My Female General Is A Villain (GL) - Chapter 4

Jiaojiao had overlooked one thing, Pei Ji was, at least in name was her “husband.”

Even though she knew perfectly well that Pei Ji  was a woman but Pei Ji certainly did not see herself that way.

To her, Jiaojiao must look utterly insane. Just yesterday they had been glaring daggers, wishing the other would vanish from sight, and now suddenly she was full of solicitous concern, fussing over her injuries—so much so that she didn’t even mind telling her to undress.

Anyone would find it suspicious.

Worse, it might make Pei Ji even more guarded.

Just then, a translucent panel suddenly popped up before her eyes.

System Nineteen’s reminder: “Warning: Target has begun doubting you. Favorability has dropped. Current index: -100.”

“What? Negative one hundred?!” Jiaojiao nearly choked. “I don’t even get to start from zero?!”

She wanted to curse. You expect me to win her over, but I can’t act strange, and now you tell me she’s suspicious? That’s just pushing me to my grave, isn’t it? If you want me dead, just say it. Saves me the trouble of pretending.

System Nineteen’s voice came back, sheepish: “My apologies, perhaps I phrased it poorly. Your change in behavior was too abrupt. If you proceed gradually, the target may accept it more easily.”

Jiaojiao rolled her eyes inwardly. And you only think to say this now? I swear that -100 is your fault, not mine.

System 19: “…”

Pei Ji’s gaze narrowed, icy and searching, as though trying to peel back her skin to see what she was hiding.

Jiaojiao shifted uncomfortably under the scrutiny, then looked away. “The hot water’s ready. Take your bath in peace. I’ll wait outside.”

“That was… prepared for me?” Pei Ji’s eyes flicked toward the screen, where steam curled into the air.

Could it be this woman had already discovered her secret—that she wasn’t a man—and was deliberately probing her?

That would explain her sudden change. Yes, it all made sense now.

Jiaojiao had just reached the door when Pei Ji’s curt refusal came: “There’s no need.”

“You hate me, don’t you? Why this sudden kindness?”

With her hand on the door, Jiaojiao tossed back casually, “Because you reek like some filthy beggar. It ruins my mood. And who am I? A dignified daughter of the He family. If word got out, it’d be my reputation that stank.”

Her tone was light, but it sounded perfectly believable.

As the door shut, Pei Ji froze, then quietly lifted an arm and sniffed.

…Not smelly at all.

But the old Jiaojiao wouldn’t have cared either way. She wouldn’t even have looked at her, let alone spoken.

This marriage was supposed to cement ties between Great Jing and the northern Lì kingdom. Yet because He Su was the emperor’s favored minister, the imperial family turned a blind eye to the farce.

And as for her own father, the great general who had bartered her away. He had never once cared whether she lived or died. To him, she was nothing but a useless “son” sacrificed for the family’s gain.

Even if she perished in this foreign land, at most he would sigh, “My child was ignorant of proper conduct,” will feign sorrow for a few days, and then be done with it.

After confirming nothing seemed amiss, Pei Ji finally indulged herself.

It was the first proper bath she had in three years since entering the He household. Always before, she had to sneak to the lake at midnight, shivering as she scrubbed in icy water.

Her body was frail, stunted from neglect. All bones and no flesh, every joint jutting sharp beneath her skin.

Her robes hung loosely, so wide that another arm could have fit through her sleeves.

Her clothing was always hand-me-downs from the servants, ill-fitting and worn.

As for the female form she bound beneath layers of white cloth. There was little enough to see, less still to raise suspicion.

From a distance, in the winter wind, she looked like a wisp of paper, fragile enough to be blown away.

When she finally emerged, she found Jiaojiao sitting on the steps outside, head tipped against a pillar, still as if asleep.

She really had waited.

Pei Ji halted beside her.

Moonlight spilled over Jiaojiao’s face—rosy lips, fair skin, a beauty like moonlight on blossoms. Looking at her like this, it was hard to reconcile such loveliness with the word vicious.

A few snowflakes drifted down, catching in her hair, melting against her nose.

Jiaojiao stirred, slowly opening her eyes. She saw a pair of scuffed boots inches from her, then raised her gaze, meeting a pale, underfed face.

She rose to her feet. Standing on the step below, she had to tilt her head back to look up at Pei Ji.

“Why’d you come out here? You could have called me. It’s freezing—hurry inside.”

Then she remembered herself, scolding System 19 silently.

It’s your fault—she looks so pitiful I forgot I’m supposed to be careful.

Jiaojiao masked her slip with a cold huff. “Took you long enough. Thanks to you I froze half to death out here. Truly irritating. Well? Get inside already!”

Judging by Pei Ji’s expression, the effect wasn’t bad.

She opened a cabinet, pulled out a small ornate jar, and tossed it over. “Here. Medicine. Apply it once a day and the bruises will heal faster.”

Pei Ji didn’t even glance at it before refusing. “I appreciate Second Miss’s concern. But I don’t need it.”

Inwardly, Jiaojiao blinked. Oh-ho, not bad. You dare refuse me twice now?

“Suit yourself. Throw it out for all I care. It’s not worth much anyway, just an eyesore on my shelf.”

Of course, she knew perfectly well Pei Ji would see every gesture of hers as a hidden ploy.

Yet as Pei Ji looked at her, she couldn’t help feeling… something was different.

********

When Pei Ji left, Jiaojiao didn’t try to stop her.

Everyone in the He household knew the Second Young Miss’ spouse never shared a bed with her. She slept alone in a distant woodshed, nearly forgotten.

If she died there, no one might notice for days.

Jiaojiao thought it over. No wonder, later, Pei Ji had been able to rise in power so suddenly. It was because no one ever paid her the slightest attention. In this vast household, she was nothing more than an extra breath of air.

That, in its own way, wasn’t a bad thing. It gave her freedom to bide her time, plotting beneath their very noses.

One should never underestimate a minor figure. Someday, they might be the one who decides your fate.

The original Jiaojiao was the perfect cautionary tale who was destroyed by her own carelessness.

Jiaojiao straightened. No, this wouldn’t do. If she was going to survive, she needed to know Pei Ji inside and out.

******

The next day, she called for Qingyao and asked where Pei Ji was.

Qingyao was a little surprised, then quickly composed herself. “The Second Young Master took the Son-in-Law out this morning.”

“What?”

“They said they were going to buy things for the Old Madam’s birthday.”

“Grandmother’s birthday?” He Jiaojiao blurted out, then quickly covered up. “Since when did He Wenchuan become so thoughtful?”

Qingyao just shook her head. These were matters of the masters, and it wasn’t her place as a lowly maid to speculate.

This He Wenchuan was the original owner’s good-for-nothing second brother. Her mother, Chu Hua Jun, had originally wanted to give him a scholarly name, hoping he would pursue a career as a civil official.

She had hoped for one son to be a scholar and the other to be a warrior, a perfect family.

But no one expected that when the Second Young Master was a month old, he would grab a pair of dice during his first birthday ritual. His mother tried to instill scholarly interests in him from an early age, but it was no use.

He Wenchuan was neither a fighter nor a scholar. He spent his days carousing with a pack of layabout friends.

He Jiaojiao knew for sure that he was secretly using this errand as an excuse to go out and live it up.

*******

Pei Ji rarely had a chance to leave the mansion. For He Wenchuan to take her out, it was probably not for a legitimate purpose.

After all, he usually tormented her, simply because He Jiaojiao hated her. He Wenchuan would just go along with it and make things difficult for her.

He Wenchuan walked leisurely down the street, chewing on an apple.

“Second Young Master, the market is that way,” Pei Ji said. Though she rarely went out, she knew where they should be headed for their errand.

He Wenchuan looked annoyed. He turned his head and shot her a cold glance as he walked. “Who asked you? What gives you the right to order me around?”

The “young man” in the plain white cotton clothes pursed his thin lips and said nothing more.

He Wenchuan stopped a short while later. He looked up, a grin spreading across his face as he read the sign: “Changsheng Gambling House.”

He casually tossed his half-eaten apple aside, stretched, and was about to step inside when he suddenly stopped.

Awkwardly, he turned around. “I’m leaving the shopping to you. These two servants will come with you to help out. Remember to come find me after you’re done. You can’t go back to the mansion on your own.”

“Did you hear me?”

Pei Ji glanced inside the gambling house at the bustling crowd. Her eyebrow twitched slightly, but it was almost imperceptible. “Got it.”

The two servants accompanying them lowered their heads and nodded repeatedly.

He Wenchuan coughed a few times, feigning politeness. “If the Old Madam asks, you know what to say and what not to say, right?”

“I’ll say that the Second Young Master didn’t go to a gambling house, and that he handled all the shopping?” Pei Ji asked calmly, her voice flat.

He Wenchuan was furious. He stomped over and kicked her hard. “If you dare say one word, I’ll tear that damned mouth of yours to shreds.”

The “young man” (Pei Ji) who had been kicked to the ground suddenly laughed. Slowly, she stood up and looked at him.

He Wenchuan felt a shiver of unease under her strange gaze. He waved his hand dismissively. “Go on! Get out of my sight. Don’t be such a nuisance.”

******

Pei Ji didn’t actually know what to buy. She had no idea about such trivial matters.

She had lost her mother at birth and never had anyone to guide her.

And the role of “father” was a completely empty concept in her life. She had never understood what paternal love felt like.

The only person who would speak to her was her mother’s personal maid, Qiu Yue.

Even when she was bullied daily by her siblings, even when she was so hungry she chewed on tree bark to survive, her powerful father never once looked at her.

Pei Ji looked down at the pile of things in her hands, thinking that this was probably enough.

When she entered the gambling house, everyone was crowded together, forming an impenetrable circle around the center of the room.

She handed the pile to the two newly-recruited servants and told them to wait outside. She then slipped into the crowd, standing quietly at the very front.

“Could it be that the Second Young Master He is going to lose even his last pair of pants to me? Hahahaha…” The man laughed heartily and opened his folding fan, his voice loud enough to stir up the crowd.

He Wenchuan was mortified and frustrated, his face turning red. He slammed the table. “One more round! You’ve just been lucky so far. I won’t go easy on you this time!”

The dealer picked up the dice cup with both hands and began to shake it violently, the clattering sound grating on the nerves.

“Second Young Master He first,” the man opposite him said, pointing with his fan. He seemed like a refined gentleman.

He Wenchuan shot him a resentful look, his eyes full of defiance. After a long hesitation, he moved some of his chips onto the area marked “Large.”

Then he stared intently at the dice cup under the dealer’s hand, not even blinking.

“Large! Large… please be large!” He Wenchuan’s eyes were bloodshot, and he clenched his fists, mumbling to himself.

The next second, the dealer opened the cup. The man smiled. “Second Young Master He has lost again. It seems I’m lucky today.”

He Wenchuan slumped back in his chair, defeated, and was about to get up and leave.

The man suddenly spoke. “How about we bet all our chips on the next round? If I lose, I’ll give back everything you’ve lost, and you can take all my chips, too. What do you say?”

He Wenchuan’s eyes lit up. He saw a glimmer of victory approaching. He grinned. “You said it! No take-backs!”

The man’s eyebrows rose, and a smile appeared on his face. “I’m a man of my word.”

Pei Ji who was standing in the crowd with her arms crossed watched the amusing scene with a calm expression, not saying a word.