Female General vs. Heir
Female general + love of country + male lead turns dark + slight coercive romance + marriage before love
At the victory banquet, young general Qin Shan pinched the cheek of the emperor’s nephew, Yuwen Shu. Her drunken eyes were hazy as she said, “Little heir, how did you become... softer and sweeter-smelling than a sheltered young lady?”
The entire hall burst into laughter. Yuwen Shu, the emperor’s own nephew, was a pampered flower of wealth raised amid every luxury. He hated sweating more than anything, and now this teasing remark made his ears burn with shame and fury.
To avenge this humiliation, he did something that shook the capital: he became a pupil of Qin Shan’s father and spent three years fighting for his life, transforming himself completely.
At seventeen, he finally defeated Qin Shan and laid his heartfelt devotion before her.
All she gave him in return was: “I’m sorry. I don’t like... hard, brawny soldiers.”
Yuwen Shu: ??? You hated me for being soft back then, and now you hate me for being hard?!
At his coming-of-age ceremony, the emperor intended to arrange a marriage for Qin Shan. She declared before everyone, “I love a soft, fragrant beauty! A sweet wife is hard to find, but a sweet husband will do just as well!”
Yuwen Shu was furious! He drove every frail scholar from her side, only to lose to a woman: Lin Zhihua of the Chancellor’s residence!
To force Qin Shan to give in, he pretended to ask for Lin Zhihua’s hand. Unexpectedly, Qin Shan, determined to protect her best friend, gritted her teeth and said, “Don’t ruin Miss Lin’s life. I’ll marry you!”
On their wedding night, Yuwen Shu finally got his wish and held her in his arms.
But after two years together, he tried everything he could think of, yet still couldn’t warm Qin Shan’s heart of stone.
At work, they were perfectly in sync. In private, she remained as cool as ice. Furious, he lost all restraint and blurted out, “You know, Lin Zhihua, the woman you let me marry off, is living in bliss with her soulmate now.”
Qin Shan’s response was flat: “Oh.”
