Double Happiness Arrives Together

Before he had even finished speaking, Ruan Fei turned from tears to delight.

“Brother Mengyan, Little Fei can help you solve this problem.”

“Although Little Fei doesn’t understand military affairs, defenses, naval forces, or anything like that, I only have your best interests at heart, Brother Mengyan. I’ve already found a solution for you!”

In the past, whenever Ruan Fei said something like this, Zhou Mengyan would have been overjoyed. Not only would he sigh that his Little Fei had truly grown up and could now share his burdens, he might even praise her in front of his wife in hopes that she would change her unfavorable opinion of Ruan Fei.

But the lessons of the past were still fresh in his mind. The two generals, Zhao and Qian, had died unjustly, and the entire military administration had been thrown into paralysis. Zhou Mengyan immediately came to his senses.

“Little Fei, the position of naval commander was something I gave you. But as for you… you really don’t need to concern yourself with military affairs.”

“There are other people to handle matters in the army!”

“Brother Mengyan, don’t you believe in Little Fei?”

Ruan Fei immediately looked as though she were about to cry again.

That pitiful expression caused the defenses Zhou Mengyan had built up over the past few days to collapse in an instant. Looking at her bright, sparkling eyes, he could not help sighing.

“Little Fei… all right, all right. Come into the tent with me first.”

“I’ll hear what you have to say.”

“Brother Mengyan, I knew you cared about me the most. In this world, you’re the only one who truly cares about me.”

Delight once again appeared on Ruan Fei’s face.

Clinging to Zhou Mengyan’s arm, she slowly walked into the camp tent with him. Along the way, she took the initiative to chat and joke with him, the two of them appearing extremely intimate.

The personal guards standing at the entrance were dumbfounded.

Wait. Hadn’t Madam already instructed them not to let this menace, Ruan Fei, get anywhere near him? How had the Grand Commander surrendered after only a few words?

And now he was even leading Ruan Fei into his tent?

Had he already forgotten what happened last time?

“Should we stop them?” one of the younger guards whispered.

“Stop them? Can you? Or can I?”

“Then… what should we do?”

“What else can we do? Hurry and inform Madam. In a situation like this, only Madam’s iron-fisted methods can bring the Grand Commander back to his senses.”

The guard hurried off to find Madam, the only person who could occasionally keep the Grand Commander under control.

By then, Ruan Fei had already entered the tent with Zhou Mengyan.

Ruan Fei considerately helped Zhou Mengyan sit down. Then she stood behind him and extended both hands, gently pressing his shoulders and massaging away the tension in his bones.

Only after Zhou Mengyan narrowed his eyes in comfort did Ruan Fei speak.

“Brother Mengyan, I have two pieces of good news for you.”

“Aren’t you going to hear them?”

Zhou Mengyan did not want to hear them.

He had not wanted to hear them before, and he did not want to hear them now.

Unfortunately, Ruan Fei’s massage was simply too comfortable, so he said, “Go ahead.”

Ruan Fei immediately said, “Brother Mengyan, I’ve found you two allies. The first one will surely leave you thunderstruck the moment you hear the name.”

“Oh?” Zhou Mengyan replied half-heartedly, his voice weak with exhaustion. “Who is it?”

“Lord Gu Qingyue!”

Zhou Mengyan said, “Gu Qingyue? Who’s that?”

“Brother Mengyan, you don’t know?” Ruan Fei was astonished. “Gu Qingyue from the capital!”

“From the capital? Gu Qingyue? Who is she?”

“Brother Mengyan, you don’t know the Gu family?”

“There are plenty of people surnamed Gu in the capital, aren’t there? There are probably quite a few families that could be called the Gu family. Unless you tell me exactly who you mean, I really don’t know.”

By the time he finished speaking, Zhou Mengyan was already becoming irritated.

It was not Ruan Fei herself who annoyed him, but the act of talking to her. He really had been busy until the middle of the night before finally collapsing into bed. His mind was still hazy with exhaustion, and after Ruan Fei began massaging him, his drowsiness only grew stronger.

At a time like this, all he wanted was either sleep or peace and quiet. Having someone chatter endlessly beside him was truly unbearable.

But Ruan Fei’s next words made Zhou Mengyan leap to his feet.

“Gu Qingyue of the Duke of Zhenguo’s residence!”

“What?” Zhou Mengyan was stunned. “The Duke of Zhenguo’s residence?”

“The Duke of Zhenguo!”

Zhou Mengyan knew the old general’s achievements very well. After all, throughout the entire world, there was only one person who had been granted the title of duke—and specifically the title Duke of Zhenguo.

However, his excitement soon turned into alarm and fear. In an instant, he remembered the things people said about Gu Qingyue’s actions.

“Summon the fierce generals from all four corners to the capital!”

That single sentence had brought Ren Tianye, the traitor, to the Great Yu capital and nearly caused the eight-hundred-year dynasty to change hands.

His voice trembling slightly, he turned to Ruan Fei and said, “Little Fei, are you saying that you summoned Gu Qingyue for me?”

“Yes!” Ruan Fei said excitedly. “What do you think, Brother Mengyan?”

“Aren’t you happy?”

“Aren’t you excited?”

Zhou Mengyan was speechless.

Happy?

Excited?

He had nearly wet himself from fright!

He waved his hands and said, “Well, Little Fei, our defenses along the Yangtze are already sufficient. As for Lord Gu Qingyue’s forces… perhaps we should forget it.”

“This was originally our achievement. There’s no need to share the credit with outsiders.”

Ruan Fei immediately became displeased.

“Brother Mengyan, what do you mean? Why does it sound as though you have something against Lord Gu Qingyue?”

“Lord Gu Qingyue is the sole heir of the Duke of Zhenguo. She has tremendous prestige and extraordinary ability. If she hadn’t taken charge of the situation back then, Her Majesty the Empress might still have been trapped inside the Yuchen Residence, unable to get out.”

“For someone like her to be willing to form an alliance with us—isn’t that an enormous stroke of luck?”

“And, to be completely honest, I’ve joined Lord Gu Qingyue’s faction as well. From now on, we’re all family.”

The words “all family” nearly frightened Zhou Mengyan into wetting himself again. He hurriedly said, “Little Fei, you should withdraw from it. Gu Qingyue may be… exceptionally capable, and she may be the sole heir of the Duke of Zhenguo, but…”

“She is still a woman, after all. I’m afraid that…”

At those words, Ruan Fei’s willow brows rose in fury almost instinctively.

“Brother Mengyan, are you insulting all women?”

“How can you say that?”

“Is Madam not a woman? Hasn’t she still built an immense career for herself?”

“If Madam can do it, then I, as a woman, can do it too!”

“Lord Gu Qingyue can do it even better.”

“Besides, Lord Gu Qingyue has already succeeded. She has assembled an army of sixty thousand soldiers!”

“Sixty thousand elite troops!”

“With sixty thousand elite troops helping us, how could that possibly be a bad thing?”

Zhou Mengyan’s expression changed.

It had changed the instant he heard the words “sixty thousand.”

Gu Qingyue had assembled an army of sixty thousand?

Hiss!

An army of sixty thousand!

Even if they had been sixty thousand steamed buns, they would still have represented formidable fighting power!

He immediately apologized.

“Little Fei, I was wrong. I shouldn’t have spoken nonsense. Lord Gu Qingyue truly is extraordinary to have assembled an army of sixty thousand…”

“Only…”

“Are there really sixty thousand?”

“Do you mean sixty thousand in total, including the servant corps, laborers, and regular troops? Or are you saying there are sixty thousand actual combat troops?”

Ruan Fei proudly raised her chin.

“Of course I mean sixty thousand actual combat troops!”

Zhou Mengyan immediately drew in a sharp breath.

A genuine army of sixty thousand combat troops!

In that regard alone, Gu Qingyue truly was extraordinary.

However, Gu Qingyue was ultimately the sole heir of the Duke of Zhenguo’s residence. Given the Duke of Zhenguo’s influence throughout the realm, it was indeed not difficult for Gu Qingyue to rally an army of sixty thousand under that banner.

He asked, “Little Fei, where are those sixty thousand men now?”

Zhou Mengyan began to take the matter seriously. Seeing his change in attitude, Ruan Fei felt quite pleased and said, “The army of sixty thousand isn’t far from here. Lord Gu Qingyue’s intention is to finalize her alliance with you, Brother Mengyan, and then transfer the soldiers from the five battalions here in stages.”

“We’ll form a dual defensive line with you, Brother Mengyan!”

“We’ll stop Ren Tianye’s army from crossing the Yangtze!”

Zhou Mengyan grew even more interested.

Gu Qingyue herself was unimportant, but sixty thousand troops were extremely important. He asked, “Gu Qingyue managed to form five battalions?”

“Of course!” Ruan Fei lifted her chin like a proud little hen. “All five battalions are made up of women. Lord Gu Qingyue formed an army composed entirely of women!”

“The five battalions are…”

As Ruan Fei spoke, she suddenly forgot their names.

Or rather, when she had read the letter earlier, she had not paid the slightest attention to that detail. She immediately took out the letter and read them one by one: “They are the Front Battalion, Rear Battalion, Left Battalion, Right Battalion, and Divine Moon Battalion…”

“Hm?”

“Divine Moon Battalion?”

Ruan Fei froze.

Gu Qingyue had originally made an agreement with the five of them: they would form an all-female army known as the Women’s Army, which would then be divided into five battalions, with each of them commanding one.

They had all agreed at the time and thought there was nothing wrong with it.

But now…

She had discovered the problem!

“The Front Battalion, Rear Battalion, Left Battalion, and Right Battalion are obviously meant for me, Sister Shen Zhian, Sister Ning Wanqin, and Sister Baobao.”

“But then…”

“The Divine Moon Battalion has the character ‘Moon’ in its name. Clearly, it’s meant for Gu Qingyue herself…”

“But why should she get that?”

“Why do we have to be assigned the Left, Right, Front, and Rear Battalions while she gets the Divine Moon Battalion?”

“What makes her so special?”

“Just because she stands head and shoulders above the rest?”

Ruan Fei’s heart seethed with dissatisfaction.

After taking another look at the assignments, her discontent only grew stronger.

The letter was perfectly clear.

The Front, Rear, Left, and Right Battalions each had ten thousand soldiers. Only the Divine Moon Battalion had twenty thousand!

“Oh, come on…”

“We each have ten thousand soldiers, while she has twenty thousand?”

“Why?”

“When it comes to recruiting troops, she couldn’t have done it without the support we provided. And it wasn’t all her own achievement either. So why does she get to be so special?”

Ruan Fei’s heart seethed, and Zhou Mengyan’s heart seethed as well.

That was because Zhou Mengyan had heard the words “all-female army,” as well as “Women’s Army.” The heat in his heart instantly cooled by half.

No wonder he had heard that someone had been recruiting troops nearby, but since they only wanted women, he had paid it little attention. So it was Gu Qingyue behind it all!

No, wait…

When two armies clashed, that was a battlefield for men!

Why drag women into the midst of swords and spears?

Had all the men in Cloud Capital died out? Or had all the men in the realm died out? Had things truly reached the point where women had to go to war instead of simply supporting the front from the rear?

With these thoughts in mind, he said, “Little Fei, Lord Gu Qingyue is indeed impressive, but I don’t think there’s any rush for us to fight alongside them.”

“If Lord Gu Qingyue truly wishes to help stop Ren Tianye, I’ll request an imperial decree from Cloud Capital and have her station her army in the rear. When we need them, I’ll invite them to the front. What do you think?”

If Zhou Mengyan had said this earlier, Ruan Fei would have disagreed a thousand times over. But now that she was fixated on Gu Qingyue’s “Divine Moon Battalion” and the fact that it had twenty thousand soldiers, she was displeased as well.

She immediately nodded. “All right!”

“Brother Mengyan, let’s do that!”

“Let Lord Gu Qingyue bring her sixty thousand troops and station them in the rear. Once she figures things out, she can come and claim her share of the credit!”

When she said the words “once she figures things out,” Ruan Fei practically ground her teeth, her heart filled with resentment.

But when she said “claim her share of the credit,” her tone was offhanded, as though she had never considered a clash between two armies to be anything serious.

Zhou Mengyan let out a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, he had managed to pacify Ruan Fei.

But the moment he relaxed, his nerves tightened again, because Ruan Fei had said there were two allies!

One of them, Gu Qingyue, had already given him a headache by creating an all-female army. He had no idea what sort of extraordinary person she would introduce next!

He asked cautiously, “Little Fei, you said there was another ally as well?”

Ruan Fei hurriedly said, “That’s right, there’s another ally! I guarantee that once I tell you who it is, Brother Mengyan, you’ll jump three feet into the air!”

“Because…”

Ruan Fei deliberately kept him in suspense. “This general is extraordinary beyond compare. His abilities are so formidable that his enemies tremble at the mere mention of his name. Even your reputation, Brother Mengyan, falls far short of his!”

“He is…”

“Zhang Shi, who swept across the northern frontier, annihilated every stronghold in his path, and accomplished feats that will go down in history!”

“General Zhang Shi!”

The moment she finished speaking, Zhou Mengyan indeed jumped three feet into the air.

“What did you say?!”

Seeing his reaction, Ruan Fei was delighted. She emphasized, “Zhang Shi!”

“General Zhang Shi!”

“Brother Mengyan, aren’t you happy?”

“Excited?”

“Do you feel as though your head is about to explode from excitement?”

Zhou Mengyan’s head really did feel as though it were about to explode.

But not from happiness or excitement—from sheer fright!

Zhang Shi… was surrendering to him?

Damn it, could Zhang Shi possibly be sincere?

If he surrendered and joined them, wouldn’t he simply pick up a blade and chop off Zhou Mengyan’s head that very night?

“Brother Mengyan, why aren’t you saying anything?”

“Are you so happy that you’ve lost the ability to speak?”

Ruan Fei continued questioning him excitedly.

Zhou Mengyan, meanwhile, nearly kicked her out the door.

Why did she keep bringing him nothing but trouble?

And this time, it wasn’t ordinary trouble. It was Zhang Shi!

A man of terrifying renown…

No, a man of terrifying infamy!

Yet he did not want to embarrass Ruan Fei too badly. Gritting his teeth, he suppressed the turmoil in his heart and said, “Little Fei, I know you mean well, but…”

“Have you ever considered that although Zhang Shi is highly capable, that doesn’t mean he can necessarily be made to serve us?”

“His surrender may not be sincere!”

“After all, he was personally trained by Ren Tianye!”

Zhou Mengyan’s words were entirely reasonable. Yet to Ruan Fei’s ears, they were extremely irritating.

“Brother Mengyan, you’re the commander of an entire army. How can you be so timid?”

“Don’t you know that a general must trust those he employs and not employ those he distrusts?”

“General Zhang Shi may be Ren Tianye’s subordinate, that treacherous dog, but he and Ren Tianye have already fallen out. Ren Tianye treated him poorly, so this is the perfect opportunity for you to bring him under your command!”