After Being Forced to Marry the Evil Star General - Chapter 6

The storeroom of the General’s Mansion was useless. The General’s Mansion, which sounded impressive, actually had pitifully little wealth. All of the reward money and salary was used to purchase weapons and reward the soldiers.

This room had been cleaned up, and then Yan Mingting stuffed it full of weapons brought back from the frontier.

The servants were afraid of the dangers these weapons might pose to the new master, and while guarding him carefully, they could only obey his orders and open all of the gift money and gift boxes received today for him to check.

As soon as Yan Mingting walked to the door, he heard that cold and indifferent voice drifting out: “The left official of the Ministry of Revenue has a hundred taels of silver, ten bolts of silk, and a sword, which is barely passable…… the silk?”

Yan Mingting pushed open the door and saw a servant opening a new box, which contained the received silk. Zhao Yelan leaned over to pick one up, rubbing the material with his fingertips.

“General,” the servant called out.

Yan Mingting nodded. His eyes remained on the back of that red figure, but the other party didn’t turn around for a long time, and even took the trouble to peruse the box.

“Cough.” Yan Mingting deliberately coughed to signal his existence. 

Only then did Zhao Yelan turn his head and reluctantly glance at him. He paused abruptly and tilted his head to look again at the person standing at the door, his pupils slightly dilated: “Who are you?”

“He’s the General,” Housekeeper Qin replied, wiping away his cold sweat. He quickly gave the maids meaningful looks and coaxed them away from the bridal chamber. In the middle of the night, the newlyweds gathered in the storeroom to count the gifts.

Zhao Yelan went to the door and glanced at Yan Mingting suspiciously. Yan Mingting wore the same wedding clothes, but with a sense of wantonness. His body was like a longbow, strong and powerful, poised for action. His hair was all coiled on top of his head, revealing a broad and handsome face, valiant and heroic. The bridge of his nose was high and straight, and despite being exposed to the wind and sun all year round, his skin was still fair.

Yan Mingting was satisfied to see the surprised expression on his face. Quite proud of himself, he lifted his chin slightly and was about to speak, when Zhao Yelan regained his calm appearance in an instant and turned around to order: “Take those two pieces of silk to the tailor shop tomorrow.”

“Yes,” Xiao Gao replied immediately, and took away the two pieces of silk in full view.

Housekeeper Qin and the servants all looked at the General. Yan Mingting nodded: “Give it to him, it’s useless to just leave it here.”

Zhao Yelan gave him a sideways glance, then walked to the bridal chamber, closing it with a bang. Yan Mingting and the people behind him were blocked outside.

“General, you still need to drink the wedding wine,” the servant girl whispered.

“It’s okay, you all go back first, there’s no need to wait.” Yan Mingting waved his hand and waited for everyone to leave before entering the bridal chamber as if nothing had happened.

The two cups on the table were empty. Yan Mingting glanced at the person sitting by the bed and walked to the table on his own, lifting the jug and tilting his head to take a few sips. He said cheerfully: “This is good wine.”

Zhao Yelan looked at him gloomily without moving a muscle.

“It’s getting late, let’s rest, ba.” Yan Mingting put down the jug, came to the bed, and moved to untie his belt.

“What are you doing!” Zhao Yelan shouted.

Yan Mingting was taken aback: “Undressing, ah, do you want to go to bed wearing such cumbersome clothes?”

Zhao Yelan was going to give him a few choice words, but when he opened his mouth, he coughed involuntarily. He subconsciously grabbed his collar and tilted his head to cough into it non-stop. His face became even paler, and he closed his eyes tightly, not wanting Yan Mingting to see his shameful appearance. 

After a little improvement, he slowly opened his eyes. They were full of defensiveness and anger, but he didn’t know if that anger was towards others or himself.

After a pause, he looked at the cup that had appeared before him and glanced at the person in front of him suspiciously.

“Drink some water first, ba,” Yan Mingting said.

Zhao Yelan was silent for a while, then took it without speaking. The hot water soaked his throat, soothing it.

Seeing that he had stopped coughing, Yan Mingting had just taken back the cup when he couldn’t help but sneeze two more times. Zhao Yelan frowned.

“I say……what on earth is that smell on you, ah? So pungent.” Yan Mingting asked. “With a fragrance like this, I’m going to sneeze every time I see you.”

Zhao Yelan looked askance at him: “This is the best perfume for tribute, it’s only pungent if you’re a fool.”

“How is it best for tribute, it only harms people.” Yan Mingting didn’t believe it, and wanted to cover his nose again.

What a puzzling custom!

Zhao Yelan found it bothersome to look at him any more. He wanted to go to bed, but had to be wary of this boor in front of him.

While he thought about it, Yan Mingting had already taken off his outer clothing. He sat on the bed and asked: “Why don’t you take it off?”

Zhao Yelan’s eyes were like knives cutting into him.

Yan Mingting didn’t realize this, however, and even started observing his new wife.

He had grown up amongst men since he was a child, and had seen millions of soldiers, but he had never seen a man like Zhao Yelan. He was said to be a formidable figure, yet he coughed after walking a few steps, was as weak as a weed, and could be blown away by a gust of wind. He was weak, and killing him would be effortless.

Of all people, such a person was extremely good-looking, surpassing all the men and women he had ever seen. His skin was as white as snow and his clothing as red as blood, which surprisingly suited him.

“Don’t worry about it,” Zhao Yelan said coldly.

“Is it too cumbersome for you to take it off? These clothes are really troublesome, I can help you.” As soon as Yan Mingting stretched out a hand, he was hit by a pillow. He pressed the pillow back to the bedside and leaned forward, almost touching Zhao Yelan.

There was a sudden bright flash followed by a chill at his neck. He froze, looked down at the knife against his throat, then raised his eyes to the pale Zhao Yelan.

“What do you want?” Zhao Yelan coldly looked at the person before him.

Yan Mingting looked puzzled. This was not a good attitude, ah. He asked doubtfully: “What are you doing?”

Zhao Yelan’s eyes were sharp as he held the knife firmly in his hand: “Stay, behave yourself, don’t move around.”

The corner of Yan Mingting’s mouth twitched. “You are the first to get close enough to me to threaten me with a knife.”

Seeing that he wasn’t concerned, Zhao Yelan’s pupils shrank slightly, and just as he was going to use force, his wrists were suddenly grabbed. Immediately afterwards, both hands were pressed against the bannister.

Zhao Yelan struggled, but his opponent’s strength was greater than his and he had no ability to fight back. He gasped violently, his chest heaving.

“Let me see what other good things you have hidden.” Yan Mingting touched his waist.

Zhao Yelan said furiously: “Yan Mingting!”

“That’s me.” Yan Mingting reached out and took a waist protector from him, difficult to penetrate with ordinary weapons. “En, that’s a good thing.”

Zhao Yelan was infuriated as he watched him throw the waist guard toward the door.

“Oh, and wristbands too?” Yan Mingting laughed and took the wristbands from his hands. “This is a treasure from the Minister of Ministry Affairs and should be a wedding gift for me. It seems that you took a lot from the storeroom just now.”

Zhao Yelan looked at him, bold and self-righteous: “What is the problem?”

“Nothing. Just to warn you, these are of no use to you.” Yan Mingting weighed the wristband. “Too heavy. You have thin arms and legs, and they will be difficult to wear.”

“You!”

Zhao Yelan had both hands free. While the other was lowering his head to study the wristband, he picked up the knife with a spurt of energy. As soon as he raised his hand, the other party easily grabbed his wrist without looking up and twisted it. He felt an immediate burst of pain.

It wasn’t over yet.

He didn’t know what kind of martial arts Yan Mingting did, but he was spun around for a moment and then sat in front of Yan Mingting with his back against his chest, making Zhao Yelan’s face turn red and white.

As he was about to fly into a fit of humiliated rage and start cursing, Yan Mingting held his hand and carved a word on the bed’s bannister – Early.

“You’re weak and in poor health. From now on, get up early every day and do horse stance with me!” Yan Mingting said.

Zhao Yelan: “ ? ”

After a lot of tossing, Zhao Yelan had given up on threatening his life and just looked at Yan Mingting as if beholding a fool: “What did you just say?”

“Horse stance.” Yan Mingting let go of his hand. “Your foundation is too poor. Since you want to practice martial arts, you have to learn from the fundamentals. For the sake of our marriage, I will personally supervise you. Ordinary people cannot enjoy this treatment.”

Zhao Yelan endured and endured, but still couldn’t hold it back. He gritted his teeth and asked, “Who said I’m going to practice martial arts?”

“That flowery and useless move you made just now, weren’t you testing your martial arts on me?” Yan Mingting wondered.

Zhao Yelan: “……….”

“Could it be……you want to threaten me with this lousy knife? So that I will have a wedding night with you?” Yan Mingting turned pale with shock, covering his chest with both hands.

Zhao Yelan was so angry that he threw the knife away: “Who wants a wedding night with you!”

“It seems that he wants to practice martial arts.”

“……….”

Zhao Yelan was exhausted. He numbly took off his outer garments, wrapped himself in the blanket and turned over, showing his angry back.

Seeing this, Yan Mingting smiled silently and lay down beside him.

“Get up!” Zhao Yelan sat up abruptly and said sharply: “Who told you to lie here!”

“This is my bed, why can’t I lie down?”

Zhao Yelan only hated that the knife had no effect on him, coughing twice: “In short, you can’t sleep here!”

“If I don’t sleep here, where else can I sleep?” As Yan Mingting spoke, he replaced the blanket for him. “Why do you keep coughing, why don’t you drink more water?”

Zhao Yelan’s body stiffened slightly, and he said, “Get out, don’t sleep in this room.”

Unexpectedly, the other person not only didn’t move, but instead leaned closer and closer to him and whispered in his ear: “There is someone on the roof.”

Zhao Yelan opened his eyes wide. To dare to secretly observe the wedding night at the General’s Mansion, there was perhaps only one person who had such courage.

He didn’t say anything more, just got up and went to get some books from the room and put them in the middle of the bed, separating the two of them clearly.

The room suddenly fell silent. Yan Mingting waved his hand to put out the candle flame, and it became pitch black.

After a long time, Zhao Yelan noticed that he was lying down, well-behaved, and had no intention of overstepping the rules. Maybe this boor didn’t know how to have a wedding night between two men, so he secretly relieved himself. He lay on his side for quite a while and couldn’t help but defend: “That was not a lousy knife, but a tribute from the King of Yunnan.”

“Tsk, paying tribute with garish and useless things. This thing can kill people on the battlefield in the hands of a talented person, but the jade inlaid on it can be sold for some money.” Yan Mingting said leisurely, “Looking good doesn’t necessarily mean it’s useful. I’ll pick some suitable ones for you another day.”

Zhao Yelan did not refuse. It was a fool’s behavior to not take advantage of something, and he was not a fool.

“By the way……aren’t you wondering how I suddenly became so handsome?” Yan Mingting turned sideways, and he could still see that silhouette in the darkness.

Since he returned to Beijing, anyone who saw him sighed that he was so different from what he was back then, and he didn’t bother to explain why.

But Zhao Yelan was only surprised for a moment, and immediately accepted the fact without giving him a chance to show off.

“It must be because of the poisoning, ba,” Zhao Yelan said. “The people who knew the inside story back then only knew that you were poisoned, but after some thought, it should be a poison that could even affect your appearance.”

“En.” Yan Mingting smiled. “This poison was so powerful that the military doctors were helpless, and I almost died. Fortunately, you sent someone to the frontier in time and saved my life.”

“It was the third……a person who was sent by the Emperor,” Zhao Yelan said.

“The Emperor didn’t even know about my poisoning at the time. Only you had seen me. Regardless of whether your original intention was to use us or not, you saved my life anyway.”

Zhao Yelan said nothing, and when he was about to fall asleep, Yan Mingting poked his back and asked: “What did you mean by the flowers you sent me?”

“Don’t touch me!” Zhao Yelan said angrily. “When did I send you flowers?!”

“Just a few days ago, you specially sent someone to the mansion with those willow branches……were you, to me……” While Yan Mingting was talking, he felt a little embarrassed to continue.

He usually lived with a group of big men and rarely encountered women. Such a bold act of love really made people troubled and embarrassed.

He sighed. Resting his arms on the pillow, he looked at the roof and said with a slight smile: “You don’t need to rush this matter. Wait for me to make mental preparations first. Although you are good-looking, I also haven’t seen anyone……”

“It was just some useless trash.” Zhao Yelan said.

Yan Mingting’s smile froze: “Huh?”

“There was no place to dispose of it, so I could only throw it in your house.”

The ruthless answer caught Yan Mingting by surprise, and he said in a daze: “What do you mean by that?”

“What do I mean?” Zhao Yelan asked indifferently. “You thought it meant something?”

“……….” Yan Mingting was speechless. Naturally, he wouldn’t reveal the fact that he had been self-indulgent, so he turned over and hummed. “It’s nothing, I just thought those flowers were too ugly, especially ugly.”

“Not as ugly as you.”

“You speak without conscience, where is this general ugly?”

“Everywhere is ugly.”

The two quarreled with their backs facing each other, falling asleep before they knew it.

But Zhao Yelan didn’t sleep well in a new place and a different bed, with a strange man beside him, and would wake up from time to time.

However, he didn’t expect that Yan Mingting would pick him up after he had finally fallen asleep to go practice horse stance!

T/N: No……no footnotes?! The universe can be so kind??