My Female General Is A Villain (GL) - Chapter 7

Breakfast was an opportunity for her to finally meet the eldest daughter, He Wanqing. The rumors outside the manor claimed she was exceptionally beautiful and refined, with brows like distant mountains and eyes like autumn waters, as if she had stepped right out of a painting.

And those rumors were true. Even more so than what was said.

Unlike He Jiaojiao’s liveliness, she was poised, graceful, and had an outstanding temperament. She was a true lady from a noble family.

No wonder she was the female lead.

For a young woman in a large family without the care of her birth mother, it was no surprise that she was so steady and reserved. She had likely endured a lot of hardship.

After the meal, everyone dispersed. He Jiaojiao followed her grandmother, her footsteps light, all the way to her bedroom.

The old lady seemed to have known all along. She smiled and spoke first, “Come out, second girl. There’s no one else here.”

He Jiaojiao timidly poked her head out and stuck out her tongue. “I’ve been found out…” She stepped over the threshold into the room. “Grandma, how did you know it was me?”

The old lady propped her walking stick in front of her, leaning on it with both hands as she smiled at her. “Your grandmother was a veteran of the battlefield. You can’t hide anything from me,” she said, patting the daybed beside her. “Come here, sit.”

He Jiaojiao walked over and sat down properly, resting her chin on her hands and looking at her grandmother like a docile rabbit, her eyes curved into smiles. “Grandma, you must have been a great heroine, a famous figure in your youth, right?”

The old lady laughed heartily. “A heroine is too much, but a formidable woman is not an exaggeration. It was your grandfather who was truly remarkable. If it weren’t for him, your grandmother would have died on the battlefield. The He manor has what it has today because he fought his whole life for it. Your grandfather was once the Emperor’s right-hand man and helped him conquer half the empire. It’s a shame…” As she spoke, her gaze drifted into the distance, her eyes sparkling with unshed tears.

He Jiaojiao had heard a little about her grandfather’s reputation. The servants would whisper that he was an upright and incorruptible man who was fiercely loyal to the Emperor. Whenever he led the army into battle, he never lost.

The neighboring countries trembled at the mere mention of his name, but for some unknown reason, he chose to take his own life one day, leaving behind a letter asking his wife to take good care of their family.

Seeing the old lady’s expression, He Jiaojiao didn’t press her, assuming she was recalling painful memories.

She picked up a piece of pastry and offered it to her grandmother. “Grandma, try this. Today’s pastry is sweet and fragrant, especially delicious.”

The old lady snapped out of her thoughts and turned her head to wipe her eyes with her sleeve, then pretended that nothing had happened. “Look at me, getting carried away…” After composing herself, she took a bite of the pastry. “I don’t think you came to see me just to exchange pleasantries, did you?”

“Nothing gets past you, Grandma.” He Jiaojiao said with a giggle, linking her arm with the old lady’s.

The old lady tapped her head. “Alright, you little mischievous spirit, what are you scheming now?”

He Jiaojiao whispered in her grandmother’s ear. The old lady paused for a moment, then let out a sigh of relief and looked pleased. “Have you thought this through?”

He Jiaojiao nodded.

“If you can think this way, I can finally rest easy. It seems our second girl has truly grown up.”

******

Pei Ji’s dinner today consisted of two large, plain steamed buns.

She was a bit taken aback, looking around and checking a few more times. Only when she was certain there was nothing else did she pick them up.

She hesitated for a moment, but her stomach rumbled in protest. She finally sighed and took a small bite.

It was… a clean steamed bun.

She couldn’t quite remember what a steamed bun was supposed to taste like, but she really liked the taste of the one in her hand.

She had always thought steamed buns should taste sour and shouldn’t be so clean and white.

Only after she was sure there was nothing wrong with it did she take big bites.

She ate until she was full and worked at a brisk pace.

The weather was getting colder by the day, making her teeth chatter uncontrollably. Thankfully, the clothes He Jiaojiao had bought for her were keeping her much warmer, otherwise, it would have been unbearable.

Her red hands were submerged in the cold wooden basin. She shivered, trying to warm herself by exhaling into her cupped hands.

She had been washing clothes since dawn, and this was her last basin. She had washed everything for the entire manor. A few strands of hair, blown by the wind, fell onto her forehead. She puffed them away and continued to scrub.

A drop of water splashed onto her sleeve. Pei Ji quickly shook the water from her hands and used her other slender arm to carefully wipe the spot, her movements awkward and uncomfortable.

This was the first new garment she had received since arriving in Great Jin, and she was not willing to let it be stained.

Once it was clean, she felt satisfied and returned to her work.

Just then, something flew from out of nowhere and hit her hard on the side of her forehead. Bl00d immediately ran down the corner of her eye, and the pain followed.

A soft “plop” echoed as a drop of bl00d rolled into the wooden basin. Pei Ji watched as the red droplet rippled in the clear water until it disappeared completely.

She looked up. The bl00d flowed down her jaw and neck. Just before it reached her collar, she wiped it away with her cold palm, leaving a long smear of bl00d on her fair, slender neck, a somewhat eerie sight.

Pei Ji glanced sideways and saw the same young servant who had hit her with a snowball the other day.

The servant toyed with a pebble in his hand, walking toward her step by step.

“I heard that the second miss scolded my brother and even confined him because of you?” The servant crossed his arms, his eyes filled with malice.

Brother? Oh, he meant the guy from the kitchen who started the trouble.

Pei Ji ignored him and simply stood up, intending to hang the clothes to dry.

Her work was done, and there was no reason for her to stay here.

Being ignored only enraged the servant more. He grabbed her arm, blocking her path. “Don’t think that just because you have a pretty face, you can use these low-down tricks, you little wench. Do you really think the second miss will stand up for a useless piece of trash like you? Get a grip. You’re just a discarded pawn from Northern Li. Your own father gave you away, so what are you so proud of? You people from Northern Li will always be losers to us in Great Jin!”

“I’ll let you off this time, but if you dare to mess with me again, watch your back! Bah! You useless thing!” The servant acted as if he were looking down from a high place, then delivered a sharp slap to her face.

He seemed to not be satisfied with just words, and he forcefully knocked over the clothes she had just finished washing, scattering them all over the ground.

The servant walked closer to her, and in front of her, he used the pebble to cut a gash in her collar. “Tsk tsk tsk… Such beautiful clothes, what a waste. They just don’t suit you.”

Pei Ji looked down at her clothes and then suddenly smiled, her eyes sharp. “Your mistake is that you’re not cruel enough.”

The servant was confused. “What…?” Before he could finish, something was shoved into his mouth. “What did you feed me?”

“A good thing, of course—something that will make you bleed from your seven orifices and wish you were dead. If you don’t take the antidote regularly, you will suffer inhuman torment and die in agony.” Pei Ji’s chapped lips cracked even more from her broad smile, and a trickle of bl00d ran down them like crimson cinnabar.

“Just now… which hand did you use to cut my collar?” Pei Ji asked softly, taking the servant’s right hand. “I think it was this one…”

The servant’s face twisted in pain. He tried to scream for help but couldn’t make a sound. His eyes widened in disbelief, his expression turning from hatred to pure terror.

Pei Ji adjusted her collar. “I’ll let you keep this hand for now, but if you misbehave and cause trouble, I’ll come and get it.” She leaned in close to his ear. “Now get lost.”

The servant backed away repeatedly, large tears rolling from his eyes. He ran while retching, desperately trying to spit out the medicine.

The coldness in Pei Ji’s eyes returned. After a moment of silence, she slowly began to pick up the clothes from the ground.

“Oh well,” she thought. “Looks like I have to wash them all over again.”

*******

The night was as dark as ink. He Jiaojiao sat on a swing in the courtyard, admiring the moon.

This time, she really was admiring the moon.

Qingyao jogged over from a distance, looking nervous and afraid of being seen.

He Jiaojiao was about to tease her when Qingyao took out a small note from her sleeve. “Miss, this is for you.”

This completely caught He Jiaojiao off guard. She had a terrible reputation; who in the General’s manor would write to her?

She feigned a calm demeanor and took the note. When she opened it, the message was concise: Jiaojiao, I was very worried to hear about your fall into the water. I have been thinking of you. —Yuwen Jingshen.

Yuwen Jingshen was the crown prince of Great Jin—the original owner’s childhood sweetheart.

How was it that she didn’t remember these two having a secret correspondence?

Tsk tsk tsk, Pei Ji, what a big cuckold you are.

He Jiaojiao handed the note to Qingyao. “Here, burn it.”

Qingyao’s round eyes blinked. “Ah… burn it?”

He Jiaojiao nodded, continuing to swing in the wind. “Is there a problem?”

Qingyao’s words stumbled. “In the past, Miss, you would always treasure these and put them away. You would even have me write a reply to the crown prince immediately. Are you and the crown prince… having a fight?”

Okay, He Jiaojiao, you win. So you were a hopeless romantic.

He Jiaojiao put her feet on the ground to stop the swing, then turned to her with a helpless expression. “Get all of them.”

Qingyao didn’t understand, but she did as she was told.

A delicate wooden box was placed in her hands. When she opened it, it was so full of notes and letters they were spilling out. He Jiaojiao raised an eyebrow in surprise.

One was the current crown prince, and the other was the daughter of a high-ranking official. What a scandal. It was the first time she had been at the center of a scandal herself.

But she had to deal with it.

She had Qingyao find a small brazier. She knelt and poured all the notes and letters from the box into it. The paper rustled loudly as it fell.

“Miss, you’re not… going to burn them all, are you?” Qingyao asked nervously, afraid of angering her lady. From the current situation, it looked like her lady was up to something big.

The moment He Jiaojiao lit the paper, her entire face was illuminated by the fire. “Isn’t it obvious?”

Why would she keep them for the new year, just so people could hold them against her? She didn’t want any of this nonsense.

Qingyao stared. Her miss didn’t look unhappy. In fact… she looked a little excited?

“But you used to treasure these, Miss. Why are you burning them all today? What about in the future…” Qingyao’s voice was barely a whisper, growing softer and softer.

He Jiaojiao knew what she was worried about. The original owner’s temper was unpredictable and hard to figure out. She was afraid that if her miss regretted it later, she would blame it all on a little maid like herself, which would be a terrible fate.

Seeing the worried look on Qingyao’s face, she stood up and patted her shoulder. “Qingyao, you have to remember. Pei Ji is my husband now. No matter what, in the eyes of outsiders, I am a married woman. Acting like this will not only ruin my reputation but also put the General’s manor in a difficult position, and possibly even lead to a complete downfall.”

“From now on, we must forget everything that happened before. This person is no longer a friend of ours, understood?”

This Yuwen Jingshen was deeply cunning, and she couldn’t afford to get involved with him. It would be better for the General’s manor to keep a distance.

Qingyao didn’t understand the hidden meaning in her words, but she was certain her miss had a good reason.

Qingyao nodded obediently, asking no more questions.

The wind grew stronger, and the snow swirled, as if it wanted to swallow people whole.

He Jiaojiao wrapped her thick fur coat tightly around herself and hurried toward the house.

She kept her head down, only looking at the path in front of her, and bumped into something solid.

The impact made her stumble back a few steps.

It hurt so much. Did she just hit a rock? It felt so hard.

A calm voice came from the person opposite her. “Miss.”

He Jiaojiao looked up and understood why it hurt so much. Pei Ji’s bones were as hard as stone.