Bai Lian Becomes a Concubine

An Yingying's words made Yan Wanning's heart skip a beat. She patted her trembling back soothingly as she wept. "Young General Gu wants to take Bai Lian as a concubine? And he hit you too?"

"Yes." An Yingying raised her head and looked at her, utterly despondent. "He told me he'd always regarded Bai Lian as his own younger sister. He said he was only taking her as a concubine to stabilize Old Madam Gu's condition, that he wouldn't touch her, and that he was also doing it to repay a debt of gratitude."

"But who in this world takes their own younger sister as a concubine? If he wants to repay that debt, there are plenty of good families in the Northern Borderlands. With the influence of General Gu’s residence, wouldn’t it be better to marry Bai Lian into another family as a principal wife than make her his concubine?"

"When all is said and done, he just has that woman on his mind."

Yan Wanning nodded in agreement. She hadn't expected Young General Gu to be the sort of scum who would say such things. Truly, one could not judge a person by appearances.

"You must really like Young General Gu, Yingying." Otherwise, she wouldn't be so heartbroken.

"I do. I've liked him since I was little."

From a very young age, she had known she had a young general for a fiancé. At first, she had merely admired his formidable reputation. Later, after a brief meeting with him at the An residence, he had captured her heart completely, and his tall, coldly handsome figure had appeared in her dreams time and again.

The night before her wedding to Gu Qingshi, she had been too excited to sleep a wink.

That great general, whose fame had spread far and wide, was going to be her husband. She had felt proud and content, and had married him with so many hopes in her heart.

Their married life had been relatively peaceful. Aside from Old Madam Gu, who disliked her and always found a few excuses each day to make things difficult for her, her father-in-law and mother-in-law had both been kind to her. But Gu Qingshi was too cold. They had nothing to talk about, and he was often away from the residence. Even when he was home, he stayed in his study.

She understood. After all, he was a general, and his military duties were surely demanding.

Whenever they were alone together, he was always silent. When she tried to find something to talk about so they could exchange a few more words, he would only reply, "Mm," or "I'm busy. Another day."

As time went on, she stopped making tactless attempts to talk to him. They lay in the same bed, each wrapped up in their own thoughts, less close than strangers.

She told herself that he was simply cold by nature, and that it was perfectly normal.

At first, she hadn't disliked Bai Lian so much. She had even thought of getting along with her and cherishing her as a younger sister, as Gu Qingshi did, even though she didn't like Bai Lian's temperament.

Then, one day, the residence held a flower-viewing banquet, and Bai Lian accidentally fell into the lotus pond. An Yingying saw the man, whose face was usually cold and impassive, come rushing over in his brocade boots.

He looked at her and tossed out a question: "How could you fail to handle even such a small matter?"

He went past her, leaped into the pond and pulled Bai Lian out, wrapping her snugly in his own cloak. His face was full of anxiety, and An Yingying had never seen him treat her that way.

Bai Lian held on to him and said, "Brother Qing Shi, Lian'er fell in by herself. It has nothing to do with Sister-in-law."

Without so much as looking at An Yingying, he snorted coldly. "She was in charge of the banquet. Now that something has gone wrong, it means she didn't do her job properly."

That day, she became a laughingstock in the eyes of the noble young ladies attending the banquet and lost all face.

He wasn't cold by nature. He simply didn't like her.

An Yingying was weeping again, her face drenched in tears. Having seen how worried Gu Qingshi was for Bai Lian, his cold indifference toward her was all the more apparent.

Yan Wanning's heart ached as she listened, and her eyes reddened. "Young General Gu has gone too far! If he didn't like you, why didn't he break off the engagement?"

"Yes, if he didn't like me, why didn't he break it off?" An Yingying couldn't understand it either. If he had broken off the engagement, she would have suffered for a while, then given up on him.

Those two had been childhood sweethearts, bound by deep affection, while she, his legitimate fiancée, had become the third party intruding on their relationship. How ridiculous was that?

"Wanning, you'd better keep a close eye on your prince. Don't let some little vixen lure him away," An Yingying said indignantly.

Yan Wanning was startled by her words. "He... he wouldn't, would he?" she said quietly.

"Hmph, why wouldn't he? Men are all big pig trotters, awful creatures who love the new and tire of the old." An Yingying suddenly leaned over and pinched her fair, tender cheek. "If your prince wanted to take a concubine one day, what would you do?"

Yan Wanning fell silent and thought for a while. Before her marriage, she hadn't cared whether her husband, whom she had never met, took a concubine. After all, she had entered the marriage intending for them to treat each other with the respect due to a guest.

But... she had spent some time with Si Yunqi now. Though the man was quiet, he respected her and treated her patiently. He even coaxed her when she lost her temper. He didn't seem like someone who wanted them to be husband and wife in name only.

Besides... besides, she had grown somewhat dependent on him of late. When he had gone off to war, for instance, she had missed him from time to time. She had grown accustomed to his embrace and found it hard to fall asleep when she slept alone.

If Si Yunqi really did take a concubine...

The mere thought made Yan Wanning furious, and a little sad too.

He had already held her, and he still wanted to hold someone else? She absolutely wouldn't allow it.

Hmph, if Si Yunqi dared take a concubine, she wouldn't want him anymore.

"You're right, Sister Ying. Men are no good. They're all awful."

Outside the private room, Xiao He looked a little awkwardly at the two tall men who had just arrived at the door. She and Xue'er curtsied. "Greetings, Prince, Young General Gu."

Si Yunqi had excellent hearing. As soon as he reached the door, he heard his little wife's soft, sweet voice coming from inside, tinged with resentment. A vein throbbed at his temple.

Si Yunqi coughed lightly. Hearing a laugh behind him, he cast a cool glance at Gu Qingshi. "Don't celebrate too soon."

He raised a hand, pushed open the door and stepped inside. Seeing Yan Wanning's startled expression, he asked, "What were you saying, my lady?"