5.3 – It was like a knife stabbing through his heart
translator: xiin
editor: BlueBug & alamerysl
Zhenguo General’s Manor’s first owner was not Zhan Shaoxi, but rather his grandfather. The old General spent his entire life was in war, and even died in battle in his latter years. Members of his family all joined the army. Often, they were the last of their family line, but they still did not hesitate to go into battle and die.
Zhan Shaoxi’s father was also this way. In order to prevent the Emperor from becoming wary, he remained at the border and even kept his son with him. It wasn’t until his death that the teenager was returned to the General’s Manor. He surrendered all military power to the Emperor and only asked that the Emperor would not turn his jealousy onto the General’s Manor so that his son could grow up peacefully and happily.
It was precisely because of this that the honor and favor of the Zhenguo General’s Manor had never faded. Whenever a General died, he was followed by another General. Even if every time, they did not want their son to follow their own path, they ultimately could not avoid it. Zhan Shaoxi had grown up on the border, and he knew how bad the situation there was. So, he had was not in awe of the Emperor. If the Emperor did not only know how to sit on that high position and ignore everything else, uncaring if the soldiers on the front lines were killed or injured, and could never see anything beyond the power he held in his hands, his family would not have declined to the point where Zhan Shaoxi was the only one left.
Now, the Emperor gave him the title of General just to stop the public’s words and prevent himself from being accused of harassing meritorious officials. In fact, Zhan Shaoxi had no real power in his hands. In addition, the Emperor had given him his favorite Royal Princess’ hand in marriage. If he was not overwhelmed with gratefulness towards the Emperor, the civil servants would probably write him to death.
Being overwhelmed with gratefulness, huh…
Zhan Shaoxi turned his head back to look at the person who was following behind him, and thought that the only thing the Emperor had done right in his life was probably to give the Royal Princess to him.
In fact, the status of Zhenguo General’s Manor in the past was somewhat awkward. They were a military family with a fairly honest disposition and never joined forces to seize power or anything of the like. They devoted themselves to war. There were many heroes in the family, but they were scarce.
Xue Ling bowed as he apologized to the ranks of ancestors and patriarchs. When Zhan Shaoxi met him in this life, there would probably be no more issues about inheritance. The family line would most likely end with this generation, but Xue Ling did not feel guilty at all.
After praying to their ancestors and meeting with the elders in the family. It was already time for lunch.
Xue Ling did not specifically state that he would eat alone in order to anger Zhan Shaoxi, and merely returned to his room after coldly and indifferently finishing the meal. He never made any eye contact with the great General the entire time, and barely looked at him at all. It made the General unbearably grieved and anxious, but he also could not put aside his dignity. He didn’t eat much during the meal, and his face was ** as he watched Xue Ling leave.
In the afternoon, the deputy general noticed that the General was in low spirits and was rather curious. “General, did you strain yourself too much last night?” The General was newly married, and he could only come up with such a guess. “Indeed, you just married. I shouldn’t have disturbed your private time with the Royal Princess with these official duties.”
With a bitter laugh, Zhan Shaoxi replied, “It would be great if we could be intimate.” His resignation really surprised the deputy general. The General had always been able to control his emotions, and this was the first time he had ever complained. With his face full of helplessness, he finally looked more like how someone his age should.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
The General was a young man who had just gotten married, and there was no need to look like an old and steady man all the time.
“Oh. Although I don’t know what kind of worries the General has, your subordinate is willing to do anything to help.” The deputy general was middle-aged. After watching him grow up over the years, he was somewhat enthusiastic that he could finally act like an elder for once.
“You…” Zhan Shaoxi looked at him hesitantly, pressed his lips together, and finally opened his mouth. “How should you deal with it if you’ve upset your wife?”
The deputy general raised his eyebrows. He wondered how the newly married couple had already quarreled on the second day. But, looking at the general’s appearance, didn’t it seem as though he was really beginning to care about the Royal Princess? “Then you need to see why she is unhappy. You and your wife are newly married, and some compromises will always need to be made. Yesterday was also the first time you met, and it’s normal if your characters clash. The Royal Princess grew up in the palace and has been loved and cherished by His Majesty since childhood. Although there has never been any bad rumor of her being arrogant and domineering, she is still a proud daughter of heaven. The General must not be angry with her directly. Girls are meant to be coaxed.”
It was unknown whether Zhan Shaoxi had heard the key point in his words, but his face was tight for a good while before he earnestly told the deputy general, “She’s very good.”
Deputy general: “Ah?”
The great General stressed: “She is very good, not arrogant or domineering at all. She looks very small, and her wrist is very thin, I’m always afraid that if I use too much strength, I’ll hurt her.” He meant that he did not dare to lift a hand against Xue Ling, but the deputy automatically came to another meaning. For a moment, his face was twisted with laughter.
He patted the General on the shoulder. “I can’t give you any advice on this. You’d better think it over by yourself.”
It would be better for an outsider like him not to be involved in bedroom affairs. It appeared that the couple had argued because of this kind of matter. The General was in the prime of his life; it was very normal.
If Xue Ling discovered what his thoughts were, he would probably give Zhan Shaoxi a severe scolding.
This was pedophilia! This man was really going further and further along this abnormal path, wanting to make a move!
The innocent great General: “…” ???
The Princess’ grand wedding was naturally held on the most beautiful spring day. In this season, the temperature in the Capital was especially suitable for napping. Xue Ling made up for the last night’s sleepless night and did not wake up until late afternoon.
It was still bright outside, and after eating the afternoon tea sent over from the kitchen, Xue Ling ordered the maids around him to withdraw and entered his rooms under the guise of practicing calligraphy.
In fact, he just wanted to discover any holes in the plot, make preparations to rob the heroine of her golden fingers, and wreck her encounters with the various men.
The first two people that the female protagonist had met when she came to the world were the Crown Prince and General Zhan. She had been robbed in the busy market, and General Zhan had thrown out a hidden weapon from the teahouse in order to catch the thieves. She used her assassin’s skills to find General Zhan and thank him, making the General who had thought he had seamlessly performed his ** feel a little awkward and curious about the woman.
She met the Crown Prince because of business. Normally, royal children were not allowed to do business, but the fight for the throne required money, so the Crown Prince had many underground industries. When the heroine first came to the world, the lofty Gongqin Palace did not even provide her with money to help with her mother’s sickness, and so the female protagonist no choice but to make a living by herself. Firstly, she aimed at the market for things that women would need, and made a lot of skin care products. The result was not bad, and they sold very well in the Capital.
In order to find support for herself and prevent others from robbing her, she took the initiative to find the Crown Prince’s forces and expressed her willingness to cooperate with extremely open conditions, which caught the interest of His Highness the Prince who had just happened to be there that day on some business. Later, they cooperated and built a lot of money-making industries. The Crown Prince held her in high esteem, and slowly began to fall in love with such a clever woman.
It was only after learning of the Crown Prince’s identity that the heroine met man number two, because man number two was the Prince’s strategic advisor, who worked under the Prince. After the heroine had gained the Prince’s trust, he let man number two deal with the heroine’s business, and it was because of this that the two of them gradually became acquainted. He also began to develop feelings for such an unusual woman.
In the meantime, the heroine also saved a badly injured teenager in an alley, using medical skills from her previous life to heal his wounds. From then on, this naive and cheerful teenager who could both act cute and fight with incredible power became a loyal puppy that silently stayed by her side to guard her. The teenager had already had very good moves, and after being taken in by the female protagonist and trained for a while, he could even fight against the top master of the country, Zhan Shaoxi. The General was intrigued, and after they sparred, he discovered that the best martial arts master was actually the heroine. At this moment, he began to develop an interest and started paying attention to her.
These four men were the four male protagonists that showed up in the early part of the plot. Later, the Crown Prince ascended the throne and General Zhang went out to fight while man number two became the Prime Minister. The heroine finally had time to leave the capital and wander, so she took advantage of the fact that the three of them were too busy trying to earn her affections to attend to other things in order to run off and explore the martial arts world.
On the way, she met a wealthy businessman, became his confidant, saved the founder of a demonic sect, and made the other party almost turn into a demon for her. After that, she went to a neighboring country and attracted the attention of the neighboring country’s tyrannical Emperor. All of a sudden, these seven men revolved around her, each of whom had great influence. It was not wrong at all to say that this woman could bring disaster to the world.
After finishing the plot line, Xue Ling touched the goose bumps that had erupted all over his body. He admired the heroine a lot, because it had only been after he carefully looked through the story that he discovered that this not only was this a story targeted for women, it was also a reverse harem with multiple relationships and **. While developing relationships with all seven men and getting together with all of them, the heroine still managed to keep everyone happy, and nobody broke up. The entire article was full of romance and **, and it was unclear whether this had been written for girls, or men.
After calculating the time, Xue Ling found that at this point, the heroine should have already met the Crown Prince and Zhan Shaoxi. She would soon ‘accidentally’ meet the small loyal puppy, who coincidentally was a young Prince from the neighboring Xia Country. He had left the country because of struggles at the court, and after he grew up, he went back to the palace and finally became the Emperor of Xia Country in order to compete with the other men for the heroine.
“System, do you know where the heroine picked him up? Let’s go ahead of her and grab him first.”
“Of course.” It was not difficult for the system to determine the appropriate time and place, but it was a little embarrassed and really wanted to ask its great host: Aren’t you already married as somebody’s wife? Will that man of yours really not get angry if you bring back a boy?
Xue Ling did not care about what Zhan Shaoxi would think. No matter how angry he got, he wouldn’t choke him to death.
So, in order to purposefully deepen the estrangement between himself and Zhan Shaoxi, he must definitely pick up the little loyal puppy.
It was not until early evening when the sky had already darkened that a maid knocked on the door and asked if Xue Ling planned to have dinner. Xue Ling put aside his brush as he had more or less completed his plan, turned to leave the study and ordered dinner to be served in his rooms.
Yes, the wedding room has been tacitly been taken over by Xue Ling. As for that other man, Her Highness the Royal Princess expressed that since the General’s Manor was so big anyway, he could live wherever he wanted. In any case, that man should not even consider entering his rooms for the time being.
With this in mind, he stepped into the room and came face to face with the black-faced General who was sitting in the central seat.
“Where have you been?” He had been waiting for his wife here for almost half an hour, and had not seen so much as a shadow. The maids all said she was practicing calligraphy in the study, and Zhan Shaoxi could not just rush over to see her. After all, he had nothing to say to the other party, and simply wanted to spend time together.
Well, there was nothing wrong with staying with one’s wife, right?
Xue Ling was surprised to see him, but he didn’t pay much attention to it. His footsteps hesitated slightly before he slowly sat down in a chair and washed his hands in the basin that a maid had brought over. Then, he spoke as he wiped his hands, “Great General must have a host of problems to deal with every day. How come you have time to appear in my courtyard?”
Zhan Shaoxi’s gaze followed the movement of the cloth that he used to wipe his hands, wishing he could go up and replace the cloth to lick his pure white fingertips, but his expression remained icy as usual. “I came to accompany you for dinner.”
Xue Ling wrinkled his brows and said with amusement, “Honorable General first asked me to know my place, but came over once again to put on a play. Could it be that you are afraid I’ll go and tell my brother that you are not treating me sincerely?”
Just as Zhan Shaoxi wanted to defend himself, he heard her voice continue coolly, “Actually, you don’t have to do this. I won’t say anything outside.”
He kept his gaze locked on Zhan Shaoxi’s as he spoke, and every phrase seemed like a knife mercilessly stabbing him straight in the heart. “As you said, you just need me to be a decorative wife, and I am very willing to be one, too. Everyone has their own reasons, and the General has no need to give this false concern.”
Zhan Shaoxi opened his mouth and could not say anything. He only felt a terrible pain in his chest as he clenched his hand into a tight fist, his nails puncturing his palm.
xiin: by this point, i started to feel bad for the ML…
on a more TL-y note, the author uses ‘she’ and ‘he’ when referring to Xue Ling throughout the entire arc. the inconsistency is probably a POV thing, so we’ve tried to keep it in. hope that helps with some of the confusion!
alamerysl: Lol MC gives no mercy. ML beware! You’ve angered your wifey and must pay!
Thank you for the chapter! 💕
Aww nooo the poor ML ^^’ XD lol I kinda feel bad for him but I’m also looking forward to how Xue Ling will make him jealous and stuff xD thanks for the chapter 😀
Am I the only one who doean’t feel bad for him??
I mean, he did say on the night of his (arranged) wedding (that neither one wanted) that he liked someone else and he told his newly wife to know her place 😒 – they both didn’t want this union but the wife was the one who was forced to live in another foreign place AND this must feel like an humiliation – you reap what you sow, mate \o/
Unless he doesn’t clear up the situatiom first, I don’t see why Xue Ling must be nice and warm with him :v
I feel the same way! Let him suffer some more! Also, I still can’t get over how badly the original General and heroine treated the Princess….. I really want the heroine of this arc to get face-slapped for what she did to that poor ‘princess’! In hue of the General’s soul being changed, I’ll settle for seeing in seeth in jealousy instead~
Well, i don’t like the words he said, ‘decorative wife’ and ‘u should know ur place, dang, it hurt me even when i know that is the script. But, he’s still not apologized 😥 ..
So, i don’t feel bad 🤣 poor u ML 😂
I like how ML is being bullied by his wife~ that’s what you get for being as ass. 😂
But obviously they both had their own reasons for getting married, the princess would’ve refused him too. It’s just that he acted first, and ended up getting burnt. Honestly, from his perspective, if he had no intention of falling in love it’s better to be upfront than string the other party along. And since we know it’s the ML’s soul, it’s ridiculous and petty that MC is being so cruel.
also, there’s being upfront and then there’s being needlessly cruel, and telling your new spouse “know your place” (= ‘don’t even think of trying to get close to me because i don’t respect you as an equal’) is definitely the latter. he doesn’t even seem to have done any of the traditional ceremonies like taking off his wife’s hair ornaments for her, which is definitely a deliberate humiliation power play.
is it petty of MC to act this way? well, MC has established himself as kind of a vindictive jerk who doesn’t work to get justice for the original hosts (like CXC from Don’t Pick Up Boyfriends from the Trash Bin does, for example) but instead seems to take anything that happened to the host as a personal attack on himself and gets a real kick out of destroying his opponents, so petty is perfectly in character.
You’re ridiculous for thinking like that, the og princess doesn’t have any choice in this matter so saying things like that is ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS, that general putting all the blame to his head n in the end he died miserably when he’s not even the one in the wrong, i really wanna tear your face down 😤
And he didn’t even apologize for saying cruel things like that n start demanding this n that, he ABSOLUTELY deserves that cold shoulder Xue Ling gave him
And I’m proud of Xue Ling, affirming his position while guilt-tripping (does that even exist) the ML 😚
General – who apparently is Monday but also Thursday?? Did he fall in love after the saving with the teahouse or after the martial arts thing??? What the hell is happening with the plot’s chronology *inserts Steve Harvey’s confused face
Even if I read all the accomplishments of the ‘heroine’ NSW, I still can’t understand 😒 Kudos to Xue Ling for understanding tho!
I’m so excited about the loyal puppy, I love those types of people (with or without romance) 😍
LET THE VINEGAR FALL \o/ 💕
Thanks for your hard work ❤
Falling vinegar… Vinegar rain? XD
Acid rain is the best rain to get revenge >:3
Eh, he deserves it… although maybe I feel a little bad… 🤔
I dont know about that BUT!!! He sould not have act that pridefull in front of person he likes even though he already have that person
Thanks for translating! Hahahahah Hubby can just wait to eat vinegar in the next chapter when XL adopts that dude! ╮(╯▽╰)╭
And that’s what happens if you anger your wifey, folks! (˘︶˘).｡.:*♡ thanks for the chapter~~ what a great way to end the day… Zzz…
Thanks for the chapter
thanks 4 the chapter………
Hi, ya.
Yes yes yes! I want to see the rise of XL’s harem! Haha. Can’t wait to see ML choking on a vat of vinegar. Thank you for the translation!
ML would totally kill them all >_>
Noooo, I’ll take the puppy D:
hahaha well he’ll show up soon and you can steal him then ~
lol wow, he is merciless, i like it
ML ends up as a kicked dog, while XL has planned to get a loyal dog, that he choked on ML, and if so he reacts and starts apologizing for being an idiot on his wedding night
Thanks for the chapter! 💕💕💕
ML, you just need to apologise and then you can spoil MC to your heart’s content! ML is a dummy lol.
Thanks for the chapter!
As they say, ” A Happy wife is A Happy Life” 😂😂😂
Thank you for the update and your hard work 😊. I don’t know how I feel about MC and ML right now.
Thanks for the chapter!
thanks for the chapter! i feel like a sadist for enjoying the suffering of ML xDDD
😂 shouldn’t have angered mc
How did she get robbed if she is on par in martial skill as ML?
(✖╭╮✖)
And, to think I can’t hate this white lotus more.
I’m considering writing a Chinese transmigration fic (pfffft, a first) on Maas books to forking slapped her avatar and end her with extreme prejudice.
Ahhh. Morning rants, the best.
😋😋😋😋😋
Thanks XIIN.
OMG yess!! If you write a fanfic I’ll be your fan.
I read so many books where the heroin is described as “brave, smart, good and generous the best and so on” and she a waste of space! Only thing she’s good at is screaming and to be saved! All the time is frickin saved by someone. Or someone it’s doing something to help her and resolve her problems. I’ve gone off topic. But I hate this type of white lotus. Instead I love faceslaping. So little Fox you better put this “assassin whore” (can’t move on from 7 man! It’s 7!! Sorry about my language) in her place.
I hope the ML won’t blacken at this point… Constantly being treated coldly~ He needs to start pursuing the MC quickly!! Cheer up your wife~ Thanks for the chapter~
Lil demon 😂
Thanks for the great translation 😁♥️♥️
The heroine has a broad range of taste in men＼(￣▽￣;)
Thank you for the chapter! ❤
Poor ML, I’m so sorry… That heroine is pretty amazing, damn! What a range of men lol
Thank you for your hard work! Can’t wait for more! (๑ↀᆺↀ๑)✧
show no mercy baby, make him regret saying stupid things
(even tho that kinda wasnt him and all with the souls stuff but like gROVEL)
Nuuuuu, I feel bad for ML.
Haha, I can almost imagine a bullwhip in the hands of Princess Xue Ling, as he steps on the General.
i don’t jnow the meaning of ( ** ) in the statement above.
Thank you for the chapter ❤❤❤
How do these transmigration protagonists always know how to make things like skin care products and guns even though they may be from completely different professions? Just because you use them doesn’t mean you know how to make them! 🤣
HEHE * cold sneer *
Obviously it’s written for guys, girls with hate horny bitches like her
How does a fucking assassin know how to make medicine?? and how did an assassin get robbed and how did she even know how to make skin skin care product?? How to several real rulers of a country stand each other and willing to share a girl?? Boi, if that’s ever a real book, I’m just going to say the author it is satisfying a dream that will never come true
Every novel world in this story is pretty trash tbh, even more unreal when the system claims the novels has readers who root for the toxic or ridiculous protagonists 🤣🤣🤣🤣
I guess (just guess, don’t angry at me) Alamerysl is alittle devil hmmmm~~
(Just look his note)🌚
Poor ML.
Thank you so much for the chapter!(๑´>᎑<)~❤
Yes MC bully the ML more until he opens his damned mouth and apologize 🤣🤣
Estoy reprimiendo mi risa con ganas, realmente no quiero dormir QAQ
Well.you cannot expext ur wife to forgive you,especially a princess told that she would just be a decorative wife.i would smack and beat him up
Poor ML but yeah, torturing you first before you can eat tofu is way better than being forgiven easily. Good luck on being a grovel master in this lifetime, man. ROFL
Thanks for the chapter 🥰
The way he’s concerned about pedophilia and not incest 😆. Yes, yes I know it’s fiction. Our mc is just~
Lol he felt so wronged. Deserveeed haha