that there’s something wrong with Young Master Liu, and she’s deliberately setting a trap for her legitimate sister?"

[Setting a trap for her legitimate sister was indeed part of the plan. After all, Madam He had never treated the concubines and illegitimate children in Lord He’s household well—especially not He Xiaodie and her birth mother, who suffered the worst of it.

He Xiaodie believed in retribution—an eye for an eye, a lesson she had learned from Madam He herself.

Thus, she not only sought to tarnish her sister’s reputation but also to sabotage her marriage prospects. As for Liu Hong, there was nothing particularly wrong with him—he was simply a bit naive, soft-hearted, and easily manipulated.

Liu Hong was one of three candidates He Xiaodie had selected for herself over the past year.

Of the four men she had interacted with, only Liu Hong was eager to marry her immediately. Wanting to surprise his beloved, he had not consulted her beforehand and instead directly informed his parents, who then arranged for the marriage proposal to be sent to the He family.]

"Is He Xiaodie planning a substitution scheme?"

[You’ve guessed it perfectly! He Xiaodie’s initial plan was to cast a wide net, selecting potential targets and seeing which one took the bait.

After all, she had chosen men with soft hearts—even if they discovered the truth later, she believed that with her beauty and the emotional foundation she had built, they would likely accept the situation once the deed was done.]

"This He Xiaodie is quite bold, isn’t she? With such cunning, why didn’t she just find a proper match instead of resorting to such tricks?"

[Because as an illegitimate daughter, even with Lord He’s favor, she could never marry into a prestigious family. Moreover, she once overheard Lord He telling her birth mother that he intended to marry her off to a poor scholar.

He Xiaodie was fiercely ambitious and looked down on men of humble origins. Even if Lord He claimed the scholar was talented and destined to pass the imperial exams, she had no desire to endure years of hardship alongside a struggling husband.

She prided herself on her beauty and believed she deserved to marry into a wealthy, influential household. What galled her most was the thought of being wed to someone inferior to her legitimate sister.]

"But isn’t she taking a huge risk? What if things go wrong and her sister ends up married to Liu Hong—the very man she had handpicked? Would she really gamble like that?"

[Heh, He Xiaodie had a successful precedent to follow—why should she be afraid?]

"A successful precedent? Who in the He family has pulled off a substitution before?"

Upon hearing this, Lord He inwardly groaned—today, the family’s dirty laundry was about to be aired in public.

His colleagues couldn’t help but glance at him, and Lord He flushed crimson, hiding his face behind his sleeve while muttering under his breath, "Family disgrace… such a family disgrace!"

Emperor Mingxi and the assembled ministers now regretted the privacy screens surrounding their table. The spectacle of watching Lord He’s reaction in real time was something they would have relished—alas, they could only imagine his expression.

[Let me tell you about one such case—He Xiaodie’s own birth mother. She grew up hearing her mother’s triumphant tale, one that the woman took great pride in and often boasted about.

Her mother, Hu Chunrui, hailed from a modest merchant family in Ping’an County, just outside the capital. She, too, was an illegitimate daughter.

Back then, her father, Hu Qianjin, had sought to ingratiate himself with the newly minted scholar-official Lord He by offering his legitimate daughter as a concubine.

Lord He, enticed by both the beauty and the generous dowry, readily agreed.

(Note: In the Great Yan Dynasty, concubines typically did not bring dowries—so the "dowry" was essentially a bribe to Lord He, dressed up in polite terms.)

When Hu Chunrui and her mother learned of this, they hatched a plan. The Hu family was no great merchant dynasty, and if even the legitimate daughter was being married off as a concubine, an illegitimate daughter’s prospects would be far worse.

Thus, they decided to steal the marriage.

On the wedding day, Hu Chunrui’s mother drugged the bride, and Hu Chunrui, under the guise of sharing a private moment with her sister, donned the wedding robes herself. With the veil covering her face, she was carried into the He household through the back door in a modest sedan chair.

Since Lord He had never met the legitimate Hu daughter, the consummation proceeded without a hitch. It wasn’t until the next day, when the Hu family came knocking, that he realized he had slept with the wrong woman.]

"And Lord He just accepted it?"

[Of ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌‌‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌‌‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‍course he did! The dowry was secured, the beauty was in his bed, and Hu Chunrui—trained by her mother, a former courtesan—knew all the tricks to please a man. Lord He was so thoroughly satisfied that he had no desire to send her back.

This was why, even as Concubine Chun aged, Lord He remained devoted to her—her skills in the bedchamber were unmatched, and he never tired of her.

Madam He’s relentless hostility toward Concubine Chun and her daughter stemmed from this very reason. Both women had entered the household through substitution, yet one enjoyed far greater favor—how could Madam He tolerate such injustice?]

Yue Fuguang listened with growing astonishment. "Wait—does that mean Madam He also entered the family through substitution?"

The listeners were equally eager to know.

Meanwhile, the men at the table exchanged knowing glances, some even eyeing Lord He with envy.

Who would’ve thought? This unassuming fellow had been living the high life at home!

Indeed, this Madam He was originally surnamed Hu, hailing from a minor official's family. Though she held the status of a legitimate daughter, she was born to a stepmother. Initially, the betrothal to Lord He had been arranged as a childhood engagement by his first wife, who passed away early, for her own daughter.

After that lady succumbed to illness, Master Hu remarried within a year to Madam He's mother, who soon gave birth to a second daughter—the present Madam He.