Grass and mustard reign supreme

Chapter 1 The Bride Who Didn't Want to Lose Her Job

A slender moon hung between the mountains, like a piece of brittle bone stuck in the teeth of a wild dog. The clusters of campfires on the Gobi Desert resembled phosphorescent lights scattered in a mass grave.

The campfire was located in a campsite, the center of which was situated on a high slope. On the high slope stood a felt tent, which was the wedding tent for the marriage alliance between the Yu family of Tianshui and the Suo family of Jincheng.

The best man, Yang Can, hurriedly entered the wedding tent and saw the bride sitting there in a bright red wedding dress, phoenix coronet and embroidered robe, her wrists outstretched on her knees, looking elegant and dignified.

Yang Can couldn't help but sigh inwardly, feeling a sudden sense of shared misfortune. The groom was dead, killed by a stray arrow from bandits. He, the best man, groomsman, and advisor, was about to lose his job, while the bride before him… was already unemployed.

Yang Can composed himself, stepped forward, and bowed, saying, "May I ask what instructions the young mistress has for me?"

The bride rose gracefully and said softly, "There is something I do not understand, sir. Please enlighten me."

"Please give your orders, young mistress."

"The groom is dead, so who should I, the bride, marry?"

"Huh?" Yang Can suddenly raised his head, looking astonished.

The bride walked gracefully towards Yang Can, her long wedding gown trailing like clouds on the carpet: "How about you, Mr. Yang, take his place?"

Yang Can's brain completely shut down after hearing this.

What the hell?

Let me take the place of the groom in the bridal chamber?
The groom has just left, his body is barely cold...

That's right, the groom had just died, less than an hour ago, and his body wasn't even stiff yet.

Just this evening, as their wedding procession, which had traveled a long way to Jincheng to fetch their bride, was setting up camp on this Gobi Desert, a band of bandits suddenly appeared.

Those bandits came and went like the wind, taking away some valuables and, incidentally, the groom's life.

The groom died from a stray arrow.

As the groom's advisor, best man, and attendant, Yang Can officially transitioned into a "funeral officiant" from this moment on.

In this remote place, far from any village or shop, there was no way to find a coffin for the groom. But Master Yang was clever and had a flash of inspiration. He decided to dismantle the carriage and use the planks to piece together a coffin to make up the difference.

He was leading his men in a frenzy of dismantling the carriage when the bride sent someone to summon him. Unexpectedly, she made such a bizarre request of him.

Could it be that the bride suddenly switched roles to "widow" and went insane because she couldn't handle such intense stimulation?

The pearl-strung "face curtain" obscured the bride's incomparably beautiful face, making it impossible for Yang Can to see whether her eyes were filled with madness.

The bride's name was Suo Chanzhi, and she was a noblewoman from the Suo family of Jincheng.

The groom, whose body was not yet "robust," was named Yu Chengye, the eldest son of the Yu family in Tianshui.

Both the Suo and Yu families are prominent clans in Longshang, making this marriage a perfect match.

As for Yang Can, he was a secretary hired by Yu Chengye half a year ago.

Ever since he saw Suo Chanzhi's appearance, Master Yang had also fantasized about the forbidden scene of "Young mistress, don't turn around, I am my young master".

Because this bride is just too beautiful!
The Longshang region is home to a diverse mix of ethnic groups, including the Xianbei, Quanrong, various Qiang peoples, and Han Chinese, which explains the abundance of beautiful women in the area.

Even in a place teeming with beauties, Suo Chanzhi could be considered an unparalleled beauty.

However, Yang Can only thought about such unrealistic ideas. In this life, who hasn't had a time when they "think" about things?
Now that his dream had come true, Yang Can felt only fear, for he had already sensed that someone was lying in ambush outside the tent.

It seems that if he doesn't agree, he's destined not to escape unscathed tonight.

When Suo Chanzhi uttered these startling words, his expression remained calm.

Of course, that was just her feigned composure; if she hadn't said it in one go, she wouldn't have had the courage to speak again.

Even so, her pretty face had turned the color of a fiery sunset, but fortunately, the beaded curtain under her phoenix crown covered her face.

Beneath the tattered skirt, a pair of long, straight legs were trembling slightly.

"Young Madam, what...what makes you say that?"

Yang Can spoke with a look of astonishment. If there hadn't been people lying in ambush outside the tent, he would have thought the young mistress had gone mad.

“Yu Chengye is dead, and I haven’t even consummated our marriage. Mr. Yang, do you know what this means to me?”

Beneath the phoenix crown and beaded curtain, a bitter expression appeared on her exquisitely beautiful face.

Yang Can knew, of course, that he had been in this world for three years and was already familiar with many of its rules and customs.

He knew that if the groom died on the way to the wedding, the bride would be a "widow on the road," which was considered an extremely unlucky woman in people's eyes.

Suo Chanzhi is a noblewoman of the Suo family and the wife of the eldest son of the Yu family. In the future, she will be the mistress of the Yu family, enjoying immense prestige.

But as a result, she will never see the light again in her life; her life will be filled with endless darkness until her black hair turns to snow.

Suo Chanzhi sighed softly, "I am not the eldest daughter of the Suo family, so becoming the eldest daughter-in-law of the Yu family is very important to me."

Now that this has happened... I refuse to accept my fate.

So, even if the groom is on his deathbed, this marriage must go through! To put it bluntly, I need to…”

A slight red tinge appeared at the corner of Suo Chanzhi's upturned eyes: "A child."

Yang Can finally understood what Suo Chanzhi meant; this bride wanted to…

Borrowing sperm?!
Yu Chengye led his men to Jincheng to fetch the bride, and then returned to Tianshui. This journey had taken them more than half a month.

Throughout the journey, Yu Chengye did not consummate the marriage with his bride, citing the reason that "the journey is simple and it is not appropriate to be too forward with a beautiful woman."

However, since the central area of ​​the camp was served by the So family, not many people knew about this.

Aside from the few maids from the Suo family who were personally attending to the newlyweds, Yang Can, the groom's best man, was probably the only other person present.

Therefore, as long as Yang Can is brought into this plan, it should be possible to deceive everyone, which is perhaps why he was chosen.

Once Suo Chanzhi has a child, and it is a boy, then this child will naturally become the eldest grandson of the Yu family.

In this way, even if Yu Chengye dies, the eldest son's line of the Yu family will not be extinct, and Suo Chanzhi, the eldest daughter-in-law of the eldest son's family, will have the status she deserves. But what about me? Before that, won't I be killed to silence me?

The So family would never allow such a thing to be exposed, as that would ruin their reputation and destroy the friendship between the two families.

"If I want to have a child, I need to have a man first..."

As Suo Chanzhi spoke, her cheeks grew increasingly hot, so she tried to raise her chin, using pride and arrogance to hide her embarrassment and unease.

She was only seventeen years old. How could she remain calm and composed when making such an absurd request?
Originally, she would rather die than do such a thing, but her dowry maid, Granny Tu, persuaded her for a long time.

Granny Tu analyzed the pros and cons for her and weighed the gains and losses for her...

In the end, she was persuaded.

She didn't want to end up with the miserable fate that Granny Tu had described.

She was not the legitimate daughter of the Suo family, and her father and brothers were not in a good position in the Suo family either.

Marrying into the Yu family in Tianshui was a crucial opportunity for her branch of the family to gain attention.

This marriage was valuable, which allowed her father and brothers to receive preferential treatment from family resources.

And she herself would not become a "widow on the street" and be kept by the Yu family.

To break this deadlock, she must first find a man and successfully get pregnant.

“Mr. Yang, if you submit to me, you will be the eldest son of the Yu family, and from then on you will be second only to me.”

And your child will have the opportunity to become the head of the Yu clan in the future. I think... you won't refuse, will you?

Suo Chanzhi spoke with feigned arrogance, gently tugging at the rope around her neck, causing her long wedding robe to slip down. She suppressed her shyness and placed a slender hand on Yang Can's shoulder.

The soft hand slid intimately toward Yang Can's chest, and where the fingertips touched, Yang Can's muscles tensed as if he had been electrocuted.

Suo Chanzhi sensed the change in Yang Can's muscles. She had thought that this Master Yang was a weak scholar who couldn't even kill a chicken, but she didn't expect... he was quite strong, which made Suo Chanzhi even more satisfied.

Although she felt deeply humiliated that she had to find a man to marry in order to change her fate, Suo Chanzhi felt extremely ashamed.

But there are over three hundred strong men in this camp, and Miss Suo can choose whichever she wants tonight. Isn't that a kind of forbidden pleasure?

"Young Madam, you... surely you don't only have Yang as an option?"

Although Yang Can asked the question, he already knew in his heart that no matter what the bride's reasons were for choosing him, from the moment he learned this secret, he had no way out.
It's either you submit, or you die.

"The Suo family's dowry members are all my servants and men. How could I allow a servant to disobey me?"

Suo Chanzhi answered confidently. She was very close to Yang Can. Although it wasn't the first time she had met this Master Yang, it was the first time she had looked at Yang Can so closely.

Yang Can was twenty-two or twenty-three years old. He had handsome and refined features, a well-defined jawline, and his eyes appeared amber-colored in the candlelight.

Unlike the pale and weak Zhongyuan brothers, or the rough and savage Longshang warriors, he possessed a temperament that perfectly blended strength and gentleness.

"As for why I chose you..."

Suo Chanzhi paused, unwilling to admit that she actually preferred Yang Can to the groom.

So when she had no choice but to accept Granny Tu's suggestion, the first image of the man that popped into her mind was Master Yang in front of her.

"That's because... among the Yu family, you're the only one I'm familiar with!"

Yang Can sneered inwardly; he didn't believe Suo Chanzhi's explanation.

It must be because I'm the only one in the Yu family who knows the secret that you haven't consummated your marriage, right?
If you bring me in, and then kill me after the deed is done, it's the same as silencing me twice?

"So, Mr. Yang, have you made your choice: life or death?"

Suo Chanzhi asked, and the finger that was resting on Yang Can's chest gently lifted Yang Can's chin.

That arrogant and demanding attitude temporarily eased the humiliation Suo Chanzhi felt.

But the next moment, she tripped and fell into Yang Can's arms.

"What...what are you going to do?" Suo Chanzhi's face paled instantly.

"Of course I'll do what you wish, young mistress."

Yang Can, holding the slender waist of the rope-wrapped branch, replied, "Since I'm going to be killed whether I stick my neck out or not, and I'm going to die either way, why should I be coy?"

Suo Chanzhi suddenly felt like she was floating on clouds, and then she realized that Yang Can had roughly thrown her onto the big bed.

Her phoenix crown slipped off, and her lithe body bounced a few times on the soft bed.

Suo Chanzhi was enraged by Yang Can's rudeness. She flipped over, straightened her back, supported herself on the couch with one hand, raised her phoenix eyes, and glared at Yang Can.

Its shape and spirit resemble a cat with wide eyes, arched back, and panting menacingly.

"Yang Can, how dare you!"

"Young Madam, I, Yang, am not only bold!" Knowing there was no way out, Yang Can, having steeled his resolve, no longer had any scruples.

Since transmigrating to this world, he had experienced the hardships of being displaced and starving, and he did not want to suffer that kind of bitterness again.

Now that they've finally found a big tree to lean on, like Yu Chengye, they've only enjoyed his shade for a little over half a year before the tree suddenly fell.

With the master dead, Yang, as the advisor, already faced an uncertain future. Now, he has been dragged into this conspiracy by Suo Chanzhi. Master Yang is furious!
Yang Can suddenly yanked his belt, and his dark-colored robe instantly opened.

If a mouse gets too big, even a cat will run away.

The cat, which was panting, suddenly turned red-faced and tried to run away as if it had seen something.

However, just as she escaped from one end of the couch to the other, her delicate ankle was grabbed by a large hand.

"Eh~~~"

With a gasp, the bride slid back from one end of the bed to the other in a flash.

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(End of this chapter)