The Gusu Ordeal Beneath the General's Tent

Lin Tinglan, the legitimate daughter of the Lin clan of Gusu, is famed as the most beautiful and talented woman in Jiangnan. But forced into a political marriage, she is sent far away to the Duke Who Guards the Nation’s manor in Beili and weds the second young master, Ji Yunshen. On their wedding day, before the red candles have burned out, urgent news arrives from the frontier: her husband has been ordered to lead an expedition west, only to die on the battlefield, wrapped in his armor and drenched in blood. The entire loyal and distinguished household of the Duke Who Guards the Nation collapses overnight. The old madam, grieving the loss of her beloved son, takes her anger out on the new bride, denouncing her as a husband-killing jinx. She makes Lin Tinglan kneel for hours and torments her at every turn. Fallen from the clouds into the mire, Lin Tinglan weeps until her tears run dry and swallows her grief, her pride the only thing still keeping her upright in the depths of the manor. Then the man returns victorious from the battlefield: General Ji Lingyuan, her husband’s elder brother, a legendary frontier commander with countless victories. He steps into the mourning hall, clad in blood and steel, his gaze sweeping over the sea of mourning clothes before locking onto his younger brother’s wife, kneeling in a corner in white, her breathtaking beauty impossible to hide. From then on, when she is made to kneel, he “happens” to pass by and lifts the punishment. When she is freezing, he “happens” to toss her his cloak. Every “rescue” is like a gentle knife, carving its way into her deepest fears. Then one night, he catches her crying in the ancestral hall, hoists her over his shoulder, and kicks open the door to the side chamber… “So… my younger brother’s wife is this inexperienced…” he whispers into her ear, his kiss branding her like hot iron. In agony, she bites back, sinking her teeth into his shoulder. Beads of blood burst forth, leaving an indelible mark on his bronze skin, like a brand of fate. The next day, he petitions to remain at the manor to “fulfill his filial duty,” yet slips into her chambers every night to take her by force. She runs, he pursues; she hides, he corners her. “Ji Lingyuan, I’m your sister-in-law!” He lifts her chin, his eyes devouring her. “From now on, you belong only to me, Ji Lingyuan.”