“Mistress, this… this is not proper…” the matchmaker trembled with fear, her face pale, standing next to Su Baiyue.

Su Baiyue straightened her neck forcefully, sneering coldly, “Proper? I am the rule!”

Meanwhile, upon hearing the news, Princess Weinan rushed over in a panic, and upon seeing Su Baiyue dressed in plain white on her big day, she almost fainted.

“Oh, my child! What are you doing? Please don’t do anything foolish!” Princess Weinan stumbled in, not yet close when she was stopped in her tracks by Su Baiyue’s flick of her duster.

“Mother, be dignified.”

Princess Weinan pouted, her face filled with worry, “Child, what are you trying to do?”

Su Baiyue calmly withdrew the duster, her long dress fluttering with the wind, her demeanor icy and aloof, “Today, I will wear this white gown and marry Lu Gan.” Su Baiyue believed this move was utterly ruthless, sure to shock Lu Gan from head to toe.

Having made up her mind that since she couldn’t die a peaceful death as fated, she might as well continue to support the male lead in her own way. Hopefully, she could push him to a perfect ending quickly so she could receive a year-end bonus for a better life.

“The Princess, the Mistress, the wedding sedan is here,” came a joyful voice from outside, along with the sound of firecrackers, bustling with excitement.

Su Baiyue straightened her back, striding out with a heroic air.

Jing Wen led the maids pulling out a roll of white silk, laying it straight from the corridor to the courtyard gate.

The grand eight-bearer sedan was parked there, with the handsome man in a vibrant red wedding robe standing by it. Seeing Su Baiyue stepping on the white silk, emerging from the main house in a white dress as if descending from the clouds, his expression remained unchanged, his eyes as dark as undiluted ink.

“This, this bride… how can she come out dressed like this…” whispered the maids and old women brought by Lu Gan, gathered in a corner.

Lu Gan, unflinching, stepped forward and offered his hand to Su Baiyue.

The dignified and noble Madam naturally would not heed him. Su Baiyue, with her neck stiff, directly boarded the sedan without giving him a glance.

Silence fell around them, everyone exchanging looks, unsure how to react.

This wasn’t like fetching a bride at all; it was more like fetching an enemy or an ancestor! With Lu Gan’s notorious reputation, was he actually letting Mistress Ling Yun treat him so disdainfully?

Even though Mistress Ling Yun was of noble status, times had changed. Now Lu Gan, having returned triumphant and well-decorated, although not quite to the extent of being ennobled or appointed as a minister, was still a widely acclaimed ghost general, deeply favored by the emperor. Whereas the Weinan royal house had long been in decline, holding onto nothing but empty titles. Truthfully, marrying Lu Gan would not be considered beneath her, the once celestial Madam.

“Lift the sedan,” Lu Gan commanded with a composed voice, his tone husky.

Since the concerned party was acting as if nothing was amiss, the bystanders naturally wouldn’t gossip right under the ghost general’s watch. Shortly, the surroundings buzzed again, the atmosphere awkward yet filled with congratulations. Lu Gan’s maids and old women began distributing red packets.

Inside the sedan, Su Baiyue sat anxiously, pondering Lu Gan’s impassive facade just now. Shouldn’t he have jumped up and hit her? Was he planning to take her back and lock her up to hit her?

Trembling with fear, Su Baiyue hastily nibbled on a bunny bun to calm her nerves.

This bunny bun was found on the embroidery table this morning, delicious as always. Su Baiyue had eaten one and saved one, wrapping it in a cloth and tucking it into her wide sleeve, planning to eat it along the way.

After all, she was constantly courting death in new ways; she didn’t know when the male lead might snap her neck, so she might as well be full if she was going to die.

The wedding sedan was carried all the way to Lu Gan’s residence. As the sun set, they arrived.

Because Lu Gan was only a minor general at the moment, his residence naturally couldn’t compare to the grandeur of the Weinan royal house. However, it had its advantages of being quaint and tidy.

Standing at the gate of Lu’s residence, Su Baiyue in her white gown and head veiled, appeared defiant. Far from a blushing bride, she seemed more like someone there to cause a scene.

In fact, Su Baiyue was indeed there to cause a scene today. Unfortunately, Lu Gan’s resolve was too strong; to this point, no matter what Su Baiyue did, the man remained expressionless as if letting her have her way, steadfast as if Mt. Tai were crumbling before him.

If it were any other man, being so humiliated by a new bride, even if she were of Madam’s status, would likely have already erupted and beaten her into submission. No, the male lead could have sent her to her death with a single punch.

Seemingly influenced by Su Baiyue’s peculiar attire and cold aura, the entire wedding proceeded in utter silence; even the guests outside sipping on liquor never once looked up, only the matchmaker shakily murmuring blessings, and after ushering Su Baiyue into the bridal chamber, quickly scampered off without even waiting for her tip.

The bridal chamber had been rearranged by Jing Wen to Mistress Ling Yun’s liking. The typically vibrant red was replaced with serene white, draping from the ceiling down, enveloping the room in purity.

Su Baiyue, changed into a white dress, sat on the bed’s edge, her veiled hat removed, revealing her ethereal face. Fine brows and almond eyes, cheeks dusted pink, her delicate beauty seemed not of this world.

It was then that Lu Gan entered.

By the time the lamps were lit, the man in the festive red robe carried a red lantern, stepping leisurely over the threshold, entering the room laid with white silk.

The room, dazzlingly white, seemed to merge into one with the beauty on the bed. The man, however, in striking red, seemed an intruder in this pristine world, tearing a corner of this pure white space and stepping in with predatory grace.

Relaxed and assured of victory.

“Click,” the carved wooden door shut behind the man.

Su Baiyue’s heart tightened, watching those footprints on the white silk coming closer, beast-like, yet unable to utter a word.

Facing this beastly man of stunning looks and innate brute strength, even covered in Mistress Ling Yun’s icy armor, couldn’t mask Su Baiyue’s underlying timidity.

“Stop.” Su Baiyue’s voice was cold, her hand clenched within her sleeve.

Lu Gan indeed stopped, standing three steps away from Su Baiyue, looking down at her from his lofty height, tilting his head with an almost innocent confusion.

“Get out, I find you filthy.” Su Baiyue haughtily turned her head, inadvertently exposing her slender, creamy neck against her dark hair.

The silence deepened in the already quiet room, the air nearly freezing.

A creepy smile slowly spread across the man’s face. He reached into his wide sleeve, pulling out something Su Baiyue’s gaze tightened.

“This is the first thing you gave me.” A half-worn cape, its early purity and cleanliness long gone, was yanked out of the seemingly bottomless sleeve, its fur roughed up.

Su Baiyue watched as the man casually pressed his face against it, his expression one of obsessed nuzzling, akin to a puppy rubbing against its owner’s clothes.

“Too bad, it has no scent left,” the man said, disappointed, dropping the cape to the floor before pulling out another object from the depths of his sleeve.

“This is the riding crop you threw away earlier. I added a tassel to it, do you like it?” The delicate crop, stained with old blood, now sported a blood-red tassel, looking as if it had been dyed with fresh blood. Held in the man’s pale, graceful hand, it seemed eerily menacing.

“Do you like it? I suppose you do,” the man murmured to himself, then smiled at Su Baiyue again.

Trembling, Su Baiyue retreated to the bed’s edge, denying any fondness for such thrilling play.

Seeing her expression, Lu Gan tilted his head again, perplexed, then dropped the crop and suddenly stepped forward, cupping Su Baiyue’s face.

The fine material of his festive robe rustled as he moved, his tall shadow enveloping her from above. Moonlight streamed through the half-open window, casting a silvery glow across the room, his face half-hidden in shadow, his eyes dark and unreadable.

Su Baiyue’s delicate cheeks were pinched out, her lips pursed into a cherry-red pout, then she was kissed firmly on the cheek by the man.

Su Baiyue: ??? Is this how fast things progress?

Pushing him away, Su Baiyue, in a reflex, slapped Lu Gan across the face.

Lu Gan turned his head with the force of the slap. He licked his lips, breathing heavily, eyes turbulent, then smirked, “Wife, don’t flirt.”

Flirt? She was throwing a fit!

“Presumptuous!” Su Baiyue, furious, wiped her mouth and cheeks, her originally pure skin now marked by his palm, her lips bitten into a faint mark, moist and tempting.

Her slap hadn’t left any mark, but the feel of her soft palm skin had left Lu Gan’s mind reeling, more intoxicating than his dreams.

Su Baiyue felt things were getting out of hand. Gritting her teeth and stamping her foot, she clawed fiercely at Lu Gan’s face, intending to drive him out.

Delicate as she was, Lu Gan dared not retaliate, only retreating until he was driven out to the corridor.

“Don’t ever enter my courtyard again, ask my permission for everything.” Su Baiyue stood behind the carved door, panting, eyes blazing as she stared at the man she had driven out of the bridal chamber.

Oh, her pure lips!

The man looked down, his face covered in fine bloody scratches from her nails. He paused, then earnestly looked at Su Baiyue and said, “May I put my tongue in your mouth?”

Su Baiyue’s response was to poke him squarely out the door with her duster.