Forced to Marry the Cursed General

Originally titled “The Treacherous Minister as a Wife” Zhao Yelan was born a slave. Rescued by the Third Prince, he devoted years of effort to placing him on the throne, becoming a hated, treacherous minister in the process. Who would have guessed that the man himself would personally arrange Zhao Yelan’s marriage to Yan Mingting, a general cursed to bring misfortune to everyone around him? The general was said to have brought ruin to his father, mother, wife, younger brother, and even his dog. Everyone hoped he would soon bring Zhao Yelan to his end as well. On their wedding night, Zhao Yelan, dressed in stunning red, drew a short blade. His gaze was sharp. “What are you going to do?” Yan Mingting clasped his hand tightly and used Zhao Yelan’s blade to carve a large character into the bedpost: “Early.” “You’re weak and out of shape. From now on, get up early every day and practice your horse stance with me!” “?” * The common folk thought this marriage was simply wonderful! They heard the treacherous minister got beaten every day, had to climb onto the roof to repair it when it leaked, handled both the kitchen and the outhouse, and waited on his husband obediently. From then on, he wouldn’t dare curse anyone. Ha! The general was truly mighty! Zhao Yelan sat languidly on the edge of the bed, playing with his short blade. The corners of his eyes lifted slightly. “Where did that rumor come from?” “From this dog’s mouth.” Yan Mingting, holding his horse stance, patted his thigh. “My wife, please take a seat. You don’t have to get up early tomorrow.” [Reading Guide] *One-on-one, happy ending. A ruthless, aloof, sickly beauty shou x a handsome, dashing gong whose thoughts sometimes take strange turns. *The characters’ values aren’t the author’s. Please don’t conflate them with real people. *Entirely fictional setting, with lots of personal additions. Please don’t nitpick the details. *Thanks for your support. I hope you enjoy reading and that life treats you well! [Upcoming novel: “After the Playboy Runs Away from His Wedding”] Liu Shu, the foremost playboy among the Four Great Playboys of Jiangnan, spent his days drinking tea and wine without a care. When he learned he was engaged to the second son of the Shen family in the capital, he packed his money and ran off to a place far beyond the emperor’s reach. His plans got off to a bad start when bandits robbed him. In ragged clothes and a tangled mess, he knocked on the door of a farmhouse. A man in coarse linen opened it. Their eyes met, and Oh no, Liu Shu thought, clutching his chest. He’s struck me right in the heart. -- Liu Shu had finally met the kind of man who existed only in storybooks: impoverished, yet pure and unpretentious; struggling to make ends meet, yet still graceful. Even squatting in a chicken coop looking for eggs, he was the picture of elegance. Liu Shu was deeply captivated. After much coaxing and persistence, he won the man over, and they began their hard-scrabble life together. Determined to spare his beloved any more hardship, he resolutely took on the burden of supporting the family. He plowed the fields while his beloved wove; he carried water and tended the garden. His “wife” could focus on looking beautiful while he farmed to put food on the table. But the more he farmed, the poorer they seemed to get. So why was their life somehow getting richer and richer? -- One day, Liu Shu decided to come clean. “Darling, my father is actually the richest man in Jiangnan. And I have an unreliable engagement to the second son of a stuffy, old-fashioned family in the capital. He’s probably studied himself stupid, can’t do a lick of work, and doesn’t know one crop from another. He can’t hold a candle to you~” His man fell strangely silent for a moment. “...I’m the second son of the Shen family.” “?” “And who exactly is ‘darling’?” “???” #Liu Shu: What other surprises are you keeping from me?# #Shen Ke: How I did everything I could after running away from my wedding to help my homeless, hardworking, capable (though not particularly good at it) wife get rich, only to discover that his family was rolling in money# #For the sake of this family, we’ve both been pretending an awful lot# Theme: Face the sun and thrive in adversity.