The General Under the Skirt - Chapter 24
Chapter 24
This was the first time that Shen Roujia had brought someone into Brother Yu’s courtyard.
“Sister Su Yue, is that man your husband?”
Su Yue nodded and replied, “Yes, we just got married.”
Shen Roujia thought they looked good together; their affection was evident in their eyes. Living together like that must be wonderful.
She opened the gate, and Su Yue entered. “When will your husband be back?”
Shen Roujia blushed slightly. “He should be back in about half an hour.”
They entered the courtyard, and she locked the gate. “He’s not actually my husband,” she whispered.
Su Yue said, “You’re practically married, living together like this.”
She nudged Shen Roujia’s arm. “It won’t be long now.”
Shen Roujia’s ears turned pink. Embarrassed, she led Su Yue to the kitchen. “Sister Su Yue…”
Seeing her blush, Su Yue decided not to tease her further. “These sausages are delicious. My husband loves them.”
“I’ve never seen them before. I don’t know how to cook them,” Shen Roujia said.
“Soak them in water first,” Su Yue instructed.
Shen Roujia immediately found a basin, placed the sausages in it, and filled the basin with water.
“How long should they soak?”
“Just a little while,” Su Yue replied. She noticed the washed vegetables and tofu. “Stir-fried tofu and vegetables?”
Shen Roujia nodded. “Yes, there’s nothing else in the kitchen.”
Su Yue suggested, “Since we’re waiting anyway, why don’t you start with the vegetables?”
Shen Roujia agreed and was about to put the chopped tofu directly into the wok.
“Wait, wait,” Su Yue said, stopping her. “What are you doing?”
Shen Roujia looked confused. “I’m… stir-frying the tofu.”
“…”
“You can’t just put it in like that; it’ll crumble. You have to pan-fry it first until both sides are golden brown, and then set it aside.”
Shen Roujia never thought it would be so troublesome. She had always thought that she should fry the tofu first, then add the vegetables, and finally, add salt.
Su Yue put the tofu that Shen Roujia had neatly cut into pieces in the pan and said, “You haven’t done this before?”
Shen Roujia shook her head and replied, “No, before, it was always Brother Yu who cooked.”
“…?”
A man and a woman living together, with the man doing the cooking… that was unusual, even in the relatively open-minded Dachang. Traditional gender roles were deeply ingrained.
“Who washes the clothes?” Su Yue asked.
Shen Roujia hesitated. “…Brother Yu.”
Su Yue: “…!” She knew it.
She had seen the man before: tall, handsome, and rather fierce-looking. She had worried that Shen Roujia might be mistreated, but now it seemed…
Appearances could be deceiving.
She considered herself and her husband a loving couple. He treated her well, but he certainly didn’t cook or do laundry.
Compared to this man, her husband was a brute.
Su Yue felt a pang of annoyance. As she fried the tofu, she asked, “What do you usually do?”
Shen Roujia was silent for a moment, struggling to answer. Brother Yu did almost everything. She mostly just existed. She hadn’t thought much of it before, but now that she was asked directly, she felt useless.
After a while, she replied, “…Talking to Brother Yu at home.”
The tofu was almost done, and Su Yue scooped it out of the wok. “Your lover really pampers you. He must really like you.”
Shen Roujia’s face turned red suddenly after hearing this. She wasn’t sure if she was panicking, excited, or something else. She waved her hands and said, “No, no! He’s not my lover. We just happen to live together.”
She added, “I was kidnapped before, and Brother Yu saved me.”
Su Yue paused, surprised. She hadn’t known about Shen Roujia’s ordeal. She paused and said, “So there is such a thing…”
Seeing Shen Roujia’s downcast expression, Su Yue patted her shoulder. “It’s alright, it’s all in the past. Aren’t you happy now? The present is what matters.”
Shen Roujia wasn’t saddened by the mention of her past. She had long accepted it. She shook her head. “No, I just… Brother Yu is so kind to me!”
Su Yue said, “You noticed that, too, huh?”
She continued, “Alright, the sausages are almost done soaking. Just boil them for a bit.”
Shen Roujia filled a pot with water, added the sausages, covered the pot, and said, “Brother Yu is a really good person.”
Su Yue looked at Shen Roujia, who was gazing toward the gate with an expression of anticipation and joy. Su Yue could tell that the girl was from a wealthy family, yet here she was, cooking and eagerly waiting for the man to return.
Su Yue was older than Shen Roujia and had sensed something was amiss when the girl mentioned being kidnapped and rescued. Someone with such trauma usually avoids contact with strangers, yet this girl had come to Su Yue, a relative stranger, for help cooking.
The water in the pot began to boil, steam escaping from under the lid. Su Yue looked at Shen Roujia and suddenly asked, “You like him, don’t you?”
The question was like thunder, exploding in Shen Roujia’s ears. She turned her head, feeling flustered, and looked at Su Yue, saying quickly, “No, I… I don’t…”
She moved her lips for a long time but couldn’t say, ‘I don’t like him’.
Su Yue looked at her with a knowing smile, as if she already knew the answer regardless of what Shen Roujia said.
Some things couldn’t be hidden.
Under Su Yue’s gaze, Shen Roujia couldn’t deny it. She lowered her head and whispered, “I don’t know.”
“I’ve never been in love before, but I… I feel my heart flutter when I’m with Brother Yu.”
She didn’t know what love was.
She thought she loved Huo Zhao, the general, but as she grew older, she realized it was probably admiration, not love.
Then she met Yu Zhao, and she felt like her life depended on him.
She felt a profound sense of dependence and a growing possessiveness. She felt anticipation and vulnerability. In her darkest moments, he had been her only hope. She didn’t know if this was love.
But if this wasn’t love, she doubted she would ever love anyone.
Su Yue chuckled, covering her mouth with her hand. “You remind me of myself when I was younger.”
Roujia said, “Sister Su Yue, what do you mean, ‘when you were younger’? You’re still young.”
Su Yue waved her hand. “Wang Lang and I have been together for many years.”
Shen Roujia’s eyes widened. “Didn’t you just get married?”
Su Yue replied, “Yes, we just got married, but we’ve been together for years.”
“At first, I wasn’t sure if I loved him. Marriage is such an important decision. I thought I should be careful. Even though my family isn’t wealthy, I still wanted to find a good husband—someone I was compatible with.”
“But I was happy whenever I was with him. He could be a bit silly sometimes, but I didn’t mind. The thought of spending the rest of my life with him filled me with anticipation.”
“Then what happened?” Shen Roujia asked.
Su Yue smiled. “Then I married him.”
“Because I thought, if he wasn’t the right one, then I probably wouldn’t find anyone better.”
Shen Roujia wanted to say something but couldn’t find the right words.
“Oh, they’re done. Quickly, take them out,” said Su Yue.
Startled, Shen Roujia quickly lifted the lid and fished out the sausages with chopsticks.
The boiled sausages looked plumper than before and emitted a savory aroma.
Su Yue said, “Alright, that’s it. You can eat them like this or stir-fry them; it’s up to you. But don’t add salt; they’re already salty.”
“I’ll be going now.”
Shen Roujia said, “Thank you, Sister Su Yue, I’ll walk you out.”
Su Yue winked. “No need. You should start cooking. Your… husband will be back soon.”
Su Yue left, and Shen Roujia was alone again.
She began stir-frying the vegetables. Sister Su Yue was right; the pan-fried tofu was less likely to crumble and tasted better.
But her mind was elsewhere.
This was the first time she had truly confronted the issue of whether she liked Brother Yu. If Su Yue hadn’t brought it up, she might have avoided facing her true feelings for a long time.
However, some things couldn’t be avoided.
Seemingly attracted by the aroma of cooking, Yu Xiaoya trotted over to Shen Roujia, its fluffy tail wagging as it circled her legs, looking up at her with eager eyes.
The vegetables were almost done. As she scooped them out of the wok, she glanced at the sky.
Brother Yu would be back soon.