Ning Wanqin and Ruan Fei were both feeling rather excited.
Because this was the first time they had truly witnessed what Shen Zhian looked like as a strong, commanding heroine—and it was exactly the kind of woman they both admired and aspired to become.
“Sister Shen Zhian is truly extraordinary.”
“Isn’t she? Sister Shen Zhian’s husband was once a spirited and promising man. But after being wounded and returning home, how did he become so utterly dispirited? The entire family, young and old, now depends on Sister Shen Zhian to keep everything running. To be honest, I really feel sorry for her. She married such a man!”
“I feel sorry for Sister Shen Zhian too. A strong woman like her could marry into the imperial nobility with ease, yet the man she ended up with is so useless and pathetic. Honestly… she gave her whole heart to a dog!”
…
While the two of them were whispering among themselves, Shen Zhian had already taken care of everything. She hurried back and said apologetically, “I’m sorry, girls. I made you wait.”
“I wonder what wind brought the two of you to my place today? Is there something you need my help with?”
“If there is, just say the word!”
Shen Zhian’s forthright attitude put Ning Wanqin and Ruan Fei in an even better mood, and their respect for her grew stronger still.
They stopped wasting time and explained the reason for their visit.
“Sister Shen Zhian, it’s like this…”
Ruan Fei began by recounting everything that had happened over the past while, focusing on the difficulties they were currently facing and their plan to win Zhang Shi over to their side.
Finally, she explained the purpose of their visit.
“First, we’d like to ask Sister Shen Zhian to persuade your husband to come serve in the army.”
“Second, we’d like to ask Sister Shen Zhian to sponsor us with some money, which we can use to persuade Zhang Shi to defect.”
“Third, we’d like to ask Sister Shen Zhian for advice. General Shen Moyan has been killed by the Grand Commander, and he has also grown cold toward me. I don’t know what to do.”
Shen Zhian listened carefully. After pondering for a moment, she gave them a decisive answer.
“Actually, none of these matters is particularly difficult.”
“In my opinion, you only need to take care of one thing, and all your current troubles will be resolved.”
Ning Wanqin and Ruan Fei were overjoyed. “Please enlighten us, Sister!”
“There’s no need to put it that way.” Shen Zhian was inwardly delighted, but on the surface, she remained calm and composed, like an ancient well without ripples. “In my view, although these matters seem complicated, once one of them is taken care of, the rest will naturally fall into place.”
Seeing the questioning looks Ning Wanqin and Ruan Fei cast her way, Shen Zhian felt another surge of satisfaction inside. Yet she continued to appear utterly calm.
“All you need to do is persuade General Zhang Shi to defect.”
Ning Wanqin and Ruan Fei might not have fully understood the logic, but once Shen Zhian put it that way, they both became excited and hurriedly agreed.
“That’s right. As long as we persuade General Zhang Shi to defect, everything else will be easy.”
“Sister Shen Zhian really is Sister Shen Zhian. You’re no less capable than Lord Gu Qingyue. With your guidance, everything suddenly makes sense!”
After celebrating for a while, Ning Wanqin and Ruan Fei said, “Then all we need to consider now is how to invite General Zhang Shi here…”
As she spoke, Ruan Fei smiled sheepishly. “We’ll still need your help with this, Sister. General Zhang Shi is, after all, the man who swept across the northern frontier and crushed every enemy in his path. If our gift is too modest, he won’t agree—and we won’t be able to bring ourselves to offer it either.”
Shen Zhian nodded. “That’s true. We’ll have to make a substantial gesture for General Zhang Shi. At the very least, the gift we present must be impressive enough to intimidate him.”
She asked, “Xiaofei, how much do you plan to give General Zhang Shi as a meeting gift?”
Ruan Fei replied, “I think it should be at least a million taels of silver!”
This was the first time Ning Wanqin had heard that figure, and she was so startled that she instinctively let out a gasp.
Shen Zhian, however, nodded. “A million taels of silver sounds about right.”
Seeing that her suggestion had received approval, Ruan Fei immediately said, “Exactly. Sister Wanqin and I have added up our savings, and they still don’t amount to enough. We’d like to borrow some from you, Sister Zhian.”
Shen Zhian answered at once, “No problem!”
“I’ll lend it to you.”
“Now, how much do the two of you have? And how much do you intend to borrow?”
Ruan Fei said, “I calculated it last time. Sister Wanqin and I have less than ten thousand taels combined. We’ll have to borrow the rest from you, Sister Zhian.”
Shen Zhian: “???”
Her voice rose slightly. “How much do you need to borrow?”
Ruan Fei continued sheepishly, “Nine hundred and ninety thousand taels… Though a little more would be even better!”
Shen Zhian: “…”
Ruan Fei: Smiling face!
Shen Zhian: “Wait. The two of you only have that much between you?”
Ruan Fei’s smile turned into a grimace. “Sister Zhian, you know my circumstances. I was only a clerk under the Grand Commander before, so my salary wasn’t very high. In truth, most of this less-than-ten-thousand-tael sum belongs to Sister Wanqin. I have less than a thousand taels to my name!”
Shen Zhian: “…”
Then she suddenly remembered something and asked, “Didn’t the Grand Commander give you plenty of expensive jewelry? Isn’t that worth anything?”
“No, no…” Ruan Fei hurriedly objected. “Those are my treasures. How could I sell them? I absolutely cannot part with them!”
Shen Zhian: “…”
Only now did Ning Wanqin realize that when Ruan Fei had asked how much money she had, she had intended to use all of it. Ruan Fei would contribute nine thousand taels, while Shen Zhian would provide nine hundred and ninety thousand…
So Ruan Fei was hardly contributing anything at all?!
Wait. Was Ruan Fei trying to persuade Zhang Shi to defect, or were they trying to persuade him for her?
Ruan Fei spoke again. “Sisters, I truly have no other way. How about this? Once General Zhang Shi arrives, he can help me bring down the madam. Once I succeed, I’ll repay you both double. Would that be all right?”
“No need!”
Shen Zhian once again put on a generous expression and said, “Consider this money my gift to you.”
“Wait here for a moment. I’ll be right back!”
Ruan Fei was ecstatic. “Thank you, Sister Zhian!”
“You’re welcome!”
With a grand wave of her hand, Shen Zhian rose to her feet. At that moment, her bearing was as imposing as a mountain, inspiring awe in all who looked upon her.
She strode toward the rear hall and pushed open the door to the study. As expected, her husband, Zhou Buzhang, was sprawled in a soft chair that had been made especially comfortable.
Zhou Buzhang showed no reaction whatsoever to her entrance. He merely continued holding a popular storybook, reading with rapt attention. His face was utterly disheveled, as though he hadn’t washed for several days. His eyes were filled with confusion, though from time to time, a flicker of joy would appear as he sought brief moments of happiness in the book.
The moment Shen Zhian saw him like this, anger flared in her heart. She forcibly suppressed it and said, “Buzhang, do you really find this aimless existence of yours meaningful?”
“Can’t you pull yourself together?”
…
Cheng's father told him he was getting remarried—to a wealthy woman. Cao Cheng realized his time had finally come: he was about to become a second-generation rich kid. Sure, it might be a watered-down version, but hey, at least he'd have status now, right? The wealthy woman also had four daughters!! Which meant, starting today, Cao Cheng gained four stunning older sisters?? But that wasn't even the whole story... "My name is Cao Cheng—'Cheng' as in 'honest, smooth-talking gentleman'!"
e vast world of cultivation, where he becomes the master of the Heavenly Ruins Sacred Hall, a dying old man with barely a tenth of his former cultivation remaining. He is immediately confronted with a deadly crisis: his subordinates have rebelled, and his protectors are forcing him to abdicate. At the critical moment, the system descends from the heavens: [Ding! The host has been detected facing a life-or-death crisis. The system is now officially activated!] [As a gift, you have received the Supreme Beginner’s Pack and awakened the ultimate cheat: ten thousand years of pure cultivation essence every second!] Yin Tianjue: “Wait… ten thousand years of cultivation every second? That’s six hundred thousand years a minute, and in one day… I can’t even calculate it. Either way, I’m already invincible!” You’re a peerless prodigy rarely seen in ten thousand years? Sorry, I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. You’re an undying ancestor who has guarded a sacred land for countless ages? Sorry, I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. You’re the strongest chosen one, blessed with heaven-defying destiny? Sorry, I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. From this day forth, I have only one thing to say: “I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. Now, how exactly are you supposed to deal with that?”
s the Eldest Princess, renowned for her cold and aloof detachment, became the most docile of lambs, obeying his every command without question. But when the final move was played on the chessboard, as Gu Chenghan seized everything and ascended on the verge of apotheosis, that very Princess suddenly embraced him from behind, her tone carrying a dependence never heard before: "Wait... you haven't yet... commanded me to love you forever." Gu Chenghan froze abruptly. She... hadn't been hypnotized?! ... [The Eldest Princess's Diary] [When my soul was extracted, becoming the sole spectator outside my own shell] [At first, there was overwhelming fury, until I saw] [How he used my sword to effortlessly shatter my inescapable doom] [How he wielded my authority to eradicate fatal conspiracies I had never even detected] [Like a deity, he rescued me from the deep mire I was trapped in] [If not for those annoying vixens, he and I would be a match made in heaven] [I think I am ill, gravely ill] [My deity should belong to me alone] ... "Hypnosis? Oh, it succeeded, my dear Master." "Only this time, it's my turn to hypnotize you."
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
