This slap of mine has twenty years of kung fu behind it—can you withstand it

Upon hearing this, the two old women were dumbfounded.

They looked at each other, their confusion only deepening.

Thus, they began to exchange words.

"What does the Madam mean?"

"I do not know, but it feels like a provocation."

"I think so too. She clearly feels that the two of us did not hit her hard enough to even break the skin on her face."

"To be honest, I was thinking the same thing. This is infuriating!"

"To think that I, Nanny Li, am known as the Iron-Hand Guanyin, the most ruthless and merciless of all. I did not hold back just now, yet I am being mocked like this. I cannot endure it."

"I cannot endure it either!"

Having reached an agreement in just a few words, the two turned their bodies together to face Bai Li.

The smile on Bai Li's face grew even wider.

Although the previous step had not gone smoothly, this one surely would. Thus, her tone became increasingly gentle, "I know the formula for an excellent medicine for wounds, you two nannies. How about I give you a copy?"

The two nannies' pitch-black faces instantly flushed red.

If this could be tolerated, what could not be?

To actually question their professionalism, who could stand that?

"It seems the Madam still does not know how formidable we are!"

"Regardless, this is the Duke's order, so we have nothing to worry about."

The two nannies spoke one after the other, and one of them even extended a fist as large as a sandbag. Slowly opening it, she said, "Madam, this slap of mine contains twenty years of skill. Can you withstand it?"

Bai Li was stunned.

Immediately after, slaps rained down on her.

A flurry of smacks and cracks echoed out once more!

Bai Li's miserable screams rose and fell in succession.

The physical pain was even worse than before, and the anguish in her heart was several times stronger.

She did not understand!

How could things go wrong time and time again!

By casually applying the experiences earnestly taught by her master, she could make Right Guardian Bai Hu revere her as a god. Now, facing Ren Tianye, she had meticulously prepared and even simulated the scenario hundreds of times in her mind.

She had ensured that nothing could go wrong.

But...

Her grand plan had collapsed right at the beginning?

Why?

"What is going on?"

A voice rang out from outside the door. A glance revealed it was Ruyue.

Ever since she became Ren Tianye's personal senior maid under Lu Qing's arrangement, Ruyue held a very high status among the maids in the Duke's estate, though she remained just a maid.

Later, after Lu Qing was dismissed from his position as Great General by the Empress Xiao Mingzhao and Ren Tianye took control, Lu Qing could no longer pose a threat to Ren Tianye. Thus, Ruyue's status as a maid was thoroughly secured.

She and his son, Young Duke Lu Jun, had been working like horses and oxen in the Ren Duke's estate ever since.

Hearing the commotion, she rushed in.

She frowned and asked the question.

The two nannies did not dare offend Ruyue, so they explained everything in detail.

Ruyue frowned slightly but did not say much, instead obediently going to report to Ren Tianye.

Ren Tianye did not pay it much mind.

Not only did he not stop them, but he also told the two nannies to be quick about it, demanding that Bai Li write a letter for him.

A letter to the Lin Family Army!

A letter ordering the Lin Family Army to surrender!

After the order was given, the letter Ren Tianye wanted was delivered in no time.

Opening it, he saw it was exactly as he had requested.

Not a single word was wrong.

This made Ren Tianye somewhat surprised. "Bai Li is this obedient?"

"Uh... after three strikes of the stick, she became exceptionally obedient."

"Oh!"

Ren Tianye understood.

Three strikes shattered her romantic delusions, and she was thoroughly repentant!

It seemed that the best way to deal with this kind of lunatic was always physical restraint!

He was unwilling to waste any more effort on Bai Li.

He immediately had someone send the letter to the Lin Family Army.

Half a day later, a scout came to report.

"Duke, the two hundred thousand strong Lin Family Army outside the capital has struck camp and is marching toward the capital in a massive formation. However, they have all taken off their armor and weapons. They must not be attacking the city, but surrendering!"

They really surrendered?

Did it really come this easily?

Ren Tianye sprang to his feet, ready to head to the capital's city walls.

However, before leaving the Duke's estate, he asked one more question.

"Where is Bai Li?"

"How is she doing now?"

"Reporting to the Duke, she just took the medicine prescribed by the doctor and is now asleep. However, her condition is not very good. She has been crying continuously and even sought to take her own life."

"Watch her," Ren Tianye ordered. "You absolutely cannot let her die!"

As long as the two hundred thousand strong army outside the city was not completely under his control, Bai Li could not die!

After making the arrangements, he strode out the door, mounted a horse, and headed straight for the city wall.

Standing on the city wall and looking into the distance, the Lin Family Army gradually appeared in his line of sight, exactly as the scout had reported.

Armor removed, dismounted, and raising white flags!

Furthermore, not only the original Lin Family Army, but even the ten thousand men of the Shenji Battalion had laid down their firearms and were approaching on foot.

Ren Tianye's heart surged with excitement as he watched!

Truly, he had worn out iron shoes in a fruitless search, only to find it without any effort at all!

But if two hundred thousand troops were really allowed into the city, should any mistake occur, the consequences would be unimaginable.

He immediately gave an order.

"Wei Shuo!"

"Your subordinate is here!"

"Make a trip and deliver an order to the Lin Family Army."

"Yes, Duke."

"First..." Ren Tianye said, "Order all the officers of the Lin Family Army, great and small, to remove their armor and come see me. I will take them to have an audience with Her Majesty the Empress to seek rewards for them, and inform them that Her Majesty has bestowed residences to settle them."

"Second, after the officers enter the city, you are to immediately take over the Lin Family Army's provisions and consolidate them. From now on, they will be uniformly allocated by the imperial court's Ministry of Revenue and distributed daily according to quotas. Anyone who dares to hoard or privately raise provisions will be charged with treason!"

"Third, the entire army is to be stationed at the grand camp outside the capital. Their original formations are to be broken up immediately and reorganized into mixed units. Soldiers and generals are to be reassigned, and they are forbidden from referring to each other by their old unit affiliations!"

"Yes, Duke!"

Wei Shuo agreed, his face full of excitement.

Because he was familiar with this set of operations!

It was simply the perfect choice for dealing with newly surrendered troops. Back when he roamed the grasslands and forced the barbarians to surrender, he had used this exact method.

Only, back then, he could not obtain the Empress's imperial edicts so easily. Unlike the Duke, who used imperial edicts more frequently and smoothly than rough drafts on a desk!

He immediately accepted the order and departed.

Ren Tianye's orders, however, had not yet ended.

He shouted, "Wang Ming!"

"This general is here!"

"Has Lin Zixiao not been found yet?"

Ren Tianye asked with a frown.

Right now, the entire Lin Family Army had surrendered, but those two hundred thousand troops were ultimately not that stable. The main issue was the Seven Heroes of Chifeng; those seven were likely still unyielding toward him, so it was still possible they would cause a disturbance after entering the capital.

But Lin Zixiao was the original commander of the Lin Family Army. At a time like this, bringing Lin Zixiao in to counter the Seven Heroes of Chifeng was the best choice.

It was just that...

A few days ago, while mobilizing troops, Lin Zixiao had accidentally fallen off a cliff. Now, despite everyone searching for several days, there had been no news of him. It very much felt like he was missing alive or dead without a trace.

"Probably not yet," Wang Ming shook his head. "No news of finding him has come from the military camp."

"Then keep searching, and increase the manpower looking for him." Ren Tianye said coldly, "Even if you have to turn the entire mountain upside down, you must find Lin Zixiao."

"If this person is not dead and goes into hiding,"

"He will be a massive threat to us!"

Naturally, Wang Ming understood this point as well. He immediately nodded and said, "Yes, General. I will personally go and lead troops to search for him right now."

"Even if we have to dig three feet into the ground, we will definitely find Lin Zixiao!"

...