After I Was Given to the Rebel Leader

After becoming a concubine-born daughter of a wealthy merchant family in ancient times, Pei Duan'er was quite pleased with her lot. She was beautiful, rich, and free to do as she pleased.

She lazed around until it was time to find a husband. Then the tides turned: the rebel army swept through the land and was already at the gates of the capital.

To protect the family fortune and win favor with the new regime, her father and stepmother tied her up, stuffed her into a blue-cloth sedan, and sent her to the rebel leader's bed.

She'd heard that the rebel leader was cruel and ruthless, a man who killed without blinking. The rebel camp was full of armored soldiers wielding weapons, and dried blood covered the ground.

Pei Duan'er was terrified. Was her easy life really going to end here?

Knowing she had no way to escape, Pei Duan'er began thinking about how to win his favor.

She had a sweet tongue, knew how to act vulnerable, and could dance. As for her looks, she was second to none.

Pei Duan'er felt a little more at ease. Whether she wanted revenge or to settle old scores, she could decide after she'd charmed the leader into losing his head.

Late that night, the rebel leader returned to the tent, drunk. Pei Duan'er tilted her eyes toward him.

He was tall and strong, his armor lending him a stern, imposing air. He was rather handsome, too.

Pei Duan'er breathed a sigh of relief. Thank goodness he wasn't some decrepit old man.

She hid a smile behind her hand, lowered her lovely head, and reclined on the couch with a boneless grace, looking languid and alluring enough to intoxicate anyone.

"Miss Pei, it's been a long time."

The man approached, and only then did Pei Duan'er get a good look at him. The rebel leader was none other than Xiao Changxu, the former low-ranking soldier who had once come to ask for her hand in marriage, only to be harshly rejected.

They hadn't seen each other in years. The low-ranking soldier had become a rebel leader, and taking the capital was as easy as reaching into a bag. All that remained was to choose an auspicious day to take the throne.

Pei Duan'er sank into despair. Win his favor? Now all she wanted was to survive.

*

Pei Duan'er thought Xiao Changxu would imprison her in the palace and torture her in every possible way to avenge the past.

She hadn't expected that, rather than torment or humiliation, Xiao Changxu would prefer to have his way with her in private, calling her by her childhood nickname again and again.

Pei Duan'er: Do the people of the realm know their new emperor is like this?

Xiao Changxu: I'll let them know who I conquered this realm for.

PS:

1. Both leads are sexually inexperienced.

2. Six-year age gap.

3. The protagonist's name is tentative.

4. 2023.12.6

Theme: A wise person knows how to adapt to the times.