The Marquis's Cousin

[Before You Start]

* Grim, murderous general x resilient, pliant girl

* Older man, aloof beauty, forced possession (30%); mostly sweet, with a little angst later on. Not sexually inexperienced.

[Blurb updated 2025-07-18]

As a child, A Ying begged along the streets until the madam of a brothel took her in.

She thought that having enough to eat and warm clothes to wear was a good thing.

The girls in the brothel all had to learn the rules. Those who failed were beaten.

She wasn't afraid of being beaten. She was only afraid of going hungry.

By day, she flattered the older women and asked them to teach her, practicing again and again. She refused to slack off at night, either. By moonlight, she practiced endlessly by herself, training her movements and singing little tunes. She was always the first to learn and master each skill, then helped the madams teach the other girls.

Before long, she was nearing the age to be presented to clients. She had learned a sweet, lilting voice, a supple waist, and a Western Regions dance performed barefoot on drums. With a thin robe loosely covering her, her fragrant shoulders half exposed, she would occasionally dance in the brothel, captivating every guest in the hall.

But on the day she put up her red lantern and began receiving clients, a fire broke out in the brothel.

The building was gone. The people were dead.

A carriage sped toward the capital through the night. A Ying slowly awoke inside it and saw a man sitting beside her. He was solemn and imposing, yet exceptionally handsome, and looked to be under thirty.

The man introduced himself as her elder brother and told her that her name was Feng Xiang, with the childhood name Jia'er. He would personally teach her proper manners, and she would never have to suffer again.

A Ying lowered her eyes and thought that the madams at the brothel had treated her well. She had never suffered at all.

.

The mansion of the Duke of Guo in the capital was enormous. Everyone in the household respectfully called her Miss Cousin.

A Ying wanted to stay, so she studied the rules more earnestly. Yet she was always beaten: for smiling, for crying, even for saying nothing. The ruler stung against her palms, hot and painful.

A Ying didn't understand. She had done exactly as he told her, so why was she always wrong? But he never explained. He only furrowed his brows and told her to hold out her hands, raised his ruler, or ordered her to kneel in the ancestral hall.

She thought that perhaps the General's household shouldn't have a daughter as lowly as her, and the Duke of Guo's household shouldn't have a cousin who had been a prostitute. He must despise her. She shouldn't keep getting in his way.

A Ying packed her belongings and sneaked out into the night. She wanted to return to the brothel, the place where she had spent twelve years.

But on a night when thunder roared, she was forced to endure his repeated ravishment in the most humiliating position.

A Ying cried herself hoarse, realizing with heart-rending regret that using her beauty to serve another was a humiliation.

.

The three characters of Gu An Nian were each mild and even, yet they struck terror across the four regions. He donned armor and went to war at fourteen, drove the enemy back a thousand miles at twenty, making them dare not invade again, and at twenty-six gained power over the imperial court, was appointed Grand General, and enfeoffed as Duke of Yan.

This cold-faced King of Hell had no weakness. He had always killed anyone who stood in his way, whether gods or Buddhas. His one insignificant attachment was the daughter of his late maternal uncle.

Feng Xiang, Feng Jia'er, had been abducted by villains at the age of four.

When they found her, she had been ruined beyond recognition.

Her eyes flirted when she spoke. When serving tea, she unconsciously bent her supple waist toward people, and her fingertips brushed against their chests as if by chance. Her shameless, obsequious seduction had all the vulgar mannerisms of a brothel girl.

Gu An Nian devoted immense effort to setting her straight and restoring her as a refined young lady of a distinguished family: dignified and gentle, graceful and composed. He even honored his uncle's wishes and renewed the childhood betrothal arranged for her with the Yao family.

But whenever the matchmaker came to sound him out, he avoided meeting them.

At first, he thought he was simply too busy with official duties and didn't want to be bothered by trivial matters. But that family dared to go behind his back and arrange a private meeting between the two of them.

Gu An Nian watched from the shadows as Feng Jia'er smiled warmly and brightly at that brat. His jaw instantly tightened, and he accidentally crushed a piece of white jade in his hand.

Jia'er hadn't smiled at him in a long time...

Whenever she was with him, she kept her head lowered and said nothing, as quiet as a celadon vase tucked into a corner.

Gu An Nian regretted his decision. He was mad with jealousy.

.

Another rainy night.

Feng Xiang relaxed her waist and danced gracefully before a full-length bronze mirror. Gu An Nian appeared behind her silently. Feng Xiang jumped, immediately stopped, lowered her head, and softly called to him: Elder Brother...

Gu An Nian gripped her supple waist and pressed her against the mirror. His deep, shadowy gaze met hers through the glass, and he corrected her, word by word: Cousin.

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Theme: Live like wild grass.