A carriage rode through the silent road. The rain battered gently on the roof while the wet rolling wheels of the carriage squeaked.
Meanwhile, a young girl was thrashing against the hands of the men and kicking at any given opportunity. Her muffled screams echoed through the empty streets.
"Just kill her already," one of the men growled in annoyance.
"I will, I will. It's such a waste though. She's quite a beauty and if we sell her, we can fetch a high price."
The third man glowered his eyes and scolded, "Don't be stupid. You know how master is. If you disobey him—"
"Yeah, yeah. Always follow the order, yeah. I know!" he groaned unwillingly. Reluctantly taking out a knife, he walked towards Gu Meiyue.
Meiyue wiggled her way in the opposite direction as she cried out in muffles. Before he could even land a strike on her, an arrow zoomed through the air and right into his heart.
While the two other men has yet to process the situation, another arrow shot out and punctured through one of the men's neck.
This time, the last man standing turned towards the source and charged towards the mysterious person with a black cloak in the alleyway.
That person suddenly threw away the bow and pulled out a long sword. They blocked his attack with and surprisingly pushed forwards, causing the male to fall back a little. Using this opportunity, the cloaked person ran their sword ruthlessly down from his face to his abdomen. He fell immediately to the floor, splashing in a puddle of blood and water.
Meiyue fearful backed up when she noticed the small cloaked person slowly making their way towards her. Her wet hair flung as she shook her head, pleading with her tearful eyes for mercy.
Suddenly, that person reached up to pull the hood off her head. It was Chen Jufen. When Meiyue saw this, all her worries had disappeared and she had a hopeful expression. However, when she noticed the empty look in Jufen's eyes, a bad feeling swelled in her heart.
Jufen did not smile, did not speak, and did not even look at her sorry situation. Without warning, she leaned down and grabbed Meiyue's ankle before dragging her out of her hidden spot through the mud.
The cloth in her mouth muted her cry and she stared in confusion at her. Jufen kneeled on both sides of her hip and grabbed her by the collar with one hand.
She slowly removed the cloth from Meiyue's mouth and tossed it aside.
"Little sister Jufen...help me please. Ye Feng threw me out. On account to our friendship and sisterhood, you have to help me!"
When Jufen said nothing, fear began to surface on her face. Jufen slowly leaned down and pointed a sharp knife against her pale neck.
Meiyue did not dare to breath and she nervously asked, "W-what are you doing? Jufen-meimei, it's me. I'm your big sister..."
"Do you remember?" Jufen started as Meiyue's eyes grew confused, "When we made a promise in the eyes of the heavens. We sworn to each other that we would be forever loyal to one another."
Meiyue nodded her head frantically, "Yes, yes, we made a promise! Please help me, he wants to kill me!"
"But do you also remember?" she continued calmly with an impassive face, "That time when you broke my trust? Killed Xiao Ru? Conspired with him to murder my whole family? When you had poisoned my child?"
"W-what are you talking about—"
"When you carved up my face with a dull dagger? When you cut off my family hair...How about when you hacked five of my fingers off, burned my arm, then ripped it off my body?"
Jufen leaned a little closer until she was inches from her face. Her light eyes were murderous and full of hatred.
"I'm here to collect my debt; a promise of three lightning strikes."
Without waiting another second, she cleanly sliced Meiyue's throat. She quietly died with her eyes wide open. Jufen gave her a quick and merciful death.
"Consider yourself lucky...that you were once my sworn sister whom I trusted and loved so dearly."
Jufen slowly turned towards to the sky and stared emotionlessly at the dark clouds. The last thunder rumbled in the distance.
Light grey eyes bore into the heavens with a frosty and empty gaze. Rain fell on her blood-stained face, washing away her sins. She sat there in the rain, surrounded by dead bodies and bloody puddles.
No matter how horrible Gu Meiyue was, she was her best friend before she was her enemy. The memories of the two jesting with each other and sneaking out at night filled her mind. Whenever Jufen was sad, Meiyue would bring her melon bread and a toy to play with.
"Jufen-ah! Look at what I brought you!" a childish voice squealed excitedly while running towards a child version of Jufen. Because Meiyue was running with socks on, she slipped and hit her head. She began to cry as she picked up the broken pin-wheel she was about to gift to Jufen. Instead of the red bump on her head, she was more concerned with the broken toy.
Jufen hugged and comforted her in a bubbly voice, "Jiejie, it's okay! As long as you're by my side, Jufen will be happy."
The two girls giggled and played with each other on the swings in the back side of the courtyard.
"Higher, Jiejie, push me higher!" she screamed with happiness, laughing the days away.
"Okay! Hold on tight, Jufen-ah. Jiejie will show you how high you can fly!"
Tears fell silently with the rain. She had thought that the burden on her shoulders would lessen. However, why does it seem like her heart felt heavier?
"Fate is truly cruel..." she whispered inaudibly.
The rain abruptly stopped and the sky became the underside of an umbrella. The rain pitter-pattered against the oiled surface.
"Xiao Hua..." he softly whispered before picking her up in his arms. He kissed her temple and rubbed their heads together.
Jufen did not need to guess to know that Xu Jun had placed his men to guard her secretly and notify him if trouble ever comes. He probably came here as soon as possible.
"He Jing," Xu Jun ordered his personal guard, "clean this place up."
Jufen requested in a distant voice, "Bury her."
He Jing cupped his hands and bowed a little before proceeding with his task.
Jufen absentmindedly rested her head against the Xu Jun's chest. Her eyes gazed into the distance as she thought in her head, 'Meiyue-jiejie, I hope you find true happiness in your next life. Don't abandoned those who walked every step of the way with you...'
When the two returned home, Xu Jun carried her into the bathing room and gently stripped off her clothes. Tossing away the dirtied clothes, he rinsed the blood and mud off her body before slowly setting her down in the large bathtub filled with a chamomile scent and rose petals.
The warm water relaxed her muscles and her shoulders sank a little. She remained paralyzed, silent, and emotionless. Xu Jun cleaned himself before stepping into the tub with a soft towel in his hand. He wordlessly held her arm out and gently washed her body with the towel.
Xu Jun continued doing this until she was fully cleaned and spotless. He walked back to the edge and set the towel down. He went back to stand in front of Jufen, who was still immobile.
Xu Jun softly pinched her chin and tilted her head to look up at him. His wet black hair clung onto his skin while there was still droplets of water on his long eyelashes. When she looked into his tender eyes, her neck relaxed and her vision blurred a little. His dark eyes were calm and steady—as if everything will be all right.
Her fragile arms lifted up and weakly wrapped themselves around his neck. Following her movements, he leaned down and kissed her lightly on the lips.
Everything will be all right.
YOU ARE READING
Rebirth as the General's Wife
Romance[Chen Ju Fen] The chrysanthemum fragrant blooms at dawn. At the age of 22, she died by the hands of her so-called husband and at the feet of her 'sworn' sister. Dying regretfully for wasting her life on a man who had thrown her away so easily like...
