"We've arrived."
Jun Hua alighted from the carriage and entered their Jun family residence with ease. It had been quite some time since she was back here, so she wanted to enjoy her time. Behind her, Xia tried her best to catch up with the young miss.
"Jun Hua, come here for a second."
"Yes Grandpa?" Jun Hua walked towards her grandfather, who was sitting on a chair in the hall. His face was dark, emitting a grave aura.
"The emperor wanted to test all the new generals of the young generation. Given that 'Jun Min' is famous, you will need to meet him."
Hearing that news, Jun Hua's face darkened. Jun Min was the name of her adoptive brother who, in reality, didn't exist. It was a figure she created with her family's help in order to allow their family to rise again. Since women were not allowed to join the military warfare, under the current circumstances, she had to create a different identity. Thus, after some discussions they came up with the idea of Jun Min.
Although her plan was to make an excellent brother, she never thought that she would be this famous. The name Jun Min was already established significantly and countless people were hoping to meet the boy. Jun Hua herself was only a rookie general and still required her uncle's help on some occasions. However, for her soldiers, just her presence alone was enough to make their blood boil and wanted to charge against the enemies with no hesitation.
Her physical strength was indeed greater than most people, but compared to those seasoned fighters, it was still not enough. What she had were her wits and her young age that boost the soldiers' morale in times of war.
"Just what does that person wanted?" Jun Hua raged. She didn't want to meet that person as Jun Min ever, but she knew that it was unavoidable. With Jun Min's achievement, a lot of people would be suspicious if he never appeared and their Jun family would be in for bigger trouble.
"Souka said he wanted to test all the young generals, but I think there's more to it than that," Jun Zhenxian brows furrowed. "No matter what happens, you have to be careful, understand?"
Jun Hua nodded, "Right, when will the call be?"
Jun Zhenxian was going to say that he doesn't know when a eunuch arrived announcing the emperor's order to pass a message. Jun Zhenxian took the scroll and his face grew a few shades darker. The emperor ordered that they should all come to the palace tomorrow.
After the eunuch had left, Jun Hua raised her head, "There shouldn't be anyone who knew that I have returned, right?"
Her words were correct. Because Jun Hua needed to attend as a girl, she had to return from the battlefield without anyone knowing that Jun Min was gone. She returned stealthily, but there were still people who caught wind of it. There was only one possibility: there were spies watching her.
Jun Zhenxian hurriedly went outside. He wanted to hack down those spies as soon as possible. Watching her raging grandfather, Jun Hua sighed. She chose to return to her room and rest since she didn't have much time for resting anymore. That emperor would surely task a difficult mission for them and possibly do something to hinder her.
Xia helped Jun Hua change her clothes and wash up before the young girl rested for the night.
Early the next morning, Jun Hua woke up and she lazily slipped out of her bed. The comfortable bed was quite a luxury for her, but she reluctantly got up knowing that there were far too many things needed to be done.
"Xia," Jun Hua called on to her maid.
"Yes, Miss," Xia readily helped Jun Hua to prepare her makeup. After putting all of it in order on the table, she retreated behind.
Jun Hua picked up a face mask and wore it on her face. Jun Hua's facial features were undeniably feminine, thus it was difficult for her to qualify as a boy with that face. To hide her feminine features, whenever she was on the battlefield appearing as Jun Min, she would wear a face mask. The face mask didn't differ much from her face, but it helped her look much more masculine. Whenever people saw her face with the face mask, they would at most think of her as a "flower boy."
After putting the face mask on, Jun Hua rubbed some lotion on her skin to make her complexion darker for her original skin was fair white like snow.
To finish up, Jun Hua tied up her hair in a bun, making her hair considerably shorter. Having had done these fashions multiple times, she expertly perfected completing Jun Min's look in a short time.
Finally, Jun Hua picked up a set of blue robes and wore them. She could not wear armor suit in the capital unless she was planning to go to war. The robe made her appear like a refined scholar, instead of a general.
On the side, Xia took a deep breath and sighed. If only her miss was a real man, there would be countless women who would fall for him just from her appearance alone. Even Xia herself could not help but feel that she would definitely fall for "Jun Min," if not for the fact she knew that she's a woman, a very attractive young woman.
Seeing the stunned expression on Xia face, Jun Hua laughed, "Have you fallen for me again, Xia?"
Xia blushed, "I don't... Ah, it's your fault for being so handsome."
Jun Hua laughed, she loved to tease Xia since the girl would easily blush. Jun Hua waved her hand and another girl dressed in black appeared. Her stature was very similar with Jun Hua, but looked very different.
"Min, stay here and be on guard. If anyone would look for Jun Hua, just show up, and act like a shy girl."
"Yes, Miss." The girl in black clothes was one of Jun Hua's bodyguards. She was a trained assassin and her main task was to substitute Jun Hua if she needed to appear as both Jun Min and Jun Hua. Apart from that, she needed to protect Jun Hua in case she required it.
"Xia, you stay here too."
Xia nodded. She knew that she could not follow Jun Hua when she was posing as Jun Min or people would be suspicious.
After leaving them with her instructions, Jun Hua proceeded to go to the palace. The time to face the emperor had arrived.