Chapter 74: The General Rides Forth, His Steed Treading White and Red

A gentle breeze caressed the face in March, soft and warm. On the second floor of the refined and secluded pavilion, by the window, a young girl cradled her cheek and leaned against the railing. On the table lay a half-finished piece of silk embroidery, yet to be completed. Bright eyes rippled with longing, filled only with yearning for the world beyond. The peach blossoms must have bloomed by now, she thought.

Yet since the last misadventure at White Horse Temple, her grandfather no longer allowed her to venture outside. Looking back, had she not been brave and shrewd enough to uncover the villain’s plot, her grandfather would never have escaped unscathed. All because of that hateful scoundrel...

“Miss, miss! Something terrible has happened!”

Dong Bai cupped her face, lazily refusing to turn around. Crisp and clear, she replied, “Enough, Xiao Lian. You cry ‘something terrible’ every day. It’s enough to suffocate me.”

The maid called Xiao Lian hurried up the stairs, her rosy cheeks pale with fright. “Miss, this time it’s truly terrible! I overheard the master telling the old lady that you’re to be married off to some coarse fellow with the surname Chen!”

Dong Bai merely uttered an “oh” and said no more. Though confined to her chamber, she had heard a little of the outside world. Scholars outwardly revered the Dong family, but deep down they looked down on it. Noble youths avoided even mentioning the Dong name. She had come of age long ago and not a single suitor had come forward. If it was to be a coarse fellow, so be it. These matters were never hers to decide. Besides, with her grandfather’s influence, she doubted any general would dare mistreat her.

A general named Chen—who could it be?

Dong Bai was lost in thought...

“Miss!” Xiao Lian stomped her foot in frustration.

Dong Bai’s delicate brows furrowed, displeased. “Enough, I know. If you don’t wish to go, I’ll send Ping’er as your replacement for the dowry.”

Xiao Lian was startled and quickly waved her hands. “Miss, that’s not what I meant. But the master was recently beside the old lord, suppressing rebellions outside—I’m worried…”

Dong Bai’s heart tightened with pain. This was not the first time such a thing had happened. Two months ago, when Sun Jian attacked Sishui Gate, her grandfather had asked her once if she would marry Sun Jian’s second son. Later, Sun Jian was defeated, and the matter was dropped.

Dong Bai’s greatest fear was not marriage, but being sent far away, especially as a pawn in a political alliance. In Luoyang, she had her granduncle, the Grand Tutor, to support her. No matter whom she was given to, her husband’s family would have to treat her with utmost respect. But if she were sent far away…

If she were truly married off to a distant place and her husband’s family treated her poorly, whom could she turn to?

“Miss, what should we do now?”

Dong Bai was about to speak when sudden footsteps approached, and she quickly fell silent.

Only her great-grandmother could enter her chambers without announcement in the entire Grand Tutor’s mansion. She was most afraid of that stern old lady—the stubborn matriarch who had lost sons and grandsons to untimely deaths, whom even her grandfather dared not provoke.

A dry, aged voice rang out, “Bold maid, always so glib. Drag her out and slap her mouth.”

Xiao Lian collapsed to her knees in terror, unable to speak, as two sturdy women dragged her away.

Dong Bai hurriedly picked up her embroidery, sat properly at the table, feigning diligence. As if only then just realizing the presence, she turned in surprise, stood and bowed solemnly, her smile reserved, stepping lightly closer. She softly called, “Great-grandmother.”

“Hmph.” Elder Lady Dong responded coldly, waving her hand. “Get ready. Follow your uncle to Sishui.”

Sishui!

Dong Bai hesitated a moment, then replied, “Granddaughter obeys.”

Elder Lady Dong snorted, tapping her cane hard against the floor, grumbling, “What granddaughter? Just a girl. All my grandsons are gone! Gone!”

“Yes, great-grandmother, don’t be angry. It was Bai who misspoke…”

“Hmph, go now.”

…

Several carriages, hundreds of maids and attendants—no grand bridal procession, no ornate sedan chair. The caged bird was finally released, yet had never soared the vast sky.

The carriages jolted violently at high speed; Dong Bai had lost count of how many times she had vomited. She only remembered her uncle urging them onward relentlessly. Eventually, she grew accustomed to the shaking.

At last, they arrived at Sishui. Without seeing her grandfather, she was made to don the heavy armor of the soldiers, and under General Hua Xiong’s escort, slowly approached the imposing gate.

She walked from daylight into dusk, her feet numb. Even after days of wind and sun, the air carried a strong scent of blood. The desolate city walls were deeply stained with reddish brown, and the two massive gates resembled the lips of a giant beast.

They opened slowly, revealing a fierce, gaping maw.

On the city wall, soldiers held icy spears that gleamed with a sinister light, like rows of sharp fangs.

Unable to contain her distress and terror any longer, Dong Bai finally burst into tears; if not for Xiao Lian’s support, she could hardly walk.

“Oh, isn’t this the general’s little concubine? What are you crying for?”

A familiar voice sounded nearby, scaring Dong Bai into silence.

She looked up in a daze.

Atop a tall horse was the very figure who haunted her nightmares.

Bathed in the dying sunlight, tinged with a faint blood-red hue, he looked even more terrifying.

“You—you—I… My grandfather is the Grand Tutor. Don’t hurt me.”

Pfft!

Chen Cong laughed, dismounted, and swept Dong Bai up from the maid’s side, carrying her by the waist.

Truth be told, despite Dong Fat’s appearance, his granddaughter was truly lovely.

Dressed in armor, she even possessed a hint of heroic spirit. But her courage was pitifully weak, nothing like the essence of the Dong Demon King.

Chen Cong leaned close to Dong Bai’s ear, breathing warm air, and whispered, “Which kind of ‘hurt’ do you mean?”

With that, ignoring Dong Bai’s shocked, frightened, humiliated, and furious face, he mounted with her in his arms, laughing as he rode away.

He left behind a faint command, “The rest, escort to Father-in-law’s tent!”

Father-in-law?

Cao Cao!

Hua Xiong’s face changed instantly, and he tried to charge out, but was held back by Xu Chu, who had followed alongside.

Xu Chu grinned, showing his large teeth. “Really, you believe everything Chen Cong says? Come on, tie them up!”

“Chen Cong, shameless scoundrel! You break your word! You break your word!”

With their leader defeated, the surrounding servants and maids were even more terrified, sitting on the ground as Xu Chu’s guards tied them up one by one.

…

The camp was newly built, with a tall fence two hundred meters away, guarded by nine personal soldiers patrolling ceaselessly.

Inside the tent.

The bed was new, the mattress was new, the person was new.

The crying was delicate. The candlelight went out naturally.

The beauty… finally drifted into sleep at dawn.

The general rode his horse, and the tale of white flying and red trampling need not be told…

Pity the eight thousand Flying Bear troops outside the city, blowing in the cold wind all night.

Pity Dong Zhuo, grown old, still unable to rest, personally donning armor to oversee the battle.

He waited from midnight to the second hour, then to the third, fourth, and finally the fifth—until morning broke…

Yet no signal fire was raised!

What tormented Dong Zhuo most was that, though the night watchmen atop Sishui Gate slept like pigs—their snores could be heard two miles away—no one opened the gate.

By this point, Dong Zhuo still tried to make excuses for Chen Cong.

Perhaps he overslept?

Perhaps his plan was discovered?

Perhaps the defenses of Yuan and Cao were too tight to act?

Only when he summoned Li Jue to challenge at the city, and that rascal appeared yawning atop the wall…

Dong Zhuo finally saw the truth.

That bastard had gone through all this just to win his granddaughter!

And he even took Hua Xiong back with him…

Pain, such pain!

“Chen scoundrel! I will never forgive you!”