Chapter 490: This Punishment Is Too Severe

Chapter 490: Chapter 490: This Punishment Is Too Severe

Chen Shaobei was making his rounds when a soldier suddenly ran up to him with an alarming report, "General, this is bad! Jiang Zhi and Wang Er’s group are fighting over Miss Su!"

Chen Shaobei’s brow furrowed, and a cold aura suddenly emanated from him.

"Let’s go take a look!"

Fighting amongst soldiers in the camp was strictly forbidden.

Lesser offenses were punished with a hundred strikes from the military rod, while more serious ones could, according to military law, even result in expulsion.

When Chen Shaobei arrived at the tent, Su Zhirou was covering her face, her sobs long and drawn-out, as if she had suffered a terrible injustice.

Jiang Zhi and the troublemakers, Wang Er and his men, had already been pulled apart by other soldiers.

As soon as Chen Shaobei entered the medic’s tent, his gaze fell first on Jiang Zhi.

He saw that her face was unbruised. She had probably had a nosebleed earlier and wiped it away haphazardly, leaving a diagonal smear of dark red across her cheek.

Combined with her defiant expression, she looked remarkably heroic and dashing.

Wang Er and his men were a different story. One had a dislocated arm, while another had taken several punches to the stomach and was rolling on the ground, unable to even straighten up from the pain.

Two of Wang Er’s front teeth had been knocked out. He was clutching his badly swollen face, hissing in pain.

Seeing Chen Shaobei arrive, the men scrambled to their feet, all trying to lodge their complaints at once.

Jiang Zhi clenched her jaw. She knew she had violated military discipline, so she simply said nothing.

Chen Shaobei glanced at Wang Er and his men. "Silence."

The men immediately fell silent.

Chen Shaobei addressed only Jiang Zhi. "You. Tell me what happened. I ordered you to escort Miss Su to the medic. Why did a fight break out?"

Just as Jiang Zhi was about to speak, Su Zhirou interjected, "General Chen, this is all just a misunderstanding. Please don’t punish them on my account."

Chen Shaobei shot her a sharp glare.

"I was asking Jiang Zhi. Miss Su, are you her?"

Chen Shaobei usually presented a calm and reserved demeanor. Su Zhirou had never seen such a severe look in his eyes.

She froze for a moment before lowering her head. "My apologies..."

Only then did Jiang Zhi speak, clearly recounting the course of events.

"General, you ordered me to escort Miss Su, and I was merely carrying out your command. But Wang Er and his men insisted that I was taking advantage of her. They pushed and insulted me. I endured it once, and then a second time. The third time, I punched Wang Er and knocked out his teeth."

Wang Er grumbled from the side, "I’ll give you credit for being man enough to admit it. Now let the General judge who’s right!"

Jiang Zhi’s Unstoppable Fist was no joke. In the eyes of an expert like Chen Shaobei, knocking out only two of Wang Er’s front teeth with one punch was a sign of her holding back.

He had sparred with Jiang Zhi before and knew just how skilled she was.

For Wang Er and his men to end up like this, they should be thankful she didn’t use lethal force.

Su Zhirou noticed that Chen Shaobei only glared sharply at Wang Er and his men.

Yet toward Jiang Zhi, who had started the fight, he showed no intention of blaming her.

Su Zhirou’s eyes darted about. Pale-faced, she steadied herself on the arm of her chair and stood up.

The medic advised, "Miss Su, your ankle is severely injured. You should avoid moving around as much as possible."

Su Zhirou shook her head weakly, her expression pitiful, her beauty evoking compassion.

"General Chen, I was just so scared. Brother Jiang is very strong, and the way he was carrying me on his back was a little uncomfortable. I... I wanted to get down, but he held on to me and wouldn’t let go, so I panicked for a moment."

"Brother Wang and the others only rushed over when they heard the commotion. They preserved this young lady’s dignity. Otherwise, if word got out that Brother Jiang had... touched me, I would be too ashamed to face anyone..."

At this, she started crying again.

For the first time, Chen Shaobei frowned in annoyance.

He usually dealt with men. Even knowing Jiang Zhi was a woman, he had never found her to be coy or affected.

Why was this Su Zhirou so artificial!

Even Princess Funing, who was showered with endless affection, was poised and magnanimous.

Su Zhirou was completely subverting Chen Shaobei’s opinion of women.

’So troublesome...’

Jiang Zhi was furious now.

"I was trying to help you out of kindness! Who would want to molest you? What looks do you even have to speak of? If you walked down the street naked, I’d just cover my eyes and scream for the authorities! I haven’t even complained that you were crushing me and leaving me out of breath!"

This time, Jiang Zhi didn’t care who was present and unleashed all her dissatisfaction and resentment in one go.

Scolded so harshly, Su Zhirou turned pale, bit her lower lip, and trembled all over.

"You... you..." She was furious!

’Is this Jiang Zhi a man or not? Is he blind? How could he think I’m not beautiful!’

Wang Er and his group of rough brutes once again jumped to her defense.

"Jiang Zhi! How can you talk like that? That’s going too far."

"Yeah! Miss Su is a lady, after all! For you to curse at a woman... you’re a disgrace to all men!"

Jiang Zhi started arguing back and forth with them.

Just then, Chen Shaobei barked sharply, "Enough! Isn’t this chaotic enough?"

Everyone fell silent.

Chen Shaobei looked at Su Zhirou.

"Where is your maidservant?"

Su Zhirou faltered, stammering, "I... I don’t know."

Chen Shaobei’s eyes were cold. "You said your maidservant went to fetch servants to pick you up. All this time has passed, and they still haven’t arrived."

Su Zhirou was about to speak, but Chen Shaobei cut her off again with a stern voice.

"I assigned Jiang Zhi to escort you because I trust her character. Now that this has happened, I, too, bear some responsibility."

Su Zhirou was stunned.

’What? Did I hear that right? The great General Chen is actually making excuses for a common soldier?’

’And he’s taking all the blame himself?’

In the next second, Chen Shaobei said, "Your grudge against her is, in reality, you blaming me for not making proper arrangements. So, Miss Su, you aren’t complaining about Jiang Zhi; you are actually blaming me."

Su Zhirou was completely baffled by his words and hurriedly explained, "General Chen, that’s not what I meant!"

"You acted with the best intentions! It was just Brother Jiang who was careless and nearly ruined my innocence... No, it’s all a misunderstanding!"

She finally sensed something was wrong and even tried to change her story.

But Chen Shaobei had already grown cold, as if he had seen through her act.

"Your ankle was injured, and at the camp entrance, you pulled up your pant leg to show your wound to others. Why weren’t you concerned about a woman’s innocence then?"

Su Zhirou looked as if she had been struck over the head, her expression one of utter panic.

"I... I..."

"Miss Su, I don’t want to make my words too unpleasant. Since a grudge now lies between you and me, please leave the camp immediately. When I next see Lady Shu, I will personally explain and apologize to her."

After speaking, he pointed outside the camp. "I’m giving you the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea to get out. Otherwise, I will deal with you on charges of intentionally approaching a military camp."

Su Zhirou’s face was pale with shock. "General, I know I was wrong! I didn’t mean to blame Brother Jiang, General!"

Chen Shaobei’s order had been given, and he had no intention of wasting any more words on her.

He then turned to stare at Wang Er and his men. "None of you are to help Miss Su. We wouldn’t want to ruin her innocence. Let her walk on her own."

Furthermore, he issued a severe punishment for Wang Er and the others for fighting.

For getting into a fight, Wang Er and the several men with him were each sentenced to fifty strikes from the military rod.

When it was Jiang Zhi’s turn, Chen Shaobei gave her a cold glance. "Follow me to my study."

Wang Er and his men were initially indignant, waiting to hear what punishment Jiang Zhi would receive.

They never expected to hear Chen Shaobei tell Jiang Zhi to follow him to his study. Everyone gasped.

That punishment was too severe!

Previously, a defiant and insubordinate soldier had been taken to Chen Shaobei’s study. He was dead when he came out.