Rebirth of a Star General (Legend of the Female General)

Chapter 2: Sister and brother

The rain of spring seemed endless, falling non-stop.

Inside the house, however, it was warm, with a roaring fire in the stove. The lid of the pot on top emitted steam, making a clear “gudugudu” sound.

A young girl sat in front of the mirror, where a bronze mirror reflected her slightly pale face. Her eyebrows were delicate and her cheeks slightly flushed. Her lips were like small diamond-shaped loquats, giving her a refined and distant appearance. Her almond-shaped eyes were dark and moist, resembling a mountain stream about to gather mist at any moment, the faint clouds dispersing to reveal splendid jewels. With her snow-white skin and charming looks, she was a beautiful girl, but that was all there was to her beauty.

She was well aware of her own beauty, evident by the cosmetics such as rouge, powder, and fragrant head ointments placed on the small dressing table in front of her. The scent of cosmetics lingered around her, and He Yan wrinkled her nose, unable to resist a sneeze.

The bronze mirror was instantly covered with a layer of white frost from the exhaled breath, making the face in the mirror unclear. He Yan had a moment of confusion, as if she had returned to the moment when she first took off her male disguise. She had sat in front of the mirror, looking at her reflection as a woman, feeling as if it was a world away.

She had drowned in the pond of the Xu family, led by Lady He, but upon waking up, she had become He Yan. Not the sister of the current Flying Phoenix General, He Rufei, nor the wife of Xu Zhiheng, but the eldest daughter of the 9th-ranked military officer, He Sui, the He Yan of this dilapidated little house.

Both were He Yan, but their identities and positions were worlds apart.

“He Yan, why didn’t you say anything when you woke up?” accompanied by the voice from outside, the door curtain was lifted, and a figure came in with the cold wind.

It was a middle-aged man with a beard, a square face, dark skin, and a tall and robust figure, resembling a clumsy and strong bear. His smile carried a trace of careful flattery. Seeing that there was no one in the room, he called out loudly, “Qingmei, where is Qingmei?”

“Qingmei went to collect herbs,” He Yan said softly.

The man scratched his head and said, “Oh, then let Dad pour the medicine for you.”

The white porcelain medicine bowl was not even as big as the man’s palm, and he was well aware of it. Therefore, he poured it with extra caution, and the room was immediately filled with the bitter scent of medicinal herbs. He Yan looked at the plum blossom on the edge of the medicine bowl and then turned her gaze to the man’s face. This was He Yan’s father, He Sui, the Commanding Officer of the City Gate.

The word “father” was unfamiliar to He Yan.

Her biological father should have been He Yuanliang, the second master of the He family, but because she took on the identity of He Rufei, she could only call him Second Uncle He Yuanliang. Her foster father, He Yuansheng, was actually her first uncle.

Her relationship with her foster father was not very affectionate, and when she initially expressed her desire to learn martial arts, it even reached freezing point. It was only after she earned military merits and received praise from the emperor that he became more enthusiastic. In the past years, although the main household didn’t mistreat her, they also didn’t truly understand what she was thinking. When He Yan was young, she had thought it was because he wasn’t her father’s daughter, but her biological father, He Yuanliang, was also indifferent to her. Perhaps it was like water poured out; a sent-away daughter, without being raised by his side, the affection would naturally fade.