The Marriage Choice of the Third Miss Ning - Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Ever since the whole uproar over my mother’s miscarriage, our days had actually become much more peaceful.

During the three years I spent holed up in Wutong Courtyard, I devoted myself to studying the art of being a wife.

With all my heart, I wanted to find myself a satisfactory husband.

In ancient times, being someone’s wife was a profession in itself.

You had to double as human resources, finance, and general manager. It was not an easy job!

And my career goals were very clear.

I wanted to join a company with deep pockets and simple interpersonal relationships.

So when my legitimate elder sister told me to seduce the Great General, I looked humiliated and furious on the surface.

Inside, I was practically blooming with joy.

The Great General was an excellent military commander, and his personal competitiveness was top-notch.

Now he was also highly valued by the Emperor and had saved up quite a fortune.

The Great General had no siblings, which meant far fewer disputes.

He was an orphan raised on meals from many households, so I would not even have to serve parents-in-law.

He matched my career goals by ninety percent!

Simply perfect!

Most importantly, my academic credentials had hit a hard ceiling!

People these days valued scholars over soldiers, especially in the circles of the capital’s nobility.

During matchmaking, both sides had to compose poems and couplets to test each other’s cultural level.

Men and women without education had a hard time negotiating marriage.

This was also one of the reasons my legitimate elder sister looked down on the Great General so much.

But now, that was all fine!

The Great General was not very cultured.

And neither was I!

If the two of us uncultured people got together, neither of us could complain that the other was shallow!

So long before my legitimate elder sister suggested I seduce the Great General,

his name had already been circled in red and kept under my pillow for ages!

I had secretly studied how I might marry the Great General and become his wife long ago.

Now I had mastered all eighteen martial arts and was only waiting to put them into practice.

Early that morning, my legitimate elder sister sent someone to bring me to her courtyard and have me dressed and made up.

Her eyes were red, clearly from crying.

Yesterday, the Top Scholar had come to propose marriage, but my father had not agreed on the spot. His attitude was vague and noncommittal.

My legitimate elder sister said hatefully, “Father said the Emperor values that brute, so we cannot offend him. As long as his marriage remains undecided, I cannot marry anyone either.”

As she spoke, she burst into tears again. “What am I, a piece of meat on his chopping block? Just because he has taken a fancy to me, everyone else has to stay far away?”

Sigh. I really could not empathize with my legitimate elder sister.

I honestly could not understand what was so good about that Top Scholar.

He had relied entirely on his old mother and younger sister supporting him all the way through his studies before he finally placed first in the imperial examination.

But after becoming an official, he did not seem to cherish his mother or sister at all.

I had once met the Xu Family’s younger sister. Her clothes were old and out of fashion.

As for his mother, she had even argued with a vegetable seller over a few coins.

Sigh. In this era where men devoured women,

women were simply supposed to serve as stepping stones for men. There was no reasoning with it.

Now the Top Scholar had consumed his mother’s health and his sister’s youth.

And my legitimate elder sister was eagerly delivering herself to him too.

Although the Top Scholar had entered the Hanlin Academy and had boundless prospects ahead,

there would still be a long road to endure.

By the time he finally made something of himself, it would take at least three to five years.

If my legitimate elder sister married him, she would definitely have to live a poor and difficult life with him.

I told my legitimate elder sister this.

With lofty disdain, she said, “What do you know? Only if I endure hardship with him will he remember my goodness when he rises in the future.”

I thought, now that is where you are mistaken.

The moment a man rises in the world, he immediately forgets his roots.

Right now, he worshiped and flattered my legitimate elder sister as though she were a goddess.

But once he became a higher-ranking official than my father in the future, his belly would only be full of resentment.

My legitimate elder sister took me to the general’s estate to attend his victory banquet.

On the way, she gave me detailed instructions.

When the time came, I was to jump into the lake.

Her maid would then shout for help.

The general would think my legitimate elder sister had fallen into the water and would definitely jump in to save her.

Once he pulled me out and discovered it was me,

the rice would be cooked, and he would have no choice but to marry me.

As I watched her explain this plan with such confidence, my heart filled with melancholy.

I had always felt I was a bit of a fool.

But my legitimate elder sister did not seem much smarter.

I raised a few questions.

“What if someone else jumps in to save me?”

“What if the general does not know how to swim and simply does not jump in?”

“What if the general saves me but still refuses to marry me?”

After hearing this, my legitimate elder sister said proudly, “Don’t worry. I will have my maid ask him to come to the lakeside alone. If he mistakenly thinks I have fallen into the water, he will save me even at the risk of his life. As for him refusing to marry you…”

My legitimate elder sister became even more confident. “Hmph! You are my younger sister. If he ruins your reputation but refuses to marry you, would that not make me miserable for nothing? He could not bear that.”

I was stunned.

He had survived countless battles and brushes with death, clawing his way up from a dirt-poor commoner to become the Great General.

Why on earth would he risk his life for you?

Yes, I was your younger sister, but the Great General was not brainless.

Just because he was afraid of upsetting you, he would gamble away a lifetime of happiness and marry someone he did not love?

I decided that when I got home, I would secretly burn every romance storybook my legitimate elder sister had hidden under her bed.

Reading too many of those things damaged the brain.

But I never expected that in this grand performance,

I would be the clown.

The general really did jump in.

In the water, I saw him windmilling both arms and paddling toward me like a dog.

I pointed at my own face.

Then gestured at him.

“Look closely! I’m Ning San. Don’t save me!”

I had no desire to marry him under a misunderstanding.

If he resented me because of it later, life would be hard.

The Great General had clearly seen my face, yet he still fought his way toward me.

Once we got ashore, the Great General grabbed a cloak from the bank and threw it over me.

My legitimate elder sister sobbed, “Third Sister has been closest to me since we were children. Now that her innocence has been damaged, if the general refuses to take responsibility, I will hate you for the rest of my life.”

I poked my head out from under the cloak and felt my teeth ache from hearing it.

The Great General glanced at me and said calmly, “I will go to the Ning Family to propose marriage right now.”

I could not help sighing inwardly. I was still too young.

My legitimate elder sister’s charm was terrifying indeed.

After the Great General finished speaking, he paused, then looked at me and slowly asked, “Third Miss Ning, are you willing to marry me?”

His clothes were soaked through, clinging tightly to his body.

I looked at his firm abs, his lean waist, and his large hands with their clearly defined knuckles.

Suddenly, a warm rush filled my nose. I felt like I was about to have a nosebleed!

I hurriedly covered my nose and said in a muffled voice, “I am willing… I think.”