The General Seized Her by Force - Chapter 11

Watching the two children walk out one after the other, the Old Madam remarked with emotion, “They have compatible temperaments and will surely get along very well. It is just that their social statuses are too disparate; if they were both younger, perhaps they could have been friends.”

Madam Wen looked toward her mother, wanting to say that the friendships between children are very pure, but once she remembered that this was the capital, she could not bring herself to say it.

This is the capital, after all, where a difference of even one rank in official status is like a chasm; furthermore, young Chu has both a good personality and a prominent family background, so there will certainly be no shortage of close friends around her.

Madam Wen sat beside her mother. Her sorrow and distress lasted for less than two moments before she began to think optimistically again, “Perhaps young Chu will not mind our family’s low standing and will be happy to play with the pure-hearted Shu’er.”

She gave an example, “Look at how Shu’er has admired the Li family since childhood, and young Chu is gentle, polite, and enthusiastic; Shu’er will certainly like her. And although Shu’er is shy, introverted, and does not hold grudges, having no twisted or complicated thoughts in her mind, she should be able to suit young Chu’s tastes.”

“Besides, the two of them have known each other since they were little.”

Meanwhile, under the long corridor—

Wen Shu’s back was pressed tightly against the wall. Her gaze, as if in a death struggle, darted between Li Chu and the direction of the main hall, wishing for a moment that there were two Li Chus.

If that were truly the case, she would undoubtedly, without the slightest hesitation, point her finger and accuse this one before her of being a fake!

Then, she would firmly stand behind the real Li Chu.

Unfortunately, no matter how many times she swayed her head to look, the Li Chu sitting on the bench, propping her legs up, did not disappear, and another Young General Li did not walk out of the main hall.

Wen Shu accepted reality with a broken heart and whispered her condemnation, “The gentle, cultivated, and eloquent scholar-general appearance you wore in the room just now was actually a facade to deceive people.”

In reality, she was just a coarse soldier who behaved frivolously and loved to tease others.

Wen Shu did not dare to say this last sentence aloud; she only secretly held a grudge in her heart.

Wen Shu tried to glare at Li Chu, but found that the other party did not feel even a hint of guilt. After staring back at her in an open and unashamed manner, Wen Shu’s momentum instead slowly weakened, and she quietly turned her head away, no longer looking at her.

Li Chu watched Wen Shu with interest, observing the changes in her expression.

She thought Wen Shu would rush over and ruthlessly stomp on her foot in anger, but instead, she was plastered against the wall like a gecko, not even daring to look at her.

Li Chu put her feet down and sat with a bold, unrestrained posture. She even leaned forward, reaching out to tug at the wide, long sleeve hanging from Wen Shu’s arm, deliberately lifting her chin as she asked, “Who says I am not a scholar-general?”

Wen Shu looked down at the hand on her sleeve; the fingers were long, the skin fair, and the knuckles distinct—it was beautiful, yet utterly shameless. “Which scholar-general is like… like you?”

She tried hard to pull her arm back against her chest, attempting to retrieve her sleeve.

She was like a lamb caught in the jaws of a dog; if she ran, she feared the dog might actually bite her, but if she didn’t run, she was scared half to death.

Thus, between fleeing and counterattacking, Wen Shu chose to stand there trembling, motionless, and let her hold on.

Wen Shu tried hard to keep a straight face, “General Li, please show some self-respect. You, if you like this piece of clothing, I will take it off and give it to you in a moment!”

Li Chu blinked, “If I put on your clothes, wouldn’t that make the two of us ‘comrades-in-arms’?”

Wen Shu just knew she wasn’t a real scholar-general; how could one interpret that term in such a way!

Wen Shu corrected her, “The General and I are, at most, merely colleagues.”

“Oh?” Li Chu stood up and began counting on her fingers, “When you were four years old, you sprained your foot, and I was the one who carried you home. At that time, I was only six.”

Wen Shu lowered her head in guilt. She did not remember this clearly, but even if she did, Li Chu would not lie to her mother, so this must be true.

Li Chu moved closer slowly and extended a second finger, “Early yesterday morning, when your grandmother and mother were nearly at the hands of bandits, it was also me passing by who saved them.”

Wen Shu bit her lower lip, her hands clutched together, feeling both guilty and grateful.

Li Chu was actually a good person.

She had misunderstood her.

Li Chu was already standing in front of Wen Shu, almost looking down at her. “This afternoon, when the Yang family came to your house to force a marriage, if I hadn’t been there, how would the Yang family have let the matter rest?”

Wen Shu’s head was almost hanging to her chest, revealing the fine, white, and delicate back of her neck; between the black hair and the red clothes, she looked as clean and white as snow.

Li Chu leaned down, deliberately whispering into her ear, “With such kindness shown to your family, it is one thing that you do not remember me, but to say we are merely ‘colleagues’—how can a person be so ungrateful and heartless! Right, Scholar Wen?”

Wen Shu was so self-reproachful that her breathing trembled. Just as she was about to cup her hands and apologize, she realized that Li Chu’s toes were almost touching her own, forcing her against the wall. She did not even have the space to lift her arms or bend her waist. “?!”

Wen Shu looked up at Li Chu, her eyes wide with surprise, completely unaware of when she had moved so close.

Li Chu smiled triumphantly, raised her hand, and used her fingers to lightly tap the official hat on Wen Shu’s forehead, “Let’s do this. I am not greedy; you can just barely use yourself to repay the kindness your family owes me.”

Wen Shu finally understood that this person was attacking her heart.

First, she used three favors to make her feel guilty and lower her defenses; then, once she was filled with inner regret, she closed the distance step by step, and finally stated her true purpose so that she could not refuse.

Wen Shu was dumbstruck. How could she have thought Li Chu was a simple-minded soldier? She was clearly a soldier with brains!

She was a rogue who had studied military strategy!

Wen Shu moved sideways, shifting herself out from between the wall and Li Chu, and cautiously tested the waters, “How am I to repay you?”

If it were to serve as a beast of burden or be at her beck and call to repay the debt, she could accept it for two or three days, or even two or three years if she really had to, but fifty or sixty years would be bullying her too much!

Li Chu did not mind that she had moved away; she turned around, folded her arms across her chest, and leaned against the wall, taking it for granted, “Naturally, by marrying me.”

As a dignified general, it was only natural for her to take a wife home.

Wen Shu’s expression went blank for a moment before she finally found her voice, “No.”

She gestured with both hands between herself and Li Chu, her face flushing red as she managed to blurt out one sentence, “In any case, it is not possible.”

Li Chu was puzzled; she looked down at herself, then back at Wen Shu’s crimson face, and asked bluntly, “How do you know I am ‘not capable’?”

She was physically strong and full of energy, so in what way was she “not capable”?

Wen Shu, “…”

Wen Shu stared at Li Chu with a wooden expression.

This sentence from Li Chu was no different from the frivolous whistle earlier that morning; both were acts of teasing her.

Yet, Li Chu was good-looking, and her attitude, though overbearing, did not make one feel repulsed. Added to the fact that Wen Shu had an exceptionally tolerant heart toward the Li family, it resulted in Wen Shu being unable to get angry even though she knew Li Chu was teasing her.

However, Wen Shu did not want to appear soft and easy to bully, so she put on an angry stance and stared at her without saying a word.

Li Chu laughed and raised a hand in surrender. Watching the stubborn glint in Wen Shu’s eyes as she met her gaze, she said seriously, “You were the one who said you would be my family.”

Wen Shu, “?”

Li Chu, “When you were four years old, you knelt before my parents’ graves and said with your own mouth that you would be my family. I have parents, brothers, and sisters, so I was only missing the other half. I have thought about it for several years, and I have always felt that you should marry me.”

Wen Shu, “??”

How did she arrive at such a conclusion?

Wen Shu frowned and pursed her lips, looking at Li Chu with admiration. This kind of “shameless, rascal talk” was something she could not think of, much less say, even if she were beaten to death.

“My family and I owe you a great deal of kindness; we will find a way to repay you in the future,” Wen Shu tried hard to pull the topic toward a more serious direction, while simultaneously flattering Li Chu, “The Li family has protected the nation for generations and must all be reasonable people who would certainly never force someone against their will.”

Wen Shu looked at Li Chu with hope, speaking in a soft, slow tone, trying to persuade the vicious dog to turn over a new leaf, “Isn’t that right, General Li?”

Li Chu nodded, pleased, “Everything you say is correct.”

Wen Shu’s heart stirred, and a smile appeared on her face. Just as she was about to press her advantage, she saw Li Chu smile slightly, revealing a row of white teeth, and spit out four words:

“However, no.”

Wen Shu, “???”

Li Chu reached out and pinched the smiling face that had frozen on Wen Shu, “Everything you say is correct, but the answer is no, because I am the General, and what I say is what counts.”

Li Chu had accepted her flattery, but she had no intention of reasoning with her.

Wen Shu, “…”