15: The Yandere Warlord's Substitute Bride 15

Wen Ci chuckled.

Her smile was as sweet as honey, the corners of her eyes slightly upturned, and a hint of her pearly white teeth showed between her red lips.

Sunlight streamed through the window onto her face, and even the shadows cast by her eyelashes had an alluring curve.

The maids in the room were all stunned; one young maid even almost dropped the precious jewelry on her tray, instantly breaking out in a cold sweat.

If those items had even the slightest flaw, she wouldn't be able to afford them in a lifetime!

General Fu's breath hitched.

He recalled the moment he saw Wen Ci on their wedding night; his mind was filled with thoughts of locking this enchantress in a golden cage, chaining her ankles with the thickest chains, and ensuring that this face could only be his.

But at this moment, looking at her charming and radiant appearance, his heart softened beyond words.

He only then realized that he, too, could compromise.

He had always been a man of his word, and his decisions never changed.

But now, he had compromised for her.

Willingly compromised.

If it were the old General Fu, he would never have imagined that he would one day care so much about a woman.

Even General Fu himself found it a little incredible.

His hand tightened around Wen Ci's waist.

He, of course, was reluctant for his wife to be seen by other men.

But he was even more reluctant to erase the starlight in her eyes.

"Husband, you're so good to me~"

Wen Ci took his fingertips and placed them on her lips, then slowly opened her mouth to enclose them, her tongue gently licking.

General Fu tensed all over, a low gasp escaping his throat uncontrollably.

The maids in the room immediately blushed, all lowering their heads, not daring to look at the Madam and the General.

Wen Ci's gaze shifted to the dazzling array of jewelry, and she raised an eyebrow slightly, "So much?"

These items were all priceless; General Fu had actually found them all?

"My wife, of course, only deserves the best things in the world."

*

At the same time, the Wen family mansion.

Wen Yan swept the cosmetics off her dressing table, scattering them across the floor.

"How can I wear these rags!" she shrieked, kicking away the clothes and skirts brought by the maid. "I want cloud brocade! I want kesi!"

Wen Mother looked troubled, "Yan'er, how can our family afford those expensive things you want now? Even if we could afford them, there's really no need to buy something so expensive."

"I don't care!" Wen Yan grabbed the bronze mirror and smashed it against the wall. "That bitch Wen Ci will be attending; I absolutely cannot be inferior to her!"

In her previous life, she had the best of everything, getting whatever she wanted. Now, she was reduced to this state!

Wen Mother didn't know why Yan'er's taste had become so high now; there were many things she hadn't even heard of, yet Yan'er knew them in such detail.

Wen Yan was both angry and anxious; why couldn't her parents help her at all? It was so annoying.

She got up and rushed out again; she still needed to find Duan Lin.

Inside the Duan residence.

"Duan Lin~ Look how well these earrings suit me~" The singer swayed her head delicately, the ruby pendants on her earlobes indeed beautiful.

Duan Lin responded indifferently, then looked up and saw Wen Yan barging in, frowning, "What are you doing here again?"

Wen Yan suppressed her anger, forced a smile, "Duan Lin, I'm missing a decent set of headwear for the Lantern Festival. If I'm not dressed well, won't it be your reputation that's tarnished?"

Duan Lin scoffed, casually grabbing a handful of pearls from a drawer and tossing them onto the table, "Is that enough?"

The pearls were of ordinary quality, varying in size, clearly low-grade. Wen Yan's face instantly turned pale; these were probably not even as good as the ones adorning Wen Ci's shoes!

Anything General Fu bought casually would be hundreds of times more valuable than this.

"You, you're just being so perfunctory with me?" Her voice trembled.

Duan Lin put his arm around the singer, kissed her on the cheek, "Take it or leave it."

Wen Yan clenched her fists tightly in anger, but soon, she loosened them.

Because she remembered a fact she had forgotten.

That is, General Fu is an extremely possessive madman; Wen Ci is probably having trouble even leaving her room now, so how could she possibly attend the Lantern Festival?

She has no freedom to move around; she can only be a canary trapped in a golden cage.

So what was she worried about?

Wen Ci must be envious of her now, because she has freedom, because she can run around wantonly and will no longer be confined.

But Wen Ci is different; she has completely lost her freedom.

Wen Yan seemed to have suddenly understood, her mood instantly relaxed, and she couldn't help but laugh out loud.

She had regained her freedom and could do whatever she wanted, unlike that bitch Wen Ci, who probably couldn't even come out and was still crying at home.

Seeing Wen Yan's expression change dramatically and then suddenly start laughing inexplicably, Duan Lin frowned, feeling that she was becoming more and more like a madwoman.

"Don't be an eyesore here."

Duan Lin had absolutely no good feelings for her. He thought she would shriek again after he said that, but to his surprise, she uncharacteristically walked over gracefully and leaned against him, saying,

"Duan Lin, I'm also thinking of you. You are the representative of the Chamber of Commerce, and many people will be watching you then. If I'm dressed poorly, won't it be a loss of face for you?"

The singer quickly squeezed over, "What are you doing? Why are you so close to Duan Lin?"

Wen Yan was uncharacteristically good-tempered and spoke to her very gently, "Sister, I don't mind you and Duan Lin, so why do you mind so much?"

The singer frowned in confusion; Wen Yan hadn't said that last time.

Duan Lin also raised an eyebrow, watching Wen Yan with an air of amusement. She seemed to have regained some of her former noble lady's demeanor.

*

The Lantern Festival arrived.

Wen Yan finally pestered Duan Lin into getting her a set of extremely good jewelry and clothes. From the moment she stepped in, everyone's gaze gathered on her, which greatly satisfied her vanity, and she kept her head held high.

See? She was now Ninth Master Duan's dance partner; all the women must be dying of envy and jealousy of her.

But no matter how envious, they couldn't take him away.

Wen Yan felt extremely pleased and arrogant. Duan Lin found her appearance a bit embarrassing but didn't say much, instead chatting with those around him, asking when General Fu would arrive.

Hearing the words 'General Fu,' Wen Yan immediately became alert.

"Duan Lin, let's go to that corner over there. Otherwise, the General will surely come looking for me later."

Wen Yan remembered that her original goal was to make General Fu see Wen Ci's ugly side, but Wen Ci couldn't even come to this Lantern Festival, so wouldn't her appearance here be walking straight into a trap?

General Fu would definitely come to catch her if he saw her. Not to mention how beautifully she was dressed today, even more beautiful than Wen Ci, General Fu would fall even more in love with her.

Her voice was not quiet, and the men chatting with Duan Lin also heard her, couldn't help but look at her a few more times, their gazes meaningful.

General Fu would actively seek out a woman?

This was truly absurd; they had never heard of it.

Which young lady was this confident? And...

Their gaze turned to Duan Lin's somewhat embarrassed face, and they couldn't help but tease, "Ninth Master Duan's dance partner, it seems, is quite a character?"

Whether she was a character or not, it certainly seemed a bit disrespectful; being Duan Lin's dance partner on one hand, and on the other, thinking of another man.

Duan Lin covered his face, feeling that his reputation was being completely ruined by this idiot Wen Yan, embarrassed to the point of wanting to disappear.

Wen Yan, however, was completely oblivious. She was suddenly a little flustered, both afraid of being found by General Fu and eager to be found by him, because she wanted to see what kind of crazy expression he would reveal.

After all, she was now standing so openly with another man; General Fu would surely be consumed by jealousy and go mad for her.

Just as she was thinking this, the vermilion-lacquered gate of the Lantern Festival slowly opened, and the clamor of the entire long street suddenly froze.

General Fu had arrived.

Everyone's eyes widened, looking over. Wen Yan was even more nervous and excited, but the moment she saw clearly, she instantly froze.

General Fu arrived in a dark military uniform, stepping under the moonlight, his epaulet tassels hanging down, the leather belt of his holstered gun cinching his lean waist. Where his narrow, phoenix-like eyes behind his spectacles swept, the crowd instinctively retreated three paces.

And beside him was actually a woman, a stunning woman intimately holding his arm.

She wore a moon-white kesi cheongsam, the faint damask pattern of epiphyllum flowers appearing and disappearing as she moved. Each petal was embroidered with silver thread mixed with pearl powder, shimmering with a cool, clear glow in the lamplight. A pigeon's blood ruby button at her collar made her neck glow like jade.

Her beautiful, dark long hair was mostly loosely gathered with a single mutton-fat jade hairpin, the rest cascading down her waist like a silver river.

Four words simultaneously appeared in everyone's minds: cool and stunningly beautiful.

As they walked closer.

Only then did everyone see her face: eyebrows like distant mountains with dark smudges, lips like cinnabar dots of blood. The most exquisite were her eyes, the slightly upturned corners carrying an unconscious charm, yet her gaze was as cool as frost.

When she casually swept her gaze across the crowd, many young gentlemen's folding fans fell to the ground.

Everyone gasped.

A sharp-eyed merchant suddenly exclaimed, "Are those... South Sea mermaid pearls adorning her skirt hem?"

Indeed, as Wen Ci walked, a luminous pearly glow flowed from the fluttering hem of her skirt, rippling with a soft light with every step.

Everyone couldn't help but click their tongues.

As expected of General Fu; he was indeed incredibly wealthy and extravagant to the extreme.

The moment Wen Ci appeared, all the lanterns on the street paled in comparison, and everyone was stunned.

General Fu noticed others staring at his wife, their eyes fixed on her, and his gaze grew darker, sweeping across them one by one.

All those people started, quickly lowering their heads.

Wen Ci, however, seemed oblivious, walking gracefully towards her seat.

"Is that... General Fu's new wife?"

"My goodness, this isn't a human; she's clearly a fairy who walked out of a painting."

Countless gazes clung to the two of them, but then quickly lowered when General Fu's cold eyes swept over.

Some young women secretly looked at General Fu, mesmerized, not even noticing their handkerchiefs falling into their wine cups. More men stared blankly at Wen Ci's back until they were roused by a rifle butt from a personal guard.

The adjutant beside General Fu couldn't help but look at Wen Ci with a hint of scrutiny.

He felt that the Madam's demeanor today was completely different from when they had seen her last.

A faint glint flashed in the eyes of one adjutant, but it quickly disappeared.