Upon learning of this, Shao Yao covered her eyes and sat motionless for a good long while — then she smiled. If she could not live her own life well even with all of this, then she truly had only herself to blame.

Wu Yong’s parents had both passed away, but his clan still had its elders, and above him were several elder sisters. They had not, at first, been fully satisfied with this match. From their perspective, having a Commandery Princess for a sister-in-law was not straightforwardly a good thing — if she was easy to get along with, all was well and good, but if she proved overbearing, who knew what troubles lay ahead.

Yet the moment that imperial edict was announced, every trace of dissatisfaction transformed into satisfaction. They fell over one another to agree that even if the Commandery Princess was a bit domineering, they could bear it — after all, no other dowry in the entire world could match this one. Not every descendant of the Wu Family would become a general, and the founding of Nuocheng was bound to require a great many people. How could that possibly pass over the Wu Family?

Having gained this tremendous windfall, a marriage that had previously only been manageable on the surface was suddenly met with all manner of attentiveness. The commander’s residence, which had previously had only one second elder sister keeping watch, now welcomed the arrival of the other sisters-in-law.

“Don’t hold it against them.” Second Elder Sister Wu Zhen stepped back a few paces to assess the effect of the new garment, speaking in a gentle tone on behalf of her sisters. “Once a woman is married, she finds herself without the freedom to act as she wishes in so many ways. If not for the fact that my husband was someone my father personally mentored — and that he serves under you — I too might not have had the freedom to come and go as I do.”

Wu Yong said nothing about how his other sisters had also married men who were young followers of their father. He only said, “Second Sister need not worry. I won’t let this cause a rift between me and them. Did they not all lend their efforts when it came to my wedding?”

“As if I don’t know you.” Wu Zhen gave him a look, but said no more. They were all adults now, and knew how to conduct themselves — only the bond of feeling had inevitably been hurt, all the same.

Wu Yong lowered his gaze. He did not tell his most doting second sister about the things he had learned from trusted confidants the moment he returned from receiving the bride — before he had even caught his breath — nor did he speak of having spent the whole of the previous night going over everything from every angle, identifying and filling in gaps. The commander’s residence had been without a mistress of the household for far too long. Long enough that some people had forgotten what position they were supposed to stay in.

He did not expect Shao Yao to employ any particularly cunning methods to put those people in their place. But he trusted that the whip in her hand would make people listen.

This was a military commander’s residence, not one of those great households in the capital — it had no need for all those roundabout maneuvers. Subduing them by force was perfectly acceptable.

These matters could not be hidden from Gu Yanxi, and what he knew, Hua Zhi naturally came to know as well. She was neither angry nor did she intend to do anything about those people. This was Shao Yao’s home going forward — it needed to be Shao Yao herself who acted, if the situation was to be truly brought under control. She only changed out of her everyday clothes into her Wang Fei ceremonial robes and received the various women of the household with the full dignity of a Wang Fei’s station. She also made a great and conspicuous show of displaying the dowry — the bridal gifts nearly could not fit within the confines of the commander’s residence, and everyone who saw them understood that He Le Commandery Princess was not merely someone with an imposing title. She was genuinely and deeply cherished.

Bao Xia came in to report, “General Wu requests an audience.”

“Turn him away.” Hua Zhi was placing gold ingots of uniform thickness into a wooden chest, not even lifting her head as she gave a clean and decisive refusal. “Tomorrow is already the wedding day. Let him go and prepare with a composed mind.”

Bao Xia suppressed her laughter and acknowledged the order. Her mistress still refused to admit it, but she was plainly displeased with General Wu.

Gu Yanxi rose and walked over, looked at the expanse of gold glinting at the bottom of the chest, and felt the urge to laugh as well. “I’m not worried about you emptying the household coffers to fill Shao Yao’s dowry — what I’m worried about is that tomorrow, they won’t be strong enough to carry it all.”

“If two people can’t carry it, use four. If four can’t carry it, use eight.” Hua Zhi glanced at him sidelong and continued stacking as she pleased. Compared to most people, Shao Yao’s dowry was already substantial — yet because she was marrying far away, the bulk of it was chosen for practicality rather than display. In terms of sheer monetary value, it might not even match the dowries sent out by the great households of the capital, let alone rival her own ten-li-long bridal procession. Of course, if Nuocheng were counted, then no one’s dowry in the world could compare.

Now that she knew the intentions of those people in the Wu household, all she could do was make the reserve funds even more substantial. When the time came and they needed to be put to use, even throwing them at people would make a satisfying sound.

“Wang Ye.” Chenqing hurried in, hastily offering his bow to both of them as he came: “The Commandery Princess has ridden out.”

The husband and wife exchanged a glance. Hua Zhi stopped counting ingots, stood up, and asked, “Do you know where she has gone?”

“This subordinate made inquiries.” Chenqing suppressed a laugh. “The Commandery Princess said she had no interest in dealing with the women, but was quite happy to deal with their men.”

That was entirely Shao Yao’s style of doing things. Hua Zhi was pleased to let her establish her authority this way. She brushed off her hands and gave the order: “Prepare the horses.”

“Yes.”

What Nuocheng would become in time was impossible to say. But whether in the past or now, the military camp was the foundation of Yinshan Pass — and all those who depended on Yinshan Pass for their survival were connected to it in one way or another. The Wu Family went without saying. This was the root from which they drew their standing.

Shao Yao naturally would not be reckless enough to charge straight through the gates. She reined in her horse and made it rear, then tossed the token bearing her identity to the young squad leader who was watching her with a guarded expression, and waited for him to verify who she was.

Unauthorized entry into a military camp was punishable by execution on the spot. She would never hand anyone so large a handle to use against her.

The moment the squad leader recognized whose token this was, he dropped instinctively to one knee in salute. Belatedly, he recalled that this person was not only a Commandery Princess — she was soon to be the commander’s wife. With that bearing and manner of someone arriving to settle accounts… could it be she had come looking for General Wu?

Raising the token above his head with both hands, the squad leader said respectfully, “This subordinate humbly informs the Commandery Princess — General Wu is not currently present.”

“I’m not looking for him.” Shao Yao flicked her long whip and coiled the token back into her hand, tucking it casually into her front. “I’ve heard that the soldiers of Yinshan Pass are all known for their exceptional valor. This Commandery Princess has an itch in her hands and wishes to meet a few of them — would it be possible to let me through?”

“This…” It was unheard of for a Commandery Princess to enter a military camp. The squad leader hesitated only briefly before waving his men aside to let her pass. Setting aside her title of Commandery Princess, this woman was about to become their commander’s wife — a present authority outweighed a distant one. What was the point of doing something that would certainly be forgotten in no time? In any case, He Le Commandery Princess could hardly be a spy.

Shao Yao paid not the slightest mind to whatever he might be thinking. She dug her heels into her horse’s flanks and went galloping into the camp, heading straight for the training ground where the sounds of commotion could be heard.

On a border post, even in peacetime, one’s fighting skills were trained relentlessly — and all the more so now, when the war had barely ended and the fighting spirit had not yet fully cooled, when the edge of combat was still at its sharpest. The matches were, for that reason, particularly worth watching.

Amid wave upon wave of cheers, Shao Yao stood up on her horse’s back, leapt high into the air, coiled her long whip around a flagpole, and used the momentum to swing herself down onto the training ground. Without a word, she launched her attack at two men in the middle of a bout. Seeing her come with such momentum, the two men had no time to worry about anything else and immediately joined forces to take her on.

Skills honed in Sugu — combined with years of real-world practice — left Shao Yao perhaps only a fraction below the best of the Seven Watchers Bureau, but that still put her well ahead of most. In only a brief time, she had sent both young officers flying off the training ground.

Her long whip cracked through the air. Shao Yao swept a disdainful gaze over the mass of men below. Most of them were bare-chested, powerfully built — yet she showed not a trace of shyness, and said to them in a self-possessed tone: “Next.”

What man could stand to be challenged like that? Someone immediately jumped up to engage her in fierce combat — yet the gap between them was not one that mere courage could bridge. He did not last long before Shao Yao kicked him off the training ground as well.

“Next.”

One after another they came — walking up and rolling off — and the training ground grew quieter and quieter.

P.S.: Hmm, still one more chapter?!