Hearing his voice, Shen Ying turned her head slightly. Finding the newcomer somewhat familiar, she sized him up once more.
Finally, she said, “I remember you. Aren't you Fang Shuo, my second brother's student?”
Fang Shuo scratched his head and smiled, exuding an indescribable air of silliness. “Miss Shen has a wonderful memory.”
“If I remember correctly, you haven't even been the Governor of Chaoyang for three years, right?” Shen Ying leaned lazily against the railing, cradling a long spear in her arms. “I asked my second brother before about how officials are selected in the north. Although I don't understand all the twists and turns of officialdom, from what I heard, it really is fairer than any previous dynasty. Selecting officials doesn't depend on family background, nor does it depend on gender; it only looks at evaluation results and whether one's background is clean. Promotions don't require anyone's recommendation either; they are based purely on personal achievements.”
“Even better, to encourage officials to strive for progress, Miss Pei and the others came up with performance evaluations. They are assessed once a year. Two consecutive failures result in suspension for self-reflection, and a third failure leads to dismissal.”
“How wonderful,” she couldn't help but sigh. “This not only weeds out corrupt officials and incompetent fools, but also ensures that truly capable people are placed in the right positions.”
“Yes, yes.”
Fang Shuo nodded vigorously.
“Miss Pei and the others are truly amazing. If they hadn't come up with this idea, I would never have had the chance to leave Chaoyang City. You have no idea how miserable life was as the Governor of Chaoyang. I looked forward to it day and night, and finally, the evaluation came.”
Shen Ying raised a hand and stroked her chin.
Since she wanted to join the Zhenbei Army, she had been asking around about the latest news in the north whenever she had free time lately.
“My second brother told me that the first person to be promoted to Xindu City based on his own achievements was his good friend, Lu Sui.”
“Since you're on this ship, it means you must have been transferred back to Xindu City as well. I wouldn't have guessed, but you're even more impressive than my second brother's friend. You got promoted in less than three years. Tell me, what earth-shattering thing did you do in Chaoyang City to get promoted so quickly?”
Her dark, bright eyes were filled with curiosity.
Fang Shuo waved his hands repeatedly. “Miss Shen, you've misunderstood. I wasn't transferred back to Xindu City. I was dismissed...”
Wait, hearing Fang Shuo say he was dismissed, she almost doubted her own ears.
“I was never cut out to be a governor in the first place. I wanted to give away the Governor's seal long ago, but nobody wanted it.” Fang Shuo blushed slightly, feeling a bit embarrassed. “I'm just a lazy dandy. Being a governor is simply too hard for me.”
Shen Ying looked at him with a pitying gaze.
“You must be the first one to be dismissed, Fang Shuo. You will definitely go down in history for this.”
Fang Shuo grinned. “Isn't that a good thing? Others don't even get the chance to go down in history.”
Shen Ying was once again amazed by Fang Shuo's logic. “People want to go down in history for their good deeds, not for their embarrassing failures! How can those be the same?”
Fang Shuo couldn't help but sigh. “Miss Shen, I can't stop people from talking.”
Gazing at the sun rising over the horizon, he suddenly smiled again. “Instead of worrying about pointless things and making myself miserable, I might as well think about what to eat tomorrow.”
“Oh, right, Miss Shen, I still have a few pastries I bought in Liaodong Prefecture. Do you want some?”
Shen Ying looked at the pastries held out to her, then at the surprisingly optimistic Fang Shuo. “You certainly are open-minded. Thanks for the pastries.”
She took all of Fang Shuo's pastries right out of his hand.
“Hey, wait... You took them all! What am I going to eat?”
Fang Shuo was almost driven to tears.
“You can fill up on the cold wind; take your time.” Shen Ying tossed a pastry into her mouth and made a face at Fang Shuo, bullying him without the slightest pang of guilt.
Standing in place, Fang Shuo watched Shen Ying's casual, swaggering figure disappear into the cabin. He muttered under his breath, “As expected of General Shen's younger sister. She really knows how to get under someone's skin.”
Meanwhile, the very sister he was grumbling about had already burst into Shen Yu's room, shouting at the top of her lungs, “Second Brother, why on earth did you take such an idiot as your student?”
Inside the room, Shen Yu, Lu Sui, and Fan Miaozhen were gathered around a circular table, seemingly in the middle of a discussion. Shen Ying's sudden shout caused all three to look toward the door at the same time.
Seeing Shen Ying, Shen Yu felt a headache coming on. Putting down the sea chart in his hand, he said to her, “A'ying, how many times have I told you to knock before entering?”
“Next time, for sure.”
Shen Ying propped her long spear against the door, casually tossed the pastries onto the corner of the table, and sat down opposite them.
“Second Brother, you've always been full of schemes. There's no way you'd take on such a silly student for no reason. Is that Fang Shuo playing dumb to catch a tiger?” she gossiped, tossing a pastry into her mouth, her cheeks bulging.
Shen Yu: “...”
Beside him, Lu Sui burst out laughing. “Fuyan, I think Sister A'ying is right. You really do have too many schemes up your sleeve.”
“Right? Exactly!” Shen Ying agreed wholeheartedly.
Once his laughter subsided, Lu Sui set down his teacup and looked at Shen Ying. “However, Sister A'ying, if you think Fang Shuo is playing dumb, you've truly misjudged him.”
His words were polite, but his meaning was crystal clear.
Shen Ying was puzzled. “If he's not playing dumb, then why are you bringing him to Wuling Prefecture?”
Shen Yu said with deeper meaning, “A'ying, haven't you noticed that our journey has been exceptionally smooth?”
“I've gone out to sea with my mother several times. Storms and hitting reefs are common occurrences at sea, but this time has been strangely quiet. We haven't even encountered any major waves.”
The one who spoke was a round-faced young girl.
She looked slightly younger than Shen Ying, but her eyes held a composure that belied her age.
She was Fan Miaozhen, the only daughter of the head of the Fan family.
Shen Ying was left utterly bewildered.
“Shen Da, go fetch Fang Shuo,” Shen Yu said.
About the time it took to drink a cup of tea, Shen Da brought Fang Shuo, who had been watching the sunrise on the deck, into the room.
“Mr. Shen, did you need me for something?”
Fang Shuo stared blankly at the people in the room.
“We are currently discussing which route to take next to reach Wuling Prefecture more smoothly. Come and take a look.”
Shen Yu spread the sea chart across the table.
Fang Shuo pointed to himself. “Me again?”
Shen Yu nodded slightly.
Fang Shuo cautiously approached the table. “How about this one? I think this one just caught my eye.”
Seeing that Fang Shuo had once again chosen the exact route they had spent so much time discussing and finalizing, Shen Yu calmly rolled up the sea chart, exchanging a look with Lu Sui and Fan Miaozhen.
...
On the other side, Yun Shu watched everything that transpired on the ship through the system monitor. She turned her head to look at the little fox, who was currently burying its face in a slice of watermelon, its mouth dripping with juice.
“Are you sure the male lead of this book is Shen Jue?”
The little fox looked up, utterly baffled. “Yes, the male lead of this novel world is indeed Shen Jue.”
“I'm not so sure.”
Yun Shu looked at Fang Shuo on the screen.
Shen Yu and the others had likely misunderstood, thinking she was looking after the son of her friend. In reality, she hadn't done a single thing.
This kid, Fang Shuo, simply had pure, unadulterated luck.
Rate on N.U.
