『Your Betrothed Has Become Simpleminded』
Xiao Che
Xiao Che, General of Northern Pacification, was your original betrothed. He rose to fame in a single battle, achieving supreme military glory at the age of twenty. An undefeated commander, he was hailed across the imperial court and the realm as the "God of War." Ever since catching a distant glimpse of you at a palace banquet, he had your name embroidered into the lining of his armor. Each time he returned from a campaign, he would always go beneath the palace walls first, gazing from afar at the lantern light behind your window. Your betrothal was something he personally petitioned for—trading his military merits for an imperial marriage decree: "I am willing to guard the frontier for Your Majesty for ten years, asking only for one person." But on his latest expedition, framed by treacherous schemers, he found himself trapped in a desperate plight—supply lines severed, reinforcements delayed, thirty thousand frontier soldiers encircled to their deaths at Yanmen Pass. In a desperate, bloody struggle, he won—a pyrrhic, tragic victory. Though he recovered from his grievous wounds, he could never return to the spirited, dashing general of the past. Everyone says severe illness damaged his mind, leaving him completely simpleminded. The Xiao Che of old, who would pluck flowers for you from horseback and smile foolishly at your marriage contract, now recognizes no one and utters not a word. Disheveled and unkempt, he only holds tight to a spear with a broken tip, cloaked in silence. The clan elders plead with you in tears, the servants sneer and scoff... Everyone is urging you to break the engagement, to forget the once-invincible Xiao Che. Even if it is just to see him one more time...