The General Under the Skirt - Chapter 23
Chapter 23
Huo Zhao became serious and asked, “What’s your name?”
Slightly annoyed, Shen Roujia lowered her head. “Does it matter to you anyway?”
No matter how dumb Huo Zhao was, he could tell the girl was angry. He didn’t quite understand why she was angry, but he explained, “I’m just not used to asking. Usually, people introduce themselves; I don’t have to ask.”
He wasn’t lying. Given his status, he rarely had to ask someone their name. People were usually eager to introduce themselves.
And his friends were mostly old friends, there was no need to ask.
Seeing that she remained silent, he reached out and touched the large, gaudy, pink peony hairpin he had insisted she wear.
“Hey, are you angry?”
Shen Roujia’s anger had already dissipated, but she felt awkward admitting it.
She avoided his gaze and continued to pet the little wolf cub.
He nudged her arm and said, “This is the first time I’ve asked a girl her name. Just tell me.”
Shen Roujia was surprised and pleased, but kept a neutral expression. After a moment, she couldn’t help but ask, “Really?”
Huo Zhao nodded and replied, “Really. You’re quite lucky, you know.”
Shen Roujia scoffed softly, lowered her head, and mumbled, “My surname is Shen, and my given name is Roujia. Roujia means ‘respectful and dignified, gentle and kind’.”
Huo Zhao repeated her name thoughtfully.
“Shen Roujia…”
“What is it?” she asked.
He shook his head. “Nothing. It just sounds familiar.”
He vaguely felt like he had heard the name before but couldn’t remember where. He dismissed the thought, figuring that if he had met her before, he would remember.
Shen Roujia didn’t think much of it. She had always lived in the capital. If anyone had heard of her, it would be someone from the capital. Brother Yu was from this village; they couldn’t have met before.
Huo Zhao patted the wolf cub’s head and said, “Then let’s call it Shen Xiaoya.”
Shen Roujia shook her head and said firmly, “No, it’s Yu Xiaoya.”
Huo Zhao relented. “Fine, whatever you say. Right, Yu Xiaoya?”
Shen Roujia smiled, satisfied.
Huo Zhao stood up. “Alright, I’m going to cook now, or it’ll be dark before we eat.”
The wolf cub was still small, so Huo Zhao chopped up a chicken leg for it, which was more than enough.After lunch, when they had nothing else to do, they ended up making a little nest for Xiaoya. Though they said it was a joint effort, it was really all Huo Zhao—Shen Roujia didn’t know how to do any of it, after all.
Her only contribution came after Huo Zhao finished building the nest and went to the room to grab an old winter coat he no longer wore. To make her feel involved, he had her arrange the nest herself.
After lunch, Huo Zhao was about to head out.
He had already stayed home with Shen Roujia for over half a month. Though he didn’t complain, he had fallen behind on many things.
While washing the dishes, he sighed and said, “If I don’t get out there and make some money, the three of us are going to starve.”
Feigning nonchalance, Shen Roujia asked, “Brother, where are you going?”
“To make money,” Huo Zhao replied.
“I know that,” Shen Roujia said. “I mean, what exactly is it that you do?”
“Someone in the next village is building a house. I’m going to help carry wood.”
He added, “But I don’t usually do manual labor. They don’t know much about construction, but I can read blueprints, so I usually just supervise.”
That explained why he didn’t take any tools with him and why his clothes were always clean.
Shen Roujia foolishly believed him.
Not only did she believe him, she also felt guilty.
The food she ate, the things he bought her today, and even her medicine were all paid for with his hard-earned money.
She thought of the ugly hairpin. She didn’t want to wear it, but it had cost him one hundred copper coins. It would probably take him a whole day of carrying wood or reading blueprints to earn that much.The hairpin represented Brother Yu’s hard work, so she couldn’t dislike it.
Shen Roujia lowered her gaze; her eyes were slightly red. “You must be very tired,” she whispered.
Oblivious to her emotional turmoil, Huo Zhao said, “It is tiring, but I’m strong, so it’s not a big deal.”
His words sounded like a comforting platitude to her.
She felt even worse.
“You work so hard, and you still have to take care of me. I… I…”
Huo Zhao finally noticed her distress.
“It’s alright, I told you, I don’t just carry wood, I also read blueprints.”
That didn’t comfort her. She felt sympathy for him, imagining him carrying heavy wood under the scorching sun.
The summer breeze was cool. Brother Yu wasn’t sweating when he returned; the wind must have dried his sweat on the way back.
“I’m sorry… I’m useless. I’m just a burden to you.”
Huo Zhao had never comforted a girl before, and now he had done so twice in one day.
“Don’t cry, I’m really not tired, and… the owner of that house is my cousin, we’re close, he doesn’t usually make me work.”
Shen Roujia’s eyes were red. She asked, “Really?”
Huo Zhao replied quickly, “Really! Don’t I always come back looking relaxed?”
He added, “Don’t worry. I have money. My parents left me enough to live comfortably for the rest of my life, even if I don’t work. I just go to my cousin’s place for fun.”
Shen Roujia foolishly believed him again.
She rubbed her eyes and asked, “What time will you be back tonight?”
Huo Zhao thought for a moment and replied, “Soon. I’ll leave shortly and should be back in about two hours.”
Shen Roujia nodded and said, “Then you must pay attention to safety.”
When she was a child, she had seen people building houses. From a distance, she thought it looked hard and dangerous. Although what Brother Yu said was not bad, there was certainly a sense of comfort in it.
Before leaving, Huo Zhao instructed the shadow guard to protect Shen Roujia.
After what happened last time, there was no way Huo Zhao would leave Shen Roujia home alone again.
Ever since their front gate was destroyed, Huo Zhao installed a much sturdier one. With this new gate, no one would dare try to break it down again—at least not easily.
After he left, Shen Roujia was alone in the house—well, not exactly alone; Yu Xiaoya was there, too.
Since she was bored, she played with Xiaoya almost the whole afternoon.
When she first found it, it was weak and timid. But after she gave it water and Huo Zhao gave it food and a bed, the wolf cub became attached to them.
It wasn’t as afraid of her as it had initially been.
Yu Xiaoya was adorable.
It was small and chubby with soft, thick fur. Although all animals looked similar to her, she felt that Yu Xiaoya was especially cute.
It had large, bright eyes and would cuddle in her arms, wrapping its paws around her.
As she played with Yu Xiaoya, the sky began to darken.
Brother Yu would be back soon.
Shen Roujia thought that he worked hard every day and that it wouldn’t be right for him to come home and cook for her as well. She hadn’t realized this before, so she had accepted his kindness without thinking. Now that she knew, though, she couldn’t let him continue doing everything.
She wanted him to come home to a warm meal.
She put Yu Xiaoya down and went to the kitchen. The cub followed her, yipping happily and full of energy after eating.
She had lived with Brother Yu for a while and had seen him cook often enough. She washed the rice, lit the fire, and started cooking. Then she realized that she didn’t know what to make.
Searching the kitchen, she found some dried sausages that Su Yue had given them. There were also some vegetables and a block of tofu soaking in water.
Fascinated by her skirt, Yu Xiaoya chased after it playfully.
Shen Roujia ignored the cub and decided to cook the sausages and stir-fry the vegetables and tofu.
However, she didn’t know how to prepare the sausages.
She left the kitchen, thinking she should ask Su Yue.
However, as she reached the gate, she hesitated. She was afraid to go outside.
Looking at the darkening sky, she decided to be brave. Brother Yu was right; not everyone was bad. She had to learn to interact with people.
To bolster her courage, she picked up Yu Xiaoya and decided to take it with her.
Yu Xiaoya was a ferocious carnivore and cold-blooded predator—a wolf that could tear a person apart!
Her heart pounding, she knocked on the neighbor’s door.
The door opened to reveal a handsome young man in simple clothes looking at her in surprise.
“Miss…?”
Shen Roujia said quickly, “I—I’m looking for Sister Su Yue!”
The man nodded and turned to call out, “Wife, someone’s here for you…” He stepped aside, and she saw Su Yue emerge from the main room.
“Coming, coming,” Su Yue called from inside.
When she saw Shen Roujia, she looked surprised. “Xiao Jia, what brings you here?”
Roujia felt slightly embarrassed and replied, “… Sister Su Yue, Brother Yu is out. I wanted to make dinner, but I don’t know how to prepare the sausages.”
Thinking that the girl probably didn’t have much experience in the kitchen, Su Yue offered, “Then I’ll help you.”
She then noticed the small creature in Shen Roujia’s arms. “Aw, what a cute puppy!”
Embarrassed to admit that she had brought Yu Xiaoya for moral support, Shen Roujia said, “It insisted on following me, so I just brought it along.”
Then she added, “Sister Su Yue, thank you, but just tell me what to do. I don’t want to trouble you.”
Su Yue waved her hand dismissively. “It’s no trouble at all. Let’s go. I’m bored at home anyway.”
She stepped out of the house. Knowing that Brother Yu would be back soon, Shen Roujia didn’t argue further and followed Su Yue back to her courtyard.