After Being Forced to Marry the Evil Star General

A new incident occurred in court the next day, which threw everyone’s minds off, and they couldn’t concentrate on court business.

Because the people in front noticed the red marks on Yan Mingting’s neck, they were so shocked that their white hair almost stood on end. They couldn’t help whispering to the people behind, and once the word spread, all the civil and military officials stared at the marks one after another. Although the people in the rear couldn’t see clearly, they still felt strange.

General Yan did not come to court for the first time yesterday, and today he bore traces of romance. What happened was self-evident.

It was only that everyone was guessing who he had an affair with.

A woman? Not quite, Zhao Yelan definitely wouldn’t allow a woman to enter.

Then it could only be Zhao Yelan.

It was said that the two hugged on the street in public a few days ago. It was really indecent, ah, just indecent.

But no one dared to impeach him.

Zhao Yelan had done many important things recently. Not only had he become a popular person in the eyes of the Emperor, but he had also been praised by the common people and could not be offended.

Yan Mingting had just received the Imperial Sword, they couldn’t afford to provoke someone who could decapitate them first and ask for permission later.

What else could they do but persuade them to restrain themselves!

After court was over, several old officials couldn’t help but remind Yan Mingting in low voices: “General Yan, this is court, after all. What happens between you and Zhao Yelan…..”

“Ah? Even you all know?” Pleasantly surprised, Yan Mingting said, “Yes, we are together.”

Everyone: “……” Didn’t you guys get together a long time ago?

“Cough.” The leader donned a wise expression and urged, “General Yan and Zhao-daren still need to pay more attention to their bodies.”

“My body is in good health, ah,” Yan Mingting said. “But his body really needs to be nourished more. By the way, do you have any good medicine for strengthening the body that you can recommend? He’s been so well-behaved recently, and obediently takes medicine when he’s told to take it.”

Everyone was silent, because it was truly difficult for them to imagine Zhao Yelan being so obedient. Even Kan Chuan, who was eavesdropping on the sidelines, fell into confusion and wanted to see such a thing if he had the opportunity.

“They’ve been staring at Yan Mingting all morning. What are they looking at?” Zhao Xuan asked Eunuch Gao casually as he walked toward Xuanzheng Hall.

There was some distance between the golden throne and the main hall, and it was still dark, so he couldn’t see clearly what had happened. Standing to one side, Eunuch Gao happened to witness the mark on the left side of Yan Mingting’s neck, so he told him about it.

“What did you say?” Zhao Xuan stopped abruptly and looked at him in disbelief. “Did you see that right?”

“It shouldn’t be wrong.” After Eunuch Gao spoke, he carefully observed the changes in the other’s expression, and finally gave an internal sigh.

The condition of Zhao Yelan’s neck was even worse than Yan Mingting’s. Yan Mingting was like a dog, biting all over his body and leaving mottled and ambiguous marks, even on his neck.

However, when he got up in the morning to tie his hair, he noticed it and took a box of ointment to apply it around.

Yin Pinglu had provided this ointment a few days ago. She said that she had bought more boxes in Jiangnan, so she insisted on giving him one. At that time, he had felt that it was unnecessary, but now that he thought about it, he feared that she had foreseen today’s situation and specially prepared it for him.

After arriving at the Imperial Academy, no one noticed the hidden marks on his neck at all, and they all dragged him in a lively manner to discuss serious business.

An hour later, another person came from the palace. Zhao Yelan and another colleague entered the palace to draft an Imperial edict.

It was nearly late autumn, and the autumn hunt would be held soon. It was also necessary to send letters to vassal lords and allies all over the country to prepare for their trips to Beijing in the winter to report on their duties and participate in state banquets and other matters.

After staying in the Imperial Academy for so long, Zhao Yelan was already familiar with these official documents. He and his colleagues sat together with brushes to write, and occasionally exchanged words.

The only strange thing was that his neck always felt a chill as Zhao Xuan stared at it from time to time.

After dealing with everything in the palace, the two were about to leave, but Zhao Xuan called his name hesitantly.

Zhao Yelan looked at him suspiciously, but Zhao Xuan didn’t say anything, only gesturing for them to step down.

It wasn’t until he returned home and saw Yan Mingting that he guessed what had happened. He pressed Yan Mingting’s neck and asked: “Did you go to court looking like this?”

“What’s wrong with me?” Yan Mingting looked into the mirror. “Aiya, when did you bite me?”

He turned around to blame him? Zhao Yelan didn’t even bother to speak to him, that rascal.

“It’s over, I went to many places today,” Yan Mingting said.

“What sorts of places?”

“You know I go to the training grounds every day.”

En, there were thousands of soldiers on the training field…..well, anyway, those people already knew about them, and Zhao Yelan could reluctantly accept it.

“I also went to the covert guard barracks to ask the commander about the defense situation.”

En, there were not too many covert guards, and they kept their mouths shut, so nothing major would happen.

“In the afternoon, I went to the vegetable market.”

This was unbearable. Zhao Yelan slapped the table: “What were you doing in the vegetable market?!”

“Don’t you want to eat delicacies? The cook said that the usual shopkeeper was out of stock, so I ordered some specially.”

Zhao Yelan looked at him silently.

“Then I walked around the market, bought some wine at Huichun Tower, and won some silver at the casino…..”

“You went to the brothel.”

“I passed by, but I didn’t go in. I was very careful, okay?” Yan Mingting said confidently, patting his chest.

“I think you did it on purpose!” Zhao Yelan grabbed his neck. “How do you expect me to go out and face people? Today, neither of us can continue living!”

Housekeeper Qin heard the commotion and went to the door to see that Zhao Yelan had strangled the General until his face turned red. He was about to go in and stop him, but was carried away by Xiao Gao.

“Let me down, my lord is about to strangle the General to death!”

Xiao Gao was calm: “The General won’t die so easily.”

For several days in a row, Zhao Yelan didn’t dare to go out onto the street. There were sedan chairs to take him to the Imperial Academy, and he never went to crowded places.

But the rumors outside didn’t subside at all, because Gu Niaoniao continued to send him news in a very hateful manner —

“On the streets today, I heard someone discussing the matter between you and General Yan, saying that you are quite capable.”

“The gambling house is betting on what time you went to the bridal chamber.”

“You haven’t stepped out of the gate, are you feeling shy? Ah? Little daughter-in-law Zhao?”

Zhao Yelan tore up the letter furiously: “Come, I want to go to the street!”

Yan Mingting was practicing with his sword in the courtyard. When he heard that he was about to go out, he shamelessly followed him and abducted him to the door of the pharmacy when he wasn’t paying attention: “The Minister of the Ministry of War recommended a kind of medicinal material to me, saying that it was very nourishing for the body. Shall I buy some for you to try?”

“If you want to eat it, you can eat it yourself.” Zhao Yelan shot him a sideways glance, then turned and left.

Yan Mingting stopped in front of him again, tugging at his sleeve and begging: “Just buy a little, okay?”

“I won’t take it.”

“Let me taste the bitterness for you first, how about we go buy some candied fruit later?”

Seeing him thinking seriously, Yan Mingting tugged on his sleeve while the iron was hot: “Let’s get some, ba, if it’s useless, we’ll just throw it away.”

At this time, Yan Mingting caught a glimpse of a nearby figure from the corner of his eye and froze abruptly.

There were too many people around, so Kan Chuan didn’t come forward to say hello. He gave him a slight nod and walked into the pharmacy, but when he passed by them, he couldn’t help but press his fist against his lips, and the corners of his mouth were raised high —

It turned out that this was what General Yan meant about being so obedient, ah.

He really couldn’t see any obedience at all.

Yan Mingting’s face was damaged, and he desperately wanted to flee. But after walking a few steps, he remembered that he hadn’t bought any medicine yet, so he turned around and ran into the pharmacy, quickly bought a big bag, and rushed out in embarrassment without even looking at Kan Chuan. He took Zhao Yelan’s hand and left quickly.

The temperature in autumn changed rapidly. Although the sun was still high at noon, it was necessary to add layers at night to protect against the chilly autumn wind.

Not only did Zhao Yelan add a middle layer, but he also put on a cloak. The collar was fluffy, and Yan Mingting couldn’t put it down. He played with it distractedly until his face was grasped.

Zhao Yelan was so annoyed that he kicked him out into the courtyard.

Yan Mingting practiced swordplay there, drinking alone under the moonlight. His body was full of vitality, and he moved like the wind.

Zhao Yelan watched for a while and saw that he was still wearing thin clothes, but didn’t feel cold at all. He was a little envious and took off his cloak, walking forward to say: “Teach me, ba.”

“You want to learn the sword?”

Zhao Yelan nodded. It was fine to learn swordsmanship or knives, as long as he could protect himself with his own strength.

“Okay.” Yan Mingting put away his sword and walked up to him. “Run three laps first, and then do horse stance for half an hour.”

“……”

“Haste makes waste. You can’t even stand on your legs, but you want to fly?”

After a long period of mental preparation, Zhao Yelan finally decided to follow his arrangement of running three laps per day, and strode forward.

It was difficult at first, and took a lot of effort to go around. He wanted to give up several times, but fortunately, Yan Mingting kept talking to him at his side the whole time. He didn’t need to answer, and his attention was diverted. This was still not enough. Yan Mingting also called all the servants in the mansion to run with him. Every time one fell behind, he praised Zhao Yelan for another victory.

Later, the servants refused to admit defeat and began to run desperately. Zhao Yelan’s desire to win was also aroused. He refused to fall behind and could only grit his teeth and persevere.

After several days, he was finally able to run three laps, and his horse stance was more up to standard.

That night, Zhao Yelan was just about to run when Yan Mingting called him out. He walked to the gate and saw that Yan Mingting was leading two horses, smiling at him: “Is it time to try horseback riding?”

Zhao Yelan was eager to try, but he had never been on a horse alone and was a little worried.

“Don’t be afraid, don’t you still have me by your side?”

Yan Mingting himself rode a sweat-blood horse,[1] but had him ride a snow-white horse.

Zhao Yelan tried a few times before finally mounting the horse, and asked: “Why didn’t you give me the sweat-blood horse?”

“You wouldn’t be able to control it, but this horse is very suitable for you.” Yan Mingting smiled and said, “It’s pretty and conspicuous, and you can be spotted at a glance at night.”

Zhao Yelan just gave up and rode his horse leisurely, following him to the training grounds.

There was no one at the training grounds, just the two of them in the huge space. While leading his horse, Yan Mingting patiently explained to him how to steer, and then let him go by himself.

He walked very slowly at first. The horse was not obedient and kept running to other places, and every time he was frightened, he hurriedly called Yan Mingting. Yan Mingting always showed up at the critical moment to bring the horse back to the right path and keep him safe and sound.

Gradually, he came to realize that with Yan Mingting around, he wouldn’t be injured, so he simply let go.

Half an hour later, he was finally able to run on horseback, and shouted excitedly: “Yan Mingting, Yan Mingting, look quickly!”

He turned his head to look to the side. Yan Mingting was smiling silently at him, and he also smiled.

After returning, Zhao Yelan was still a little unfulfilled and made an appointment with him to go back tomorrow night. But when he lowered his head, he noticed that the other had kept his left hand behind his back.

“What’s wrong with you?” Zhao Yelan frowned, pulled his hand out, and found a deep red ligature mark on his palm. “Were you injured just now?”

The horse had run wildly several times, and each time Yan Mingting flew over and reined it in. He was so calm that Zhao Yelan didn’t even notice it.

“It’s just a small injury, you go take a bath first.”

“I won’t go tomorrow,” Zhao Yelan said.

“How can this be done? This sort of thing must be done smoothly in one go. How can you spend three days fishing and two days drying the net?” Yan Mingting said.

“But…..”

“Don’t worry. You’ve mastered the basics now, and if you slack off, you’ll have to start all over again. You don’t want me to have suffered this pain for nothing, do you? Also, don’t you want to participate in the fall hunt?”

Zhao Yelan was slightly surprised: “You noticed?”

“At the last spring hunt, you were ready to try. How could you give up such a good opportunity this time? After all, you have the best teacher,” Yan Mingting said.

Zhao Yelan smiled: “Yes. Then, Teacher Yan, I would like to kiss you now. Is that all right?”

“You have Teacher’s permission.”

Before they knew it, it was the day of the autumn hunt. Everyone had already mastered the procedures. After entering the camp, they greeted each other and waited for the Emperor to speak.

After the official start, as before, there were still two groups of people. One party drank wine and tea at the camp, while the other party entered the hunting grounds to hunt.

Li Yucheng still participated this time. He rushed in with a few followers and made an appointment with Fu Qian to compete to see who took the most and biggest prey.

After he went in, he didn’t immediately look for prey, but waited a while for Yan Mingting. He made a small calculation, planning to follow Yan Mingting to pick up anything that leaked by him.

However, he not only waited for Yan Mingting, but for Zhao Yelan.

“Why are you here? You can do this?!” Li Yucheng was dumbfounded.

Zhao Yelan was wearing a black outfit that made his skin look whiter than jade. His waist was narrow and his hair was all tied up, revealing his delicate facial features. The visual impact was strong, and he looked radiant. When the wind blew, his hair fluttered. There was a wooden hairpin inserted into it, the one Yan Mingting personally carved for him.

His whole person was glowing with health and vigor, which was very eye-catching.

Li Yucheng circled him twice with novelty: “Aiyo, you used to be a black-bellied scholar, but now you suddenly turned into an extravagant young man on a strong horse. How can we live, ah……no, how can Fu Qian live, ah? I’ll turn around and go smash his signboard of the most handsome man.”

Zhao Yelan didn’t quarrel with him, but turned to ask Yan Mingting: “Where are we going?”

Yan Mingting tilted his head, and the two of them rode their horses in that direction together. The sound of horseshoes startled the birds in the forest.

“My lord, do we still want to follow?” A follower asked.

“We won’t follow.” Li Yucheng didn’t want to follow behind these two people. Watching them flirt was too much for him, an old bachelor. “Let’s go a different way.”

However, after going around in a circle, Li Yucheng unexpectedly found nothing. Seeing ferocious prey, he didn’t dare to approach. Seeing the average prey, he was one step too slow, and the group of military officials swept it away like picking something out of a bag.

“Forget it, let’s go hunt wild rabbits.” This was more suitable for him. He continued to walk forward with his people, but found a crowd in front of him and walked over curiously. “What are you looking at?”

“Looking at the rabbits,” one person turned around to say.

“Rabbits? Leave it to me!” Li Yucheng dismounted his horse and picked up his bow and arrow, squeezing into the crowd, only to find a gap in the middle that contained only Yan Mingting, Zhao Yelan, and a group of wild rabbits.

“Watching Zhao-daren shoot the rabbits,” the man added.

“ ? ”

Li Yucheng watched for a while, and finally understood the situation.

This Yan Mingting didn’t go hunting leopards and tigers, but drove all the rabbits here to let Zhao Yelan practice!

Zhao Yelan had learned equestrian skills well, but he had only practiced the bow and arrow for a short while. The day of the hunt had come, and his accuracy was a bit off. Nine out of ten times, he missed the target, and one time he almost shot Yan Mingting.

While watching, everyone couldn’t help but cheer for Zhao Yelan.

Li Yucheng’s heart itched unbearably. There were so many rabbits here. As soon as he drew his bow, a man stood in front of him.

“Don’t shoot the rabbits here while he’s playing,” Yan Mingting said.

“What’s wrong with giving me one or two?” Li Yucheng said, “Could it be that these are all yours?”

“Yes, I caught them all with my own hands, so don’t try to snatch my prey away.”

“……”

The people next to him whispered to Li Yucheng: “Don’t you know why we didn’t do anything? General Yan refused to let us, ah!”

Li Yucheng: It’s amazing to know martial arts, ah!

Zhao Yelan frowned and looked around. Seeing so many people watching, he lost interest.

Seeing this, Yan Minting quickly shooed people away: “Go, go, go. Everyone scatter, don’t come near here. There is a time for hunting and a time for resting.”

After everyone retreated, Yan Mingting said: “Okay, come on, keep trying. Don’t be impatient. Find the target first, then judge the trajectory before you shoot.”

Zhao Yelan drew the bow and held his breath. He stared at the grazing rabbit, predicted its possible direction of escape, and shot the arrow. The rabbit heard the movement and instinctively jumped forward, taking the arrow in the heart.

“I shot it?” Zhao Yelan stared at the fallen rabbit in disbelief.

“En, you hit it!” Yan Mingting happily picked up the rabbit. “That’s amazing, Mengting.”

The corners of Zhao Yelan’s mouth curled up and his confidence soared. The previous disappointment was swept away, and he started again with great interest.

Half an hour later, he looked at the four rabbits he shot and was very satisfied. But his hands were exhausted, so he put down his bow and leaned against a tree, looking down at his hands.

“Come, take some medicine.” Yan Mingting took out a bottle of wound medicine and rubbed it between his palms to warm it, then rubbed it on his hands. “Your hands will be sore tomorrow, it’s normal.”

Zhao Yelan nodded, looking at the medicine in his hands with a smile in his eyes.

This fellow, knowing he was going to hurt, didn’t tell him to stop, but prepared the medicine and waited for him to call out that he was tired and sore.

“Are you injured?” Zhao Yelan asked.

“What kind of injury could I suffer? I only caught a few rabbits.”

“I’ll examine you,” Zhao Yelan said. He pulled his collar to look in, then reached in with his hand and felt around, raising his eyes. “It seems you aren’t hurt.”

Yan Mingting froze. Looking into his eyes that were smiling but not smiling, he knew that he was being deliberately teased, but still willingly fell into the trap and bowed his head to kiss him.

Not far away, Zhao Xuan was leading people to search for the tiger, but when he saw the two figures, he stopped suddenly and stretched out his hand to keep his followers silent.

At dusk, a warm yellow halo fell on the treetops, and a few rays of light sprinkled obliquely onto the two people as they leaned against the tree and kissed like no one else was there.

Zhao Xuan looked at them silently. Although he couldn’t see Zhao Yelan’s expression clearly, just from the back view, it could be seen that he was not being forced, but rather enjoying it.

It was the hunting grounds, after all, and colleagues may appear at any time. Yan Mingting kissed him lightly for a moment, but when he raised his eyes, he caught sight of Zhao Xuan’s figure appearing at the end of the path and his eyes sank.

“What is it?” Zhao Yelan looked up at him, and was about to follow his line of sight and turn around, when Yan Mingting held his face.

“It’s nothing.” Yan Mingting lowered his head and kissed his lips again. “Let’s continue.”

[1] A sweat-blood horse (汗血宝马) is an endangered breed whose sweat is a brown-red color. Some researchers think that the blood-colored sweat is caused by a certain parasite. ⮐