Chapter 12 Astonishing Everyone: The General and the Lady's Affair

“Madam, there’s no need to say more. I understand what you mean, but what’s done is done. No matter how much we discuss it, it cannot change the fact that the past has already brought its pain.”

She did not wish to see Chu Mu’s face so full of longing and regret.

Yes, there had once been feelings between them, but those feelings had long been swept away by his distrust, his lack of understanding, his cold indifference.

Where was all this earlier? Now that he finally realized he had wronged her, he came before her acting as though his life depended on her forgiveness.

It filled her with a nameless irritation.

Refusing to look at Chu Mu any longer, she lashed out with a foot at the housemaid who was only just steadying herself on her knees. “Go to the Old Madam’s quarters and accept your punishment. Report everything you’ve done today in full. I’ll come to check on you later. If you dare pretend obedience while disobeying in secret, I’ll deal with you myself. Why are you still kneeling here in my way? Get out!”

The housemaid was knocked to the ground, scrambling up on hands and knees. “This old servant will leave at once to receive her punishment.”

With a flick of her sleeve, Shen Zhao strode away. Chu Mu glanced at the housemaid, determined to remember her face, and hurried after Shen Zhao.

Chu Mu followed Shen Zhao into his own courtyard.

A young servant immediately stepped forward. “Greetings, General. The meal is ready and waiting in the side hall.”

“Good. Prepare another set of dishes. Madam will dine with me.” As soon as Shen Zhao spoke, a flicker of surprise crossed the servant’s face.

Unprecedented! For the first time in two years, the General would take a meal with Madam, and in his own quarters, no less.

Could it be that Madam had won back the General’s heart?

The two of them sat down at the dining table.

Each lost in their own thoughts.

The attendants standing by were even more alert, watching their masters without blinking.

Shen Zhao looked at the table, set with three meat dishes, three vegetables, a soup, a porridge, and an array of pastries.

A complicated feeling welled up within her.

All this was paid for by the profits from her own dowry shops.

But it was not she who enjoyed it, but instead these wolves and foxes of the General’s household.

The Chu family had once been illustrious, their ancestors high officials—one even granted the rare title of Prince not of royal blood.

But as dynasties rose and fell, the Chu line weakened and faded. By Chu Mu’s grandfather’s time, they had declined so far they nearly became tenant farmers.

Chu Mu’s father had seen some improvement. Through the civil service exams, he became an official in the capital—sixth rank.

Not high, but not insignificant.

Chu Mu himself chose the military path, fighting his way up from the blood-soaked fields of battle, carving out his own legend, and becoming a general commanding his own forces.

By rights, now that Chu Mu was a general, the family should have been wealthy. The imperial rewards alone for his many victories should have been considerable.

Yet, when she married into the Chu family, she discovered that the grand mansion held few valuables.

Their private property was truly pitiful.

It made no sense.

But when she questioned Chu Mu, he had no answer, for he’d never bothered with the accounts and did not know the strange state of his own household.

The Chu family could keep up the appearance of gentry, their style, their food, their clothes, their dwellings—all were maintained by her dowry and the profits from her shops.

If not for her need to clear her father’s and brother’s names, she would have divorced Chu Mu long ago.

Fortunately, she had now become Chu Mu. Once she rescued her father and brother from their misery, she could leave this den of wolves and tigers for good.

Shen Zhao picked up her chopsticks first, placing a crystal shrimp dumpling in Chu Mu’s bowl.

“Eat more. Your body has been ruined these last two years. You must nourish yourself.”

Chu Mu gazed at the crystal shrimp dumpling in his bowl, unable to help recalling that moldy steamed bun.

His chest tightened, his throat dry.

He silently picked up his chopsticks and put the shrimp dumpling in his mouth.

Shen Zhao had already begun to eat heartily.

She wanted to eat more, but after only a little, she lost her appetite.

This couldn’t be right. This body was Chu Mu’s.

She’d only eaten five shrimp dumplings, three golden rolls, five crystal soup buns, and a bowl of fish porridge.

Usually, that wouldn’t even fill the cracks in Chu Mu’s teeth, but now she felt completely full!

Impossible.

Could it be that the body was Chu Mu’s, but the appetite was hers?

Staring at the table full of food, Shen Zhao could only sigh.

Without a word, she kept putting food in Chu Mu’s bowl.

Eat. Eat as if your life depended on it.

Nourish my body well.

Since the body had changed, but the appetite hadn’t.

Soon, Chu Mu’s bowl was piled high.

Chu Mu’s mouth twitched.

He wanted to eat more.

He was still hungry, but Shen Zhao’s body was already protesting.

“Hiccup…”

An awkward little sound escaped Chu Mu’s lips, and Shen Zhao’s chopsticks froze in midair.

There was still plenty of food and pastries left on the table.

Shen Zhao quietly set her chopsticks down.

Chu Mu watched her put the chopsticks aside, not eating any more.

He frowned.

Was he feeding a cat?

He thought Ah Zhao was just letting him eat first, and would then eat herself.

But after a long while, she never reached for the food again.

How could she eat so little?

He had to go to the barracks to drill the troops every day.

Without strength, how could he face the soldiers?

How could he train the men well?

He swept all the remaining food into Shen Zhao’s bowl.

“General, you should eat more. You still have to train the troops—how can you do that if you eat so little? How will you lead the soldiers? General, hurry and eat, don’t just sit there. This is barely enough for one meal.”

Shen Zhao stared in mute shock at the overflowing bowl.

She truly couldn’t eat another bite.

Her stomach still felt a little hungry, but she had no desire to eat.

She tried to urge him to finish the bowl, but most of it was left in front of Chu Mu. “Madam, you should eat more and nourish yourself. Don’t put those chopsticks down yet. Your body is too weak—be good and finish it.”

Chu Mu’s mouth twitched uncontrollably. He wanted to eat, but he simply couldn’t.

The two of them kept pushing the food back and forth, leaving the servants behind them wide-eyed in amazement.

This…

Was the sun rising in the west today?

Or were they still dreaming, not yet awake?

Were these really their General and Madam?

The two who rarely met, and when they did, always clashed with fireworks and parted on the worst of terms.

When had there ever been such scenes of mutual care?

Then again, it was not entirely unprecedented—there had been such scenes in the first few months after Madam entered the household.

It had been so long, to see it again seemed almost unreal.

Shen Zhao looked at Chu Mu.

Chu Mu looked back at Shen Zhao.

Both grew more anxious as the other refused to eat.

With a sudden resolve, they both reached out and picked up the other’s bowl at the same time.

The synchronized movement caught them both off guard.

That damned tacit understanding.

To break the awkwardness, Shen Zhao spoke first. “Madam, let me feed you.”

But Chu Mu had the same idea and spoke at the same moment. “General, let me feed you.”

Their voices overlapped, and they both froze, the tips of their ears turning red.

Behind them, the servants’ jaws dropped in shock.

No, it couldn’t be. Right under their noses, when had the General and Madam started an affair? How could they not know?

Nonsense! It wasn’t an affair, it was old feelings rekindled.

The two protagonists of this rekindled romance awkwardly put down their bowls and chopsticks.

Shen Zhao was first to rise, and Chu Mu quickly followed.

By coincidence, their movements were again perfectly in sync.

The servants’ eyes grew even wider.

No, it couldn’t be. With such uncanny understanding, how could anyone believe the General and Madam weren’t involved?

Shen Zhao cleared her throat to cover her discomfort. “Ahem, I’ll head to the barracks first. I’ll come find you when I return.”

Chu Mu hurried to say, “I’ll accompany the General to the barracks.”

All eyes turned to the General as one.

Would the General agree to Madam’s request?

Why did they suddenly want to know so badly?

After all, the General was strict with himself and others, always sticking to the rules. Would he sternly refuse to bring a woman into the barracks, as was proper, or would he break his own rules to please Madam?

They couldn’t wait for the answer.

A sly glint flashed in Shen Zhao’s eyes as, beneath the weight of everyone’s expectant gaze, she opened her mouth and said: