A Marriage by Imperial Decree

(Putting up this advance notice first. I'm planning to build up a stockpile of chapters, then start posting.)

1.

After pacifying the borderlands, Xie Ruxin, the Grand General Who Guards the Nation, returns to the capital. Before he even reaches his residence, he receives shocking news.

The emperor has chosen a spouse for him. On the very first day of his return, he is to marry someone he has never met.

He can't refuse. Seething with rage, he initially plans to make a scene, but when he sees his marriage partner in the hall, he pauses. The figure, weighed down by layers of elaborate robes, sits with proper bearing, but looks so thin and frail that he seems to be only seventeen or eighteen.

Half of Xie Ruxin's anger fades. No matter how furious he is, he feels he shouldn't take it out on such a delicate young man.

But he is still somewhat angry. He spends the wedding banquet drinking in silence, then returns to the bridal chamber in a heavy haze. When he lifts the wedding veil, his movements are rough and his tone cold, as if he can't wait to distance himself from the young man in wedding robes.

Xie Ruxin: "I don't care what your motives are, but remember this: I will never touch... touch... touch..."

In the glow of the wedding candles, the handsome young man with exquisitely painted features looks at him with bright, dark eyes, then obediently nods, still bewildered.

The other half of Xie Ruxin's anger disappears, too.

Forget it, forget it. This is an arranged marriage, and we're both victims.

It's all that damned emperor's fault. What does his beautiful husband have to do with it?

2.

Qin Chaoyun lost his mother when he was young, and he was also in poor health. After his father remarried, his stepmother didn't treat him very well.

He grew up at a country estate, with only an elderly servant for company. So from childhood, he climbed walls and trees, read books and grew flowers, growing up as freely as a weed.

When Qin Chaoyun turned seventeen, an imperial decree suddenly ordered him to marry the Grand General Who Guards the Nation, a man he had never met.

He didn't even have time to pack before he was shoved into the wedding sedan. They told him it was the emperor's will, and if he didn't behave and obey, the emperor might punish his family for deceiving the throne.

So Qin Chaoyun dutifully went to the general's residence and obediently went through the wedding rites. He had been terrified, thinking that generals from the rumors were all burly and hideous. When the veil was lifted, he looked up nervously and saw the young general before him, with sharp brows and bright eyes, wearing a red robe and silver armor. Only then did he cautiously breathe a sigh of relief.

Thank goodness, thank goodness. He's neither fat nor bald, and he seems quite handsome, too.

3.

On their first night as newlyweds, the two strangers begin an extremely awkward conversation on the wedding bed.

Xie Ruxin: You're still young, and we don't know each other. We can skip consummating the marriage.

Qin Chaoyun: ...Consummating the marriage?

Xie Ruxin: I won't touch you. I'll sleep in the outer room tonight.

Qin Chaoyun: ...Touch me?

Xie Ruxin: If they ask tomorrow, just pretend you're tired.

Qin Chaoyun: ...Pretend I'm tired?

Xie Ruxin: ...

Xie Ruxin finally starts to sense that something is wrong.

After questioning him, he realizes that Qin Chaoyun had no one to teach him, was a little young, and had been married off so suddenly. He seems to know nothing at all about what happens in bed.

Faced with Qin Chaoyun's bewildered, eager-to-learn gaze, General Xie, who has spent years guarding the border without thinking about romance and has no experience himself, is forced to start a little sex education class.

He can't bring himself to be too direct, so he does his best to speak delicately, using all the literary talent he can muster to come up with metaphors.

Xie Ruxin: Let me give you a lesson.

Qin Chaoyun, hearing he's about to get a lesson: (sitting up straight) (bracing himself)

Xie Ruxin: So what I just said was blah blah blah, like this, like that, and so on and so forth.

Qin Chaoyun, after the lesson: (sitting up straight) (bracing himself) (head full of question marks) (getting a little sleepy)

Xie Ruxin: Do you understand?

Qin Chaoyun: ...Mm! Mm-hmm!

Xie Ruxin: ...

Qin Chaoyun: ...

Xie Ruxin: ...Forget it. Let's sleep. I'll take the outer room.

[Guide to Enjoying This Story]

1. Overpowered general gong x beautiful, pitiful beauty shou. There's a big difference in their size and strength. This is a pure romance about the two of them, a fluffy story with no brains. It'll probably be under 200,000 characters. Since it's short, I'll build up a stockpile before I start posting. Every plot point and setting exists to serve the romance, so don't overthink it. I haven't decided on the point of view; I expect it to be 70% gong and 30% shou, but I'll change it after I finish writing. For now, I've listed it as primarily from the shou's perspective.

2. Men can marry in this setting. There's a nine-year age gap: the shou is 17 and the gong is 26. I just want to play around with the feudal setting of an arranged marriage. The gong and shou aren't planning to have children in the main story, but men can give birth in this setting.

Theme: Communication is a virtue of humanity.