"Forgive this good-for-nothing... For taking so long."

Hong Chun now understood why her parents weren't complaining about her lack of interest in marriage. It turned out she was already reserved for someone long ago.

If her memory was right, Mao Zhen's brother was accepted in the military when he was 16. She was 13 at that time. He showed potential even without a deep army background. But it wasn't until he turned 18 that he was sent to a serious military campaign.

He didn't have the chance to go home since then because the scuffles in the South were a significant threat to Han.

Father Hong must have decided then that Mao Zhu would be his son-in-law. They were confident he would return safe from the war.

Hong Chun suddenly remembered the fox. If Si Hai's plan worked, Mao Zhu would probably be devastated. Imagine coming home to see your loved one showing affection for another. It wouldn't be unbelievable for this upright man to destroy himself.

"I never thought military men can be so sentimental." She couldn't help but tease.

Her back was still facing him so he couldn't see her face.

Sighing, Mao Zhu was helpless. "You... Really can't get serious for once. Let's just get you home."

He assisted her in boarding the carriage, and then he mounted his horse. He wasn't the type to take advantage of the fact that his younger sister was good friends with Hong Chun.

Although they weren't strangers to each other, he didn't push his luck to ride the carriage with her. It was the image of an honorable gentleman escorting his fiancé.

On the way home, our Hong Chun was thinking it wasn't bad to marry this military person. He seemed to be someone who was rigid in the battlefield but tender to those dear to him.

She remembered that this older brother never refused any of Mao Zhen's requests. As soon as she batted her eyes at him, he'd always be a partner to Zhen Zhen's little crimes.

As for concubines, she accepted the fact that she couldn't escape this fate. This was a polygamous era. There was no need to fuss over matters that couldn't be changed.

As long as no one bothered her, she'd be fine. Having said that, she was still quite sure this future husband wouldn't let her be 'bullied.'

Kidding, she'd make sure this future husband would be her golden leg. She wasn't the type to cling to an existing golden thigh. She'd rather create her own and this Lieutenant Colonel was a perfect candidate.

Mao Zhu felt her eyes on him even though the carriage's curtain was drawn. Hong Chun, who was peering through the thin fabric, saw him flash a knowing smile.

She chose to ignore it.

The young lieutenant colonel couldn't tease his fiancé. He knew that wouldn't turn out to be favorable. If a man teased his little sister, she would probably blush but he knew his sister's friend wasn't like that.

Mao Zhu's mindset was already like this even though their engagement wasn't announced yet. It was because he was sure of it and of his feelings.

He had great potential to go up the ranks in the army and he was blessed to have the apple of his eye be wedded to him. He was a lucky man, indeed.

"We're here."

The man personally assisted her down the carriage.

That was when Hong Chun noticed. "Wait... you actually haven't rested!"

Mao Zhu scratched the back of his head. From his days of travel, he only took a bath before going to pay respects to his grandmother.

They were so happy to see him that they prepared a feast on the spot and now, he sent Hong Chun home.

"I can rest when I go back." His eyes were smiling, feeling good that she cared.

All the fatigue in his body was somehow lifted, unaware that the woman was just admiring his physical endurance. She realized it was true that a military man was different from an average man. Somehow, she had a silly thought that Mao Zhu might have a male lead halo.

"Go in. I'll fetch you once Zhen Zhen's back from Qianlin." He prodded his cute fiancé.

She nodded but her eyes spotted a small cut on his eyebrow.

It wasn't prominent and she wasn't really staring at him earlier so she didn't notice it.

The edge of Mao Zhu's right eyebrow had a scar. It was the first time Hong Chun felt palpitation.

"Zhu ge, what happened to your..." she gestured to the same part on her face.

"Oh, this? I was almost cleaved once on the battlefield but I was lucky. The soldier's sword only pierced here. It's stitched and okay now."

He felt genuine gladness. Even though Hong Chun looked like nothing could sway her but asking these things meant she noticed little details about him.

"I see. That's good." She gave a perfunctory reply but Mao Zhu took this happily as he went home.

The young lady passed their gate with a dark look. There were three types of people that needed to be avoided in this world.

One, the plot's one true pair.

Two, the main leads' enemies.

And lastly, the female lead's spare tires that would do anything for her.

It was pretty much self-explanatory. The first one was destined to have only one person in their eyes and everyone else was disposable.

Hanging around with the second was bad luck because sooner or later, they would be destroyed.

And the third was kind of similar with the first but they would never have a happily ever after.

Yes, Hong Chun didn't finish writing the second book but she was particular with the kind of characters she wanted to appear. Her writing habit was to list detailed descriptions of significant persona. It was like her way of getting to know them as though they were real people.

Names wouldn't matter at first because she was often indecisive when it came to this. Character names were always subject to change.

She focused on personality and appearance.

Her memory was vivid when it came to this second male lead that had a military background and a scar on his brow. He was among her favorite.

Due to her deep thoughts, she had little awareness that her feet stopped walking halfway to the main hall.

What was the percentage that Mao Zhu was that second male lead?

She wasn't one to believe hunches. Probability and inferences played a big part in her convictions.

However... she had already met Si Hai, a side-villain. It wasn't impossible to meet another person who was part of the plot.

All of a sudden, she felt her world getting smaller. A dull ache assaulted her temples.

She could imagine just how the plot was supposed to flow.

Mao Zhu's heart would be broken because his first love was married off to another man (err... a fox) so he decided to work better as a soldier. Then, he would be promoted until he had the opportunity to get close to the pillars of this world.

The female lead, being the Empress, would say some words to console his tattered self and wouldn't have an inkling that he would fall in love with her. Ultimately, he would swear to protect her with all his life and soul.

Hong Chun admitted that it was the kind of stuff she'd write. QQ was known for her sad endings but that was the only difference. Her novels were all as cliché as the others.

Old Shang caught her standing there in her depressed state.

"Something troubles our family's little princess. Tell this humble servant and I'll avenge you!"

In this house, Father Hong was an honorable man and Mother Hong was good at raising kids.

There was only Old Shang who spoiled her to no ends and would disobey the masters one too many times to follow Hong Chun's strange whims.

She grew up having Old Shang as an accomplice. Being a female, her actions were very limited.

She couldn't be impulsive and go to the market to buy the books that she wanted. Sometimes, she'd run out of ink in the middle of the night and it would be too dark to go to the warehouse.

Often, she didn't want people to bother her so the old man would politely reject all visitors.

It was Old Shang who rescued her at those moments.

There was even a time that she was very curious about how a sister of an entertainment house looked like in real life so he accompanied her without qualms.

In some ways, he was like a cool grandpa to her but in actuality, he was a loyal-to-death servant to Hong Chun.

However, these days, he was starting to show his age. Being forgetful, having chronic pains and all sorts of things that senior people tend to have. So she told him that it was okay not to do things around the residence like he used to.

Hong Chun also got a couple of helpers for him after Si Hai entered the fu.

She was sure Hong Shu Cao prepared for Old Shang's retirement. He'd always been respectful of this old man.

Looking at the slightly hunched figure in front of her, she felt a small pang in her heart. It was an uneasy but helpless feeling of running out of time.

Hong Chun realized this was a prelude to the grief that was coming.

But even in this world, it was inevitable. Death was inevitable.