Side Story: Hell on Earth
Chapter 113
The Wedding Night
The gathering ended, and everyone went home. The guests bid farewell to the monarch and the Great General. The Great General and his wife, along with Belief and his wife, exchanged a few words with the monarch. He tactfully advised the two newlywed couples to go home and rest early.
The four smiled softly, thanked the monarch, and waved goodbye to the supreme leader and Wan. The matchmaker warmly returned their courtesy and continued chatting with May and Liberte. He entrusted Liberte:
"Tonight is a full moon. Please help me protect May."
An shook her father's coat:
"Father, Mother-in-law has already returned to the Great General's residence, and Ange is married now. Tonight, Liberte is not at home. I am not used to being alone with 'strangers,' with no familiar face around. I hate loneliness. From now on, every full moon night, please let me go gather herbs with my mother and my husband."
Those two unfamiliar words clearly delineated the difference in status and position between Liberte's wives and An. She faced those rivals who had lost until their eyes were red with envy, yet they dared not show any reaction, only sneering inwardly. The lowly women lowered their heads and asked permission to go home and rest. Liberte waved his hand lightly, allowing them to leave first.
Wan scratched his head, hesitating:
"Liberte is an exception. Daughter, if you go, you'll be breaking the family rules."
An frowned:
"What? Have you forgotten that last time Mother almost fell off a cliff, Liberte risked his life to save her? I'm afraid good fortune won't always be with them, and misfortune might befall our loved ones again. Who knows? Maybe I'm the lucky star who can protect them!"
The monarch had urgent matters to discuss, but they were still arguing. He cleared his throat. The Wan family members immediately became solemn, listening to his analysis:
"Rules and laws are made by people. If they are unreasonable, they should be changed. Monogamy was once the default, but in the end, it had to change because of the era's desperate need for manpower. Even the Hive must change its laws, let alone family rules. In this world, nothing is eternal except the deities and the Hive."
Wan maintained a servant's respectful posture. His daughter secretly despised and loathed this submissive, groveling manner before the master. But out of fear of offending the monarch, he still obeyed every command.
"I've been suffering from insomnia lately, my mind is unclear. I didn't realize that two is not equal to three. Thank you, Lord, for your guidance and wise counsel!"
Wan readily agreed:
"From now on, the three of you can go gather herbs together, take care of each other. It's getting cold, so remember to keep warm."
Wan looked up at the snowflakes swirling in the sky:
"You can't let yourselves get cold. You'll have to find a way to warm each other up!"
May's face darkened as she said sternly:
"If our beloved daughter falls into danger while protecting her husband or saving me, and something really happens, you must not go back on your word, and you certainly cannot regret today's decision!"
Wan slight smile. His wife was afraid of being punished by her husband; his daughter was afraid that if her mother's fears came true, her father would be angry. Wan glanced over and noticed that the monarch seemed to want to discuss private matters with him. But he hesitated to interfere in family affairs, fearing that both sides would lose face.
Unfortunately, his wife and daughter did not realize this. The two of them kept nagging softly. Wan was afraid that keeping the monarch waiting too long would give the opportunity to someone else. This man, greedy for power and prestige, indulged his family:
"Alright, alright, no matter what happens, I won't blame you. I just want the three of you to be safe and sound."
The man who cared so much about face turned to the monarch, seeking a witness:
"Sir. Please bear witness for me. I swear I will not go back on my word. I have never broken a promise to my family!"
The monarch nodded in confirmation. Wan's wife and daughter kissed his cheek in thanks. Wan shook his head, smiling. May, An, and Liberte bowed to the monarch. The master of the Hive gestured for Wan to get into the car with him and return to his residence for discussion. Overjoyed, Wan stood at attention like a soldier receiving orders. The monarch waved his hand, indicating there was no need to see him off.
***
Meanwhile, inside the Great General's residence. Maria and her new husband were as passionately in love as if it were their first marriage, their affection burning brightly.
The wife was certain that in public, she must appear gentle, elegant, and amiable like a Western lady… so that… the Great General would feel proud of marrying Maria, convinced it was the wisest decision.
In contrast to that virtuous image was an alluring, yet never vulgar, aura in bed—clinging to his masculine warmth, offering fervent kisses with abandon, moving in perfect, fluid harmony through the rhythms of desire. Sometimes more intense than lovers reunited after long years apart, sometimes as gentle as waltzing a classical dance with her husband.
The pinnacle of ecstasy... a shared rhythm... a feminine voice, sweet enough to melt the heart, enthralled the lover's soul... longing... to drift upon an endless sea of passion that swept away all sorrows... so that... waves of desire might surge, fueling the emotions of two souls who, with every passing second and hour, hoped to feel the sincerity of the other and receive a true heart in return... after... each time the body ascended to the height of ecstasy... wanting... to devote their entire heart and soul to the one they were bound to for a lifetime.
The Great General gazed at Maria's face—crimson and captivating, shyness and a delicate pink rising together to the zenith of desire, floating with his dreamlike gaze. She looked tenderly at this man who treated power as his very life.
Maria reaffirmed to herself: the world thought he cherished his wife to continue the bloodline, loved his children to protect his power… that… was completely wrong.
A truly capable man who fell into the net of love never cared whether his wife thought he treated his family as tools. The husband cared even less whether his wife indulges herself… loses herself… in physical pleasure out of pretense or out of a genuine desire for endless transcendence with him—in the end, it is all merely to achieve her own goals.
That infatuated, obsessed man had given his entire heart, his whole soul, to Maria. His eyes brimmed with tenderness, hoping that this woman, who remained rational in every situation, would understand—that the Great General, who commanded the winds and rains, to whom countless beauties offered themselves, bearing his children—had fallen for Maria at first sight, willingly and forever drunk in his love.
The wife gazed tenderly at her husband. Her eyes, which had dried from weeping for her family… now… suddenly shed tears of gratitude for her husband. That feeling was a bittersweet congratulations to herself—after countless hardships and suffering, she could finally live in peace. That feeling was the urge to rush immediately to her children, embrace her loved ones, and share the joy of finally having found a reliable support.
"No matter what happens in the future, I will love you and take care of you for life. I believe the children will feel your sincerity and understand you!"
The Great General's smile was radiant; he was blissful. He wriggled up, drawing his wife into his embrace. Their heated bodies pressed tightly together, passion burning fiercely. The Great General kissed Maria's slightly parted, dark pink lips with affection, eagerly inviting her to kiss him deeply. His hand gently supported her damp, bare back.
His wife clutched at the reddened skin marked by his fingers… because… the height of passion had caused the heat to radiate from these "mandarin ducks" lost in the fiery dance of love, igniting flames across their bodies.
"Thank you! You are the only one who has been honest with me!"
Maria was surprised; her gaze involuntarily drifted to the photograph of the Great General's late wife hanging on the wall. The Great General immediately became even more impassioned, more urgent, thrusting without pause… making his beloved wife shy as a maiden, softly "singing" a song of enchantment.
That bashful wife, her cheeks flushed, her emotions a mix of embarrassment and pleasure, was so moved that she could not—and did not want to—control the sounds that echoed from her, brimming with unbridled feeling. The moment the Great General revealed his secret anguish:
"She cheated on me. She became pregnant, and I forgave her. But that mongrel… was not my child. How ironic—a Great General who never lost on the battlefield… yet… collapsed in agony in a home he had cultivated with his own hands!"
The Great General glared at the photograph, contemptuous of the brilliant smile that had once enchanted him:
"I want the one who betrayed me to witness my happiness. I will force that adulterous woman to watch me make love to my virtuous, exemplary wife"
The greatest shame of a man's life had haunted him until… the moment he soared to heaven with Maria, hoping to receive her familial devotion in exchange… for… the safety and happiness of herself and her loved ones.
His soul had ascended to the highest heavens, yet the Great General still pondered with unwavering clarity. That cunning man praised his new wife's virtues, intending to confine Maria's soul and body within the bounds of morality. Maria keenly sensed that the Great General was warning her: should a wife change her heart, her husband would cast her entire family into hell… just as… he had slowly killed his former wife and her bastard son.
Unashamed to lose face, he had candidly revealed that shameful secret—burying it with his deceased, adulterous wife—cruelly unearthing the past to make his new wife feel the same humiliation that had gnawed at his pride, spat upon his dignity, and turned him into a man of suspicion, prejudice, and misogyny.
In the moment he fell for Maria and became intimate with her, this wounded man no longer believed that all women were promiscuous. Yet the heart that had been betrayed still could not let go. He feared being hurt by an unfaithful woman for the rest of his life.
That obsession, which would haunt him to the grave, surrounded Maria, shattering the steely will that had long hardened into an impenetrable wall against all threats. The dangers and calamities that had befallen her own family were nothing compared to the Great General's inner insecurity and his terror of being humiliated again.
But…
The assault had continued for a long time, yet the defense remained unshaken. From beginning to end, Maria had been lost in thought, silently watching this man—who was second only to the monarch, above all others, surrounded by a formidable guard, revered and feared by all… yet… was forced to live in solitude, afraid that his heart might die, afraid to seek a partner… until… the gods blessed him and allowed him to marry her.
If the woman who had rekindled his emotions dared to betray his true feelings, this love-stricken man would slaughter Maria's loved ones, even destroy the gods themselves.
Maria gently placed her hands on the Great General's cheeks, solemnly facing this man who threatened the gods.
"The eyes are the windows to the soul. One can hide one's emotions, but it's difficult to hide eyes that speak. In such a delicate situation, I cannot hide either. Look into my eyes and tell me—am I sincere, or am I false?"
The Great General carefully studied every expression on Maria's face. She no longer feared, as she had in the beginning, that she might inadvertently wrong her husband in the future. She didn't know what the future would bring—whether they would continue to be affectionate, whether they would cherish each other, or whether they would become enemies.
No one knows the future. All the wife knew was that she must strive to survive, to protect her family… and… to treasure her husband's feelings, to preserve this happiness that was perpetually on the verge of collapse.
The Great General had once said:
"Give your true heart, and you will receive true sincerity in return."
As a husband and father, he preferred pragmatism over making promises to protect and love his new family, for the future depended on objective and subjective factors.
A rational man believed that every relationship begins with empathy and trust, so let things take their natural course; time will answer everything…
He hoped that his wife and children would give their hearts and receive sincerity, encouraging his family to trust one another. Yet he who craved family affection… and… loyalty doubted the very woman who had rekindled his emotions. The wife had been honest with him even before he revealed the secret he thought he would never tell another soul.
Maria smiled, gazing tenderly at him—this man mired in confusion, regret, and shame who had always prided himself on not being narrow-minded or unreasonable, yet was now suspecting and threatening her in such an overbearing manner. Whether viewed subjectively or objectively, the husband and father was in the wrong.
Suspecting one's own family was a failure from the very beginning of the relationship… it was tantamount to… a lack of confidence in making one's loved ones believe in him as the pillar of the family, the protector of his wife and children.
"Now, our faith is strong—our future family will surely enjoy complete happiness. Come to me, let us 'build' trust together, let us bind this family!"
The Great General was grateful to his wife for saving him from embarrassment, and she had cleverly planted the word "build" into the heart of this man who longed to become a father.
The rational man cast aside all worries, letting his soul wander into the harbor of dreams. Two people who had once been mortal enemies were now life companions, weaving a dream of mandarin ducks… through… a shared, fervent desire to become parents once again… to… build the happiness of their family.
The fiery passion of the wedding night subsided into a dazed bliss, and the Great General fell asleep, satisfied. Maria tossed and turned, pressing her hand to her forehead, contemplating how to deal with Wan.
Her gaze drifted to the wedding photograph of herself, Ange, and Belief. Maria trusted Ji not to disappoint her, yet she was still anxious about her daughter becoming a wife for the first time.