Chapter 124

Seeing Zhang Jiani flick her sword, she coldly said, “What, you’re not convinced?”

Jiang Mingyu knew her temper—she was already boiling over with rage.

He also knew that among these fifty thousand men, aside from himself and Tukesiluo, hardly anyone would listen to Zhang Jiani.

If left unchecked, once the newly appointed commanders arrived, things would become even harder to control. Better to let Zhang Jiani give them a stern warning now, saving countless unnecessary troubles later.

Instantly, the crowd erupted in raucous laughter, shouting insults: “A stinking woman trying to give orders in our men’s camp?”

“When I was fighting for my life against the Western Xia on the frontier, where were you, little girl?”

“That rusty sword of yours dares to put on airs? Go home and raise your kids!”

“Hahahaha...”

The moment those last words were spoken, the ground shook with deafening laughter.

Jiang Mingyu’s face remained expressionless, but his mind churned—he could use Zhang Jiani’s conflict with these men to make them wear each other down.

Kill two birds with one stone: let Zhang Jiani vent her temper and ease her resentment, while teaching these arrogant soldiers a lesson in her power.

That way, managing them in the future would be much easier for him.

Right now, best not interfere—let the drama unfold.

Tukesiluo was furious, but he knew this wasn’t the time to act.

He clenched his fists in frustration, watching his beloved’s face darken, yet forced himself to watch silently. He was certain Zhang Jiani’s fiery temper would teach these insolent fools a brutal lesson.

Thinking of it, a cold smirk curled his lips—served them right.

This open insult and unrestrained laughter turned Zhang Jiani’s already sour expression black.

Had she not promised Jiang Mingyu to train these men, her usual temper would have had her drawing her sword and slaughtering them all by now.

As Tukesiluo had described, Zhang Jiani appeared a gentle fairy, but her true nature was ruthless.

As a child, Zhang Jiani trained on the mountain under her master. One day, he sent her down to town with a new junior disciple to buy supplies. On their way back, they encountered several bandits who tried to kidnap them to become mountain wives. Before the junior disciple could even scream, Zhang Jiani had silently drawn her sword, flicked her wrist, and in a flash of cold light, slit the first bandit’s throat.

While the others were still stunned, Zhang Jiani moved like a ghost through empty space, her sword cutting down each remaining bandit one by one. Her earlier gentleness vanished, replaced by icy, merciless killing intent. What followed was simple: she calmly carried the corpses to the local yamen and collected her reward without a hint of haste. From then on, she became infamous—within ten li, bandits trembled at the mere mention of “Zhang Jiani.”

Now, as the soldiers’ mocking laughter grew louder, Zhang Jiani’s face darkened further. She fixed her gaze on one soldier and asked, “Was it you who insulted me?” The man sneered, “Of course it was. Who do you think you are, acting so bold on our men’s ground?” Zhang Jiani’s lips curled slightly. “Then step forward.” She repeated this ten times, quickly selecting ten men with sneering faces who lined up side by side.

Zhang Jiani said calmly, “Since you’re not convinced, I’ll give you a chance to prove yourselves. All ten of you attack at once. Quick and decisive.” The crowd erupted again, shouting back and forth.

“This little bitch is too arrogant!”

“She thinks she can take on ten men at once? Hah, she couldn’t even handle one in bed!”

“Where did the commander dig up this crazy girl? Talking such nonsense!”

The leader grew even more insolent: “Fine! Let you see our strength—this camp isn’t for a little bitch like you!”

Before he finished speaking, the leader swung his heavy steel blade straight at Zhang Jiani.

The other nine rushed forward, eager to teach this “ungrateful woman” a lesson.

Just as the blade neared her, Zhang Jiani dodged with agile grace, scoffing “tsk,” and delivered a perfect spinning kick squarely to his abdomen.

The kick struck with terrifying force, sending the giant flying several zhang away, crashing hard onto the ground.

He felt his internal organs churn violently, writhing in agony, unable to rise again.

The other nine froze for a moment, then roared and charged together. In two swift motions, Zhang Jiani slapped both men on the left, their cheeks instantly red and swollen as they toppled sideways.

She followed with a backflip, her right foot striking the third man’s chin with pinpoint accuracy—he never had time to cry out before collapsing unconscious.

The remaining six were still stunned when Zhang Jiani appeared before the nearest one.

A punch to the nose sent blood gushing.

The man clutched his face, writhing on the ground, but Zhang Jiani didn’t give him a breath—she grabbed his leg and yanked hard, swinging him straight into the other five.

All six crashed together with a thunderous thud.

Tukesiluo stood aside, knowing Zhang Jiani had held back—had she used her full strength, these nine men would already be dead. She restrained herself mainly out of respect for Jiang Mingyu’s face after he saved Liu Yifei.

In those few brief moves, Zhang Jiani could have killed them all instantly, yet she chose only to knock them down.

Everything happened too fast—the fifty thousand soldiers fell utterly silent, frozen like stunned ducks, staring at each other in shock.

Zhang Jiani swept her gaze coldly across the crowd and spoke: “Who else is not convinced? Step forward now.” Her voice dripped with contempt.

Everyone who met her eyes shrank back, lowering their heads, too terrified to utter a word.

Jiang Mingyu saw his moment. He cleared his throat and strode forward, speaking solemnly: “Listen up, all of you. I have officially handed over the seal to Miss Mo. From today, every single one of you must obey her orders without question—every word she speaks is a military command, to be executed without hesitation!”

“Since this is your first offense, I’ll overlook it this time. But from now on, anyone who disobeys Miss Zhang’s orders will be defying my command directly—court-martialed, and beware the consequences!”

He turned to Zhang Jiani. “Miss Zhang, I entrust the city defense camp to you. If anyone causes trouble, deal with them directly—don’t worry about my face.”

Zhang Jiani shot back without mercy: “What face? From today, I’m in charge!” Jiang Mingyu’s face darkened further, but fearing her reputation, he swallowed his anger and said nothing.

The soldiers watched Jiang Mingyu being ordered around and were baffled—what was this woman’s background that she dared treat the imperial envoy like this?

Jiang Mingyu, face black as storm clouds, stormed out of the camp with heavy steps.

He wished today’s humiliation had never happened—it was a disgrace to his dignity.

Tukesiluo, though fond of Zhang Jiani, couldn’t help asking Jiang Mingyu: “My lord, are you truly comfortable handing over the city defense camp to Zhang Jiani? That’s five thousand elite troops of Shangmu—this concerns the entire city’s safety.”

Jiang Mingyu scoffed, rolling his eyes. “I’m worried too. But honestly, in all of Shangmu, who else could possibly take this burden? Isn’t this the only option left?” His tone was thick with resignation and bitterness.

In truth, Jiang Mingyu had no high expectations for Zhang Jiani.

He’d brought her here only because he had no other choice—no one else seemed more suitable. Thinking of it, he sighed again.

Tukesiluo had to admit Jiang Mingyu was right.

He scratched his head, muttering, “The command’s already handed over. Nothing left to say now.”

Jiang Mingyu patted his shoulder, speaking with gravity: “Since we both have concerns, let’s hurry and take Che Ting to the provincial capital. After I settle matters with Zhuge Yu, we’ll return to Shangmu quickly—before that she-wolf causes chaos while we’re gone.”

As he spoke, he gazed toward the distant provincial capital, thinking again of Zhuge Yu—wondering how he fared now.