Learning from Role Models

“Ah, what?”

Shen Moyan’s eyes widened.

He was going to be executed just because he had stepped into the military camp with his left foot first?

What kind of nonsense was that?!

Why was this so different from what he had imagined?

Wasn’t the Grand Commander Zhou Mengyan supposed to praise him and reward him with a promotion and riches? Why was he trying to kill him?

Terrified, Shen Moyan fell to his knees and cried, “Grand Commander, I’ve been wronged! Your subordinate truly had no idea our army had such a strange rule. It was an unintentional mistake…”

Zhou Mengyan’s expression grew even colder. “Oh? Are you saying that you find the rules I established strange? Are you questioning me?”

“Hmph! Military orders are absolute. Not only did you fail to obey, you even dared to question them? You’ve brought death upon yourself!”

“Guards, what are you waiting for?”

“Drag him out and execute him!”

The guards charged forward like wolves and tigers. Before Shen Moyan could beg for mercy again, they dragged him away like a dead dog.

A long trail was left behind him as he was hauled across the ground. Shen Moyan’s face grew paler and paler, and his entire body trembled like a sieve.

He could truly feel that Grand Commander Zhou Mengyan intended to kill him. In a moment, he would be dead.

He nearly tore his throat shouting for help.

Ning Wanqin, who had vaguely heard the cries, came out and saw Shen Moyan being dragged away. Her legs went weak with fright.

“Wanqin, save me! Save me…”

“Quickly, save me! Save me!”

When Shen Moyan saw Ning Wanqin, he began wailing even more desperately.

Ning Wanqin had no idea what had happened. She ran over and was just about to ask when she saw two soldiers pinning Shen Moyan down. The executioner’s great blade was already descending.

“Crack!”

Shen Moyan’s head was separated from his body. He collapsed into a pool of blood, dead beyond any doubt.

Ning Wanqin, who had been running toward him, came to an abrupt halt. Then she fell to the ground with a thud, her face filled with horror and disbelief.

“How… how could this happen?”

“What is going on?”

“How did Moyan… just die?”

Ning Wanqin could not understand it. More than that, an instinctive terror welled up from the depths of her heart. She sat there drenched in sweat and was unable to get up for a long time.

After quite some time, she finally managed to stand. Her first thought was to run to Ruan Fei and ask her what had happened. How had Shen Moyan, who had been perfectly fine, suddenly been executed?

Ruan Fei was equally stunned after hearing the news.

“Sister Wanqin, are you sure you didn’t see it wrong? General Shen is a great contributor. Why would the Grand Commander kill General Shen?”

“How could I have seen it wrong? I witnessed it with my own eyes.”

“Sister Wanqin, don’t panic. How about this? I’ll go ask the Grand Commander right now and find out what happened.”

Ruan Fei was anxious as well. She did not even wash or apply her makeup before hurrying to Grand Commander Zhou Mengyan’s tent. The moment she entered, she was already weeping like a pear blossom in the rain, looking utterly tragic and pitiful.

“Brother Mengyan, you… how could you kill General Shen? He was such a great contributor. He should have been rewarded! Now that you’ve killed him, the soldiers in the camp will all lose heart!”

Normally, Zhou Mengyan would light up with delight whenever he saw Ruan Fei. But this time, he was already furious over the execution of General Zhao and General Qian, and deeply upset besides. When he thought about how Ruan Fei had fanned the flames behind the scenes, his mood grew even worse.

Thus, when he saw Ruan Fei again, there was not the slightest trace of warmth on his face. He said coldly, “Little Fei, although I appointed you as a general and had you command the navy alongside me, your qualifications are still shallow and you lack experience. There is much about military affairs that you do not understand.”

“From now on, concern yourself less with matters of the army.”

“I killed Shen Moyan because he relied on his achievements to become arrogant, disobeyed military orders, and acted recklessly. As Grand Commander, I had no choice but to execute him.”

“Do not meddle in this matter again.”

“Go back and rest. From now on… stay out of military affairs.”

Zhou Mengyan was still polite enough to Ruan Fei. He merely told her to return and rest. He did not hold her accountable, much less strip her of her title as a general.

But those words struck Ruan Fei like a bolt from a clear sky.

“Brother Mengyan, you…”

“All right. Go back.”

Ruan Fei was driven out of the central command tent. Her heart collapsed as well. In all the time she had spent with Zhou Mengyan, this was the first time he had treated her this way, and she was utterly shaken.

She could not understand what had gone wrong.

So Ruan Fei sought out Ning Wanqin again, and the two of them continued discussing the matter.

Unlike the last time, when they had been eloquent and confident, pointing out strategies and speaking with boundless ambition, they now simply stared blankly at each other. Both were bewildered and on the verge of collapse.

“Sister Wanqin, what should we do now?”

“Little Fei, what should we do now?”

They asked each other the same question, but neither had an answer.

Only after a full day of calming down and thinking did the two of them finally come up with a solution.

—Rather than trying to figure it out themselves, they should ask someone.

“Let’s go see Sister Shen Zhian. We can discuss it with her, and while we’re there, we can take care of the two things we planned to do earlier.”

“Right, right! Sister Shen Zhian is such a formidable woman. She’ll definitely have a solution.”

The two did not dare delay. They prepared gifts and rode on horseback to Shen Zhian’s home. When they arrived, they found a grand residence indeed—gray brick walls and dark-tiled roofs, exuding an extraordinary charm. It was enough to make anyone envious.

“Sister Shen Zhian really is a formidable woman. Across the entire Yangtze natural barrier, there can’t be more than a few people who can afford a residence like this.”

“That’s right. Sister Shen Zhian’s talents probably aren’t inferior to those of Lord Gu Qingyue.”

After sighing over her accomplishments for quite some time, they dismounted and asked a servant to announce them. Before long, a woman hurried out from the residence to greet them.

The woman appeared to be in her thirties or forties. She was not especially beautiful, and her expression was even marked by exhaustion, but her eyes revealed an unyielding vitality. She gave off the impression of someone who was relentlessly striving upward.

She was none other than Shen Zhian.

“Ah, I knew it! I was wondering why magpies had been chirping on the roof all day. It turns out two of my besties have come to visit! Come in, come in!”

Shen Zhian welcomed them warmly and cheerfully ushered them inside. After having seats and tea prepared for them, she went off to discipline her children.

“Please forgive me, ladies…” Shen Zhian explained politely. “My husband is rather unambitious. Every day, he just stays at home drinking and wasting his life, refusing to concern himself with anything.”

“He’s completely useless!”

“So all the big and small affairs of the household fall on me. I have to raise the children, manage the house, run the business—in short, I’m busy every day to the point of dizziness.”

“Please wait a little while. Once I’ve watched the children finish their meal, I’ll come and chat with you both!”

Ning Wanqin and Ruan Fei hurriedly assured her that there was no need to be so polite. But the moment Shen Zhian turned and left, the two exchanged a glance. In each other’s eyes, they saw the same thing—

Admiration!

“Sister Shen Zhian really is an incredible woman!”

“She’s far too capable. She’s the perfect role model for me. Once I win over Brother Mengyan and drive his wife out, I’ll run the household just like this too!”

…