My Female General Is A Villain (GL) - Chapter 25

Ever since Jiaojiao returned, the General’s manor had been draped in white banners to mourn the dead, and everyone wore sackcloth.

The night wind was lonely and tinged with sorrow. Jiaojiao’s mourning clothes were thin, and even in the early spring, they couldn’t block the bone-chilling wind. Her nose was red from the cold, and her cheeks were numb. The brazier in front of her was filled with the ashes of burnt paper money, and the flames, dancing and twisting, looked like menacing monsters in the dark. This was her second night keeping vigil at the mourning hall. She had instructed everyone not to disturb her.

“Third Miss, you can’t go in.”

“You can’t go in without the Second Miss’s permission!”

A servant tried desperately to stop He Yushu, but she simply ignored him, pushing his hand aside and barging in. He Jiaojiao, kneeling on the ground, frowned and turned her head when she heard the commotion outside.

“Second Miss, the Third Miss insisted on coming in… This… I couldn’t stop her.” The servant looked helpless.

“It’s fine, you can go now,” Jiaojiao said.

The servant rubbed the back of his head, glanced at Jiaojiao and He Yushu, and then scurried away, afraid of angering the two masters and getting caught in the middle. He was faster than a rabbit.

He Yushu was wearing a vibrant red silk dress, a stark contrast to the mournful atmosphere.

“Second Sister, why didn’t you tell me about such a big thing? I just returned to the manor today,” she said, holding a handkerchief to her face and shedding a few fake tears with a feigned sobbing sound.

He Jiaojiao ignored her, turning her back and throwing more paper money into the brazier.

“Third Sister, you really shouldn’t be wearing that outfit today,” He Wanqing said, looking displeased. Her tone was not polite.

He Yushu’s expression froze. “Oh, stepsister, you’re here too.” She had just noticed the two of them sitting close to each other. They didn’t seem to be at odds, as they usually were; in fact, their relationship appeared to have become as solid as gold. She had only been away for a short while, but the relationship between them seemed to have changed. Besides, her stepsister was never one to stick her neck out, yet now she was speaking up for He Jiaojiao.

“The incense is over there. Once you’ve paid your respects, please leave,” Jiaojiao said, pointing to a nearby table. She had no desire to waste any more words on her.

He Yushu wasn’t about to let it go. Shielding her face from the acrid smoke with her handkerchief, she decided to add fuel to the fire. “What exactly happened? Is Second Brother-in-law really dead?”

“Third Sister, please watch your words in a mourning hall!” He Wanqing, who was always composed, finally lost her patience. A layer of frost coated her clear, dark eyes.

“Oh, stepsister, don’t overreact. I’m just trying to show my concern for Second Sister. I didn’t mean to offend anyone.” He Yushu continued with her backhanded remarks. “The dead cannot be brought back. Second Sister, there’s no need to be sad. Besides, wasn’t this what you’ve always wanted? Your sadness makes no sense to me.”

“There are plenty of men in the world, and with your status, Second Sister, you have nothing to worry about when it comes to remarrying.” He Yushu’s words grew more brazen and unrestrained.

He Wanqing shot back, “We are family, Third Sister. Don’t go too far!”

“I’ll say this one more time,” He Jiaojiao said, her voice icy cold as she looked at her from the corner of her eye. “If you are here to mourn, shut up. If you’re here to cause trouble, get out.”

“Why are you getting angry, Second Sister? It’s because we’re family that I’m so concerned. It’s every woman’s dream to marry a good man and have a good family. I’m just looking out for you,” He Yushu said, not showing any agitation and continuing her mocking remarks. “Second Brother-in-law had no status and no talent. His family couldn’t even be a pillar of support for you. You have nothing to lose, so there’s no need to be sad.”

Before she could finish, He Jiaojiao shot to her feet and strode over to her. She raised her arm and delivered a resounding slap to He Yushu’s face.

The blow made He Yushu’s head spin. She stumbled back a step, a fiery pain spreading across her cheek. She looked at Jiaojiao in utter disbelief.

“That slap is from Father!” He Jiaojiao declared. “He raised you with no expectation of a reward, yet not only are you ungrateful, you have crooked intentions and side with outsiders. That is disloyalty and a lack of filial piety!”

Before He Yushu could recover, Jiaojiao raised her hand and slapped her again, her voice filled with a menacing fury. “This slap is from Pei Ji! He had no grudge or enmity with you, and he never harmed you. All he wanted was to live a simple life, yet you couldn’t tolerate him and worked with others to put an end to him. That is inhumanity!”

The two consecutive slaps made He Yushu’s head ring. “He Jiaojiao, you’re crazy! How dare you hit me!”

Before she could say another word, Jiaojiao delivered a third slap. “This slap is from me! We are bl00d relatives, yet you would use others to harm your own family and risk our family’s honor. That is unrighteousness!”

“And this slap is for all women in the world!” she added. “Who says women are born inferior to men and can only rely on them? Even without a man, we can be our own pillar of support!”

After the last slap, a red five-finger mark was clearly visible on He Yushu’s face. She had never imagined He Jiaojiao could be so aggressive.

“A person so disloyal, unfilial, inhuman, and unrighteous has no place here!” Jiaojiao said, lifting the hem of her dress and kicking He Yushu’s knee. He Yushu’s legs gave out, and she stumbled, falling to her knees.

“The person you harmed is lying in there! From now on, you will be tormented by nightmares and never sleep peacefully again!”

Just then, lightning flashed and thunder rumbled. A cold wind blew, making the candles on the offering table flicker eerily. He Yushu was so terrified that she started to tremble, clutching her handkerchief tightly and shaking her head. “I didn’t… I didn’t… I didn’t harm him. I didn’t mean to hurt him. It wasn’t my fault, it has nothing to do with me…”

“It’s you! He Jiaojiao! You’re the one who harmed him! You’re the one who brought disaster! You’re the one heaven should have taken!”

“It’s so unfair! You’ve done so many wicked things, yet you’ve never been punished, while I, who worked so hard to scheme and plot just to have a good life, what have I done wrong?”

“It’s you! You didn’t want to see me happy and had to interfere! It’s Pei Ji’s fault for wanting to die, what does it have to do with me?!” He Yushu grew more and more agitated, her face twisted with rage as she pointed at Jiaojiao and screamed.

Just then, a bolt of lightning struck, shattering a tile outside. The brilliant flash and deafening thunder broke He Yushu’s spirit. She collapsed, sitting on the ground with her arms wrapped around herself, trembling.

He Jiaojiao walked toward her, each footfall perfectly timed with a clap of thunder. She finally crouched down in front of her. “I’ll let this go for now, but if you ever dare to harm a member of the He family or disregard our family’s honor, don’t blame me for getting rid of you.”

“You’re right,” He Jiaojiao added. “I am a wicked person, so you’d better not provoke me. You won’t be able to handle it.”

“The old He Jiaojiao is dead. The new He Jiaojiao is not to be trifled with. I advise you to think carefully before you act.”

Outside, the storm raged. He Yushu looked at this familiar face, yet her demeanor felt entirely foreign. In the flashes of lightning, the fury in the eyes of the person before her seemed to erupt like a volcano. Despite her youthful face, she now instilled fear. He Yushu scrambled backward a few steps before getting to her feet and running away in a disheveled mess.

*******

The next day, the sun was bright, birds chirped, and new leaves sprouted everywhere. In a dilapidated wooden house, a handsome person with an ambiguous gender lay on a bed, dressed in a dark black robe. The person’s pale, bloodless face had regained a touch of color, and their weak pulse was gradually becoming stronger.

The person on the bed’s fingers moved, their eyelashes fluttered, and their pupils shifted back and forth. The door creaked open, and a harsh light hit their eyelids. They winced and squinted, opening their eyes a crack. A blurry pink figure moved back and forth. They couldn’t open their eyes wider; the lids felt as heavy as a thousand pounds.

Pei Ji felt like she was dying and this was just a hallucination. Her body was burning as if being consumed by a raging fire.

Suddenly, a cool sensation on her forehead brought instant relief, making her feel much more comfortable. They felt alive again.

Jiaojiao would change the cool cloth on Pei Ji’s forehead every so often and then wipe their body down with cool water. After more than a dozen times, the body temperature finally dropped. She checked Pei Ji’s breathing; she was still feverish.

She took out a small funnel she had made from a bamboo stalk and placed it at Pei Ji’s mouth. She slowly spooned medicine into it, one spoonful at a time. Jiaojiao watched Pei Ji’s throat move as they swallowed the medicine. She was pleased with the small funnel she had crafted. Modern minds were truly superior; it was so practical.

Pei Ji had been unconscious for more than half a month. Her injuries were too severe, and the side effects of the fake death medicine made it impossible to say when she would wake up. During this time, Jiaojiao had diligently brought down her fever, wiped her body, and massaged her limbs to loosen the muscles.

As the weather improved, she had a new idea. She wanted to build a simple but advanced wheelchair, one that could not only be pushed by others but also be operated by the person sitting in it. So she went to the house of her neighbor, an old man named Li, to learn carpentry. At first, she hit many roadblocks and almost gave up, but she remembered her goal of pushing Pei Ji outside to get some sun and help them recover. She grit her teeth and persevered.

Her hard work paid off. After three days, she had successfully built the wheelchair she designed. She triumphantly pushed it in front of Pei Ji. Her dusty face beamed with a proud smile. “See? I’m good, aren’t I? Look at this clever thing I made for you.”

“I’ll take your silence as your approval of my work.”

With that, she excitedly lifted the light figure from the bed and, with some effort, settled them in the wheelchair. She pushed them outside, and the comfortable warmth of the sun shone down on Pei Ji, dispelling the lingering coldness from their body.

Jiaojiao picked a vibrant red wildflower from the side of the road and tucked it behind Pei Ji’s ear, her eyes filled with a tender smile. “Smell this. This is the scent of spring you love. Are you happy?”

“If you’re happy, please wake up soon.”