Forced into marriage the moment he woke up

[Two male leads! This is a two-male-lead novel, my darlings! No female lead! No female lead! The bottom is a pampered little darling. Let's respect each other's tastes-you're happy, I'm happy, everyone's happy!]

[I've also started a novel with the same genre and themes on another site. If any of you darlings see something elsewhere that feels very familiar, don't be surprised! That's my other pen name! Since it's a different platform, mentioning it felt like advertising, so I didn't say anything, but so many of you recognized me anyway, hahaha. I can't help it, I really love this stuff qwq]

When Ji Mingzhu woke up, all he could see was a blur of white light.

He blinked his sore eyes hard. As his awareness gradually returned, sensation spread through his body. His head felt heavy, his limbs heavier still. And why was the bed beneath him so hard? It pressed against him until he ached all over.

Which servant made this bed? How clumsy.

He looked around and frowned at what he saw.

Why was this place as gloomy as a mourning hall? Everything was white, and the room was cramped and utterly plain. He looked down at the pitifully small bed beneath him. The quilt cover was white and rough, without a single pattern. Pampered from birth, Ji Mingzhu had never stayed anywhere so dreadful. His parents would never have allowed him to sleep in a room without servants attending him.

Where on earth was he? A faint sense of unease stirred inside Ji Mingzhu. He remembered being at a flower-viewing banquet earlier that day. He had merely lost his footing and fallen into the water, so why had he woken up somewhere so strange?

Before he could think further, a commotion came from the doorway, and a group of people pushed the door open and came inside.

The middle-aged man leading them wore a cold expression. His thin lips were pressed together, and the deep lines beside his mouth gave his face a harsh look. Seeing that Ji Mingzhu was awake, he merely flared his nostrils and gave a cold snort.

No one had ever looked at Ji Mingzhu with such disdain, as though he were garbage, and he felt a little hurt. Though he had no idea who these people were, he wisely kept quiet.

The first to break the silence was the elegantly dressed woman beside the man. She sighed, holding the arm of the young man at her side, and said gently, "Mingzhu, why put yourself through this? We've already stepped in to suppress news of your suicide attempt, but quite a bit still leaked out. I'm not trying to frighten you, but if this upsets the Gu Family, even our Ji Family won't be able to protect you."

The young man beside her curved his lips into a seemingly innocent smile. "That's right, big brother. Why are you so opposed to it? So many people would give anything to marry into the Gu Family. Although... Gu Shang's temperament and reputation aren't the best, his status is something ordinary people could never hope to reach in their lifetime. Marry him, and you'll be a rich man's spouse. What's so bad about that?"

The middle-aged man snorted loudly, apparently finding their words too mild, and declared firmly, "Ji Mingzhu, listen to me. You're marrying him whether you like it or not!"

"Just look at what you are-a delinquent raised by some nobody. Marrying into the Gu Family would send you straight to the top. What more could you want? Whatever we owe you, this marriage is more than enough to repay it!"

The young man in the hospital bed slowly frowned. "A delinquent?"

From what they had said so far, Ji Mingzhu gathered that he was no longer in the Great Ning Dynasty. Instead, he had woken up to find himself being forced into marriage. Fortunately, he had been destined to marry someone back in his own dynasty as well. His years of education and cultivation had all been in preparation for that. So hearing that he was to marry did not particularly upset him-but what did they mean by delinquent?

Cao Wanhua sat beside his bed, putting on a sorrowful expression. "Mingzhu, I know you still resent us for not watching you closely enough when you were little, letting you get switched with another child, and only bringing you home after all these years. You should have enjoyed a comfortable upbringing and your parents' company. We truly wronged you in that regard. But... although Xiao An isn't our biological son, he's lived with us for twenty-two years. We really can't bear to marry him off so soon."

"Mingzhu, you can understand that, can't you?"

Ji Yonglin looked down at him, reluctant to acknowledge this haggard, uneducated poor boy, who had never received an elite education, as his son.

What Ji Yonglin needed was a well-educated, well-mannered, socially adept son who could help take his business to greater heights-not a country bumpkin who would only make people laugh at their family for producing a wild chicken in a phoenix's nest.

After being switched as a baby, Ji Mingzhu had become the son of a couple of modest means. But the husband had violent tendencies, so when Ji Mingzhu was eight, his adoptive mother left home. His adoptive father, an electrician, raised him alone.

Without a warm home or a good environment for studying, Ji Mingzhu grew rebellious. Smoking, drinking, perming and dyeing his hair-he learned them all.

Ji Yonglin had obtained all this information through an investigation after learning that the Ji Family was to form a marriage alliance with Gu Shang. Reading it had stirred no sympathy in him. After all, he had never even held Ji Mingzhu once in all the years the boy had been growing up. What affection could there be?

Besides, in his eyes, Ji Mingzhu's behavior was nothing but willful degeneracy. Ji Yonglin even felt ashamed and did not want to acknowledge him as his son. Since this son was already a lost cause, he might as well bring him home and have him marry that living devil in place of Ji Zhian, who excelled in every way.

Gu Shang, the head of the Gu Family, had taken over the Gu Group and amassed a staggering fortune. With such excellent prospects, if Gu Shang had been even remotely normal, Ji Yonglin would have been eager to bundle Ji Zhian up and deliver him straight to his bed. Gu Shang had made his word absolute within the Gu Family at such a young age; his methods could hardly have been gentle.

Rumor had it that on the very day he inherited Gu Corporation, Gu Shang single-handedly rooted out all the parasites feeding off it, turning Kyoto upside down overnight. They said he was cold, vicious, and volatile, and that children did not even dare cry in his presence. Others claimed his fate was too overpowering and his baleful aura too strong. Supposedly, he was rushing into a marriage alliance with the Ji Family because a fortune-teller had told him that marrying one of their children would avert disaster—while his spouse would eventually be doomed by his fate.

Whether those rumors were true or not, Gu Shang's cruel methods and unpredictable temper were beyond dispute.

Ji Yonglin had no intention of letting Ji Zhian marry into a life of torment. He had poured so much effort into raising him. Ji Zhian ought to marry someone equally powerful who could help elevate the Ji Family to a higher social class. The best candidate was Gu Shang's younger brother, Gu Yan.

Gu Yan was the youngest son of the Gu Family, equally favored, with an outstanding record and a mild temperament. In another couple of years, the Gu Family would surely give him a subsidiary to manage for experience. If Ji Zhian could marry him, the Ji Family would rise swiftly.

Thus, Ji Mingzhu's marriage was a win-win in his eyes. They could use a disposable son to forge a connection with the Gu Family while keeping Ji Zhian, their excellent son with outstanding grades, plenty of friends, and connections throughout Kyoto's circle of wealthy young men. Meanwhile, Ji Mingzhu, who should have spent his entire life on the streets and doing exhausting work to survive, would gain access to the truly rich and powerful. How was that doing him any wrong?

Yet Ji Mingzhu refused to return to the family or get married. In a suicide attempt, he had jumped from the window of the room where they had locked him up, landing straight in the family swimming pool. The ambulance had arrived with such a commotion that it had thoroughly embarrassed Ji Yonglin.

What an ungrateful wretch!

Ji Mingzhu said nothing. His beautiful eyes were like clear glass, and when he looked directly at Madam Ji, it felt as though he could see through every one of her little schemes.

His gaze unnerved Cao Wanhua, wearing away some of her patience. "All right, all right. You're an adult, and you're not stupid. You know which choice to make."

"And... if you really don't want to stay with the Gu Family and want to come back to us, I've heard that their previous family head... doesn't have much time left."

She lowered her voice, as though afraid someone might overhear.

"They say he left a confidential document in the Gu Family's most secure safe. Whatever's inside must be enough to turn the whole family upside down. Once you've married Gu Shang, if he has a bad temper and mistreats you, bear with it for a while, then find a way to get what's inside. That way, we can bring you home very soon, and we can all enjoy being a family together."

At this point, Ji Mingzhu could no longer hold back. "You want me to deceive him and then steal something?"

Madam Ji exclaimed shrilly, "How is that stealing?"

"Once you marry into the Gu Family, you'll be one of them. How can taking your own things be stealing? Honestly, after you sat quietly listening to us for so long, I thought you'd changed. But you're still just as crude and rude!"

Ji Zhian, who had said nothing while his parents urged Ji Mingzhu on, suddenly stepped forward to smooth things over. He took the woman's plump arm. "Don't be angry, Mom. Big brother suffered a lot growing up. He never had etiquette lessons or learned propriety, kindness, and filial respect. He didn't mean it, so please don't blame him. Besides, he had a fright jumping from upstairs, and the doctor said he has a mild concussion. He must be feeling awful right now. Don't hold it against him."

Though Ji Zhian's words excused him, the look he gave Ji Mingzhu held undisguised satisfaction.

So what if they're related by blood? Compared to me, the real young master looks like an impostor, making a fool of himself.

On the wedding day, this insecure, timid ugly duckling of a brother will only make me look all the more refined and poised.

Ji Mingzhu quietly lowered his eyes.

Although he had been destined to marry out of his family sooner or later, his father, Marquis Kangning, was a great general who had secured the borders and defended the nation. He had also helped the emperor ascend the throne and was renowned for his loyalty. His entire family had received official appointments and noble titles, enjoying the utmost imperial favor. As their dearly cherished youngest son, Ji Mingzhu had even been permitted to attend the Imperial Academy and study under the imperial preceptor. He was proficient in music, strategy games, calligraphy, painting, the six gentlemanly arts, the Four Books, and the Five Classics. He knew that a person should have a sense of decency and shame, rather than cloak sordid deeds in lofty excuses.

"I refuse," Ji Mingzhu said quietly.

However vicious their words made his fiancé sound, the man's initiative in seeking this marriage was sincere. Marrying him while saddled with such a vile assignment would be unfair to Gu Shang, even if Ji Mingzhu had no intention of obeying it.

Hearing this, Ji Yonglin exhausted the last of his patience. He sneered coldly. "You think you have a say?"

"Starting today, the bodyguards I brought will watch you around the clock. We'll have you discharged this afternoon, and you can recuperate at home. Until the wedding, you're not going anywhere!" With that, the man slammed the door and left.

They all left, and the bodyguards stayed behind as ordered. There was also a middle-aged woman who appeared to be there to attend to his daily needs. In reality, she was not. Mrs. Ji had sent her to monitor him and report his every move, while the bodyguards were there to prevent him from escaping.

Whatever she was there for, Ji Mingzhu breathed a sigh of relief.

If he had been shut in a room with a group of burly men like this in the Great Ning Dynasty, he would have been dragged off and drowned in a wicker cage long ago.

Ji Mingzhu threw back the quilt and got out of bed. Aunt Chen immediately stepped forward. "Young master, where are you going?"

She addressed him as young master, but her tone held not a trace of respect.

Ji Mingzhu did not argue with her. He only wanted to understand his present circumstances as quickly as possible. "I wish to relieve myself."

Aunt Chen lifted her eyelids and gave him a strange look. Did nearly drowning waterlog his brain? Why be so fancy about going to the bathroom?

"Then go. There's a bathroom right here in the room."

Ji Mingzhu silently committed the word "bathroom" to memory.

He opened the door and was startled by the mirror before him. Were the craftsmen of this era so skilled? The mirror was not blurry at all, and the person reflected in it was astonishingly clear.

The young man in the mirror looked almost exactly as he originally had, except his skin was rougher and duller. There were bluish shadows beneath his eyes from insufficient rest, and his lips were pale, bloodless, dry, and peeling. He looked haggard.

Those things were tolerable. Most conspicuous was the yellow and red hair on his head, dyed by some unknown means. The middle was still red, while the color seemed to have washed out of the ends, fading to a withered, straw yellow beside his cheeks. Fortunately, he had good genes. Despite such abuse, the young man's hair remained smooth and free of split ends, merely a little dry.

His eyes shone with a clear light, like cold stars.

Because Ji Mingzhu valued self-cultivation and courtesy toward others, he had paid particular attention to keeping his appearance neat since childhood. This was the first time he had seen himself looking so unkempt, and he felt rather unaccustomed to it.

Fortunately, his natural good looks were still there.

Since he had nothing to do while waiting to be married, he would go out tomorrow and explore a market in this modern world. While he was at it, he could tidy himself up and make a good impression on his fiancé.

Thinking of the fiancé he had never met, a trace of curiosity rose in Ji Mingzhu's eyes.