Brave General
What kind of virtuous woman values life more than her own?
Seeing Xie Qi's determination to force her to her death today, Li Wan's legs went weak.
She peered down tentatively, her eyes suddenly brightening. She turned to Xie Qi and said, "Sir, is this true? Will I jump and this matter be forgotten?"
Before Xie Qi could speak, he added, "You are an adult, and you must keep your word."
As soon as she finished speaking, she stepped onto the edge of the couch, lifted her leg, and her petite body disappeared from the room in an instant.
Xie Qi walked to the window and casually leaned against it, looking down.
The woman landed on the roof of a carriage, her face flushed, clutching her ankle and crying out in pain.
"I'll take it," Xie Qi snorted coldly and walked out of the private room.
"My lord." The two guards at the door bowed respectfully.
Xie Qi was too lazy to look at these two good-for-nothings. He snapped his fingers, and suddenly a dark shadow appeared from the side.
"My lord." Although the figure was dressed in black and his face was covered, his voice sounded like that of a young boy.
"Mo Shi, why didn't you show yourself just now?" This is the first time I've been ambushed and tricked.
This elite guard, which they've invested heavily in, consists of top-notch experts; it's impossible that they wouldn't have noticed the movements of a foolish woman.
The boy named Mo Shi had a slightly blank look in his usually cold eyes. When he heard someone overturn a table inside the house, he was about to go and check, but he hesitated when he suddenly heard a woman's voice.
For an adult like him, dealing with a woman is easier than crushing an ant. The fact that he can make a woman speak means that he is not needed for the time being.
To be on the safe side, he went to lift the roof tiles a moment later to check the situation inside the house.
Recalling the scene he had witnessed, Mo Shi's ears turned red; the adult had his eyes closed, enjoying the woman's ministrations...
Having witnessed the adults' private moments, he ran away quickly to save his life.
Without Mo Shi needing to say anything, Xie Qi could guess the reason from his eyes. He coughed lightly and said, "Go and receive twenty strokes of the military rod. This is a one-time exception."
After Mo Shi stepped down, Xie Qi spread his fingers and pressed his temples.
He had been cared for and treated by military doctors since childhood, so ordinary sleeping pills were completely ineffective against him. He didn't know what kind of drug that woman had given him, but it had made him unconscious for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.
Thinking of that woman, and seemingly smelling that faint, bothersome floral fragrance again, Xie Qi closed his eyes and started to go downstairs.
Inside the carriage at the Jiang residence, Xiuzhu was already sobbing uncontrollably.
"Fortunately, Xiuhe and I saw that the person you were meeting was Lord Xie. We were worried, so we parked the carriage outside the private room, which allowed the young lady to land on the roof of the carriage."
"How could Lord Xie be so cruel as to watch the young lady jump? Even if he doesn't like her, he shouldn't expect her to die for him. It's too much..."
"Alright." Xiuhe covered Xiuzhu's mouth. "Miss has twisted her ankle. The most important thing now is to go back to the manor and find a doctor."
Li Wan's ankle was swollen and looked very pitiful.
Xiuzhu held Liwan's hand and earnestly advised, "That Lord Xie may be handsome, but he is cold-hearted and cold-faced. After what happened today, Miss, you should forget about him."
"I can't forget it."
Li Wan murmured, her feet hurting, but she had completely calmed down.
No, something must have gone wrong.
In her previous life, when she found the bodies of her father and brother, they had died along with more than a hundred other soldiers on the edge of the battlefield. It was clear that they had been overtaken by the enemy when they were about to escape the battlefield.
Behind them lay a tall man in general's armor, his body riddled with knife wounds and his back pierced with arrows. In front of him lay a large number of dead enemy soldiers.
The man should have covered the rear so that the ordinary soldiers could escape, but unfortunately, there were too many enemies, and even with his last breath, he couldn't protect them.
Suppressing her deep sorrow, Li Wan buried her father and brother's bodies and then returned to the battlefield.
She removed the arrows from the man's body, turned him over, and found that his face was covered with a black cloth and splattered with blood, revealing only his closed eyes and long, mountain-like eyebrows.
She did not remove the man's black cloth, but dragged him onto a wooden cart and buried him under a tree near the stream, placing a wooden tombstone: Tomb of a Brave General.
Li Wan took a deep breath. Just now, when she saw Xie Qi whose face was covered by his robe, she recognized him as that brave general.
Now, recalling Xie Qi's figure and stature, she was certain that it was him.
Therefore, in his previous life, Xie Qi did not commit suicide; he went to the battlefield and died protecting his soldiers.
What is the truth? Why did the court smear Xie Qi? And what was the real reason for the defeat?
"Miss, why don't we tell the master about this and have him report him to His Majesty? That would be a good way to vent our anger."
Seeing the girl's absent-minded appearance, Xiuzhu said angrily.
Xiuhe rolled her eyes at her. "Do you want the whole capital to know that our young lady had an affair with a man and was even forced to jump off a building?"
"I am not."
Li Wan waved her hand impatiently, "Don't tell anyone about what happened today. When you get home, just say that I wasn't careful while shopping and twisted my ankle."
It was already dark when the carriage entered Jiang's residence.
When Zou learned that Wan'er had twisted her ankle, she was so angry that her chest felt tight.
As for this stepdaughter, Madam Zou could not say she loved her very much, but Wan'er was the apple of the master's eye. The master entrusted the Jiang family to her management, so she could not afford to make any mistakes with the person the master valued most.
Moreover, Wan Jie is just a young woman who has just come of age and will be married in a year or two. If she can marry into a high-class family, it will be a help to her Che'er.
Therefore, no matter what, at least on the surface, she had to take good care of Wan-jie.
She was injured after only half a day away. When the master returns, he will surely scold her, his mother. How can she not be angry?
Zou hurriedly instructed her maid, Li, to fetch a doctor. On her way to Wan'er's Changfu Garden, she encountered Jiang Feiche, who was returning home from the palace, on the covered walkway.
"Che'er, your sister is injured. Come with me to see her."
Jiang Feiche has just turned fourteen this year. The young man is tall and slender, and his light blue embroidered bamboo robe makes his face even more handsome and refined.
Unlike Jiang Nanyue's stern and imposing manner, Jiang Feiche, though still young, exudes the elegance and composure of a noble young master, a gentle and refined gentleman.
Hearing that his stepsister was injured, he didn't ask any questions and followed Madam Zou to Changfu Garden.
After examining Wan Jie'er's injuries, Zou Shi noticed that her ankle was severely swollen and red. She then severely reprimanded Xiu He and Xiu Zhu and fined them a month's wages.
Li Wan couldn't plead for mercy because the old doctor was applying medicine to treat her wounds, and the pain made her forehead covered in a thin layer of sweat.
Finally, the doctor stopped, gave some minor instructions, and left.
Noticing a gaze upon her, Li Wan looked up and saw Jiang Feiche looking at her meaningfully.
Li Wan had only seen this handsome younger brother when she first transmigrated to the Jiang family mansion.
She woke up from the body of the seriously ill Jiang Feiwan, and after she felt better, she learned that she had a younger brother who had also caught a cold in the past few days.
Now that she knew, she had no choice but to visit him in his room to check on his health.
The first time Li Wan saw him, she felt that he was the most gentle and polite young man she had ever met. He not only called her "sister" softly, but also asked the servants to prepare snacks and tea for her.
Overall, she still liked her adopted younger brother, even though she had taken a dagger from his room.
dagger!
Li Wan shuddered. Her feet had been aching terribly when she returned, so she had carelessly placed her belongings on a high table in the room. Although everything was wrapped in white cloth, ...
Li Wan looked at the high table diagonally opposite Jiang Feiche, and her heart sank instantly.
The hilt of the dagger gleamed brightly outside the white cloth, extremely conspicuous.
Feeling guilty, Li Wan dared not look at Jiang Feiche again, and answered Zou Shi's questions with her head down.
"Sister," a clear and obedient male voice called to her.
Li Wan looked up and replied, "Brother."
Jiang Feiche's eyes were calm. "The cook in my courtyard is good at making medicinal cuisine. I'll send him over today. These days, I'll have him prepare some dishes for my sister that are good for reducing swelling and bruising."
His tone was normal, and his expression was calm. For a moment, Li Wan felt that perhaps he had not seen the dagger.
Moreover, the dagger was on a small table in the outer hall of his bedroom, and it looked like it hadn't been touched for a long time; perhaps he didn't even recognize it.
Li Wan felt relieved and looked up at him directly, "Thank you, brother, for your concern."
Jiang Feiche nodded, "Then sister, please rest well in the manor for the next few days. If you want anything, just send someone to let me know. I often go out of the manor and will bring it back to you then."
Li Wan smiled and thought to herself that her younger brother was indeed considerate. She quickly said, "Brother, just keep the prince company while he studies. Your sister has everything she needs."
"Okay," Jiang Feiche replied and said nothing more.
After giving a few more instructions, the two left.
Walking in the courtyard, Mrs. Zou looked at her son with satisfaction.
“Che’er was very sensible today. She is your older sister, and you should be close to her. Don’t be as cold and sarcastic as before.”
Seeing that her son remained silent, she began to analyze the implications for him.
"Although your father is a high-ranking official of the second rank in the court and holds power, he is still just a subject. Compared with the imperial relatives in the capital, he is ultimately lacking in blood ties."
“We don’t have any titles, so you’ll have to fight for your own future. But if Miss Wan can marry into the royal family…”
She lowered her voice slightly, "Or marry a prince, then we'll be connected to the royal family, and the Jiang family will have someone to rely on. Do you understand?"
Jiang Feiche still didn't respond. Zou was anxious and wanted to persuade him again, but he said slowly.
"Mother, do you think Jiang Feiwan is different from before?"
Madam Zou was taken aback and said, "Apart from being a little healthier than before, she is still stubborn. What could be different?"
It was pointless to ask; his mother was only trying to pave the way for him with Jiang Feiwan, and had she ever really understood her?
Jiang Feiche sighed, "My son has something to attend to and has to go ahead."
After saying that, he strode away.
At that moment, Xiuzhu, who was hiding behind them, also quietly returned to Changfu Garden.
Although she didn't understand why the young lady wanted her to watch over the lady and the young master, she still reported the truth.
"I was too far away to hear what they said, but I saw that their expressions were not unusual. They only said a few words and then the young master left first."
"That's good."
Li Wan was completely relieved. Just as she had thought, Jiang Feiche hadn't noticed the dagger at all.
Sighing inwardly, Li Wan lamented: She hadn't even figured out Xie Qi's matter yet, and now Jiang Feiche had come along. Dealing with these shrewd people from the capital was more tiring than harvesting a few acres of rice during the busy farming season.
There are still more than three years left, and given her current foot injury, it's best to let her rest for a while.
Since we need to rest, we should eat something good.
Li Wan beckoned to Xiuzhu with her finger, "Go tell the cooks that the young lady needs to eat well because she is injured. Prepare plenty of braised pork knuckle, venison, seafood, and other delicacies."
Xiuzhu and Xiuhe both liked their mistress to eat nourishing foods, so they happily replied in unison, "Yes, Miss."
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