Marrying the Commander-in-Chief

[250,000 words already written] Ming Yuan was born the legitimate daughter of a marquis's household. Betrothed from childhood and already in love with someone, she is forced to marry Huo Lin after her family is disgraced and stripped of its property. Huo Lin is the Grand Commander, the most powerful minister in the dynasty, and the man every noblewoman in the capital wants to marry. She fears and resents him. She is kind to everyone but him alone. To avoid sharing his bed, she keeps arranging concubines for him and promoting his secondary wives. Gradually, his heart grows cold, and he rarely comes home. She has always believed their marriage was wrong from the very beginning. Only after he dies, when she sees the man in black lying in his coffin, does her heart ache as if it has been torn out. Later, she learns that the man she resented for so long had loved her for a very long time. Ming Yuan thinks this is simply how her life will be, but when she wakes, the battle-dead Commander Huo is standing outside her door, dressed in black. His face is cold, his presence imposing, and unmistakable disappointment flashes in his eyes. Ming Yuan suddenly realizes she has returned to the year she married Huo Lin. She has just arranged two beautiful concubines for him and pushed him out the door, saying something that broke his heart and telling him to go to their rooms. He turns to leave as she wished, but she suddenly grabs hold of him. "It's late, and the dew is heavy. The other courtyard is a long way off, Commander. Why not make do and rest here with me?" [Bonus Scene] The night is cool as water. She wants to learn to be his wife, and with her heart in her throat, she goes to knock on his door. In her light, gauzy clothes, her pale jade-like neck exposed, tears on her lowered lashes, she wraps trembling fingers around his waist and unfastens his belt. He catches her delicate wrist, and she hurriedly raises her head, her black hair falling loose. The usually distant Commander Huo curls his lips. "Do you even know how to please a man? Is this all you've got?" She presses a hand against him and turns her face away, biting her red lips. The peach-blossom birthmark on her chest looks even more alluring. His gaze grows deep as he takes in a lifetime's worth of peach blossoms. Commander Huo: "The things I love in this life are few: Chun Xi, Yu Lu, and you, my darling." 2020.7.7 Theme: Turn over a new leaf and become a better person