The Marriage Choice of the Third Miss Ning - Chapter 3

Chapter 3

My legitimate elder sister and I were married on the same day.

She married the Top Scholar, and I married the Great General. A double blessing for one household.

Our home was draped in lanterns and festive red, everyone bustling about in chaos as they sent my sister and me off.

I was walking toward the bridal sedan with my veil over my head when suddenly I heard the wedding attendant shout, “Wrong, wrong! The Great General says the bride is wrong!”

My eyes lit up, and then someone lifted my veil.

The Great General’s silent, stern face appeared before me.

He looked at me steadily, took my hand, and pulled me into his arms.

Outside, everything was in an uproar.

Only then did I realize that my legitimate elder sister and I had gotten into the wrong bridal sedans.

This time, the Great General did not send me back. Instead, he simply carried me onto his horse.

He called out in a loud voice, “Strike up the music! Bring my wife home!”

With several sharp cracks, fireworks burst in the air.

His big hand was wrapped around my waist, and the fiery heat of his palm seeped through layer after layer of wedding robes to my skin.

At that moment, I finally began to feel what it meant to be married.

The streets were lively and noisy, crowded with people asking for lucky money and wedding cakes.

All the way back to the general’s manor, I was carried in the Great General’s arms.

But I never expected that when it came time to bow in the wedding hall, an imperial edict from the Emperor would arrive!

Another round of frantic chaos followed.

The Great General kept holding my hand the entire time and never let go, quietly telling me what to do.

I was stunned.

The Emperor had actually conferred upon me the title of Second-Rank Noble Lady!

Even the guests at the banquet were shocked.

In the entire Great Xia Dynasty, there had never been a Lady of the Court as young as me!

It showed just how much favor the Great General enjoyed from the Emperor.

Receiving that edict was basically like winning the lottery.

That meant that as long as I did not one day get bored and kill my husband to prove my Dao,

I would be able to sit securely in the position of the Great General’s wife for the rest of my life!

The Emperor also granted me many fields and shops as my private property.

Not only would I receive a monthly stipend, but I would also get gifts on festivals and holidays.

Who would have thought that the moment I started this job, I’d become a permanent hire?

I was so happy I covered my mouth, afraid I would laugh out loud.

Heh. I now outranked my father by two whole grades. He would never dare scold me casually again.

But when it came time for the wedding chamber, my joy came to an abrupt stop.

After we drank the nuptial wine, the Great General told me to go to bed early.

Then he left…

Just like that, he left…

Gone…

I lay on the bed, groped under the covers for peanuts and melon seeds, and cracked them for a while.

That made me remember what my mother had told me the night before.

“The groom is only getting married at twenty-five. He’ll probably be a little wild on the wedding night.”

“Don’t just take it stupidly. If you need to push him away, then push him away.”

But I had asked in confusion, “Mother, what if he can’t do it?”

That question had left my mother speechless.

In a low voice, my mother said, “Men have a very strong sense of pride in that area. If he really can’t, you still have to act as if he can very well.”

The two of us discussed men’s pride for a while.

My mother also instructed me, “While the groom hasn’t taken a concubine yet, you should enjoy yourself too. If you miss him, go tempt him. Don’t waste your youth keeping an empty room all to yourself.”

That made sense!

I could live as a widow, but I couldn’t live as a widow in name only!

His heart belonged to my legitimate elder sister, and I had no objections.

But at the very least, his body ought to be left to me!

I had Pingping find out where the Great General had gone, then slipped out to look for him.

To my surprise, the Great General was actually practicing swordplay in the courtyard.

He was bare-chested, wearing only a thin pair of trousers.

In the whistling wind and bright moonlight, I crouched behind a flower bed.

Looking at the crisscrossing scars on his back and his quiet, handsome face,

I silently pinched my nose.

When the Great General finished his practice, he casually scooped up a ladle of water and poured it from head to toe.

Water splashed down in a rush.

My heart splashed too.

And so did my nosebleed.

The sound startled the Great General.

When he saw my face covered in blood, he panicked at once.

“What’s wrong?” He scooped me up abruptly and shouted, “Someone! Get a doctor!”

I hurriedly covered his mouth and explained incoherently, “No! It’s just too much internal heat! I’m young and full of energy, that’s all… This is easy to treat, you just need to…”

The Great General’s steps slowed.

He looked down at me. “Need to what?”

I closed my eyes and said recklessly, “Kiss me a couple of times and it’ll be fine!”

Afraid he might refuse me, I decided to strike first.

I hooked my arms around his neck and kissed his lips.

The Great General went rigid all over. His strong hand tightened suddenly, sinking into the soft flesh of my hips.

In one effortless motion, he pinned me against the wall and bit down on my lip.

It felt like I had been swept up in a violent storm, every shred of reason torn apart.

My breath was stolen, and my consciousness shattered into pieces.

When I finally came back to my senses, I was already in the bedroom.

The Great General’s knee was pressed between my legs, pushing forward little by little.

He looked into my eyes and asked stubbornly, “Third Miss, are you willing?”

His eyes held a brewing storm, hot enough to scorch me.

I covered my face and gave a vague, muffled sound of assent.

But he refused to let me off. He caught my wrists and held them above my head, forcing me to look at him.

Suppressing my embarrassment, I bit my lip and looked back at him.

Candlelight flickered through the bed curtains. In that dim light, I could see that his eyes were like those of a fierce beast.

His gaze was locked tightly on me, as if he would devour me whole the very next moment.

He was still asking, “Third Miss, are you willing?”

In a voice as soft as a mosquito’s buzz, I said, “I am willing.”

He was saying it with his mouth!

But his other hand had clearly already…

I trembled and tried to pull back.

The Great General pressed my waist down, bit my earlobe, and demanded, “Willing to what?”

Later, I couldn’t even remember exactly what I had said.

In short, I pleaded, I cried, and I babbled nonsense just to make him let me go.

I was jostled so hard that my head drooped over the edge of the bed. When I glanced toward the table,

the candles had already burned out.

Faint light leaked in through the window.

My legs were still hooked over his shoulders, aching terribly.

In the end, I really couldn’t take it anymore and fell asleep crying.

I only vaguely sensed him carrying me away to wash up and change the sheets and bedding.

Wrapped in the dry, fragrant softness of the quilt, I completely lost consciousness.