General, you should rest now; the lady is even more ruthless.

Fortunately, this situation did not last long, and the gates of the mansion were opened.

But the person who came out of the gate was not the General Who Guards the Nation whom everyone had been waiting for, but the Nineteenth.

"Fellow villagers, I appreciate your kind intentions," Nineteen shouted from the doorway.

"But the plague is still raging and the rebels have not been quelled. The general has more important things to do and it is not the time to meet with everyone."

Nineteen, as expected of the steward of the general's mansion, explained the priorities of the matter in just a few words.

"Please go back, everyone. The general will not see anyone today." It was indeed inappropriate for this group of people to be crowding and making a ruckus at the door.

Having said all that, although everyone was disappointed, they had to admit that what was said was very true, and that the important thing was to get down to business.

"As expected of a general who protects the country, he has a long-term vision and always puts the people first."

"The General who protects the country loves the people like his own children. With him around, we can rest assured, cough cough."

"We'll come back after this is all over, and we'll settle all our debts, big and small, to thank General Zhenguo."

The people dispersed and went home, not forgetting to say a few words of praise before leaving.

The girls left heartbroken.

Jiang Qiqi saw that the woman in question had sadly plucked the flower from her hair.

As she walked back, Woman B took out some pastries from her basket and ate them heartily.

Woman C smoothed out her challenge letter, put it in her bosom, and said, "I'll give it to the general next time I see him."

……

The group under the big tree—oh no, the girls—were also preparing to disband and go home.

"Little sister, where do you live? Let's go back together," someone asked Jiang Qiqi.

"No, you guys go ahead." Jiang Qiqi wanted to skip the topic; she couldn't very well say that she lived there.

"I understand." A girl seemed to notice her embarrassment.

"Did you come from somewhere else specifically to see the general? Now you don't have nowhere to go, do you?"

Jiang Qiqi thought to herself, "You guessed half right. She really has nowhere else to go but here."

"How about this?" suggested the girl who started it.

"Come stay at my house. My father had the plague before, but he's almost recovered now. Look, that old man walking the fastest ahead is him. You can stay at my house for a few days, and maybe you'll be able to see the General in a few days."

How long has it been since Jiang Qiqi heard such words?

Only in ancient times, when people were simple and honest, would they dare to casually invite strangers to stay at their homes.

Although she was very touched, she still declined.

"No, I have somewhere to go," Jiang Qiqi said.

But the girls insisted on finding out where she was going and even said they would bring her some nice storybooks, clearly treating her as a friend.

Jiang Qiqi didn't want to reveal her identity, but she couldn't refuse the people's hospitality.

She had no choice but to say, "I won't look for a place to stay yet, because I want to wait here to see General Zhenguo."

"A commoner dares to dream of meeting the General Who Protects the Nation?" A woman's arrogant voice barged in at an inopportune moment.

Everyone frantically searched for the source of the sound.

"It's Miss Cui!" someone exclaimed.

Cui Ling is Cui Zhi's daughter, and she is currently unmarried.

She had fled the city when there was a plague, but upon hearing that the General of the State had arrived, she hurried back.

She hurriedly dressed up, hoping to leave a good impression on the General, or perhaps, the General would be amazed by her beauty.

Unexpectedly, I heard this group of people talking as soon as I arrived at the door. It turned out that others also wanted to see the General Zhenguo.

She glanced at Jiang Qiqi and sneered, "Wearing ugly clothes and covering your face, looking like you're someone who can't be seen in public, even if you kneel in front of the General of the State, he won't even give you a second glance."

Jiang Qiqi frowned; she didn't want to waste her breath on this brainless young lady.

He then said, "I have my own way of doing things, you don't need to worry about it."

Cui Ling grew up being pampered and adored, and no one had ever spoken to her in such a tone before.

"How dare you!" The maid beside her was about to reprimand her, but Cui Ling stopped her.

"Fine, you shameless countrywoman, go and talk to that official, and see if he'll let you in to see the general?"

She nodded in the direction where Nineteen was.

Originally, she didn't say anything, but Jiang Qiqi was going to go there anyway after the other girls left. She didn't want to reveal her identity.

But this spoiled young lady is really annoying.

Jiang Qiqi hesitated for a moment.

Her hesitation was perceived as guilt by others.

“Miss Cui,” a young woman stepped forward to speak on her behalf, “this young lady is from the outer city and doesn’t know you. Please be magnanimous and don’t hold it against her.”

She bowed, but Cui Ling kicked her to the ground instead.

"You lowly commoner, what are you? How dare you speak to me, this young lady?"

The girl was kicked to the ground and didn't dare to utter a word.

Seeing this, Jiang Qiqi got angry.

These past few days have been tough enough, and now that she's almost at her soft bed, this stupid young lady is blocking her way.

This is absolutely outrageous!

She helped the girl who had been kicked up to her feet and asked softly, "Does it hurt?"

The girl shook her head and tugged at her sleeve: "I'm not in pain, don't argue with her."

Jiang Qiqi gently brushed the girl's hand away and turned to face Cui Ling.

“In that case, I’ll show you whether I can actually enter this mansion. If I do, you,” she said, pointing at Cui Ling, “kneel down and apologize to this young lady.”

Cui Ling laughed: "Kneel down? What are you thinking? This lowly commoner doesn't deserve for me to kneel down to her."

Jiang Qiqi narrowed her eyes and gave a sarcastic laugh: "So you think I can get in?"

“How could that be?” Cui Ling immediately retorted. “Fine, I’ll agree to your request.”

The maid behind her tried to raise her hand to stop her, but she pushed her away: "But if you can't get into this mansion, you'll have to kneel down and apologize to me."

"Okay." Jiang Qiqi agreed without even thinking.

"Let's not." The girls shook their heads frantically and grabbed Jiang Qiqi. "It's nothing for us to suffer a little. She's the eldest daughter of the governor's family. Let's not provoke her."

The governor's daughter? Ha, she's not afraid of even a princess, so she wouldn't even bother with a mere governor.

"It's alright," Jiang Qiqi reassured them. "I'll be right back."

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Seeing the crowd leave, Nineteen breathed a sigh of relief, thinking to himself that it was really not easy to follow his master; he even had to know a little bit about how to deal with the common people.

Thinking this, he turned to go back into the house, when he caught a glimpse of a person leading a horse toward the door.

There seemed to be many more people looking in this direction.

"Young lady, as I just said, the general is not seeing anyone today," Nineteen said with a headache.

Jiang Qiqi walked up and took off her face mask: "Am I not going to see you either?"