Debts of the Marriage Bed

Hu Shen grew up on the grasslands. Her brother was highly regarded by the Khan, and her life was relatively comfortable.

Until one day, after her brother led an expedition into the Central Plains, he captured a gentleman from the south.

Word was that the man was the legitimate son of a noble Central Plains house, a man of prestigious status.

Word was that although he was a civil official, he fought with such ferocity that he was a rare talent worth cultivating.

The Khan intended to bring him into his service, but the man was unyielding, refusing to bow even after suffering various tortures and humiliations.

Left with no other options, someone suggested a plan: give him a wife.

With a wife and children to ground his heart, he might be swayed—and more importantly, it would be a political statement to the Emperor of the Central Plains.

Who would believe that a man who refused to surrender under torture would still be loyal to his home after marrying and fathering children in the north?

The identity of the woman had to be chosen carefully.

If she were too low-born, she would be no different from a common bed-warmer in the Central Plains.

If she were too high-born, why would the Khan’s own princess condescend to serve as bait?

Eventually, her brother came to her.

And so, Hu Shen brought a bowl of deer-blood wine to Xie Xixiao.

She believed Xie Xixiao hated her. If he didn’t, his gaze wouldn’t be so cold, and he wouldn’t have suppressed his every surge of passion when they shared a bed, refusing to give her any response.

And he certainly wouldn’t have—after coordinating with the Central Plains forces to assassinate the Khan—slaughtered their infant son while he was still in swaddling clothes.

——

Five years later, Xie Xixiao held immense power in his hands.

By “killing his son to prove his loyalty,” he had become a ruthless man and the Emperor’s closest confidant.

But in the dead of night, he would often dream of those three nauseating years of captivity.

It wasn’t until unrest broke out at the border again and he led his troops to pacify it that he encountered the woman who had repeatedly humiliated him.

She was dressed as a Han Chinese woman. Though she had remarried, she was now a widow, clutching the child she had with her late husband tightly in her arms.

Her frail body trembled as she looked at him with eyes full of terror.

The heart Xie Xixiao had steeped in resentment for years finally found its outlet…

The tables had turned.

Now, she was the prisoner at his mercy.

[Reading Guide]

1.
1v1, Clean for both leads.

2.
The child was not killed, and the male lead never intended to kill him. No innocent children are harmed; the synopsis reflects a discrepancy in perspective.

3.
This is not a “male-abusing-female” novel. Please do not apply stereotypes based solely on the synopsis.

4.
The child the male lead sees after the reunion is actually his and the female lead’s (they have a daughter).

5.
Alternate history setting. Official titles and character addresses are based on the Tang, Song, and Ming dynasties, with fictionalized geography.

(The northern state is called Northern Wei because I like the name, though Northern Liang would work too. The southern state is called Southern Liang because a character in my previous book was named Qi, so I didn’t want to call it Southern Qi. The brother is named Baturu because it’s simple to understand and evokes the feeling of a warrior. This story is purely fictional. Since it’s tagged as alternate history, please don’t try to force historical accuracy on it!)

6.
The grassland setting is a blend of ancient nomadic cultures. Some grassland terms refer to Mongolian homophones (e.g., the female lead’s name Hu Shen corresponds to “Husen,” meaning “hope”).

7.
Emotion-driven plot, bittersweet style.

8.
Please do not mention other works here, and do not mention this book under other works.

[Warning]

The male lead was engaged before he went to war; after he was captured, the girl married someone else.

(This part is related to the plot and links to my other stories. The male lead had already returned the engagement token before departing and never intended to marry her, nor did he have feelings for her.)