Pei Liang had originally thought that she would have to wait several more days, until her wedding leave was over and she returned to court, before she could see the extraordinary General Liu again.
Then again, rare things were precious. A handsome man with such solid muscles was not particularly uncommon in an ordinary world, but in a world dominated by women, he was practically a rarity.
Especially since, even by ordinary-world standards, General Liu was still an exceptionally striking man with a distinctive charm. Naturally, he was all the more precious in Pei Liang’s eyes.
And setting his looks aside, General Liu had relied on his own ability to achieve illustrious military victories and rise to the highest ranks in a feudal society constrained by countless restrictions.
That talent and courage alone were enough to earn Pei Liang’s respect.
From the day she first met him, she had naturally wanted to become friends with him.
At that moment, Prince Liang sat atop a tall horse. With a smile on her face, an air of nobility about her, and a bold, dashing bearing, her entire person radiated a brilliance so dazzling it was almost painful to look at.
Even General Liu needed quite some time to recover his senses.
The appearance of Prince Liang seemed to intrude forcibly upon the thoughts that had just occupied his mind, inexplicably leaving him feeling guilty and bashful.
Realizing that he had lost his composure, General Liu hurriedly clasped one fist in the other and saluted. “Your Highness, Prince Liang.”
Pei Liang waved a hand. “There’s no need for such formalities. General Liu, what are you doing here?”
By the time they had left the Eastern Palace, it was already quite late. The Crown Princess had even tried to coax them into staying for dinner.
There were so many rules in the palace that a single meal took an enormous amount of time. Even if they rested for a while afterward, they would either have to leave after dark or simply spend the night in the palace.
Since they had only left at this hour, and it was a considerable distance from the palace to here, it was naturally almost time for dinner.
Most of the restaurants and taverns along both sides of the street had already begun preparing their evening meals. The peddlers carrying their wares were eager to lower their prices and clear out the day’s stock, while pedestrians were all making plans to return home.
Yet General Liu showed no intention of going home at all, which was rather unusual.
By rights, he had only returned home yesterday. He should still have been enjoying the warmth of being reunited with his family.
At Prince Liang’s question, General Liu’s face took on an awkward expression that clearly suggested he did not wish to discuss it.
“I lost track of time while wandering about. I was just about to return home.”
“Is that so?” Pei Liang said. “But this prince sees that General Liu appears rather troubled. Have you encountered some sort of difficulty?”
General Liu was startled.
Pei Liang continued, “General Liu, you are a pillar of the nation, the foundation upon which Great Liang stands. Having returned to the capital to receive your honors, you ought to be enjoying boundless glory and prestige.”
“Why, then, do you look so dejected? If there is something difficult to speak of, General Liu may tell this prince.”
As she spoke, Prince Liang’s eyes carried an imposing, commanding force. “As far as this prince is concerned, anyone or anything that hinders General Liu and prevents him from smiling on a day of such honor is nothing but utter rubbish.”
General Liu’s heart trembled. He raised his head to look at Prince Liang and saw that her expression was solemn and earnest, her conviction absolute.
That attitude warmed General Liu’s heart. Even if a family member’s good intentions made one uncomfortable, they still deserved some consideration.
In the end, he shook his head. “Thank you, Your Highness. This subject is fine. It is only that I have been away for many years, and after returning today, I could not help feeling that everything had changed.”
Pei Liang knew at once that this was merely a polite excuse.
But there was nothing she could do about it. One glance at General Liu was enough to tell her that he was not the sort of man accustomed to relying on others.
If he possessed even the slightest weakness of that kind, he could never have achieved what he had today.
Moreover, she was merely a prince whom he had met once before. If such a person suddenly showed him favor in the middle of the street, it was only natural that a military man like him would be suspicious.
Pei Liang did not mind. Since that was what she thought, she would simply make her position clear first.
Thus, she smiled. “Then General Liu should return home soon. Your family may already have prepared dinner and be waiting for you.”
Her gaze then fell upon him again, and she noticed that General Liu was dressed rather flamboyantly today.
Unlike yesterday, when he had been clad in armor and was difficult to identify as either man or woman, today’s attire made his gender unmistakable.
But if Pei Liang was being honest, the outfit did not suit him very well.
With his build and bearing, he was naturally better suited to something restrained and simple. But today’s outfit… How should she put it? It emphasized the quality of “softness” far too much.
The clothes were peach-pink, the color most favored by young, unmarried men these days. It was not that a dark-skinned, handsome man could not pull off such a flamboyant shade of pink.
It was simply that wearing it required a great deal of attention to design and tailoring.
However, clothes of this sort had originally been designed for those sheltered young men who rarely ventured beyond their inner courtyards—boys with delicate, fair skin and bodies that had yet to fully mature.
It went without saying how jarring they looked on General Liu.
Calling it jarring was already Pei Liang’s biased assessment, thanks to the favorable impression she had of General Liu. In the eyes of everyone else in this world, General Liu at that moment looked practically like a six-and-a-half-foot-tall giant wearing a pink maid’s dress.
Everyone who passed him on the road either suffered a sudden jolt, their eyes widening like copper bells, or pointed at him and whispered as though they were looking at some monster. A few especially sharp-tongued men even gathered at a distance, speaking in low voices while repeatedly glancing in General Liu’s direction.
He usually kept a low profile and had not revealed that he was a first-rank official. Even so, the fact that a woman who was obviously of extraordinary status—Prince Liang—had stopped to speak with him, and appeared to treat him with considerable courtesy, made it clear that this muscular man was no ordinary person. The onlookers quickly restrained themselves and no longer dared to stare at him rudely.
General Liu had long since grown accustomed to being examined like a monster and hearing malicious gossip.
He was just about to thank Prince Liang and bid her farewell when he noticed her gaze fall upon his clothes.
Even though he had learned to ignore other people’s looks while out in public, at that moment General Liu felt as though he had been stripped naked.
A flush appeared on his slightly dark skin. His expression grew visibly anxious, as though he wished he could cover Prince Liang’s eyes or vanish from before her in an instant.
What would she think of him? He looked like this, yet he had insisted on dressing himself up like some delicate, beautiful young man, all bright colors and finery.
Would she think he was strange?
When Prince Liang’s gaze finally moved away from him, General Liu breathed a sigh of relief. At the same time, however, an inexplicable sense of disappointment welled up inside him.
Just as he thought—
Pei Liang glanced at the small stall beside General Liu. It happened to sell handmade ornaments, scented handkerchiefs, embroidered shoes, and similar items.
Her eyes immediately settled on a belt.
The belt was simple in style and dark gray, without a single unnecessary decoration. Most married men would probably consider it too plain.
Pei Liang bought it on the spot and handed it to General Liu with a smile. “Try it on?”
Pei Liang herself saw nothing improper about the gesture. She had only been in this world for a few days, and the men she had encountered were either men who had slept with the original owner…
Or men she had dared to openly flirt with. As for Su Yue, who had avoided the original owner as though she were a flood or a savage beast, he had even stripped completely naked in front of her last night because of various circumstances.
So although she clearly understood that this was a world where women held power and men held a lower status, she had no real grasp of the practical boundaries imposed by the separation of men and women.
In Pei Liang’s eyes, she was merely giving him a belt. But according to the customs of this world, it was no different from giving a member of the opposite sex a piece of underwear—
As for actually giving someone underwear? Sorry, but in ancient times that would count as an obscene act. It was something only married couples were permitted to do.
Thus, General Liu’s face turned red as if he had suddenly been scalded.
Prince Liang was still holding the belt and urging him on. “General Liu?”
Thinking that the other man disliked the belt for being too plain and ordinary, she added with a smile, “Don’t worry. Trust my taste.”
General Liu’s face was flushed crimson. Fortunately, his dark complexion made it less noticeable. Even though the hand that could calmly and steadily take an enemy commander’s head in battle was now trembling slightly as he accepted the belt, he felt as though he had been forced into the role of a duck being driven onto a chopping block.
At the other’s urging, he wrapped it around his robes.
The two colors unexpectedly complemented each other quite well.
That small change alone made it look at least somewhat better than before. The sash he had been wearing was embroidered with ornate, delicate floral patterns, making it exceptionally conspicuous. Replacing it with a plain-colored sash made him look far less peculiar.
General Liu looked up and found himself meeting Prince Liang’s confident smile.
“How is it? My sense of aesthetics has always been quite good.”
Her words suddenly reminded General Liu of how she had described him in front of her attendants the day before.
Strong, sensual, one of a kind.
General Liu had been unable to sleep much that night because of those words. Prince Liang was a member of the imperial family, and she had been speaking privately with one of her attendants. If not for his hearing being far sharper than an ordinary person’s, he would never have been able to hear her.
She could not have merely been offering him polite praise.
If this was truly how Prince Liang saw him, then all he could say was that her sense of aesthetics was rather unusual. Even someone like him—
That night, General Liu had mocked himself repeatedly, while also being unable to suppress the stirrings in his heart—the first such flutter in more than twenty years.
But now, it seemed that her taste was in fact excellent. She was not someone with a particular preference for strange-looking things.
Prince Liang continued, “Actually, if General Liu prefers lighter colors, pale blue should suit you very well.”
She looked into his eyes as though she were admiring a pair of precious jewels. “A pale blue as beautiful as General Liu’s eyes.”
“Then if we used a slightly darker blue for the edging or decorations, it would certainly bring out the general’s beauty and charm.”
General Liu was standing right there, with a physique that made him unafraid of anyone. Prince Liang was still two arm lengths away from him.
And yet, at that moment, he felt as though he had been backed into a corner, overwhelmed by an unfamiliar sense of shame and helplessness.
His face was already as red as it could possibly be, and his heart was pounding wildly. His conviction that he was ugly was deeply ingrained.
He also knew perfectly well that, given Prince Liang’s noble status and striking appearance, she could not possibly be unaware of the fact that someone as ugly as him—
He knew it very clearly, yet he still could not stop his heart from fluttering. He was elated by her praise and admiration.
General Liu felt that he was nothing more than an ugly freak indulging in a daydream—shameless and utterly lacking in self-awareness.
Even so, he quietly thanked Prince Liang and put away the belt he had no right to accept. “Thank you for the gift, Your Highness.”
Pei Liang smiled. “If something like this is considered a gift, then the Pei family would be far too stingy toward the heroes who guard the empire’s borders.”
As she was speaking, a young servant came running over.
“Young Master, so this is where you were! You had me searching everywhere.”
Only after saying this did he notice Prince Liang and her entourage. The moment he looked up and saw the handsome woman sitting atop her horse, his face immediately reddened.
He did not even dare to offer a proper greeting, merely saying in a low voice, “Young Master, Miss Du has already arrived. She’s waiting for you.”
General Liu was instantly dragged back from his dream and doused with a bucket of cold water. His expression visibly turned distant.
He said coolly, “Mm. I know.”
Seeing how indifferent he was, the servant grew anxious. “Young Master, you can’t refuse to go. Otherwise, Master will punish me.”
General Liu had left home to join the army when he was young. Now that seven or eight years had passed, he naturally did not have any close, devoted personal attendants at home.
The people who had served him as a child had long since married. This servant had only recently been assigned to his household. He was lively and still had the temperament of a child, and was afraid of being punished if he failed to carry out his orders.
General Liu had no intention of making things difficult for a child. He was just about to agree when Prince Liang asked, “Du? Which Du family?”
General Liu suddenly felt somewhat embarrassed and guilty, but Prince Liang was waiting for an answer, so he had no choice but to reply, “The family of former Minister of Works Du.”
“Oh?” Pei Liang’s expression turned rather peculiar.
What a small world. Wasn’t this the Du family of Fang Jiu’s former fiancée?
Pei Liang was no fool. She had already known that General Liu’s claim of merely wandering around had been an excuse. Now, hadn’t the mystery been solved?
So he had dressed himself up in this especially delicate outfit to meet a prospective bride.
In this era, marriages between men and women were generally arranged after the elders of the two families discussed the matter and met with each other. Who among the parties involved would rush to meet directly like this?
Setting aside the fact that General Liu held a high position and did not need to pay as much attention to the usual restrictions between men and women, perhaps he wanted to decide his own marriage—
Pei Liang looked at General Liu. His expression clearly conveyed both embarrassment and unwillingness. It was obvious that he had been forced into this.
If this had been what he wanted, the servant would not have looked so worried about him standing someone up.
That meant this had been a joint decision by both families.
According to the original novel, although there were many people in Young Master Liu’s household and conflicts were inevitable, his parents and elders genuinely cared about him.
Besides, General Liu had only just returned home, when everyone’s affection for him was still fresh. There was no reason for them to mistreat their own son.
In that case, whose idea this was went without saying.
Pei Liang immediately dismounted and said to Red Sleeve, Green Garment, and the others, “Escort my husband back to the residence first. I’ll return shortly.”
Red Sleeve and Green Garment exchanged puzzled glances. They could not understand why their mistress was being so warm toward General Liu.
Because they had already been delayed for quite some time, even Su Yue lifted the carriage curtain and leaned out to investigate.
She then saw Prince Liang chatting amiably with a man whose appearance was unusual.
This must be General Liu, who had only just returned to the capital.
Su Yue’s mind, however, was not filled with romantic notions. She merely felt that Prince Liang was deliberately cultivating ties with military officers, and that her intentions were probably sinister.
When General Liu saw that Pei Liang intended to accompany him, he was momentarily at a loss.
Pei Liang smiled. “There’s no need for General Liu to concern himself. My husband is fond of the signature dishes at Fragrant Heights, so I’m merely stopping by to buy some.”
This was an outright lie.
For a prince, if she wanted to eat a restaurant’s signature dishes, there were plenty of people she could send to buy them. She could even order the restaurant’s chef to prepare them at the prince’s residence, and it would be nothing unusual.
Yet, for some reason, General Liu’s attention was focused entirely on the words “my husband.”
He mocked himself for the flutter in his heart just moments before, wanting to laugh it off, but discovered that he could not manage it no matter how hard he tried.
In silence, he followed behind Prince Liang until they arrived at Fragrant Heights.
Once they reached the restaurant, Pei Liang smiled at him. “General Liu, please go on ahead.”
General Liu’s servant then led him upstairs to a private room.
Several people were already seated inside: General Liu’s parents, Minister Du and his wife, and Miss Du.
Calling him Minister Du was no longer entirely appropriate, since he had already retired.
Two years earlier, he had resigned of his own accord over an oversight, preserving his dignity in the process. However, the Du family had declined considerably as a result.
Still, among officials and in-laws, connections ran deep and intertwined. The family also had sons serving in the imperial court, so a period of decline naturally meant little.
On the surface, they still maintained the dignity expected of a powerful family.
The moment former Minister Du saw General Liu, a fervent smile spread across her face.
Her husband, Master Du, on the other hand, looked every inch like a father-in-law scrutinizing his prospective son-in-law. He also seemed to know exactly how formidable General Liu was and tried desperately to conceal it, but his acting was abysmal.
Miss Du herself was even worse than her father. The instant she saw General Liu enter, she froze completely. Once she came to her senses, she looked as though she might bolt from the private room at any moment. Terror and disgust were impossible to hide from her face.
General Liu frowned. As the saying went, war tolerated no deception. He had employed countless stratagems on the battlefield. Now that he had returned to court, he might not be completely at home yet, but neither was he a fool.
Minister Du was not particularly old—only just past fifty. Among the impoverished common folk, a lifetime of toil might well have ruined a person’s health by that age.
But for pampered nobles, especially a first-rank official who had risen to the highest levels of power, this was precisely the peak of his political career.
Minister Du was certainly unwilling to retire just like that. Moreover, the Empress was nearing the end of her life. If matters were handled properly, there was still a chance that the offense she had committed before could be put behind her and that she might once again be employed by the new emperor.
To achieve that, he needed to win over more powerful political allies.
General Liu himself had rendered unparalleled military service and was now the foremost figure among the court’s military commanders. If he had been a woman, someone would ordinarily have had to pay an enormous price to win him over—and even then, success would not have been guaranteed.
But he was a man. More than that, he was an ugly man whom outsiders believed was desperate to marry.
That meant all it would take was a small sacrifice from the family’s daughter to bring into their fold a man who wielded tremendous influence at court and whom every imperial heir would surely seek to win over in the coming struggle for the throne.
General Liu sneered inwardly. The Du family’s abacus was clacking far too loudly.
But why were they so confident? They were relying on their supposedly “unique” advantage.
He was ugly. Anyone who came forward now was inevitably a petty schemer hoping to use his status and authority to rise to the heavens in one leap. As for the truly powerful families, any household with the slightest concern for its reputation would never make such an ugly display and invite ridicule.
That was precisely why the Du family stood out from the rest.
In terms of prestige, the Du family even surpassed the Liu family. Before General Liu emerged, the highest rank any member of the Liu clan had attained was merely fourth rank.
As for Miss Du, although she was known for her flirtatious ways, her overall reputation was quite good, and there was no scandalous filth in her private life.
Miss Du was fairly attractive, and at such a young age she had already attained the juren degree. No matter how one looked at it, she could be called a brilliant young talent.
With such respectable looks and qualifications, she was willing to marry the infamous ogreish freak known throughout the realm. Naturally, he ought to be overwhelmed with gratitude.
Even his parents saw it as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. After all, everything was a matter of comparison.
What sort of men had come to propose in the past?
But watching Miss Du put on an expression of stoic endurance beneath former Minister Du’s warning gaze, General Liu could only find it amusing.
The woman was so thin and frail that he could kill her with a single punch. Where had she gotten the confidence to believe that merely pinching her nose and enduring it would guarantee success?
At that moment, General Liu’s parents hurriedly beckoned him to sit down.
“Why are you so late? Everyone has been waiting for you.”
General Liu was about to make up some excuse when the pageboy who had returned with him blurted out, unable to keep anything to himself, “Young Master Liu ran into Prince Liang just now. They chatted for a while, so he was delayed.”
Everyone at the table was startled.
“Prince Liang?”
The Liu family was merely surprised. Given Prince Liang’s arrogance, who would have thought he would deign to stand in the street and chat with someone?
But the Du family’s reaction was entirely different.
Master Du asked rather urgently, “The general only returned to court yesterday. How could he already know Prince Liang?”
Prince Liang was in the middle of his wedding preparations. Could he have somehow split himself in two to come out?
General Liu frowned, clearly displeased by Master Du’s question.
He was a first-rank official who currently enjoyed the emperor’s special favor. He was entirely different from Lady Du, a disgraced former official who had lost everything.
The imposing air of someone in a superior position emerged at once. At a mere furrow of his brows, Master Du understood what he had done wrong.
His expression turned awkward. Only then did he realize that anyone capable of rising to such a position could not possibly be simple-minded—not even if his parents were shallow people desperate to marry off their son.
Master Du had once occupied a high position himself and was naturally skilled at maneuvering. Having tasted the bitterness of disgrace, he was certainly capable of bending when necessary and stretching when advantageous.
He immediately plastered on a smile.
“Please don’t take offense, General. It’s only that Prince Liang has been busy with his wedding preparations these past few days. I hadn’t expected him to become acquainted with you, so I was merely curious. I spoke out of turn—please forgive me.”
General Liu took a sip of tea and gave a noncommittal hum.
“Lady Du currently holds no official position. Though she possesses an academic degree, prying into a prince’s movements is still highly inappropriate.”
“Considering that Lady Du once served in the court and is naturally sensitive to political affairs, I will let it go this time.”
He raised his eyes and looked straight at Lady Du.
“There will not be a next time.”
Cold sweat broke out on Lady Du’s forehead. She was humiliated and furious, but could only nod and bow repeatedly as she expressed her agreement.
At the same time, she realized that trying to control General Liu through a marriage alliance alone had been far too optimistic.
She completely abandoned her earlier contempt and began treating him with the utmost caution.
It was a pity that although Lady Du was capable of bending with the times and was sly and shrewd, she had brought along two teammates who were complete fools.
General Liu’s domineering display made his own father lose all respect for him.
As a husband, he had spent his entire life confined to the inner chambers. He was no Su Yue, a talented young man with grand ambitions. No matter how respectable his background, his thoughts revolved around that small patch of domestic territory.
Now, seeing that this Liu family man was already so arrogant and lacking in restraint before even marrying, he could not help thinking: Once he married into the Du family, wouldn’t he end up riding roughshod over his parents-in-law?
Miss Du looked even more horrified. Her usually formidable mother was acting so timidly before this man. Did that mean he was even more terrifying than her mother?
And with that ogre-like face and a body more robust than any woman’s, Miss Du seized her father and desperately tugged at his sleeve.
General Liu’s parents also felt that their son had gone too far. The Du family had rare and excellent qualifications, and Miss Du was worthy of marrying even a handsome young man from a powerful household.
If they missed this opportunity, they would have no choice but to pick from a pack of ill-intentioned, ugly wretches.
Unable to contain their anxiety, General Liu’s parents spoke up.
“Look at you. Why put on that official airs in front of family?”
General Liu replied stiffly, “Mother, mind your words. This concerns the movements of a court official and the dignity of the imperial house. We should not speak so casually with people we barely know.”
His words made his attitude perfectly clear.
Master Du could no longer endure it. He let out a cold laugh.
“General Liu, my Du family invited you here in all sincerity, hoping to join our two families through marriage. And this is the humiliation we receive in return.”
“If General Liu has no intention of proceeding, you could have said so from the beginning. My daughter is not some lowborn creature lacking all self-awareness. Even if the marriage does not take place, both families can preserve their dignity. There is no need for this sort of behavior.”
“We invited your entire family here today, and our sincerity should be perfectly clear. Yet from the moment General Liu entered this room, he has done nothing but throw his weight around.”
“It’s true that the three members of our family cannot compare with a first-rank official in status and prestige. But if you think the Du family has come here to wag our tails and beg for favor, then you’ve gravely misunderstood us.”
Master Du had dared to make such a move because he had correctly gauged the Liu family’s desperation to marry off their child. With all his experience in household maneuvering, he handled the situation with ease.
A man who unquestioningly obeyed his parents’ wishes might well be unable to escape the towering constraints of ritual, filial piety, and propriety, no matter how capable he was.
But no matter how carefully she tried to gauge General Liu, a woman accustomed to managing only the inner household could never understand the will and authority of a first-rank official—someone who could not possibly allow himself to be controlled by anyone.
The Liu parents did grow somewhat anxious at this, afraid that the Du family might simply turn around and leave.
But the moment Lady Du heard that foolish man open his mouth, she nearly wished she could knock every tooth from it.
Sure enough, General Liu let out a derisive laugh and raised his teacup toward the two of them. “In that case, you’re free to leave. I won’t see you out.”
Master Du: “……”
Just like that, he had been utterly humiliated, left with no way to save face.
