When the Female Lead Becomes Obsessive – Chapter 139

Volume Seven: The Years I Was a General

Beheading by Inquiry¹

The di² eldest son of Ming’an³ Country’s Zhenguo⁴ Da Jiangjun⁵, Gu Mingtao, was Gu Wen Nuan. Just after her capping ceremony⁶ ceremony, she was enfeoffed by the former emperor as the “Shao Zhen”⁷ Vice General. She followed her father to war to conquer the manyi⁸ and commanded troops to guard the border for many years.

Later, Zhenguo Da Jiangjun Gu Mingtao suffered a sneak attack by Yaodong⁹ Country. A flying arrow delivered poison, causing Gu Mingtao to die on the battlefield. The cause of death was poison.

And just when Yaodong Country was complacently pleased that Ming’an Country’s power was gone, Shao Jiang¹⁰ Gu Wen Nuan, not rushing to be grief-stricken, swiftly assembled troops to attack Yaodong Country. After half a month, she finally beheaded the emperor of Yaodong Country upon the dragon throne¹¹. The corpse was hung on the gate of Luoning¹² City and exposed for seven days and seven nights, shaking all under heaven¹³.

Through this one battle, Gu Wen Nuan became famous as a youth. With illustrious battle merits, the son inherited her father’s enterprise, becoming Ming’an Country’s new Zhenguo Jiangjun, and also the ever-victorious “War God” in the hearts of the common people.

And this person, Gu Wen Nuan, was skilled at conspiracy and strange tactics. When two armies fought, her methods were ruthless and merciless. She was called the “Bloodthirsty Rakshasa”¹⁴ by enemy countries, becoming their lifelong, unforgettable nightmare.

Those who knew Gu Wen Nuan well all knew she was upright and incorruptible, selfless and impartial, wholeheartedly supported imperial power, and was loyal to Ming’an for her entire life.

Every time an enemy country invaded the border, they were beaten by Gu Wen Nuan’s iron-blooded methods until they were pissing and shitting themselves in terror¹⁵, and they would even consecutively lose several cities.

Because of her outstanding battle merits, Emperor Chongming¹⁶ happily summoned Gu Wen Nuan back to the capital to report on her duties, to be commended and rewarded.

But no one expected that once this young general returned to the capital, she would stir the capital’s sky until it was muddy.

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Anming¹⁷ fifteenth year, the eighteenth.

In Mobei¹⁸, a great rain fell for three days and three nights. Only today did it finally clear up.

The officers and soldiers sighed with emotion, saying it must be that the Upper Heaven¹⁹ knew today was General Gu’s twenty-fifth birthday and specially cleared the skies.

Gu Wen Nuan feasted with the three armies²⁰. Everyone in the camp sang and danced around high-burning bonfires, with good wine and good meat, carefree and happy.

It was clearly a cheerful and lively atmosphere, but when Zhangsun Jiashi²¹ looked at Gu Wen Nuan, he saw she had a face full of sorrow. From time to time she was in a daze, and from time to time she would sigh, looking just like someone worried and anxious.

“General, what is wrong with you?” Zhangsun Jiashi asked. “Is there some vexing matter?”

Wen Nuan looked at Zhangsun Jiashi and tentatively asked, “Jiashi, if you had a bosom friend who announced your most important secret to the public, bringing you a monstrous disaster and making you suffer many hardships and torments, how would you treat that bosom friend?”

Zhangsun Jiashi did not understand why Gu Wen Nuan would ask such a question, but he still answered truthfully, pondering and saying, “If it is all as the General says, and this bosom friend harmed this lower official²² so tragically, this lower official would kill this person to avenge myself and clear my hatred.”

Sorrow flashed in Wen Nuan’s eyes. She heaved a long sigh, “….Ai²³.”

Truly vexing.

The System helplessly lowered its head and complained in a sorrowful tone: 【I told you not to be a person²⁴! I told you not to be a person!】

Truly annoying.

Hearing Wen Nuan’s extremely heavy sigh, Zhangsun Jiashi asked, even more confused, “General, why are you always sighing? Have the military affairs in the camp been troubling you recently?”

He paused. “General, are you perhaps worrying about the question you just asked this lower official?”

Wen Nuan waved her hand, drank a mouthful of strong liquor, and said mournfully, “You don’t understand.”

“….” As a military strategist who devised strategies, since Zhangsun Jiashi had come into the world, matters between heaven and earth that he did not understand were simply few and far between.

His eyes shifted. “How about the General tells this lower official, and this lower official can give you some ideas?”

Wen Nuan glanced at him. “Matters of love and affection, how much do you understand?”

Zhangsun Jiashi: “…..I don’t understand.”

A miscalculation.

“Then forget it.” Wen Nuan naturally knew Zhangsun Jiashi was a bare stick²⁵, and didn’t expect him to really be able to devise strategies for her.

In this huge military camp now, among two hundred thousand iron-blooded officers and soldiers, if you were to speak of people who could understand matters of love and affection, you could count them on one hand.

For example, there was the person Zhangsun Jiashi recommended, her vice general, Zhao Liangcai. Before becoming her vice general, he was in the imperial palace serving as the commander of the imperial guard.

At that time, he had married a young lady from an official’s family and also had a fat son. Zhao Liangcai’s life could be considered a complete and happy family, so with no distractions and not a care, he followed Gu Wen Nuan to Mobei to command troops, guard the border, and protect his home and country.

“Sha²⁶?” Zhao Liangcai was gnawing on a pig’s trotter, his mouth full of grease. He looked at Wen Nuan with a face full of astonishment. “General, you want to discuss matters of love and affection with me?”

“….” Wen Nuan looked helplessly at Zhangsun Jiashi. “Are you serious?”

Zhangsun Jiashi spread his hands. “General, in this military camp now, only Vice General Zhao and Cao Huojun²⁷ are married. Regarding matters of love and affection, only these two can understand a thing or two.”

What was this, if not breaking a cracked pot²⁸.

Rather than asking Zhao Liangcai, she might as well think of a solution herself.

Wen Nuan looked at Zhao Liangcai with eyes full of disdain. The pig’s trotter had been gnawed by him into bits and pieces. “How can your niangzi²⁹ stand this eating manner of yours?”

It was said that Zhao Liangcai’s niangzi was the di eldest daughter of the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, a dajia guixiu³⁰ who was gentle and virtuous. Everyone in the capital had thought she would marry a gentle, refined, and elegant civil official, but no one expected her to marry a crude and unreasonable military official.

Everyone sighed endlessly, all saying it was a case of a delicate fresh flower stuck in cow dung.

When Zhao Liangcai heard Wen Nuan speak of his niangzi, he immediately bared his teeth in a wide grin and laughed, “Haha, this lower official’s niangzi very much likes this lower official’s eating manner. She feels that this lower official eats the food she makes very fragrantly, which makes her feel very satisfied.”

Wen Nuan: “….”

She had truly brought this dog food³¹ upon herself. It was suffocating.

Zhao Liangcai felt that Wen Nuan’s complexion was a bit off and said worriedly, “General, are you physically unwell? this lower official sees that your complexion isn’t quite right.”

For the past few days, everyone in the military camp could feel that Wen Nuan’s state was not good. She sighed every day, as if some troublesome matter had disturbed her mind. Everyone felt that the General might have encountered a sky-high problem; after all, even when attacking Yaodong Country and Xizhao³² Country back then, the General had never been so worried.

“Now that it has been a year since the new emperor ascended the throne, what are your thoughts?” Wen Nuan looked at Zhao Liangcai and Zhangsun Jiashi.

Zhao Liangcai drank a mouthful of wine and shook his head. “This lower official has no thoughts. No matter how much the capital stirs things up, it won’t cause trouble for us here in Mobei.”

Wen Nuan looked towards Zhangsun Jiashi. “And you?”

“This lower official feels Vice General Zhao’s words have reason. Mobei and the capital are separated by a thousand li³³,” Zhangsun Jiashi naturally knew what had happened in the capital over the past three years. “The border is now peaceful and tranquil. The General has garrisoned Mobei for many years and has never let the enemy’s iron cavalry cross the line. With such outstanding achievements, there is no one who is not convinced.”

Wen Nuan drank a mouthful of wine. The strong liquor was fiery hot, burning her insides. She said in a low voice, “What I fear is that… my accomplishments are too high and shake the lord³⁴.”

The tips of Zhangsun Jiashi’s ears moved, and his brows furrowed slightly.

Three years ago, she had left this mission world. The System had tampered with some of the original owner’s memories to avoid affecting the development of the male and female leads later on.

In the three years that followed, the original owner had always been in Mobei garrisoning the border, training troops and resisting enemies. She never once set foot in the capital, not even a year ago for a sky-high matter like the new emperor’s ascension. The reason was that the original owner had not received the new emperor’s imperial edict of summons, so she did not dare to leave Mobei, otherwise it would be defying an edict and showing disrespect.

Now, Wen Nuan had returned to this world. Three years had passed. Zhangsun Jiashi’s spies in the capital had transmitted all the major and minor events that had occurred in the capital over the past three years, making Wen Nuan sigh with emotion.

Now, the new emperor’s wings were gradually becoming full-fledged. It was time to take revenge and clear the hatred.

After three rounds of wine, the officers and soldiers were all dead drunk, one by one. But around the military camp, there were still sober officers and soldiers on guard duty, who would not give the enemy an opportunity to exploit.

Wen Nuan had no heart to eat. She took a pot of wine, left the banquet, and walked out of the military camp, looking at the long, sparkling river in the distance.

She sighed faintly.

【In this world, you acted too ruthlessly,】 the System said helplessly. 【If you had shown a little mercy at the time, it wouldn’t be so difficult to handle now.】

Wen Nuan played with the wine pot, its spout shaking between her fingers. “If I hadn’t acted so ruthlessly, the female lead couldn’t have become emperor, nor could she have been with the male lead.”

At that time, her relationship with the female lead was too close and had already drawn special attention from Emperor Chongming.

One must know, it is not a good thing for the Eastern Palace³⁵ and a high minister to be too close in private. The position of Crown Prince was eyed covetously³⁶. If Emperor Chongming thought she wanted to help the female lead fight for the throne, it would undoubtedly put the female lead in a dangerous situation. Emperor Chongming’s thoughts were deep and his nature was suspicious; he would not allow anyone to threaten his throne, not even the Crown Prince he had personally enfeoffed.

So, in order to lower Emperor Chongming’s suspicion and prevent him from striking first against the female lead, she personally exposed the female lead’s true identity.

A woman disguised as a man.

Empress Xianren³⁷, in order to make Emperor Chongming establish her child as Crown Prince and consolidate her Liu clan’s position, had bribed midwives, confused the public’s eyes and ears, and tampered with the female lead’s gender, making the female lead appear to others in men’s clothing.

Now that the deeply buried secret was uncovered, Emperor Chongming, on the charge of the crime of deceiving the sovereign³⁸, deposed the female lead from the position of Crown Prince, threw the Empress into the Cold Palace³⁹, and had the female lead thrown into the Heavenly Prison⁴⁰ to be severely tortured, with Wen Nuan carrying out the punishment and personally conducting the interrogation.

【Did you act that way back then merely because Emperor Chongming became suspicious of your relationship?】 the System said faintly. 【Was it not also because the female lead confessed to you and said she liked you?】

Wen Nuan paused, drank a mouthful of wine, and sighed. “Half and half, ba⁴¹.”

The female lead falling for her back then was truly an accident. She and the female lead were the same, both women disguised as men. The only difference was that she knew the female lead was a woman disguised as a man, but the female lead did not know that she was not a real “man”.

The original owner’s mother had the same intention as the Empress: to have the original owner disguise herself as a man and inherit the peerage title, to avoid being taken advantage of by those in the waishi⁴² shuzi⁴³.

But she never expected that after Wen Nuan came to this world, being familiar with the world’s plotline, she would follow her father to Mobei to fight wars in order to consolidate the female lead’s future rivers and mountains⁴⁴. She consolidated Ming’an Country’s chaotic situation and resolved the perilous external threats. As for internal worries, Ming’an Country’s Chancellor, who was also the male lead, could naturally handle those.

Gu Wen Nuan’s battle merits in Mobei were numerous, thus she received Emperor Chongming’s endless appreciation and praise. This brought her unparalleled glory and glory to her family’s gateway⁴⁵, making the original owner’s mother both shocked and happy.

She was happy that the original owner’s battle merits were illustrious and that she was highly regarded by Emperor Chongming. She was shocked with fear that the original owner’s identity would be exposed, leading to the same fate as the female lead. Ultimately, she died of depression from excessive worry.

In the current General’s Manor, only a few elderly servants remained to look after the house. As for those waishi shuzi, they had long ago been dealt with cleanly by the original owner’s mother.

Now, the only one who knew she was a woman disguised as a man was herself.

The sound of footsteps came from behind her. Wen Nuan turned her head to look; it was Zhangsun Jiashi.

“What is the General worrying about?” he asked first.

Wen Nuan did not answer directly. “Haven’t you already guessed?”

After all, the messenger from the capital had already entered Pinglan⁴⁶ City and would arrive at the main military camp tomorrow to proclaim the imperial edict.

His fists tightened unconsciously. Zhangsun Jiashi’s brows were tightly furrowed, and his tone was grave as he said, “General… are you perhaps overthinking?”

Wen Nuan drank a mouthful of wine. Her body, originally stiff from the cold wind, was warmed for a moment by the strong liquor, but the next gust of cold wind made it instantly bone-chillingly cold again.

The weather here in Mobei is changeable. The temperature difference between morning and evening is too great. At noon, the sun is high and scorching, but once night falls, it becomes bone-chillingly cold, the wind invading one’s muscles.

“You and Zhao Liangcai pay more attention here in Mobei. If that bunch of bastards finds out I’m not in Mobei, they will definitely look for an opportunity to send out troops and provoke us.”

“General, you are…”

It was as if she were giving her last words.

Wen Nuan smiled. “Jiashi, some things must ultimately have an ending… only then can they be considered perfect.”

Zhangsun Jiashi watched Wen Nuan’s departing back and shouted loudly, “General, the Eastern Palace incident three years ago, were you… a participant?”

Wen Nuan stopped but did not turn back. Her tone was faint as she said, “If you count it up, I was probably the main orchestrator.”

Zhangsun Jiashi was endlessly shocked, staring wide-eyed as Wen Nuan disappeared into the dark night.

His spies hidden in the capital had once told him that ever since the female emperor ascended the throne, of all who had participated in the Eastern Palace incident three years ago—regardless of whether they were influential court officials⁴⁷ or lowly and humble eunuchs and servants—not a single one was left alive.

Now, of the people who participated in the Eastern Palace incident, it was feared that only the General still survived in the world.

Her Majesty the Empress would definitely not let the General go.

The cold wind was piercing. Zhangsun Jiashi deeply felt that this year’s wind and rain, he feared, would not be stopped.

After the birthday banquet, a messenger came from the capital. Everyone in the army received the edict. The content of the imperial edict was that Her Majesty the Empress urgently summoned Gu Wen Nuan back to the capital to report on her duties, not to be delayed for a single moment.

Wen Nuan received the edict. She refused to be accompanied by Zhangsun Jiashi and Zhao Liangcai, and also refused to bring troops back to the capital. She returned to the capital alone with the messenger.

From Mobei to the capital, even spurring on a fast horse⁴⁸, would still take nearly seven or eight days.

Ten days later, Zhangsun Jiashi received a secret report from his informant in the capital.

He opened the envelope and, looking at its contents, was left dumbstruck⁴⁹.

[Gu Wen Nuan committed treason and rebellion, entered the zhaoyu⁵⁰, received cruel torture, to be beheaded after autumn⁵¹.]

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The author has something to say:

Author-jun: Extra chapter la la la la….

(Here I want to explain a bit: recently, in the comments for this story, there have been some people maliciously spamming trigger warnings⁵². I don’t want to pay them too much mind and will just focus on writing properly. Everyone is a little cutie who just wants to read happily. You and I have established a small tacit understanding and closeness, and I don’t want these malicious comments to affect everyone’s reading experience. I’m giving everyone an extra chapter today and hope you can all continue to read happily. Love you all, yo, jiumi~~⁵³.)

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