Everyone says that General Chai’s personality is cruel and tyrannical, having beaten to death servants and that he prefers men. Even if rumors cannot be completely believed, she doesn’t want to go along with her stepmother’s social ladder climbing intentions. Although she knows that it is improper, she decides to give him a show of severity to prevent him from coming to propose marriage. But before receiving his consent, her stepmother had already made her move. Not only did she order a servant to bring a muddle-headed her to the brothel, she colluded with the brothel owner to make plans for her, to let the two of them reach the stage where there’s no going back, and force her to marry.
Luckily, he knew from the start and took advantage of this to play along and help her escape from this trouble. She discovered then that he actually conducts himself in an upright and honest manner, not at all cruel and ruthless like rumors said.
Who knew that her stepmother would put her under house arrest for money, wanting to sell her to someone as a concubine. He worried about her situation, and did not hesitate at all to look after her in the nights, and even making his liking towards her known, making her realize that she had long carved the imposing and handsome him into her heart.
However, with the day of her wedding approaching, the her without freedom did not dare to hope for any results with him. Who knew that in spite of his status of a general, that in spite of criticisms, he would come to steal the bride!
PROLOGUE: An expression of displeasure began to form in his bright eyes.
He coldly looked at those unfamiliar old woman, going back and forth exceptionally busily before him.
Thinking back to the last few days and the old women who continuously went to and fro inside his house, he found that there was not only one of them, and they all wore crimson clothes. The cheerful atmosphere that they brought with them didn’t require him to give it anymore thought, he could guess that they were probably famous matchmakers in the city.
But however slow he was, Chai She Xia found that there was something not quite right regarding this affair.
He’s always hated women, and hated even more women walking about freely in his domain. Sometimes even when his married off sisters came back to the manor to stay, he would avoid them if he could.
Women are noisy, always disturbing him to the point where he feels ill-at-ease, making him want to get really angry.
The old women who had just pa.s.sed by suddenly all left with smiles, and those huge smiles only let his expression darken.
“d.a.m.n it!” Chai She Xia impatiently cursed under his breath. Although he wanted to continue turning a blind eye, but seeing the matchmakers continuously going back and forth, he knew that he could not continue on peacefully.
If he let Mother carry on like this, maybe one day he would be knocked unconscious, and wake up to find himself tied to a strange maiden and kneeling at the altar, about to marry her.
After no results came from going to Mother’s quarters with a few large steps, he turned to go to Father’s resting room. Although it was written clearly on his face not to approach him, Ma Ma who wasn’t afraid to die blocked his way as he was about to step into Father’s resting quarters.
“The Lord and Lady are resting, Young Master should come back later!”
Glaring at the smiling Ma Ma, he hooked up the corners of his mouth and said coldly: “Get out of my way!”
Today, he planned to get Mother to explain what schemes she had been up to lately, and didn’t want too crude to the old Ma Ma, but he was impatient and pulled her away.
He walked straight into the hall with such an imposing manner that even if they wanted to, the servants would be too afraid to stop him.
“Mother, what game are you playing?” In a bad mood, Chai She Xia disregarded his upbringing and pushed the solid wooden door with all his might, and bellowed into the inner hall.
Bewildered upon hearing his son’s thunder-like voice, the old General Chai Mu Xiu’s eyes widened, and he angrily turned over to get out of bed to teach his disrespectful son a lesson.
But as he sat up, a pair of soft hands reached up from inside the warm blankets, and pushed down on Chai Mu Xiu’s torso.
“Husband, I’ll deal with this young one.”
Lady Chai, Ruan Gui Lin, lazily smiled, and with this smile, and even the old general who was a man with willpower like steel turned soft.
“This young one is becoming more and more unreasonable.” Even though his wife’s smile had taken away his anger, Chai Mu Xiu couldn’t help but still say a few words.
“This young one has been angered.” Putting on a screwed and crafty smile, it was clear to Ruan Gui Lin why her son had come.
“What have you done now?” even though many old women had come into the manor lately, household matters were dealt with by his beloved wife and he didn’t concern himself with them, so he didn’t know himself what had happened.
“My Lord, do you want to have a grandson to hold?”
“Of course I do!” Speaking about this, an expression of sentimental longing crept onto Chai Mu Xiu’s heroic and valiant face.
His son was already far beyond a marriageable age, but stubbornly refused to marry. No matter how much he and his wife threatened and cajoled, he remained unswayed, but fueled many rumors and gossip. How could it not cause worry?
“Seeing as the Lord wants grandsons, then don’t bother yourself with this matter. Just wait quietly for me here.”
Ruan Gui Lin put on her clothes smoothly, and suddenly raised her head to catch a glimpse of her husband’s worried face. She promptly put on a confident smile to rea.s.sure him.
“My Lord don’t worry, I know my child. Even though his temper is explosive, it that’s towards outsiders. At the end of the day, I’m still his mother and he’ll still show me some respect.”
After hearing that, the worry in Chai Mu Xiu’s eyes lessened a little. Chai She Xia that youngster wasn’t afraid of anything in the world, and the only thing in the world that was able to restrain him by a little was his beloved wife.
Finally, he was persuaded, and looked over calmly at his tidily dressed wife who raised her hand and lowered the curtains around the bed. He continued lying comfortably, and through the curtains, watched his wife’s lithe and graceful body walk in front of their son, and mercilessly rap him in the head.
Not at all caring that her son held a high position in the imperial court of a Grand General of the first rank, in the eyes of the mother, he was clearly still a child.
“What are you making a fuss about, where have your manners gone?”
“Mother…” He didn’t think that before he even began to ask questions, he would be demoralized by his mother’s show of strength. Chai She Xia was distracted for the first instance, and let out an innocent sigh.
“What are you sighing for, is there really a child such as you? What pressing matter is there to justify you barging your way in like that? No manners at all.”
Through the slightly swaying veil, Chai She Xia knew in his heart where his mother’s intense anger came from, but towards the good thing that he had disrupted, he did not feel guilty in the slightest, and panting with rage, faced his mother to ask: “Mother, I want to ask you what those matchmakers are doing in our home?”
Knowing how cunning Mother was, he didn’t give her any chance to evade the question and got straight to the point.
“Of course I’ve invited them here to find a match for you. What else could it be, do you think that they’re here to find a concubine for your father?” Completely ignoring her son’s frightening expression, Ruan Gui Li said, not at all trying to conceal the truth.
Speaking so directly, even the Chai Mu Xiu who was hiding in the blankets broke out in cold sweat for his wife, but he intelligently did not make a sound, and listened quietly.
Because the image of a baby floated into his head, Chai Mu Xiu couldn’t help but want to cheer on his wife.
“I didn’t say I wanted to get married,” Chai She Xia said coldly, glowering towards his mother.
“You didn’t say anything, but I want you to get married. You came from my stomach, so you have to listen to me. Whether or not you’re willing, on the table are portraits of girls that the matchmakers have brought. You can pick one yourself, or I will pick one for you, whichever way you will be married within half a year and give me a grandson within a year.”
She didn’t care at all about her son’s furious expression, and spoke out her decision word by word. With the aggressiveness that her husband had rubbed off on her these last few years, she would not lose to her son.
“I’m not choosing…” With a most furious glare, Chai She Xia’s words shot towards his mother like an ice bead.
Having expected her son to react that way, she shrugged her shoulders and not allowing him to finish refusing, interrupted him to first say: “Of course you can not choose, I don’t mind choosing for you anyway.”
In any case, she was determined to force her son to take a wife this time, otherwise with his increasingly women-hating att.i.tude, it may become hard for her to ever hold a grandchild in this lifetime.
Thinking about that, she walked towards the desk without explanation, and picked up the portraits that the matchmakers had brought, and stuffed them all into her son’s hands.
“You can leave now!”
“Mother, you…”
The veins on the side of Chai She Xia’s forehead throbbed, he hadn’t expected Mother to be so obstinate and unyielding. He was starting to get a bad feeling about this.
Not taking notice of her son’s face that was turning white and green, Ruan Gui Lin looked towards her much taller son and said: “Remember, I’m only giving you half a years time.”
After throwing down those words, she ungracefully raised a foot, looking like she wanted to kick her son out through the door.
Chai She Xia was so made his face was ashen, but did not know what to do, so could only grind his teeth and say provokingly to his mother: “And if I don’t agree, can you tie me up and force me to kneel at the altar?”
Ruan Gui Lin would not be outdone by her son, and said, “You can try if you want, if you are so determined not to have me as a mother, you can go your own way.”
Facing Mother’s fierce words, he left speechless in the end, and could only unhappily turn around and leave, not wanting to waste anymore words.
In any case, he did not think that he couldn’t beat his own mother.
“My Lord, do you think it will work this time?”
Seeing that her son has finally left, Ruan Gui Lin patted her chest nervously, and returned to the bedside to ask hurriedly.
After hearing everything, Chai Mu Xiu could only helplessly look at his wide, and say: “That’s your son!”
How would he know whether or not it would work?
He never had many desires in this lifetime, and only hoped that in years he had left, would not see this explosive pair of mother and son destroy each other.