After the Great War, the military prostitutes were to be sold into brothels. To avoid this fate, they tried everything to seduce soldiers and get taken home. When the taciturn, dark-skinned Captain came looking for me, the entire camp was empty except for me and an old woman dying of a terminal illness. She laughed at me: "Little Rose, if someone is willing to take you, just go. Who are you waiting for? Don't tell me it's that high-and-mighty General Peyton, who's about to marry the princess?" I said I needed to think about it. That night, Peyton pinned me to the bed. He gripped my chin, forcing me to look up at him. "I'm marrying the princess, and you're jealous?" He scoffed. "You've got quite a temper." "Nothing between us will change after I marry the princess. I bought a house outside the city. Wait for me there." He never asked about the man who came for me during the day. He was so sure I wouldn't leave with anyone else. But he didn't know I had already agreed to go with the Captain named Zane. The day he married the princess was also the day I would marry Zane. 1 After the war ended, according to custom, we military prostitutes were to be sold into the lowest brothels. Those places were filled with all kinds of people: old, young, perverted, disgusting. It wasn't a place for humans. So, starting three days ago, the younger women began trying every trick to seduce the soldiers. These men were the survivors of the war. Having won, they would be rewarded based on their merit. Even if they already had wives at home, becoming a kept mistress wasn't a bad end. Zane appeared when a scoundrel was trying to take me back as a concubine. After I refused, he got angry and tackled me onto the bed in the tent. "Bitch! You're the daughter of a criminal minister, a military prostitute, and you still think you're a lady? Usually, the young general gets first dibs, but now it's my turn to taste..." Before he could finish, he was grabbed by the collar and thrown to the ground. I scrambled up in a panic and saw Zane. He carried the scoundrel out like he was carrying a chick. At first, there was shouting outside, but it soon died down. After dealing with the man, Zane came back in and stood at the tent entrance like a mountain, blocking all the light. His wheat-colored skin was solid and vibrant, sweat dripping down his neck into his collarbone. He was breathing slightly hard, looking at me, but didn't say a word. I don't know how long passed. Finally, he said just one phrase: "I can." It was a bit baffling, but I understood what he meant. These days, besides that scoundrel, five or six other men had come to me, saying they could take me home. Some even promised me the position of principal wife. After all, I was once the cherished daughter of the Minister of Revenue. I could play the zither, play chess, do calligraphy, and paint. My beauty alone was once famous throughout the capital. I refused them all. But this time, I stared into Zane's eyes. He stiffly looked away. His face was taut, as if someone owed him money. But I saw that the tips of his ears were bright red. "I need to think about it." I said. After Zane left, a weak voice came from the corner. "He might be the last one." That was the only other woman left here besides me, an old prostitute suffering from a serious illness and running out of time. She laughed at me: "Little Rose, if he's willing to take you, just go with him. Who are you waiting for? Don't tell me it's that high-and-mighty General Peyton, who's about to marry the princess?" She knew I had some kind of relationship with Peyton. Otherwise, I wouldn't be a military prostitute who didn't have to serve others. But every two days, I would go out at night holding my zither. The only person who could have this privilege was the now-distinguished and glorious Peyton. She thought Peyton was just treating me like a plaything, and I shouldn't pine for someone out of my league. But she didn't know that it wasn't me who refused to let go. 2 The night Zane came to find me, Peyton called me over. I had just entered his tent with my zither when I was pushed onto the table from behind. Peyton reached into my clothes with one hand and grabbed my neck with the other, forcing me to look up. His kiss was like a violent storm, without tenderness. I don't know what was wrong with him today; he was unusually rough, from the table to the bed, from night until dawn. I was exhausted, lying weakly on the edge of the bed. Peyton hugged me from behind and asked: "I'm marrying the princess, and you're jealous?" He paused for a moment and then said: "What right do you have to be jealous of the princess? Rose, you're no longer the Capital's Peony." This title hadn't been heard for a long time, and it inexplicably stirred up some memories. Back then, I was quite famous in the capital. Many sons of officials admired me, and Peyton was one of them. Among those playboys, his way of pursuing me was particularly unconventional. He would climb over my family's wall, risking a beating from my father, to place a dew-covered sprig of plum blossoms on my windowsill. On the Lantern Festival, he bribed the girls in the brothel in advance. When my sisters and I passed by, those girls leaned on the railing upstairs, waving handkerchiefs of various colors that together formed the word "Rose." My parents and brother cursed him for being rude. But they didn't know that night I looked up at him, the stars were shining, and he leaned among the girls, showing a mouthful of white teeth, smiling freely and casually. My heart missed a beat. At that time, the war between Chen and Dayan had just begun, and many sons of noble families were sent to the battlefield to gain experience. Peyton was among them. They hurried to the battlefield. I didn't have time, nor the position, to see him off. But that morning, I still saw a fresh sprig of red plum blossoms on the windowsill. There was a note underneath, in handwriting as bold and unrestrained as he was. ——"Wait for me to achieve success and fame, then I will come back to marry you." I didn't wait for his return. My father was charged with a serious crime because he stood on the wrong side, and our home was raided. My father and brother died, and my mother committed suicide. I was the only one left, thrown into the military camp as a prostitute. The first night, dozens of men broke in, cornering me like hungry wolves. "This is the Capital's Peony, the unattainable Rose." "I heard many sons in the capital wanted to marry her. She really is beautiful!" "Today, let's brothers break her in..." A despair I had never felt before enveloped me. I was trembling all over and couldn't move, thinking I should just let it happen. Death seemed like a good option. Suddenly, someone in silver armor broke in, a bloody spear blocking in front of me, shielding me from those disgusting gazes. "You dare to touch my person?" "You're courting death!" Three years later, seeing Peyton again, he was darker and thinner, and a scar on the side of his face made him look a bit fierce. But facing me, he hugged me tightly, as if he had found a lost treasure: "Thank goodness, you're alright." Because of lingering fear, his hands were still trembling slightly. Afraid that I would get sick in this environment, Peyton asked me to move to his tent and took me to the nearby stream and grassland to relax whenever he had time. He knew I loved the zither. He found one somewhere in this remote place and placed it on my bed like a treasure. I played a song for him, and his smile was as refreshing as a spring breeze. "Hearing Rose play a song, death is worth it." At that time, I really thought I could entrust my life to him. Peyton was very capable. In just one year, he achieved great military exploits and was promoted rapidly. With his protection, no one dared to have ideas about me. He socialized more and more late with those generals. Occasionally, they would call some young and beautiful military prostitutes to drink and feast in the main tent. I could hear those unbearable sounds. At first, I deceived myself thinking Peyton was definitely not one of them. Until he suddenly roughly turned me over on the bed, lying on the edge of the bed in a humiliating posture. I realized what he was going to do and instinctively pushed him away. He frowned: "This isn't okay either? They... forget it, go to sleep." He went to take a shower in frustration and slept holding me as usual. But my mind was full of the sentence he didn't finish. They are all okay. They are all military prostitutes, why aren't you? My heart sank to the bottom. The battles were frequent, Peyton was running around every day, and he came to see me less and less. A bold soldier mistakenly thought I had been abandoned, sneaked into my tent in the middle of the night, covered my mouth and nose tightly, and pressed his foul-smelling mouth against me. I struggled in panic and was slapped in the face by him. In an instant, my ears were buzzing, and my mind went blank. Fortunately, Peyton returned in time. He kicked the man away and held me in his arms. I thought he had dealt with that scoundrel, but a few days later, I saw that man again. He stood in front of the roasted sheep unscathed, laughing with others: "How could General Peyton really turn against me for a whore? He even treated me to a drink, saying women are like clothes, and the friendship with brothers is life-and-death." "That chick is really tender. It's a pity I didn't get her. When I have a chance, I must screw her." Meeting my eyes, he licked the corner of his mouth, disgusting to the extreme. The nightmarish scene appeared before my eyes again. I was terrified and asked Peyton about it. At that time, he was reading a book at the desk. Hearing this, his beautiful brows frowned slightly. He pulled me to sit on his lap and stroked the back of my neck with his hand. "Rose, personally, his uncle is my deputy general and saved my life. I can't punish him." "Officially... what reason should I use to deal with him? Bullying a military prostitute?" I stared at him blankly. His hand had already reached under my skirt, flippant and casual. Confused by passion, he comforted me saying: "You are mine. I will definitely not let others bully you. Wear more clothes when you go out of the tent in the future..." I felt like I knew the man in front of me for the first time. From then on, I knew men were unreliable. To escape this hell, I had to rely on myself. 3 Since the news of disbanding the military prostitutes came out, Peyton knew that many people secretly came to me to take me away. But he never asked, nor did he step forward to declare his sovereignty. As if he was sure I wouldn't leave with anyone. He bit my ear gently, and I turned my head to avoid it. He sneered: "You've got quite a temper." "After marrying the princess, nothing between us will change. I bought a house outside the city. That will be our home in the future." He seemed to have forgotten the red plum blossoms placed on my windowsill that year. Also forgotten that two years ago, when he regained what was lost and held me like a treasure in his palm, he once said: "Rose, when the war is over, I will marry you and take you home." What he genuinely wanted to marry was the stunningly talented legitimate daughter of the Qi family. And in his eyes, I had been reduced to a military prostitute. Everyone can give up on me. But I can't give up on myself. I smiled and leaned obediently in his arms without speaking. Peyton didn't know that before I came here to see him, I sent a message to the Captain named Zane. I agreed. On the day Peyton married the princess, I would go back to River City to marry Zane. This was the only way for me to escape this hell. This great victory, allowing the soldiers to take their preferred military prostitutes away was a grace given to them. It happened that Zane wanted to take me away, and it happened that he wasn't a bad person. Someone from the imperial court came to announce the decree, and the generals were about to return to the capital first to receive awards. That night, Peyton hosted a banquet to entertain those officials. In the main tent, glasses were clinking. Those people felt bored, and someone mentioned: "I heard Rose is here with you?" Their eyes crossed, some with restless minds: "I've long heard of the reputation of the Capital's Peony. Not only is she proficient in zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting, but her dancing skills are also superb. Why not call her up to dance for everyone to liven things up." Just dancing was already them caring about face. Peyton had no reason to refuse. When he sent someone to bring the dancing clothes, I was applying medicine to my body. That dancing dress was almost transparent. After putting it on, it could barely cover the body, let alone cover these bruises made by Peyton. I held the clothes and remained silent. The person waiting outside the tent urged impatiently: "What's wrong? Can't you wear it? Do you want brother to help you?" "I can't dance." He was stunned and walked straight in. "General Peyton ordered you to perform a dance. You dare not go?" "Yes." I pulled out the short knife that Peyton had given me for self-defense from under the pillow and stabbed it into my thigh. In an instant, blood spurted out. I said coldly: "I said, I can't dance." That person was scared by me and rushed out to report. When Peyton came back after appeasing those people, he was cold all over. He looked at my unbandaged wound, was silent for half a moment and asked: "Things are different now, Rose." "It's just asking you to dance. With your status, what position do you have to refuse?" I looked up at him and asked indifferently: "In your eyes, what is my status?" He glanced at the outside of the tent out of the corner of his eye and snorted coldly: "It seems that I have been too lenient with you on regular days. We will return to the capital tomorrow. Except for those military prostitutes who have written marriage contracts with soldiers, others will be sent to the labor camp according to the law. You also go there to temper your temperament. I'll pick you up after I report on my work in the capital." I suddenly looked up. He wants to send me to the labor camp? He looked at me heavily for a while and turned to leave. I knew Zane had already drawn up the marriage contract. After Peyton left tomorrow, Zane would also take me back to River City. He marries his princess. I marry my man. Perhaps in this life, this is the last time we meet. "General Peyton." I rarely called him that. Peyton was stunned and stopped. I bowed to him and thanked him for protecting me these two years. "Have a safe journey. Rose won't send you off."
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