APSIL -Chapter 57 Never Judge by Appearances

The commanding officer whom Zhang Shou had praised as “mighty in bearing, upright, and disciplined” was Xiong Wei, Commander of the Right Battalion of the Capital’s Elite Cavalry Camp.

Although Hua Qi introduced him as such before everyone, his credibility had already been ruined by the earlier prank. It wasn’t until Xiong Wei produced the command badge of the Elite Cavalry Camp and explained that he had only recently been transferred back from Xuanfu on the recommendation of the Duke of Chu that the thoroughly frightened young nobles finally believed him.

Even those who had been sulking over missing the excitement of capturing the rebels the previous night now felt fortunate that Zhu Ying had simply drugged them unconscious.

After all, they had nearly scared themselves senseless today without a single sword being drawn. If they had actually witnessed—or worse, participated in—the fighting the night before, they probably would have done nothing but get in everyone’s way.

At that moment, Zhang Chen suddenly grabbed Lu Sanlang by the collar.

“Fat Pig! Did you figure out something was off too? Is that why you suddenly covered my mouth? You pig! You’ve been pretending to be a fool all these years in the capital, and then you come here showing off your talent for mathematics. Just how many things have you been hiding from us?”

Having concealed his abilities for years, Lu Sanlang naturally wanted to show off a little. Unfortunately, every explanation he could have offered had already been said by Zhang Shou.

Rolling his eyes, he replied, “Who’s to blame if you don’t pay attention? The clues were obvious enough. Weren’t you the one shouting about how we had nothing to fear, and that we’d face whatever came together? Besides, both Miss Zhu and Little Teacher Zhang were sitting right there.”

Those words left not only Zhang Chen but everyone nearby speechless.

Miss Zhu was one thing—she had always been fearless—but Zhang Shou was just a country boy who had grown up in a remote village…

Zhang Wu immediately coughed awkwardly.

“How can we compare ourselves to Little Teacher Zhang? If he weren’t practically a genius strategist, why would Grandmaster Ge, the famous ‘Bole who recognizes a thousand-li horse,’ accept him as his final disciple?”

“Exactly!”

“That’s right!”

Seeing everyone eagerly piling on the praise, Zhang Shou had no choice but to stop before going over to help Zhu Ying, who was pestering Xiong Wei with questions that he clearly couldn’t answer.

“Don’t make me sound like some living Zhuge Liang. If I had really been that certain, I wouldn’t have secretly told Old Yang and several villagers to hide last night’s captured rebels after hearing Hua Qi’s warning.”

“I only thought Commander Xiong’s mannerisms didn’t resemble those of a vicious criminal. As it turned out, it really was just a false alarm.”

“Enough chatting. Go find the villagers for me. Tell Old Yang and the others to bring the prisoners out. It’s time to hand them over.”

Lu Sanlang immediately sidled over, his tiny eyes blinking innocently on his chubby face.

“Little Teacher… if we hand them over just like that, won’t Commander Xiong be taking all the credit?”

Several of the young nobles nodded in agreement.

Zhang Shou chuckled.

“Commander Xiong clearly runs a disciplined army. Otherwise he couldn’t have trained cavalry like that. He’s not the sort of man who would steal other people’s accomplishments.”

“Besides…” He glanced around. “Aren’t you all underestimating yourselves? Who in the capital would dare steal your merits?”

Those words instantly straightened every slumped back.

That’s right!

Whatever else they were, they all came from prominent families. Who would dare rob them of credit?

“And besides, keeping these prisoners here only wastes food and manpower.”

“If they’re sent back to the capital now, before any of you return, everyone who used to look down on you will see the achievements you’ve earned. By the time you finally go back yourselves, won’t you be able to hold your heads high?”

With just a few casual remarks, the previously dejected young nobles became full of energy again.

Watching them scatter excitedly, Zhang Shou stroked his chin thoughtfully.

I’ve figured it out.

Handling these spoiled young masters is like raising cats and dogs.

Sometimes you have to scold them like an unruly puppy.

Other times, you just scratch them behind the ears like a pampered kitten.

“It’s all Uncle Hua’s fault!”

Zhu Ying stormed over, grabbed a wine jug, and gulped down several mouthfuls before slamming it onto the table.

“Last night he watched us make fools of ourselves, and today he teamed up with Commander Xiong to put on another ridiculous performance! Don’t tell me the Empress Dowager would waste her time teasing us juniors. This was definitely his idea!”

After venting her frustrations, she noticed Zhang Shou merely smiling instead of responding, and that the other young nobles had all disappeared.

“Where did everyone go?”

“I sent them to notify Old Yang to bring out the prisoners.”

Before Zhu Ying could object, he smoothly changed the subject.

“Speaking of which… with the Linhai Camp mutiny causing so much trouble, perhaps the Empress Dowager thinks it’s no longer safe for you to stay in the countryside and wants you to return to the capital sooner.”

“She wouldn’t!”

Zhu Ying answered immediately.

“Didn’t Grandmother just send longevity noodles and new clothes yesterday?”

Even as she spoke, however, she felt a little guilty.

The bad news had arrived only after the Zhao Estate’s servants had already left.

She had indeed been away from the capital for a very long time.

Her grandmother indulged her, and the capital had been so chaotic that she’d happily stayed away—but how much longer could this carefree life continue?

If she really had to leave…

She needed to leave something behind in Rongshui Village.

Something that would ensure A-Shou—and everyone else—would never forget her.

Her eyes suddenly lit up.

“How about this? I’ll gather everyone together and build a wall around the whole village! Then it could protect everyone from rebels and wild beasts!”

Zhang Shou nearly choked.

Miss… this is a village, not a town or a fortress.

We’re living in peaceful times. An occasional military mutiny doesn’t mean the world has fallen into chaos.

Building walls around the village now… are you trying to establish a fortified stronghold?

If this were my old world, it’d be an illegal structure that would get demolished…

Maintaining a solemn expression, he replied,

“Building walls over one small incident would imply we don’t trust the capital garrison to keep order.”

“I think someone like Commander Xiong, brave and upright as he is, came here simply to collect the prisoners before returning to suppress the rebellion. His cavalry is exceptionally well trained. A disturbance like this will be put down in no time.”

“So there’s no need to worry about safety.”

Not far away, Commander Xiong—who had just finished playing the villain in a thoroughly unsuccessful performance—was actually in an excellent mood.

Within the army, he was famous for having extraordinarily sharp hearing.

He had clearly overheard everything Zhang Shou had said to the young nobles—and to Zhu Ying.

During all his years in the military, there had been very few people who could truly see through him.

The first had been the Duke of Chu.

The second, the current Emperor.

And now…

This young Master Zhang undoubtedly qualified as another.

Exactly.

How can anyone go through life relying solely on appearances?

Thinking this, he saw Zhang Shou and Zhu Ying walking toward him and took the initiative to meet them halfway.

“Commander Xiong,” Zhang Shou asked, “are you planning to escort away all the rebels captured last night, along with the assassin who appeared later?”

Since he already held Zhang Shou in high regard, Xiong Wei was far more willing to explain things than he had been when Zhu Ying questioned him earlier.

“Yesterday, news of the mutiny at Linhai Camp—and that over a hundred rebels had escaped—was rushed to the capital. The city gates were temporarily closed.”

“This morning, Hua Qi’s urgent message arrived, reporting that the fugitives had come here.”

“That’s why I was ordered to bring my men here to escort the prisoners back to the capital.”

“Fortunately, the city gates reopened early this morning.”

“As for suppressing the rebellion…” He shook his head.

“That has nothing to do with me. I’ve only recently arrived in the capital region and don’t know the local situation well enough. It’s not my place to take charge.”

Then he glanced toward Zhu Ying, who was sitting at the head table pouring herself wine in obvious annoyance.

A faint smile appeared on his face.

“My orders were to bring back the people.”

“They said nothing about the horses.”

Zhang Shou had originally intended to test the waters regarding the captured warhorses.

Hearing such an obvious hint, he immediately remembered how greedily Old Yang had eyed those horses after capturing them the previous night.

This really is like someone handing me a pillow just as I’m about to fall asleep.

His eyes brightened.

“In that case…”

“Our village will simply ‘borrow’ those horses for a few days.”

“We don’t have enough oxen for farming. Using horses to plow the fields would save everyone a great deal of labor.”

He had only spoken casually, inventing an excuse on the spot.

To his surprise, Xiong Wei nodded seriously.

“Young Master Zhang is absolutely right.”

“When I served in Xuanfu, we often used horses to plow fields. It really does save considerable labor.”

“Since those rebels disturbed the peace of the countryside last night, leaving their mounts behind as compensation for their crimes is only proper.”

“I doubt Linhai Camp would have any objections.”

As he finished speaking, the commander—whose “upright and disciplined” appearance had fooled everyone—smiled meaningfully at Zhang Shou.

“I’m not very good at acting.”

“If I truly frightened so many people, I’d have a hard time explaining myself.”

At that point, Zhang Shou understood completely.

Whoever had ordered the little performance, Commander Xiong had never intended to take it too far. He had deliberately left obvious flaws because he didn’t want the prank to spiral into genuine disaster.

Sure enough…

Anyone who manages to climb high in officialdom is no simple fool.

Another lesson learned.

Never judge by appearances.