Transmigrated as the Villainess, She Made the General Blush - Chapter 93

Chapter 93

“Yesterday… I did indeed have something I wanted to ask you, Miss,” Chen Chu replied after a moment of deliberation.

In truth, he had wanted to ask her yesterday if she knew that Qin Tai was hiding something from her, if she knew that Qin Tai was the very spy he had been tracking, and if she knew the danger of keeping Qin Tai by her side.

But he also feared that the assassination attempt was exactly as he suspected-orchestrated by her own hand.

Therefore, in front of the Tuoba siblings yesterday, he hadn’t dared to ask.

Xiao Wangshu looked at him and asked with a smile, “General, do you still wish to ask what you intended to ask yesterday?”

Chen Chu slowly shook his head. “There is no need to press for an answer anymore. If you are willing to speak, I am willing to listen.”

By bringing Qin Tai here to wait for him, hadn’t she already given him the answer?

Xiao Wangshu smiled and asked again, “General, if you do not ask, how am I to know what you wish to know? And how am I to tell you?”

Chen Chu raised his head, his gaze meeting hers directly. “Yesterday, I wanted to ask: Miss, do you think I still need to continue investigating that spy?”

“There is no need. That day, the horses were stampeding, and countless bodies of the assassins were trampled. That assassin was wounded and couldn’t have fled far; he must have perished under the horses’ hooves.”

In fact, the first time Chen Chu and Xiao Wangshu had spoken of this, she had comforted him with those very words.

Today, the same words answered a different question.

Chen Chu asked again, “Miss, when you took such a risk, did you ever consider the consequences of failure?”

In such a scheme, with the slightest slip, any one of them could have perished there.

Thinking even worse, all of them could have gone down together.

How could she… be so bold in her actions!

At this moment, Chen Chu felt an indescribable mix of irritation and lingering fear.

He had known she wouldn’t be a sacrificial lamb, that she wouldn’t willingly go to the northern lands for a marriage alliance. But he hadn’t expected her to turn the tide in such a way-by gambling with so many lives.

“General, I never intended to harm anyone. I only wish to protect my own interests from being infringed upon. In the process of self-preservation, if I truly hurt someone, I am deeply sorry-it was entirely intentional. They shouldn’t have stood in the way of my survival.

“If I must choose between harming others or harming myself, I will certainly choose to harm others.”

Xiao Wangshu’s voice was kept very low, her tone soft, like a lover’s whisper against one’s ear.

Yet every word she spoke radiated a bone-chilling coldness.

While Chen Chu was still dazed, he heard Xiao Wangshu continue:

“I also didn’t truly intend to take anyone’s life. General, even if I hadn’t planned that assassination that day, a spy would have planned one regardless.

“The enemy went to great lengths, sacrificing a pawn they had painstakingly planted as a commander in the army and releasing numerous spies from the camp. Was it merely to save their lives?

“General, when weighing pros and cons, the opponent will inevitably sacrifice the small to protect the large, acting only for profit.

“What he discards is certainly what he deems expendable, and what he protects is certainly what he deems more important.

“Once those spies were released, they would have surely plotted a greater strike. After careful planning, they might have even killed the Tuoba Envoy while we were off guard.

“When that time came, how would we have handled the situation?”

Xiao Wangshu spoke for a long while before picking up the tea bowl in front of her and drinking a bowl of soybean milk.

Chen Chu followed in a heavy voice, “By taking action yourself, you lured them into attacking and secured an escape route, which was actually safer. It gathered the spies together, making it easier for us to kill them, while also allowing you to fish for advantages amidst the chaos and achieve the result you desired.”

“So, General, do you still blame me for being cold-hearted?” Xiao Wangshu set down her tea bowl and asked.

Chen Chu looked up at her, meeting her gaze candidly.

“I have never felt that you were cold-hearted, Miss. I was merely worried for your safety.

“In fact, it is better for you to be a bit cold-hearted. There is too much injustice in this world; kindness without the power to act is not worth praising. Only by meeting the enemy with a cold heart can one avoid being bullied.”

How could he blame her?

He was simply struck by her calm brilliance, captivated by the light she radiated.

“I truly feel… quite honored that you can understand,” Xiao Wangshu gave him a smile, the corners of her eyes crinkling slightly.
This General Chen always seemed to catch her off guard; whether it was his words or his actions, he truly struck her as quite novel.

Chen Chu was momentarily stunned, then lowered his head and silently ate two buns.

Xiao Wangshu watched him eat for a while before speaking again. “Only five people know of this matter: myself, Qin Tai, Yuchi Yan, Ruan Fuxin, and you, General. I hope you will remember to keep your lips sealed, especially in front of my father.

“This isn’t just for my sake, but for yours and for the sake of the alliance.

“Once the Tuoba Envoy learns of this, the alliance will undoubtedly fracture.

“Father is a suspicious man. If this is exposed, not only me, but everyone who knows will be unable to escape his suspicion, including you, General.

“And to ensure this secret is buried forever, Father will do everything in his power to eliminate those in the know.

“Perhaps Father won’t do anything to us for the time being, but Ruan Fuxin, Qin Tai, and Yuchi Yan would certainly be dead men.”

After saying this, Xiao Wangshu slowly raised her hand and extended her pinky finger toward him.

“I hope the General can hide this from my father just this once for all our sakes. Let us treat this as if it never happened and keep this secret between us, shall we?”

Chen Chu’s chewing slowed as he stared at her hand for a moment.

That fair, delicate hand seemed as if it were coated in a layer of poison, radiating a fatal temptation. As if possessed, Chen Chu set down his chopsticks and reached out his pinky to hook onto hers.

A hand covered in thin calluses hooked around hers, bringing with it a coarse, rough sensation.

Xiao Wangshu curled her pinky, locking it tightly with his, and smiled. “Then it’s a promise, General?”

To Chen Chu, her hand felt like a block of silken tofu pressed against his-tender and smooth, as if it would break with the slightest bit of pressure.

Even upon hearing Xiao Wangshu’s question, he didn’t dare exert any force or make any movement. He simply gave her a stiff nod.

Having received her answer, the smile on Xiao Wangshu’s face deepened. She withdrew her hand and said, “Please eat more, General. You shouldn’t be hungry for the morning court session.”

The silken tofu slipped away, and Chen Chu instinctively curled his fingers.

On his fingertip, the girl’s lingering warmth and fragrance seemed to remain.

Chen Chu was dazed for a moment. Under Xiao Wangshu’s slightly puzzled gaze, he snapped back to his senses, picked up his chopsticks, and buried his head in his food until he finished the entire basket of buns.

Once finished, he thanked Xiao Wangshu and took his leave.

Knowing he had to attend court, Xiao Wangshu naturally did not detain him further and simply told him to be careful on the road.

Chen Chu nodded and pushed aside the carriage curtain to step out.

Just as he was about to exit the carriage, Qin Tai, who was sitting on the driver’s bench, finally couldn’t hold back and asked, “General, how exactly did I give myself away?”

He had spent the entire night scratching his head over it but couldn’t figure out the reason.

Chen Chu stepped down from the carriage and glanced back at him. He answered with his usual brevity.

“Scent.”

With that, Chen Chu strode away and went to the roadside to untie his warhorse.

Qin Tai’s mind didn’t quite grasp it at first. He frowned and muttered to himself, “What scent? The smell of my sweat?”

As he muttered, he lowered his head to sniff his armpit.

It was the middle of winter; the smell of sweat wasn’t even that strong!

Chen Chu flipped himself onto his horse and gave him a cold, sweeping glance. He really didn’t want to be associated with the man. He whipped his horse and galloped straight toward the imperial palace.

Inside the carriage, Xiao Wangshu clearly felt it was a bit embarrassing as well.

Hearing Qin Tai still muttering, Xiao Wangshu sat inside and gave him a chilly reminder: “On the day of the assassination, the air was filled with the smell of blood. Moreover, from that distance, even a dog wouldn’t have been able to smell the sweat on you. You’d be better off thinking carefully about what you’ve used recently.”

Chen Chu’s sense of smell was simply much more sensitive than an average person’s, but it shouldn’t have reached the level of a bloodhound yet.

“Oh, that seems to be it!”

Realization dawned on Qin Tai. He sniffed his right shoulder repeatedly until he finally managed to catch a trace of fresh fragrance mixed in with the smell of sweat.

Then, he exclaimed in awe, “Just what kind of nose does General Chen have?”

He could smell even such a faint scent?

Xiao Wangshu let out a soft chuckle and lowered her head to continue eating her buns.

…