The General Under the Skirt - Chapter 12

Chapter 12

She saw a wooden ceiling, the air filled with the smell of wood and food. For a moment she thought she was still in the fat woman’s house. Her heart pounded, then she realized something was different. Memories flooded back and she relaxed.

She was safe.

She remembered the man.

She tried to sit up, but a sharp pain shot through her body, forcing her to lie down again.

“Awake? Good. Time to eat.”

Shen Roujia looked up to see the man who had saved her walking toward her, a bowl in his hand. She knew it was impolite to meet people while lying down, so she wanted to get off the bed. She endured the pain and sat up. Just as she was about to get off, she saw him put the bowl on the table in front of the bed. “It’s okay, don’t get up, just stay there,” he said.

Shen Roujia was a little embarrassed. Supporting herself on the bed with her hands, she lowered her head slightly and whispered, “Thank you. Thank you for saving me.” 

“You were sold here?” Huo Zhao asked. Shen Roujia nodded, bit her lip, and replied, “Yes.” Huo Zhao picked up the bowl of soup from the table.

“I figured you’d wake up around this time. I wanted to make you some porridge, but the rice here is too coarse for you right now. So I made you some egg drop soup,” he said. 

He offered her the bowl and asked, “Can you hold it yourself, or shall I feed you?”

Shen Roujia didn’t want to bother him. She quickly took the bowl and replied, “I-I can do it, thank you.”

“Drink,” he said.

“Oh? Okay, okay, I’ll drink it now,” she replied.

Shen Roujia obediently brought the bowl to her lips and drank in large gulps. The soup was warm, the egg finely whisked. She drank it quickly, barely tasting it. Maybe she was too hungry, her stomach was numb.

The man told her to drink, so she drank.

As she drank, tears filled her eyes. It had been so long since she had had a proper meal. Before that, she had lived in constant fear. She wondered if she would survive another day, if she would be beaten again.

After being in that place for so long, she had given up hope of ever returning home.

Having finished the soup in one gulp, she put the bowl down, her eyes red-rimmed, and looked cautiously at Huo Zhao.

“I-I’m done.”

Huo Zhao frowned, knowing the girl was terrified.

“You don’t need to be afraid of me,” he said. “I won’t do anything to you.”

Seeing his frown, Shen Roujia quickly shook her head, her voice barely above a whisper, eager to explain to him. She lowered her head, tears falling again.

“No, I’m not afraid of you… I trust you,” she whispered.

“I just…” she began. Her voice was so low that he had to strain to hear it.

“I’m just… I’m just afraid… afraid that you don’t want me,” she finally managed.

He simply replied, “…”. He understood.

He wasn’t unfamiliar with such implications.

After all, he was tall, handsome and wealthy. Even though he was in the countryside, his imposing presence remained. The girl was thin, almost skeletal, but there was no denying that she was the most beautiful woman Huo Zhao had ever seen. To be gazed upon by such alluring, tearful eyes – few could resist. Just looking at her face would probably make one want to hold her close and comfort her.

But Huo Zhao resisted.

“Don’t say that. I never wanted to ‘have’ you.”

Shen Roujia’s expression froze and she wanted to cry even more. She looked at Huo Zhao in panic and said, “Don’t send me back, please, I can change if I did something wrong…”

“Who said I would send you back?”

Shen Roujia’s face was streaked with tears. “Then, then…”

Looking into her tearful, hopeful, yet cautious eyes, Huo Zhao realized he had misunderstood.

He had been in the military camp with his men for too long, and his thoughts had become vulgar. After pursing his lips, Huo Zhao felt embarrassed for a moment, then cleared his throat and changed the subject.

“Since I saved you, I won’t abandon you.”

Huo Zhao then took the bowl from Shen Roujia and asked, “Do you want more?”

Shen Roujia was worried that Huo Zhao would dislike her for eating too much, so she waved her hand and said, “No… No, thank you.”

Huo Zhao put the bowl down on the table and looked at her.

“Where are you from?”

Shen Roujia answered obediently, “…My family is in the capital.”

“How were you captured?”

“I went out at night… I had some business to do and was knocked unconscious on the street.”

“They only captured you?”

Shen Roujia shook her head.

“No, there were many other girls my age. They sold some of us every few days and brought in new captives.”

“How many people were left on the ship when you left?”

Shen Roujia said, “I don’t know, I-I fainted. When I woke up, I had been sold to that family. I don’t know how long I was unconscious.”

She added, “But before I fainted, there were about thirty of us.”

“Did anyone try to escape or report to the authorities?”

Shen Roujia nodded.

“Yes, but they took the water route,” Shen Roujia explained. “To escape we would have had to jump from the ship or overpower the men, but there were too many of them and they were all men. They watched us closely and often didn’t feed us, so we were too weak.”

“One girl tried to jump, but they caught her and…” she trailed off.

“And what?” Huo Zhao asked gently. Shen Roujia’s eyes flashed with fear. Lowering her gaze, she whispered, “They beat her to death.”

The truth was much more brutal than what Shen Roujia had described.

A woman trying to escape, and a group of depraved men. It wasn’t just a beating.

Before she died, the woman had been brutally, inhumanely violated. Her screams had echoed through the night, only to cease at dawn.

No one on the ship had slept that night. The woman’s cries had pierced the wooden doors, the January night bitterly cold. The silence did not signal the end of the nightmare. The dawn did not bring hope, but rather the anticipation of another encroaching darkness.

Huo Zhao’s expression remained neutral, but Shen Roujia could sense the coldness in his eyes. His sharp features betrayed no outward anger, but the chill in his gaze was terrifying.

Human trafficking was strictly forbidden in Dachang. He had been stationed at the border for years and rarely returned to the capital, but he knew how serious a crime it was. The authorities were vigilant and the punishments severe, but the profits were high, attracting many despite the risks.

But he had never seen such blatant disregard for the law, right under the Emperor’s nose.

He had only been away for three years, and they had become this brazen. 

“The authorities haven’t found them?” Huo Zhao asked. Shen Roujia shook her head. “No, I heard they were pretending to transport grain and oil on the Grand Canal. They’ve been doing it for years and no one suspected them.” Huo Zhao frowned. “What’s wrong?” Shen Roujia asked. Huo Zhao shook his head, deciding not to pursue the subject. “Nothing,” he said.

“I’ve treated the wounds on your feet,” he continued, changing the subject. “The rest are mostly bruises; they’ll heal on their own. But your internal injuries are more serious. I have brought you some medicine. You’ll need to take it every day for about a month to recover.”

He saw that Shen Roujia remained silent, her head bowed, so he asked, “Did you hear me?”

When the little girl looked up, he realized that she was crying again.

Shen Roujia didn’t want to cry, but she couldn’t control her tears. She hadn’t cried this much even on the ship. Now that she was safe, she seemed to cry at the slightest provocation.

Huo Zhao gave her food and she cried. He bought her medicine and she cried. He showed concern and she cried.

After being abused for so long, to meet someone who cared about her, who asked if she was hungry, made her emotions raw and vulnerable.

“…Thank you,” she whispered.

Huo Zhao didn’t understand why she kept crying. He pursed his lips and said, “Alright, rest now. I’ll be back.”

When Shen Roujia heard that Huo Zhao was leaving, she was instantly overcome with panic. When Huo Zhao turned around and started to leave, she didn’t know where she got the courage from and suddenly grabbed Huo Zhao’s hand.

The man’s hand was large, calloused, but warm.

Huo Zhao turned around and looked at his hand in hers, then at the little girl.

“…”

Shen Roujia gathered her courage, her voice small. “…Sir, what… what is your name?”

He paused, then said, “Just call me Yu Zhao.”

Shen Roujia felt it would be impolite to call her benefactor by his name, so she said softly, “Brother Yu.”

Huo Zhao nodded and tried to pull his hand away, but the girl wouldn’t let go.

“…” Shen Roujia knew it was inappropriate, but she was terrified. She was afraid that if he left, someone would come and take her away. She looked up at him and asked quietly, “Brother Yu, where are you going?”

Huo Zhao paused, then understood.

“I’m not leaving, I’ll be in the courtyard. Rest well.”

Shen Roujia let go of his hand, but her eyes followed him as he walked away.

When he was gone, she retracted her eyes and looked around the room. The blanket had a faint, clean scent, similar to the man’s. She lay down, pulled the blanket up to her chin, inhaled the scent and finally relaxed.

Brother Yu was a good man.

She trusted him.

Her body still ached, but she ignored the pain. It was nothing compared to what she had been through.  She would get better, she would be free, she would have clean food, she wouldn’t have to live in constant fear.

Her wounds would heal…

Wait, how did Brother Yu know that she was injured?

She examined her ankles carefully. They were bandaged. He had treated them. Besides her ankles, the most serious injuries were on her back, from Liu Gang’s kicks and the whip.

Brother Yu knew about these injuries, which meant that he had…

Shen Roujia blushed furiously.

She clutched the blanket and listened to the sounds of Brother Yu in the courtyard. She didn’t know what he was doing, but the sounds were comforting.

Shen Roujia’s body was badly injured.

Huo Zhao was not a man driven by lust. As he carried Shen Roujia back, he didn’t know where he had touched, but the little girl frowned in pain. Huo Zhao realized that the little girl might have injuries.

Propriety was one thing, saving a life was another. His years in the military had made him pragmatic and less concerned with social graces. He didn’t think too much and untied Shen Roujia’s clothes.

The marks on the little girl’s body were shocking.

Dark purple bruises covered her back, along with scabs from whiplash and finger marks. Her ankles were raw and bloody.

These wounds hadn’t been inflicted overnight. One could only imagine what this little girl had endured over the past few months. That such a frail woman, one he could easily overpower with a single finger, could reach him, support herself and beg for his help was truly remarkable.

Shen Roujia went back to sleep.

She was weak and needed time to recover.

The ordeal had left lasting damage, her health would never be the same, but she was lucky to be alive.