Three Rules
She snapped out of her reverie, looked down at the flowing water, and asked gently, "Xuan'an, when do you plan to settle down?"
He thought for a moment, not understanding her words, "No rush."
"Not in a hurry? What do you mean?"
"I will settle down and start a family whenever she is willing to accept me." He glanced at her cautiously.
"Really?" She smiled, her hand supporting her chin, her eyes filled with tenderness. "What if... I mean, what if I were willing to marry you?"
Peng Xuan'an looked at her in surprise, unsure of what he had heard. He thought for a moment, then smiled self-deprecatingly, sighed, and shook his head. "That's just a hypothetical, not the truth."
“Xuan An… what if I said it was true and not just as it seems?” Her eyes were serious as she looked up at the forest.
"..." He paused, surprised and incredulous, and lowered his eyes to analyze her words.
Seeing that he remained silent, she continued, "Xuan'an, after going back, I thought about it again and again, Brother Mohe really..." Speaking of him, her heart ached, and she forced a smile, "It seems... he doesn't like me, why should I make myself suffer..."
He couldn't believe it; he felt like he was dreaming! Every word she spoke seemed to be a confession, telling him that she was willing! She was willing to be with him.
His breath trembled involuntarily. He leaned down, his face slowly approaching hers, his brows furrowed, still unable to believe her words. "Really?"
As his face slowly drew closer, his hot breath brushing against her cheek, she did not pull away. She nodded, her eyes crinkling with a tender smile, "Really?"
"Then kiss me, and I'll believe you." He didn't think she would, since she had always been resistant to him, and he could only believe half of what she said.
Pang Lin's bright, clear eyes flickered. The kiss, like a bird's gentle pecking, lightly pecked his right cheek, soft and warm. Peng Xuan'an's eyes widened like saucers. He slowly straightened up, incredulously raising his hand to touch the spot she had kissed, then looked at her smiling face.
"Xuan'an...His Majesty has issued a marriage decree for us..."
He was startled, connecting this to what she had said. "When...did this happen?"
No wonder she said those things; it turns out His Majesty forced her to...
Pang Linqiu stood up and patted the back of her skirt: "On the day I go back, will you..." She looked at Peng Xuan'an: "Will you marry me?"
He excitedly and hurriedly said, "Yes! I, Peng Xuan'an, am willing!" Like a happy child, his heart was already bursting with joy!
He excitedly hugged Pang Linqiu, burying his head in her shoulder, like a child trying to prove his happiness and excitement with his actions. "Linqiu! I will be good to you!" he whispered, his voice filled with boundless joy.
She patted his back gently, then opened her mouth hesitantly, "Okay, but... I have a condition..."
"What are the conditions? What do you want?"
"Uh..." She was a little embarrassed to say it. She had thought about it for a long time. This was also to ensure that she would have a good life after marrying him.
Seeing that she didn't respond for a long time, Peng Xuan'an raised his head to meet her gaze. He frowned slightly as he observed her expression. "Tell me what your conditions are?"
He gently grasped her shoulders, wanting to know if he could fulfill her so-called conditions.
"Uh..." Her lips twitched, feeling a little uncomfortable from his grip. "Let's discuss the three rules before marriage when we get back to camp, shall we?"
"Three rules?" He had a bad feeling, thinking that none of the three rules were good, but he couldn't be sure whether they would benefit or harm him. He hesitated for a moment and then agreed.
"Then let's go back to camp." She tried her best to appear as a gentle woman, rather than the gambling adversary she used to be.
The two strolled through the quiet night forest, guided by the fireflies. The military camp was not far away; it would only take about ten minutes to get there.
She felt awkward being in the quiet forest with someone she didn't like, and wondered why the way back to camp seemed so long. Was he deliberately walking slowly to test her patience?
She asked, "When...when will this battle end?"
He stroked his chin, his eyes lowered in deep thought. The kingdom now only had a few hundred thousand soldiers and ten cities left. At this rate, it would probably be over in about a year.
"It will take about another year."
"Can we... finish this sooner?" She lowered her head, a little embarrassed and shy. "His Majesty said that as long as you finish the war and return to the capital... we can get married."
Peng Xuan'an was taken aback. "I'll do it as soon as possible." He didn't want to keep her waiting. Actually, he wanted to marry her as soon as possible, so she would belong to him... that way she wouldn't have contact with other men, and he could possess her openly and legitimately...
The two returned to their tent and sat facing each other at the table. Candles were lit inside, making the tent very bright.
Pang Linqiu took out a piece of paper from her clothes and borrowed a brush from Peng Xuan'an. The two began to negotiate.
“We agree on three rules. If one party violates any of them, the other party can dispose of the other party as they see fit.” She flattened the paper and wrote the four characters “Three Rules” on it.
"good."
“If you break any of these rules, I plan to ignore you for two months. Is that alright?” She looked at him tentatively.
He glanced down at the paper and hesitated, "Is...it possible to be two days?" He seemed to dislike feeling neglected.
"No, you can't do whatever you want with me. If I break any of these rules, you can ignore me for a month or two, or punish me in other ways." She wished she could just ignore me.
"Okay then," he reluctantly agreed.
"Okay!" She had already thought out the three rules for the agreement, and she came today just to inform him or make some simple modifications.
"Article 1: Neither party shall interfere with the other party's official business for any reason."
He listened attentively and nodded in agreement, "Okay."
"Okay!" Seeing that he readily agreed, she picked up her pen and wrote the first item.
"Secondly, when engaging in marital relations, both parties must consent; if one party is unwilling, the other party may not force them."
He realized the drawback of this statement; if that were the case, she could continue to refuse, leaving him with no choice but to remain silent...
What if you continue to disagree?
Pang Linqiu hadn't expected him to guess her thoughts, but there was nothing she could do. Do it? She absolutely didn't want to. She was afraid Peng Xuan'an would force her, and even more afraid he would say, "When a woman says no, she means yes..." She absolutely wanted to die.
She couldn't worry about everything else; she needed to calm him down first and get him to sign this three-point agreement so she could handle things better.
Pang Linqiu confidently and reliably assured him, "Don't worry about that. I usually agree to do it if I'm in a good mood, but I definitely won't agree if I'm not."
"Do it when you're in a good mood?" He tilted his head slightly, raised an eyebrow, and looked up at her.
She nodded. "I'm usually willing to go through all that trouble with you when I'm in a good mood." She spoke the word "usually" softly, just so he wouldn't catch her doing something wrong.
Peng Xuan'an's lips unconsciously curled up. "Okay!"
Pang Linqiu continued writing the note, a smile unconsciously creeping onto her lips. She couldn't help but laugh as she thought about how many years into her marriage she was still a respectable young lady.
She suddenly remembered something and said, "Oh, right! We didn't do it on our wedding night either."
Peng Xuan'an frowned, puzzled. "Why?"
"I'm so tired from all the running around, I don't want to do it anymore."
Before Peng Xuan'an could say anything more, Pang Linqiu quickly cut him off, saying, "If you don't agree, you'll be spending your wedding night alone!" She threatened him, her meaning clear: if you don't agree, believe me, I'll run away that day.
After much hesitation, Peng Xuan'an had no choice but to grit his teeth and agree to the unequal terms, "Fine... I won't touch you."
Pang Linqiu smiled with satisfaction, then stated the third condition, "The third condition is that you must take a concubine..."
Peng Xuan'an raised his hand to stop them. "Stop!" he said, his brows furrowed in displeasure. "I don't accept this one. Find another one!"
Pang Linqiu sighed helplessly, thinking how wonderful it would be if he took a concubine, who could help him satisfy his desires and bear his children... In the end, she was forced to find another one.
"The third point is to give both parties their own space and not disturb each other for any reason."
Peng Xuan'an nodded and agreed, "Okay."
Pang Linqiu wrote down the third clause, then took out another sheet and drafted another one. Both parties wrote their names at the bottom. Pang Linqiu was afraid that Peng Xuan'an might have some tricks up his sleeve, so she made him write down his real name, courtesy name, and title. She was afraid he might say, "That was Peng Feizhe's promise, what does it have to do with me, Peng Xuan'an?"
Both parties pressed their fingerprints on it, just like signing a contract, with terms like "Party A" and "Party B" indicating their identities.
Each of them received one set of punishments. Pang Linqiu was quite certain that her punishment for him would be to ignore him for two months. She could use those two months to do business, observe the land, and accomplish many things.
Peng Xuan'an did not determine how he would deal with her, but rather it would depend on the situation.
Both sides wanted the other to violate one of the rules: one was carefree and indifferent, the other was uncertain about "desire".
Pang Linqiu vouched for herself with her integrity, assuring that she wouldn't violate a single rule. What kind of good person would want to disturb its work? What kind of good person would want to do something with it? What kind of good person would want to harass its space? She was certain she wouldn't, but she couldn't be sure if it would happen to him.
"Then you should end the war as soon as possible. I'll be waiting for you in the capital." She put away the papers and said neatly.
"Okay." Not wanting to keep her waiting, he began to plan the battle.
"You should get some rest. I... I'm leaving tomorrow." She got up to leave.
"Tomorrow?" He asked, puzzled as to why she left so quickly. "Where are you going?"
“I…” She thought for a moment. She couldn’t very well tell him that she was going to survey the terrain and develop a business. She suddenly remembered what her father had said, “You and I will be husband and wife from now on. Newlyweds cannot see each other. I must leave and return to the capital to make my wedding dress.”
Peng Xuan'an thought that made sense too.
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