“…Under the command of the city garrison at Jieshi Fort in Wei-zhou: brave troopers Fan Jianglin, Fan Shitou; cavalrymen Xu Sigen, Xu Layue; and unit commander Fan Sanchou…”
“…You bunch of cowards! You’ve got the guts to desert, to use your own brothers as human shields—if you’ve got any guts left, come fight me head-on…”
“…What does it mean to be brave? Fierce in battle, the backbone of your commanders—and look at what you’re doing now?…”
Cheng Jiao-niang gave a faint smile.
The maid and Ban Qin clung to each other, their bodies trembling. As they wept, they suddenly saw her smile—and were stunned even more.
At a time like this, how could she still be smiling?
“One cannot judge a man by his appearance,” Cheng Jiao-niang said, gazing down into the courtyard from the window. Her eyes fell on the burly man holding a powerful bow.
He looked like a rough brute, all brawn and no brains—but in truth, his words were well thought out, emotionally stirring yet logically sound. What sounded like a threat was in fact every word aimed straight at the heart—striking a nerve in Fan Jianglin and the others.
Watching Fan Jianglin and the rest first freeze in place, then lower their arms, Cheng Jiao-niang turned and walked away.
The maid and Ban Qin quickly wiped their tears and followed behind her.
Outside the Tai Ping Residence, a crowd had already gathered. People pointed and whispered among themselves in surprise.
“…Patrolling troops apprehending deserters… non-essential personnel, stand back…”
The soldiers blocked the crowd with their long spears, shouting repeatedly to drive people back.
The doorway from the rear courtyard to the front hall was also blocked by soldiers. At first, it was to prevent Fan Jianglin and the others from escaping that way, but now it was to stop guests and the staff of Tai Ping Residence from entering.
Li Dashao was among them, his left hand clutching two walnuts tightly.
“You’ve got the wrong people!” he shouted, rushing forward and grabbing a soldier’s spear. “You’ve made a mistake!”
“Get back! Interfere, and you’ll be treated as an accomplice!” the soldiers barked, throwing him aside.
Li Dashao fell to the ground. The staff hurried to help him up, trying to calm him down. They looked on in shock and fear, not daring to step forward again.
In the past, if it had just been some local thugs stirring up trouble, they wouldn’t have hesitated to fight back together. But this time, it was the authorities—and from the start, they’d declared they were here to arrest deserters. This wasn’t a personal vendetta or provocation.
“Make way.”
A girl’s voice came from behind. Everyone turned to look and saw two maids flanking a young lady standing at the back.
They didn’t know her well, but they recognized her.
She was the “sister” of the men who ran the place.
Of course, she clearly wasn’t their real sister.
She didn’t come often, and no one knew which family’s young lady she was or how she ended up becoming “siblings” with those few men.
The staff instinctively stepped aside.
“Miss,” Li Dashao called out, quickly hurrying over.
The soldiers watched as the crowd parted and the young lady walked forward, momentarily stunned.
Since when did even women start enjoying drama and getting into trouble like this?
“Back off!” they barked.
“I’m the principal owner of Tai Ping Residence,” Cheng Jiao-niang said, glancing toward the courtyard. “I want to speak with your commanding officer.”
The principal owner of Tai Ping Residence?
You?
This young lady?
Not only did the soldiers widen their eyes in disbelief—even the staff of Tai Ping Residence stared in shock.
“Principal owner?”
General Liu was taken aback when he heard that. He turned his head and saw the young lady standing at the entrance—his eyes widened instantly.
It was her!
The maid and Ban Qin were in tears as they bandaged the arm of the injured man.
“You’re deserters?” Cheng Jiao-niang asked.
“We—we were falsely accused! That bastard tried to steal credit for our achievement, but our brother wouldn’t have it. A fight broke out, and that guy fell to his death on his own—but they wanted to pin the blame on us, we…” one of the men cried out.
General Liu stood off to the side, arms folded, watching them with a half-smile. He neither barked at them nor mocked them.
What deserter didn’t have a tragic tale of being forced into it?
He could probably finish the rest of the man’s sentence for him.
“So, you did desert?” Cheng Jiao-niang asked, cutting the man off.
The man was stunned.
“Yes, but back then we—” he began.
“You’re deserters,” Cheng Jiao-niang interrupted again, nodding as she spoke.
The man wanted to say more, but Fan Jianglin pulled him back.
“Yes, we’re deserters,” he said, nodding.
Cheng Jiao-niang then turned to look at General Liu.
“You’re here to arrest deserters?” she asked.
General Liu flicked open the document in his hand.
“That’s right. The paperwork checks out,” he replied. “I’m on patrol—assigned to catch thieves and hunt down deserters.”
Cheng Jiao-niang nodded.
“Then I’ll leave it to you, General,” she said, stepping aside. “Since everything matches, please proceed according to regulations. If Tai Ping Residence can be of any assistance, just say the word.”
At those words, everyone present was stunned.
“Miss…” Li Dashao couldn’t help speaking up, his tone laced with urgency.
General Liu took a moment to size up Cheng Jiao-niang from head to toe.
“Miss, don’t you think we’re wrong to arrest them?” he asked.
“You are simply performing your duty and acting according to the law—what’s wrong with that?” Cheng Jiao-niang replied calmly.
Wait—how had she turned it around and made it sound like he was the one being questioned?
General Liu cleared his throat.
“Then why didn’t you ask them why they deserted?” he continued. “Maybe they had no other choice.”
Cheng Jiao-niang looked at him with a serious expression.
“No matter the reason, they’re still deserters, aren’t they?” she said. “And as deserters, they broke military rules—didn’t they?”
General Liu was stunned once again.
“Yes,” he couldn’t help but answer.
For a moment, he felt like a junior soldier being lectured by a superior.
Tch.
Snapping back to himself, General Liu inwardly spat.
So self-righteous—she was either scared of being implicated or had some scheme brewing behind that composed front.
Follow the rules? There’s no such thing as truly following the rules in this world. People either swallow their pride out of necessity or exploit the rules for their own gain.
“Take them away,” General Liu said with a wave of his hand, then turned and walked off.
Fan Jianglin and the others were shoved forward amid shouts. As they passed by Cheng Jiao-niang, they came to a stop.
“Sister… we’re sorry. We’ve been hiding the truth from you all along,” Fan Jianglin said.
“I recognize you as my brothers as you are now—whatever came before has nothing to do with me,” Cheng Jiao-niang replied with a faint smile. “And I don’t need to know.”
What about from now on?
Fan Jianglin thought to himself.
“Take care, sister. We’ve put you in a difficult position,” he finally said, lips barely moving.
“It’s not difficult,” Cheng Jiao-niang replied, giving a respectful curtsey. “You take care too, brothers.”
The officers and soldiers departed in a flurry, but the onlookers at Tai Ping Residence hadn’t dispersed yet. They whispered among themselves, pointing fingers and asking questions.
On this side, the newly hired manager was directing the staff to tidy up the courtyard while smiling and inviting guests back to their seats.
“…Manager, your boss just got arrested—how can you still be serving food?”
The guests clamored noisily with their questions.
Tai Ping Residence—what a laughable name. Since opening, it had been anything but peaceful.
How many incidents had there been by now? Thugs smashing up the place, people killed on the spot, and now even the authorities had come to raid it.
Was this really a restaurant? Or was it the secret hideout of some notorious outlaw?
The manager laughed heartily.
“Maybe it’s just a misunderstanding. Besides, they didn’t arrest the cooks,” he said, gesturing as he spoke. “And look—our principal owner is still here. What could possibly go wrong?”
All eyes naturally turned toward the courtyard, where the young lady stood watching the staff busily cleaning up. She looked calm and composed, clearly confident and in control.
Judging by her clothing and bearing, she was no ordinary person. After all, to run a restaurant and walk away unscathed from so many recent incidents, her backing had to be formidable.
So this was the true principal owner of Tai Ping Residence.
“She’s been through such a fright—should give her a discount,” someone joked.
The manager laughed heartily.
“Of course, of course,” he said with a smile, joking and chatting as he did.
Tai Ping Residence gradually returned to normal. Waves of diners left as new customers arrived, and the whole incident was washed away like water flowing by. Just as the manager had said: first, they hadn’t arrested any of the cooks; second, the real principal owner was still here, steady and calm. The authorities were chasing deserters, not targeting Tai Ping Residence—so this wasn’t really a big deal.
Li Dashao didn’t know how long he had been sitting in the courtyard. When he finally looked up, everything around him had returned to normal. The restaurant buzzed with laughter and chatter, and the busy staff called out orders as if nothing had happened.
“Don’t worry,” Sun Cai said, suddenly standing beside him. “With Miss here, everything will be fine.”
Li Dashao sighed.
“Not a single peaceful day, it seems,” he said.
“Peace in death,” Sun Cai grinned, “but nobody wants to die.”
Li Dashao snorted and smiled.
“You can’t expect ivory to come out of a dog’s mouth!” he said, but the smile eased some of the weight in his heart.
“Don’t worry, things will turn out well,” Sun Cai said with a laugh.
Li Dashao nodded, rolling the walnut in his hand.
“Miss…” He looked toward the door. “It’s not easy for her either…”
What should they do this time?
But one thing he was sure of: Miss would never truly ignore what was happening.
