Forced to Marry a Shadow Guard

Xie Jinyao, the only daughter of the Duke of Zhenguo, was famed throughout Zhou for her unparalleled beauty. Alas, beauty was no protection from fate: she had been frail and sickly since birth, coughing blood and fainting every so often.

To cure his beloved daughter, the duke searched everywhere for renowned physicians, announcing that he would give away half his fortune to anyone who could heal her.

Every doctor arrived full of confidence and left looking defeated. Not one could do anything for her.

With no doctors left to turn to, the duke began recruiting people with extraordinary skills.

An expert who claimed to be an “Immortal of Penglai” declared that if the young lady married someone with a hardy fate and borrowed his fortune, she might survive. Otherwise, she would not live to see twenty.

The birth details of the man with the hardy fate were written down, and the duke hurriedly sent people to post notices and search for him.

After searching high and low, they discovered the man was right under their noses: the bodyguard the duke had assigned to his daughter.

*

Xie Jinyao held a sword to her neck and wailed at her doting father, “I’m supposed to marry the crown prince! I’d rather die than marry some lowly servant you picked for me!”

The duke grabbed a sword too and held it to his own neck. “If you won’t marry him, I’ll die right here in front of you!”

Xie Jinyao gave in.

On their wedding night, the bodyguard took off his mask. In the flickering candlelight, his face was more exquisite than any young woman’s, with a faint mole between his brows, like a pure white jade touched by a single dot of ink.

Xie Jinyao stared, transfixed.

She had thought all the bodyguards in the residence covered their faces with black iron because they were ugly and didn’t want to offend her eyes. Who could explain why a bodyguard was this beautiful?

“You... don’t get any ideas. I’ll never fall for you. We’re only husband and wife in name.”

Right, husband and wife in name. Then who was the one who forced him to undress and consummate the marriage?