After Being Forced to Marry the Evil Star General

Late at night, after Yan Mingting finished his bath, he didn’t see Zhao Yelan in the room, so he casually put on his clothes and went out to look for him.

The servants said they saw Zhao-daren go to the ancestral hall.

He approached the ancestral hall and saw that the lights inside were bright, and Zhao Yelan’s shadow was cast against the window.

Thinking for a moment, he changed direction without a sound and leaned against the window, staying with him in silence for a while.

The person inside remained silent, with only the incense candles burning. Yan Mingting thought for a while, and then left quietly, telling people on the way not to approach the ancestral hall.

After lying in the room for a while, the door creaked open and Zhao Yelan walked to the bedside.

“You’re back. Come quickly, the bed has been warmed up for you.” Yan Mingting moved to his side.

“Do you know where I’ve been?” Zhao Yelan took off his clothes and lay down in bed. The other party grabbed his cold hands and rubbed them in his palms.

“En, don’t worry, I didn’t eavesdrop on your private conversation with your parents.”

“It’s okay if you hear.” Zhao Yelan smiled. “I just wanted to tell them that I’m doing fine now.”

“That’s good, I feel relieved for your parents,” Yan Mingting said with a smile.

After a long while, Zhao Yelan suddenly asked: “Are you still taking a day to rest tomorrow?”

“Yes, ah.” Yan Mingting said with a yawn. 

Unexpectedly, the other party rustled about and sat on top of him, lowering his head to lick his ear: “I won’t go out tomorrow.”

Yan Mingting’s mind was thrown into disarray at once: “If you say that, I won’t be sleepy anymore.”

Zhao Yelan smiled softly and whispered in his ear: “It doesn’t matter if you are a little bit cruel.”

The next day, Zhao Yelan really didn’t go out, and didn’t get up until the afternoon. He hugged a hot water bottle and collapsed on the recliner. Inside was the tiger skin, and a blanket was placed on his knees. He sat leisurely under the eaves to enjoy the snow and watch Yan Mingting teach Xiao Gao martial arts.

Ten days later, it was New Year’s Eve. The Emperor would hold a family banquet with the feudal lords, and no officials would be required to attend, so everyone could spend a peaceful New Year’s at home.

The General’s Mansion was very lively this year. Housekeeper Qin had not been so busy for many years. He went to pay his respects early in the morning and invited people to be guests.

Near noon, the guests arrived one after another.

The Li Yucheng father and son, Ruan Xian’s family, several lieutenants including He Cuizhang, Zuo Ran, Yin Pinglu, and Kan Chuan’s family of three.

Everyone else had a good relationship with Zhao Yelan, but when they saw Kan Chuan, they were inevitably a little surprised.

Yan Mingting smiled and said, “Thank you for giving me face, Kan-daren.”

“The General is joking. I am lucky to have received the General’s invitation.”

The two exchanged pleasantries, and everyone thought he was a friend of Yan Mingting, so they let go of their doubts.

In the past few days, Yan Mingting would communicate with Kan Chuan, and when other officials saw this, they only thought that the two had similar interests. After all, Yan Mingting got along with everyone.

“Where is Zhao-daren?” Yin Pinglu asked.

“He is writing New Year’s Eve couplets in the study, and he’ll be here soon.”

Talk about a person and he will appear. Zhao Yelan came to the front hall in vermillion robes suitable for the occasion, along with a flowing cloud hairpin. With his fair skin and black hair like a waterfall, he made a dazzling winter scene. Everyone couldn’t help but appreciate the sight a few times before making their greetings.

“It’s cold outside, let’s eat first,” Zhao Yelan said.

The table was full of delicacies. Men, women, and children gathered together. Because Li Yucheng, a talkative fellow, and He Cuizhang, a fellow regarded as an outsider were making jokes, the dinner table soon became full of laughter and the unfamiliar people gradually became acquainted.

After the meal, Zuo Ran and Yin Pinglu gravitated toward Li Niang, who was holding the baby. Together with Ruan Xian’s wife, the four women gathered around to play with the child. Li Niang told them about the hardships of being pregnant, but her eyes were full of tenderness. Ruan Xian’s wife was not pregnant yet, but she was a little afraid of having a baby.

Zuo Ran and Yin Pinglu crouched to the side and looked at the child with smiles, saying that she had worked hard and praising the child for being so cute.

Perhaps seeing so many strangers made her uncomfortable, because the child cried loudly and couldn’t be coaxed no matter how hard they tried.

Yin Pinglu asked: “Does she need to drink milk?”

“She just ate, ah, so she shouldn’t be hungry,” Li Niang said. She hastily got up and walked with the child in her arms. “You accompany me to find Zhao-daren.”

Zhao Yelan was appreciating a calligraphy painting with Kan Chuan, Li Jinyu, and Ruan Xian in the study room. It was the birthday gift from Kan Chuan last time.

After the group of people praised the calligraphy painting with clever words, they also talked about court affairs. As they were speaking of the relationship with Nanjiang, they heard the voices of a few girls outside, hurriedly calling Zhao-daren, Zhao-daren.

Then Kan Chuan saw his wife and two young girls run in and hand the child to Zhao Yelan.

“Zhao-daren, the child keeps crying, can you see if you can make her stop?”

Zhao Yelan had no experience in holding children, so he froze for a moment, stiff all over. Then he put his arms around the crying child and asked them blankly: “Like this?”

Seeing this, Kan Chuan stepped forward with a smile and said to let him, the father, try. Just as he was reaching out, he witnessed the child in Zhao Yelan’s arms stop crying.

Kan Chuan: “ ? ”

The others: “Wow.”

Ruan Xian clapped his hands and said with a laugh: “Kan-xiong, I don’t think the real father can match up to Zhao-xiong. Why don’t you just let your child recognize him as a godfather.”

Kan Chuan took advantage of the situation and said: “This is not a bad proposal. I wonder if he would like it?”

Zhao Yelan looked down at the child and smiled: “All right, ah.”

So in full public view, Zhao Yelan accepted a goddaughter openly and aboveboard, and gave her lucky money according to custom.

“How can there be no General Yan on this occasion? Where are the others?” Ruan Xian asked.

Zuo Ran said: “A few of them are fighting outside.”

The group of people walked outside and came to the back courtyard, where they saw Li Yucheng pestering Yan Mingting to teach him martial arts, wanting to fly like Xiao Gao and hold heavy weapons like He Cuizhang. But Yan Mingting just pushed him casually and he fell to the ground.

Everyone looked at Li Jinyu one after another, worried that the old fellow who doted on his son would blame Yan Mingting, but Li Jingyu stroked his beard and laughed: “Yan Mingting, beat up this kid as you like!”

“Dad, are you still my real father or not, ah!” Li Yucheng howled, and went to pester Yan Mingting again.

“You run five laps to warm up first,” Yan Mingting said.

“I’ll run.”

“I mean five laps around the capital.”

“……You bully! Zhao Yelan said that he ran around the General’s Mansion five times at most!”

“He is my wife, so naturally he can bargain for a price. Who do you think you are?”

Everyone laughed, and Zhao Yelan helplessly covered the child’s ears with his hands. Some things shouldn’t be heard.

In the evening, everyone said their goodbyes one after another and went home. Only the residents of the General’s Mansion were left. After Zhao Yelan asked the servants to pack up the food, he had them take a rest and have a good New Year’s Eve.

The servants happily took the reward silver and went to the street to purchase things, leaving only the two masters in the mansion. After the two had eaten, there was nothing else to do. There were so many people on the street now, and Zhao Yelan didn’t want to go out into a crowd of people. He grabbed an orange picked in the woods out back and ate a few mouthfuls before saying: “What should we do to pass the time now?”

“Do you have any ideas?” Yan Mingting sat beside him and also peeled an orange.

“Shouldn’t it be time for the New Year’s money?” Zhao Yelan remembered that when he was young, his parents would give him New Year’s money, and he would then use it to buy brushes and paper.

“Okay, ah, how much do you want?”

“I want ten thousand taels of gold, can you give it to me?”

“No problem, just wait a moment.” After a while, Yan Mingting gave him an IOU with a flourish.

“…….”

“Look at the other side,” Yan Mingting reminded him.

Zhao Yelan turned it over and saw that there was a drawing of a figure holding a gold ingot. He was immediately amused: “Are you childish?”

Yan Mingting refused to admit it, saying that he was clever. Then he took out a bank note from his bosom and handed it to him: “Here, New Year’s money.”

Zhao Yelan took it and found that the banknote had some scuff marks, asking suspiciously: “Where did it come from?”

“My mother gave me this New Year’s money when I was young. On the last New Year’s Eve before I left Beijing, she told me to take it to the border to buy food, and not treat myself badly.” Yan Mingting laughed out loud. “When I went to the border, it was difficult for me to buy good things, so I just kept it.”

“Then keep it for yourself.”

“Isn’t keeping it with you the same thing?”

Zhao Yelan considered this for a while and found that it made sense, so he accepted it and then dug in his pockets. Yan Mingting stared straight at him as he dug around for a long time, and the other said: “What are you looking at? I’m just digging around, there’s nothing in here.”

Yan Mingting rubbed his toes together and asked with disappointment: “You really aren’t giving me anything?”

Zhao Yelan looked him up and down, and finally took out a jade bracelet from his sleeve with a smile: “It’s this, do you want it?”

“You’ve become wicked and learned to play tricks.” Yan Mingting smiled and leaned over to look. “What is this?”

“My mother left it for her daughter-in-law.” Zhao Yelan gazed at him intently. “What do you think?”

“Yes, ah, since it is a gift prepared by my mother-in-law, I will naturally accept it ~” Yan Mingting replied coyly. He laughed out loud and tried to put it on for a long time, making his hand all red without success. “It’s impossible, when mother-in-law was preparing the gift, didn’t she consider that her daughter-in-law could have big hands?”

Zhao Yelan almost laughed to the point of tears.

This bracelet was secretly given to him by his mother while in prison. She had whispered in his ear: “Mengting, I originally wanted to give this to your wife when you grow up and get married. If…..I mean, if I don’t get out of here, you must get out. You must live and find someone you like and want to marry, all right?”

He knew that this was his mother leaving him a memory and entrusting it to him, fearing that he would commit suicide after his family was destroyed. So he lingered on and lived alone, but was fortunate enough to actually find someone he liked and get married.

The bracelet still could not be put on, so it was taken away by Yan Mingting to be placed in storage. Seeing him put it into a box with eighteen locks, Zhao Yelan couldn’t help but say: “You could compete with Gu Niaoniao when it comes to hiding things.”

“What do you mean?”

She uses a dozen boxes to hide things, and you use a dozen locks. I really don’t know who is better.

A large number of fireworks were set off in the palace, almost lighting up the entire night sky, and the common people came to watch and bid farewell to the old and welcome the new together.

The sky was on fire outside, but inside the house was another scene. When the two people settled down, they sometimes murmured in whispers and sometimes panted endlessly. It was clearly still winter, but it seemed like a boundless spring.

The colors of the fireworks passed by the window. Zhao Yelan grasped the bed curtains as the waves rose and fell, subconsciously glanced outside, and then the waves stopped.

He looked at Yan Mingting blankly. There was still an unfading sea tide in his eyes, and he was about to speak when he saw Yan Mingting lower his head and bend down.

Zhao Yelan’s eyes trembled violently, and he heard the explosions of the fireworks outside as if they were blooming in his heart and mind. He opened his mouth, and his wanton voice was drowned by the sound of the fireworks. Only Yan Mingting could hear it clearly.

After New Year’s Eve, the vassal kings and envoys from all over the country should leave, and Yan Mingting was responsible for sending these people out the city gate. It was only that the king of Nanjiang had not left for a long time. He said that he enjoyed the delicious food in the capital and wanted to stay for a day or two, so he waited another two days before leaving with the princess of Nanjiang.

When the princess of Nanjiang saw Yan Mingting, she scoffed coldly and rolled her eyes, which were full of mockery.

Yan Mingting turned a blind eye to her, and after seeing them off, he returned to the General’s Mansion to wait for Zuo Ran.

“Why did the king of Nanjiang wait these two days?”

“The princess of Nanjiang vanished from the inn for a few days,” Zuo Ran replied in a low voice. She had been placed at the inn by Yan Mingting as a female guard in order to care for the female relatives, but could only stay inside the inn to avoid suspicion. “The king of Nanjiang’s people only found out about it last night, and they quarreled. I eavesdropped for a while and it was something about men and going to bed. I figured the princess was out to meet a man privately.”

Yan Mingting frowned. He found He Cuizhang again and asked him to investigate which men had been loitering outside without going home these past few days. However, after several days of searching, He Cuizhang shook his head and sighed: “Because of the visiting envoys, the curfew was particularly strict this year. Except for those who stayed in brothels, the other men honestly stayed at home to celebrate the new year.”

That was strange. A dignified princess couldn’t go to a brothel to find a man, could she?

Thinking of the disdain in the princess of Nanjiang’s eyes when she left, it could be seen that the status of the man they were looking for was not simple.

He told Zhao Yelan about this and asked, could it be Zhao Xuan?

“It can’t be him,” Zhao Yelan said. “I heard that he has been staying in Concubine Xian’s palace for the past few days. And if he wanted to recruit the princess of Nanjiang into the palace, wouldn’t it be better to do it in an upright manner instead of sneaking around?”

“But I really can’t think of anyone with a higher status than me…..” Yan Mingting said, and suddenly gave Zhao Yelan a meaningful look.

“Do you want to be beaten?” Zhao Yelan angrily twisted his ear. “Who has been sleeping next to you every night these days?”

“You, you, you, who else but you?” Yan Mingting repeatedly begged for mercy. “It’s just habit. After all, your status in my heart is indeed very high.”