The unmarked room behind the bamboo grove—Shen Wangshu remembered it.
At any time, people must pay a price for unnecessary curiosity. No matter what that place was, before she had secured her footing in the Duke’s residence and gained Chen Ting’s trust, she would not wander there lightly.
Seeing her obediently agree, a trace of satisfaction flashed in Nanny Zhang’s eyes as she continued, “Every month, the general has a period of time when he avoids everyone and spends it alone in that room. During that time, Madam should also avoid disturbing him.”
“Do not touch the general’s gauntlets while he is asleep.” As she said this, Nanny Zhang calmly swept her gaze over the surrounding maids with lowered heads, half warning and half reminding them. “Previously, there was a maid in the Xuanji Courtyard who did not know her place. Relying on her looks, she tried to seduce the general. She hadn’t even climbed into his bed before the general snapped her neck.”
After taking in the trembling maids with satisfaction, Nanny Zhang added, “The general’s gauntlets can cut through iron like mud. On the battlefield, they are invincible weapons. Anyone harboring filthy thoughts should first consider whether their necks are hard enough.”
“The general does not like socializing. When there is no war, the place he stays at most is the training grounds. Only at night does he return to the residence to sleep.”
“And one more thing—the general cannot stand indulgence toward the young master. If Madam is to take care of the young master in the future, you must remember this.” Nanny Zhang glanced at Shen Wangshu. “The young master is clever and sly. If you cannot keep him in check from the beginning, you will be led by the nose later. In the past, the general greatly disliked the eldest madam’s bottomless indulgence, but since she was an elder, he could not say much.”
When Chen Ting was not around, if Shen Wangshu, as the sister-in-law, were to accidentally raise Chen Hao into a spoiled wastrel… he would certainly take offense.
Nanny Zhang did not say the latter half aloud, but Shen Wangshu understood it perfectly. From that brief interaction with Brother Hao earlier, she had already roughly grasped the little brat’s temperament. He was indeed not easy to deal with, and one had to be constantly on guard against falling into his traps.
Earlier, when he had acted spoiled, it was fortunate she had not been fooled. Otherwise, Chen Ting would surely have taken offense in some quiet way—this man never voiced his anger, only keeping it bottled up until he settled accounts all at once.
People like that were truly terrifying. Thankfully, after transmigrating here, Shen Wangshu had gained the ability to read minds—it was practically tailor-made for dealing with Chen Ting. Otherwise, who knew how one would handle such a scheming old man.
Nanny Zhang clearly knew Chen Ting well. “The second master and second madam passed away five years ago. At that time, the general was stationed eight hundred li away. By the time he received the imperial order and rushed back, it was already too late… This matter is the general’s taboo. Madam should avoid mentioning it in front of him.”
For a brief moment, Shen Wangshu felt as if she had entered some sort of rule-based horror tale. One would never know without asking—only then did she realize how many rules her newlywed husband had.
Still, she committed all of this to memory. Heeding advice only benefited her; avoiding provoking him was hardly a bad thing.
In the original text, there were very few descriptions of Chen Ting. This taciturn man seemed to exist solely to support the male and female leads’ success. He had no interests of his own, never remarried after the original body’s illness and death, and his final ending was to grow old alone in solitude.
Thinking about it now, Shen Wangshu found it absurd.
Were second male leads treated this poorly these days?
While the new madam was establishing rules at home, Chen Ting escorted his younger brother to the academy. After hearing a series of reports from Teacher Liang about Chen Hao’s mischievous behavior, he rubbed his aching head from the scolding and stood at the entrance of Xiaoshan Academy, hesitating about where to go next.
After some thought, he ultimately spurred his horse toward the training grounds outside the city.
The Zhen State General commanded two hundred thousand troops, among which ten thousand elite heavy cavalry were the personal guards of the Duke of Rong’s residence, known as the Chen Family Army. Even in times without war, they trained day and night, each capable of fighting ten men alone. This force of tigers and wolves was the key to holding back the Northern Barbarians. Chen Ting had always lived and eaten alongside his soldiers, and now he decided to go take a look outside the city.
Upon arriving, he heard the thunderous shouts of the soldiers from afar. The guards at the gate recognized him and, after a moment of surprise, clasped their fists. “General!”
“Today isn’t your…?” The day after his wedding, instead of staying home with his new wife, he had come to the camp?
Chen Ting entered without expression.
On the training grounds, Chen Hu was sparring with a bare-chested battalion commander, while others formed a circle below, shouting encouragement.
Chen Long was the first to see Chen Ting and shouted loudly, “Greetings, General!”
The others turned around and clasped their fists. “The general was married yesterday—why have you come to the training grounds today?”
“Is the general here to treat us to wedding wine?”
Some even urged him to go back. “The general spends the whole year with us brothers. Now that you finally have a wife, you should hurry back to the residence.”
“That’s right. Not returning home on the first day of marriage would sound terrible if word got out.”
“General, you should leave quickly. The training grounds won’t suffer without you for a day or two.”
Thus, Chen Ting had barely set foot in the camp before being pushed right back out. Chen Hu cracked his whip against the horse’s rump and laughed heartily. “The general has been busy for so long. For the next few days, just rest well at the residence, tend to your old injuries, and accompany your new wife.”
Beset by everyone’s chatter, Chen Ting had nowhere to go but back to the residence.
In the past, he always returned to the Xuanji Courtyard alone. After school, Brother Hao would go to the main branch, leaving him alone to face the cold, empty courtyard. Now, however, someone was waiting for him at home.
At that thought, Chen Ting felt a hint of anticipation about returning. He pressed his long legs against the horse’s sides and rode even faster.
Between the camp and the city gate lay a stretch of woodland. Just as he was about to exit the forest, a sudden rain of arrows shot out from within. Chen Ting’s expression turned cold. The steed beneath him was also a veteran of the battlefield; man and horse swiftly left the range of the arrows. Several assassins wielding blades sprang out from the forest, their sharp weapons aimed straight at Chen Ting’s vital points.
Having slaughtered his way through countless battles, Chen Ting never parted from his heavy sword. Expressionless, he swung it at the assassin directly in front of him. The assassin tried to block with his blade, but at the moment the weapons met, his sword shattered into several pieces, and with it his entire arm went limp, broken clean through.
Terror filled the assassins’ eyes. They had not expected the Zhen State General’s strength to be so terrifying—his single strike was clearly on an entirely different level from theirs.
A flash of viciousness crossed the leader’s eyes. “Attack!”
Several black-clad figures charged forward together. Birds scattered in alarm as a bloody slaughter unfolded within the forest.