Legend of the Female General Episode 9 Recap
> Legend of the Female General Recap
Yingxiang reported to Chu Zhao that she had seen Xiao Jue also stealthily entering Sun Ling's secret room, where the account records were believed to be hidden. Chu Zhao deduced that Xiao Jue was likely pursuing the Yezhou Garrison's tax ledgers, as he would have no way of knowing about the financial dealings between Sun Xiangfu and Chu Zhao's master. Concerned about losing the initiative, Chu Zhao instructed Yingxiang to closely monitor Xiao Jue’s every move.
Meanwhile, Sun Xiangfu met with Xiao Jue, offering him high-quality tea while feigning deep distress over Yezhou's hardships, claiming calamities and the halt of border trade with Wutuo made it impossible to provide military funds. He dramatically offered to sell himself for the cause, but Xiao Jue, knowing the Yezhou Garrison had long been unpaid, found his performance utterly unconvincing. Sun Xiangfu then excused himself to attend to Chu Zhao, who had just arrived.
He Yan felt a sharp pain from a scented ball on her clothes, realizing it was poisoned and that Ding Yi was watching her from the shadows. Understanding the poison was meant for both her and Xiao Jue, she deliberately bumped into Xiao Jue, whispering a warning about the toxic item. To neutralize the threat, she pulled him into a nearby pond. The plan foiled, Sun Xiangfu was furious, while Ding Yi grew suspicious.
Noting the fall seemed too coincidental, he concluded He Yan must be faking her blindness, finding her unnaturally slippery. After being pulled from the water, He Yan maintained her act of blindness while bathing. Playing the part of Xiao Jue's "nephew," she asked him to fetch her belt and jokingly requested an allowance, complimenting his good character.
Later that night, dressed in stealth attire, she eavesdropped on Ding Yi and Sun Xiangfu, learning that General Feihong's order was to assassinate Xiao Jue, and Ding Yi believed killing "Cheng Lisu" first would be like cutting off Xiao Jue's arm. Discovered, He Yan fled and encountered Xiao Jue, also in a stealth outfit. After a brief clash, they recognized each other and separated to evade the pursuing guards.
Xiao Jue returned to his room to bathe, but He Yan soon burst in seeking refuge. He immediately exposed her feigned blindness. Before she could explain, Ding Yi arrived at the door searching for "Cheng Lisu." In desperation, He Yan submerged herself in Xiao Jue’s bathtub. Xiao Jue calmly sent Ding Yi away with a story that his "nephew" had gone out for pastries.
Once clear, he again questioned He Yan, who claimed her vision had simply recovered quickly and reminded him not to be ungrateful for her earlier sacrifice. Unbeknownst to her, Xiao Jue had also overheard Ding Yi's conversation and was already piecing together that he was an assassin sent by He Rufei, leaving him to puzzle over the motive. Determined to protect Xiao Jue and seek her own revenge, He Yan decided to eliminate Ding Yi.
She confronted him directly, tearing off her veil. Their fight revealed He Yan's superior skill, and she lured him to a secluded, eerie Buddhist shrine used by the Sun family to suppress spirits. Declaring herself a "vengeful ghost" who had crawled out of the Netherworld, she fought and brutally blinded Ding Yi before slitting his throat. Xiao Jue, having followed them, witnessed the entire scene and overheard her chilling claim: "I'm the ghost of one you murdered.
I clawed my way out of the Netherworld to claim your life," which deepened his suspicion about her true identity. When Xiao Jue addressed her as "Miss He," He Yan feigned confusion, asking why he wouldn't recognize her just because she had posed as Cheng Lisu for a few days, then cheekily insisted her name was He Yan. Questioned about her "ghost" comment, she dismissed it as a scare tactic.
Xiao Jue then confronted her directly, revealing he knew she was a woman. He offered her a chance to join the Jiuqi Camp if she explained her true intentions. He Yan presented a meticulously crafted story: a seer had foretold that as a boy, she would be a military prodigy, but as a girl, she would be fated to die young. Thus, she was raised and registered as a male.
Inspired by generals like Xiao Jue, she joined the Fuyue Army but was forced to retire after her squad leader discovered her gender. Although Xiao Jue acknowledged her story was flawless, he remained skeptical and questioned why she would risk enlisting again. He Yan passionately declared her desire to be a general and protect her country, expressing her faith that the Xiao Army would value talent above all else. Still unconvinced, Xiao Jue threatened to expel her.
In response, He Yan playfully blackmailed him, threatening to ruin his pristine reputation with rumors of a sweetheart who knew of a private detail—a red mole an inch above his waist. Flustered, Xiao Jue was silenced. He Yan then asked him to apply medicine to a wound on her back, and when he teased her about her toughness, she retorted that a soldier fights to the death on the battlefield but must properly recuperate in peacetime.
Shortly after, Feinu, tasked with disposing of Ding Yi's body, reported a disturbing discovery in the Buddhist shrine: multiple female corpses. Xiao Jue investigated personally, confirming that the Sun family had been kidnapping, torturing, and burying women there, solving the mystery of many of Yezhou's missing person cases.
