Marrying a Disabled General and be His Wife

The issue of the substitute had been resolved. The next step was to locate Feng Chilie, the swindler, and coordinate with him.

Tan Chuyan asked Yan Changfeng to prepare two carriages. He headed to the General’s Mansion to find Feng Chilie, while Ai Xia set off to locate Chu Qingyi, dressed as the rescued Tuoba Rou.

Before boarding the carriage, Tan Chuyan instructed Ai Xia not to reveal his identity. Ai Xia nodded and committed it to memory.

.

.

The General’s Mansion was not far from Ling-han Pavilion, and the carriage arrived in just a quarter of an hour.

Two guards at the entrance drew their swords to block his way and demanded, “Who in there?”

Tan Chuyan, who had been awake for a whole day and night, was slightly off-balance at this point and nearly blurted out, ‘It’s Lao Tzu (your father).’

Fortunately, he managed to restrain himself and provided his identity instead: “Tan Chuyan, here to see the general.”

Upon hearing this, one of the guards’ eyes lit up, and they exchanged glances. One of them hurried inside to report, while the other respectfully guided Tan Chuyan towards the mansion.

As they walked a few steps, Tan Chuyan overheard the guard who had gone to report excitedly exclaiming, “General, the young master has returned to renew the relationship with you!”

Tan Chuyan thought, ‘If you don’t know how to report, it’s better to just stay quiet.’

.

.

Feng Chilie hadn’t expected Tan Chuyan to arrive so quickly, so he had immersed himself in a bathtub to ease his fatigue and was now getting ready to come out.

Unwilling to go through the trouble of redressing in multiple layers, he only wore a snow-white undergarment and a cloak. He sat in a wheelchair, instructing Ji Bei to push him to meet with Tan Chuyan.

It was already dawn, and under the sunlight, the dark circles under Tan Chuyan’s eyes became particularly pronounced, making his complexion even paler.

Feng Chilie, reclining lazily in his wheelchair, sniffed the air and inquired knowingly, “What was Fifth Highness up to last night? He smells rather unpleasant, like a fish.”

Tan Chuyan was well aware of the weird smell of his body. But the roof cause of all this was Feng Chilie.

Seated in his own chair, Tan Chuyan cast a sidelong glance at Feng Chilie and said softly, “General, you should pay close attention to this smell; it’s your fiancée’s scent.” Feng Chilie frowned, feigning surprise, “Tuoba Rou is dead?!”

“The general truly has a nose as sharp as a dog and a heart as keen as a mirror,” Tan Chuyan remarked, growing increasingly irritated with Feng Chilie for some reason, even more so than with that scoundrel Yan Lie.

Feng Chilie sat up straight, looked at him with a cool expression, and cautioned, “Your Highness, refrain from opening a workshop of colorful language just because I wish to show you some favor. Keep your words civil, and do not resort to curses.”

“General, you brought this upon yourself. You can’t blame anyone else.” Tan Chuyan retorted. He walked up to Feng Chilie, despite Ji Bei’s menacing glare, and grasped his collar, attempting to lift him and whisper something.

However, when Tan Chuyan applied force to his wrist, he discovered that Feng Chilie was too heavy to lift. So, he bent down instead, coming close to meet Feng Chilie’s eyes and nose.

Tan Chuyan had no desire to linger with Feng Chilie for too long, so he quickly whispered in a voice only they could hear, “I will seek Ling-han Pavilion’s assistance to address this issue and find a suitable substitute. General, ensure nothing leaks, or I’ll personally take your head with my own hands!”

“Hahaha, you’re struggling to carry me in my crippled state, and you want to kill me?” Feng Chilie suddenly burst into laughter and reached up to grasp the back of Tan Chuyan’s neck. “Aren’t you afraid that I might just twist your head off right now?”

He used his rough fingers to touch the back of Tan Chuyan’s neck twice, discovering that his skin was smooth, hardly resembling that of a man.

Tan Chuyan’s body couldn’t help but shudder from the sensation. It was incredibly ticklish.

Resisting the tickling sensation, Tan Chuyan discreetly retrieved a small blade from his sleeve and pressed it against Feng Chilie’s chest, saying, “Then I’ll take you down with me, let go!”

Feng Chilie released his hold on Tan Chuyan and raised his hands in surrender, but he had a mischievous smile on his face. “Being harmonious brings wealth, I understand this well. I’d like to express my gratitude to His Highness the Fifth Prince for your great kindness and assistance.”

The touch he had just experienced left Tan Chuyan unable to regain his composure. He placed his hands on the armrest of Feng Chilie’s wheelchair and tried to steady himself.

However, with all arrangements in place, Tan Chuyan’s tense mind, which had been active for a whole day and night, began to relax uncontrollably. Due to his poor physical condition, when he attempted to stand upright, his legs gave way, and he tumbled into Feng Chilie’s arms, even exposing a large section of the man’s undergarments.

Tan Chuyan “…”

Feng Chilie “…”

The man’s chest was firm, warm, and solid, and his powerful heartbeat resonated in Tan Chuyan’s ears.

“Thump, thump, thump…”

The only sounds in their immediate vicinity were those of breathing and heartbeats.

Ji Bei, who was observing the scene, was utterly taken aback. He slowly covered his eyes, his mind racing with a thousand ways for Tan Chuyan to meet his end.

After all, his general despised close physical contact with others.

However, the anticipated outcry did not emerge. Instead, Feng Chilie inquired meaningfully, “Your Highness the Fifth Prince, are you throwing yourself into my arms?”

“Shut up!”

Tan Chuyan had never been in such close proximity to anyone, causing his neck to instantly flush red.

His hands found a place to brace himself, and he tried to stand up using his strength. Unexpectedly, Feng Chilie misinterpreted his actions, and his legs wobbled, causing him to topple back into Feng Chilie’s embrace.

Feng Chilie raised an eyebrow and remarked, “See, it’s not just falling; it’s practically throwing yourself into someone’s arms. I might believe it was an accident if it happened once, but twice? Who knows, maybe His Highness the Fifth Prince did it on purpose. What do you think?”

“Is it fun to tease me?” Tan Chuyan, this time finding the right footing, stood up steadily and locked eyes with Feng Chilie.

Feng Chilie gathered up the undershirt that had been inadvertently exposed during the commotion, but it still revealed a significant expanse of tanned skin.

Meeting Tan Chuyan’s gaze, Feng Chilie said, “I don’t play pranks on others. I only did this because you, Your Highness the Fifth Prince, deliberately enticed me, and I merely granted your wish.”

So, in the end, was it all his fault?

Tan Chuyan had never encountered such a shameless individual. No matter how composed he usually was, he couldn’t resist muttering “scoundrel” before turning around in annoyance.

Behind him, Feng Chilie wore a smug smile that made people want to slap it off his face.

Once Tan Chuyan had departed, all the taunting expressions disappeared from Feng Chilie’s face. He rose from the wheelchair, returned to the inner chamber, and immersed himself in the bathtub once more.

For some reason, as soon as he closed his eyes, his thoughts gravitated towards Tuoba Rou’s demise.

Her death was exceptionally peculiar, and Tan Chuyan claimed that she had been deceased for seven days. Curiously, the journey from Xibo to the Jing Kingdom also happened to span seven days. This suggested that Tuoba Rou might have passed away while still in Xibo.

In such a scenario, the Xibo people could have intentionally sent Tuoba Rou here, intending to utilize her demise as a pretext to openly initiate a war.

However, Tan Chuyan had temporarily resolved the matter using the Young Master Yan’s influence. Even if the Xibo people were to discern that the substitute was a fake, they would be powerless to act.

This was because the double would soon enter the Jing Kingdom as a princess of the Xibo tribe. At that point, they would find a way to keep the double within the Jing Kingdom permanently, preventing the Xibo people from proving the double’s illegitimacy.

Consequently, everyone worldwide would have no choice but to accept the substitute as genuine.

This approach would not only shift the blame to the Xibo people for breaking their treaty and acting unjustly when they eventually sent their forces, but it would also stigmatize them.

Their sole mistake was withholding news of Tuoba Rou’s demise and secretly arranging for the corpse to be sent to the Jing Kingdom, creating a pretext for launching a war.

They had brought it upon themselves.

Yet, how had Tuoba Rou met her end? And the timing of her death seemed so coincidental.