Rebirth as the General's Wife

26: The Act of Charity

A/n: Hi sunshines! I made a small change for the schedules/updates. If you want to know, it's on my page. Enjoy!

The couple escorted the Chen family into their residence and stayed for an hour. After briefly explaining the situation to her family, Chen Qui grew extremely angry. Chen Mingxi felt severely drained after a whole week of stress thus he was too exhausted to express his anger.

Feeling sorry for them, Jufen reassures them that everything will turn out for the better before demanding them to rest.

"If you don't take a soothing bath now and get a good rest, Jufen will not be willing to see father and big brother anymore!"

A small threat was enough for the father and son pair to run to their private bathing rooms.

Afterwards, the couple visited the Zhao residence where Zhao Bai Lan resides in. When Jufen saw the lively girl lounging on her couch, she smiled warmly. Since they two of them were injured, they only held hands.

"Worry not, LanLan. I will seek justice for you," she gently whispered.

"Ay, it's not that bad. It was only a couple men. They couldn't even land a strike on me!"

Jufen blankly stared at her and glanced down at her abdomen before looking back up. Who was she lying to? Herself? Excessive pride is indeed one's downfall.

"Those men were bribed by Gu Meiyue with ten cases of gold. I—"

At the mention of Meiyue, Bai Lan's lazy eyes grew furious. Her beautiful face twisted into disbelief and antipathy.

"Oh, that fucking fake lotus bitch! Am I, Zhao Bai Lan, only worth ten puny cases of gold? Absolutely stingy and pathetic! If I see her, I'm going to beat the fucking shit out of her asshole until her mother feels it up her womb that she crawled out of—"

Jufen kept an awkward flat smile while Bai Lan cursed like a shrew in the streets. Even Xu Jun's eyebrows raised a little at her word choices.

Afterwards, Xu Jun took her back to the Xu residence and carefully helped her get off of the carriage. Xiao Ru had almost pounced on Jufen to give her a tearful hug until she was stopped by Xu Jun's deadly glare. So instead, she cried at the feet of Jufen and expressed all of her worries.

Jufen lightly laughed and slowly helped her up before squeezing her chubby cheeks teasingly, "Silly Xiao Ru, stop crying. Aren't I alive right now?"

"Yes, yes, Miss is right. This servant is wrong. Being alive is the most important. Should not cry at such joyous news, should not!" Xiao Ru wiped her tears from her cheeks but in less than five-seconds, she started to bawl again. Jufen sighed helplessly and gently hugged the girl.

When Jufen returned to her Dawn Courtyard, Xu Jun had followed right behind her. After the kidnapping incident, he hovered around her twenty-four seven. However, she had grown used to it by now so she did not notice.

While she was resting against a pillow, Xu Jun leaned down to knock his forehead with hers. He had done everything that Jufen requested yet she had not even acknowledged his presence. Feeling wronged, he rubbed their foreheads together.

Jufen pursed her lips and turned her head away in discomfort. She softly complained, "Xu Jun, stop rubbing my head."

"Xiao Hua, don't think that you'll get away with this. Once you've recovered, I'll discipline you." He whispered with a glint in his eyes before lowering to gently pull her bottom lip.

Jufen's face flushed a little red before she roughly pushed him back. In a tiny voice, "Okay, okay. Thank you for helping me and clearing the charges against my father..."

Xu Jun frowned a little, "That's it?"

"This..." she hesitated. She knew she was being stubborn and a little cold towards him but she just felt so embarrassed. Summoning all her courage from the corners of hell, she gave him a quick peck on the lips before scurrying off into the bathing room.

Xu Jun froze in his position and stared off in the direction she ran away in. He had not expected her to make the first move. After he recovered from his shock, he let out a small chuckle.

The week after, one of the country's issues came up into topic. Everyone was trying to come up with a new strategy on how to handle Kuju's economics and social order. Because they had recently joined the empire, a change must occur for harmony to exist. Anyone who could come up with a successful plan would be rewarded heavily.

That was no exception to Gu Meiyue.

Since Jufen was given an opportunity, why not take it? She had sent a task for an official that was attempting to curry her favor and gain her support.

"Honorable Xia Wangfei and beauty of Ye, what can this lowly official do for you?" He nervously lowered his head and cupped his hands in respect. After her performance in the imperial court, no one dares to belittle her.

"Simple. In the next three days, drop this letter while you visit the imperial palace. Nothing else. In the small entrance near the rose bushes, around midday."

Jufen handed the official a letter. When he read the title, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. In a hesitant voice, "This letter 'Plan for Balance in Kuju'... "

"I will not hide from respectable Official Ling. I want a friend of my to receive the honor of solving Ye's current issues. However, how could I openly give it to her when there are so many watching eyes?" Jufen played with her golden bracelet and paused, "I can trust you, no?"

Hearing the threat in her tone, he gulped loudly and nervously nodded.

"Good. Only do what I told you to do. Worry not, I will take care of your problems. However, do not feed your ego. Just because I'm supporting you behind the curtains, it does not mean I will overlook everything. Offend me and your entire family might just have to...go." Jufen warned with a dark, icy look. Official Ling only thanked her repeatedly for her benevolence and took the letter home with him with great caution.

Just as she had planned, Gu Meiyue visited the palace in secrecy through the small entrance to visit her beloved, Ye Feng. Jufen was long informed of their regular meet ups so this was an easy task for her. When Meiyue suddenly spotted Official Ling walking by, she hid behind a wall and nervously watched from afar.

She noticed that something fell out of his sleeve but he continued to walk away in oblivion. She could not notify him that he had dropped his letter because she would just expose herself. Why would she ever do that?

After he turned a corner, Meiyue quietly walked towards the dropped item and read its title. Her eyes widened in surprise before greed flashed in her eyes. Looking around to make sure that no one was watching, she slipped it into her dress and walked away.

The next few days, Ye Feng had suddenly proposed a solution to the issue regarding Kuju. When the plan had been put into action, in less than two weeks, it had already showed improvement.

Ye Feng then revealed that it was actually Gu Meiyue, daughter of the wealthiest merchant in the Ye nation, who came up with this plan. When she was summoned to the court, she humbly admitted that it was her plan. She said that because she was a woman, she feared that no one would take her seriously so she handed it to Ye Feng. Her modesty and tenderness made her admirable in many eyes, instantly receiving their approval.

Feeling delighted because of the successful plan, the Emperor had bestowed her the title, 'Zhe, Princess of Third Rank.' The couple looked at each other with smiling eyes and blushes. The Emperor noticed the love between the two and decided to grant them a wedding as well.

On the last day of winter, Prince Feng and Princess Zhe had married as a legal couple.

When Jufen received the news, she smiled deviously with a frosty gaze. She twirled a chess piece in her hand before placing it down.

"Gu Meiyue, enjoy your three months of happiness. I gave you my solution plan but I can also take it away. Once a flower wilts, it'll be thrown away. At your highest peak, you will also fall to the lowest depth."