Rebirth as the General's Wife

24: The March to the Imperial Courts

"Do you have a hunch of the person pulling the strings behind the curtain?" Xu Jun asked with indifference while brushing the fallen strands of hair away from her face.

"Why ask when you already know?" Jufen coldly responded. With clouded eyes, her mind was in the working process of a plan.

He did not answer and only proceeded to run his hand through her satin-like hair. Seeing his lack of response, Jufen closed her eyes.

"I appreciate," she started awkwardly, "your honesty. For trusting that I wouldn't act recklessly right now."

"Knowing you, you're just crafty and probably planning something right now, hm?" the young man hooked his lips.

"En. While I'm stuck here, can you do me a favor?" she returned his smile with a similar one.

He slightly raised his eyebrows and tilted his head, "Now, why would I do that?"

Her smile faltered but she quickly recovered with a charming one. Large round eyes curtained by long dark lashes, she sweetly asked, "Please, Jun-gege?"

Xu Jun narrowed his eyes at her before lightly scratching her nose, "This cunning flower."

Knowing that she poked a special spot, she curved her eyes into crescents and stuck out her tongue.

"Stick it out again and I pull it like I did last time," he teased with a wolfish grin.

Immediately, her smile dropped and she tightly shut her mouth. Her cheeks grew warm and she turned her head away from him.

For the next few days, Xu Jun did not question her requests and investigated cases for her. She listed names of officials, regional magistrates, and city lords. Each were to have their records be searched and brought in. She had done dirty work for Ye Feng at one point so she knew the records of each official like the back of her hand.

"It took a while to find the evidences for Zhao Bai Lan's case. The security was quite tight, however, we discovered that the mastermind was Gu Meiyue. She had bribed a group of men with ten cases of gold. Greed filled their heads so they agreed to her conditions. As for the hidden codes and bracelet, I assumed that she infiltrated with your items under your nose," Xu Jun reported as he handed over the evidence.

"You don't seem surprised," he commented when he observed Jufen's empty gaze on the book report before throwing it aside.

"I would be dumb to not notice. She has long wished for my fall," she stated as a matter of fact. However, this move of Meiyue was unforeseen for Jufen. She did not predict that Bai Lan would be harmed because of enmity between Meiyue and her.

Jufen was able to sit up and lean on her sides now. Flipping through the records of the people she named, she curled her pink lips wickedly with a glint in her eyes.

"So what do you plan to do?" Xu Jun swung the teacup held by the tips of his fingers in a circular motion. While resting his cheek on his palm, he stared at her with expectancy.

She glanced at him with sly eyes before looking back down at the records in her hand. In a warm soothing tone, she brutally answered, "Tie and drag the two of them into the mud."

Obviously, she doesn't mean literally. Although it would be quite a sight, that was not her ultimate goal.

"An eye for eye and a leg for a leg; except, you're also after their heads," Xu Jun chuckled proudly at her before attempting to steal a kiss.

"Control yourself, Xu Jun. I'm still injured and this is not the time to fool around," she flat out rejected.

Xu Jun was not upset, in fact, his eyes sparkled as if he knew something that she didn't. Seeing the familiar gaze, Jufen sharpened her eyes into slits as she sent him a narrowed look. He only widened his devilish grin and shrugged his shoulders.