Chapter 1

I never expected that the adjutant I had been passionately entangled with for years would turn out to be the imposing young major general from South City.

Even more unexpected was his daily icy demeanor, all for the sake of Song Lian, willing to lower himself to be my adjutant for five years.

He left me numerous times to save Song Lian from danger, yet I remained indifferent, naïvely believing that love could melt a millennium-old iceberg.

Until that day, when he relieved his desires with a photo of Song Lian, that heart which always beat wildly for him finally died.

I resolutely married his sworn enemy!

But when my wedding announcement was published in the local paper, he pressed a gun to his forehead, threatening to die.

He begged me, saying, "Don't marry."

...

When I placed the red bean cakes Xue Jinwen wanted at the doorstep in the night rain, I heard repressed and intimate sounds from inside.

Then, I saw Xue Jinwen clutching a photo, with a blush on his usually icy face.

One hand moving below, eyes tightly shut, his voice hoarse and tender:

"Lian'er... I love you."

Seeing the woman in the white dress in the photo, I felt struck by lightning.

That was my father's illegitimate daughter, my half-sister Song Lian.

Unlike my aggressively striking beauty, Song Lian always smiled with innocence.

I could never have linked her with the defiant Xue Jinwen.

But Xue Jinwen hid more from me than just this; after he finished, he connected a call to the General Mansion.

"Lian'er has lived a difficult life, pursuing her rashly would frighten her; accompanying her like this is just fine."

"Song Zhiwei? She can't compare to even a single eyelash of Lian'er's."

"I became her adjutant just to see Lian'er often."

I then learned he was actually the young major general who ruled South City!

He became the Song Family's adjutant in his pursuit of Song Lian.

I let out a bitter smile, put down the red bean cake, and turned to leave.

Father sat in the main hall with a cold face, blind to my aura of chill and desolation, his eyes only filled with disgust and reproach.

"Where have you been fooling around again?"

I raised my eyes to meet his, parting my lips slightly:

"Five thousand silver coins, and I'll marry off Song Lian to that cripple."

The temperature in the main hall dropped suddenly, and father's veins popped, yet he held back his anger: "Lian'er is your sister, how can you trade her with me like this?"

I felt like I heard the biggest joke, "Sister? I don't have the habit of forging ties with illegitimate children."

"You!" He raised his hand to strike my face.

I looked at him with cold contempt, and his large hand halted in mid-air.

"Five thousand silver coins, buying your daughter's happiness for the rest of her life, is a bargain. Otherwise, you'll just have to watch Song Lian marry that cripple from the Xie Family right before your eyes?"

Xie Zhaochuan is the most illustrious heir of the Xie Family in North City, a prominent figure in both military and political circles.

For some reason, he looked favorably upon the small Song Family for an alliance by marriage, and father gladly accepted the marriage proposal.

But as the wedding day approached, Xie Zhaochuan got injured on the battlefield, becoming comatose and incapacitated.

Father couldn't bear to let his precious Song Lian suffer, so he finally thought of me, his other daughter.

"Fine! I'll give you five thousand silver coins, and you'll marry in place of Lian'er!"

A line of clear tears fell from the corner of my eye as I suppressed my sobs:

"Since father is so generous, then you can give Xue Jinwen to your precious Song Lian as well."

Father looked at me like I was crazy, "Weren't you the one who loved Xue Jinwen the most? How could you bear to give him to Lian'er?"

Xue Jinwen's name felt like a sharp thorn piercing my heart, making it hard to breathe.

At seventeen, just one glance and I fell hopelessly in love with him.

For five years, I almost exhausted every means to flirt with him.

But he remained unmoved, always with a cold face, respectfully calling me 'Miss'.

Back then, I thought that voice was extremely pleasant.

But just now he said: I can't even compare to a single eyelash of Song Lian'er!