Becoming a Saint From the Iron Armor Skill-Chapter 57: The Shen Family’s Two Belles

"Ah Cheng, what do you think about all this?" Liao San asked in a low voice.

He, Li Ze, Lai Yingchang, and the others had congratulated Chen Cheng earlier, but in truth, they weren’t confident at all. Their congratulations had been mostly a polite formality. You could even say they were congratulating him in advance for the next assessment.

Faced with the subtle pressure from a powerful figure like Zhou Xu, an Official from the South City District City Guard Headquarters, they would have been just as helpless and would have likely chosen to give way.

Chen Cheng snapped out of his daze and gave a noncommittal smile. "The Chief Constable hasn’t set the rules for the assessment yet. Let’s wait and see."

Seeing Chen Cheng so composed, able to chat and laugh so freely, Liao San was secretly impressed. He clapped him on the shoulder and said sincerely, "Ah Cheng, when it comes to composure, your Third Brother here doesn’t admire anyone but you."

Time slowly passed, but Shen Qingshuang still hadn’t come out. The topic of discussion among the crowd in the Government Office Hall shifted to the Chief Constable, and the constables began to speculate in low voices.

"Why hasn’t Lord Shen come out yet?"

"That’s strange. Wasn’t she supposed to come out and announce the assessment rules for the official constable positions?"

"Don’t tell me Lord Shen is also afraid of offending Lord Zhou and secretly gave the spot to Zhou Fang?"

"What nonsense are you spouting? Lord Shen is a direct-line daughter of one of the Four Great Clans of the Inner City. Why would she be afraid of the Zhou Family?"

"Shh... Keep your voice down. You dare to speculate about the intentions of our superiors? Do you have a death wish?"

"We didn’t say anything. No one heard us, right?"

"Right, right. We’re just a bunch of low-ranking constables making idle chat."

...

"Looks like we’re in for another good show!"

"Heh, you can say that again."

...

"Sigh... For us externally recruited Preparatory Constables, getting promoted to official status is harder than scaling the heavens!"

"Honestly, I’ve wanted to quit this crappy Preparatory Constable job for a long time."

"Just stick it out. Our turn will come eventually." 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

"What’s the use of sticking it out? Even if our Martial Arts Power is strong enough, in the end, we still have to bow to the whims of our superiors."

"Tch! You say that as if you could actually beat Chen Cheng and He Zhiling without any interference from the higher-ups."

"If it were a fair assessment, I’d have no complaints about losing. It wouldn’t be as infuriating as this."

"Don’t be hasty. Maybe the Chief Constable has a plan."

"What plan could she have? She might not be afraid of the Zhou Family, but we small-timers certainly are."

...

In the Chief Constable’s small courtyard, Shen Qingshuang stood before a flowerbed, staring blankly at an orchid with light yellow-green blossoms.

Her handmaiden Xiaoxing waited by her side for a long time, but received no response. Growing impatient, she said, "Miss, the Constable Chiefs and constables are waiting for your reply. How should we handle the matter of the official constable assessment?"

Shen Qingshuang slowly turned around and said faintly, "I don’t know either."

"Miss, you’re not actually waiting for a reply from Miss Qingyao, are you?" Xiaoxing said.

Shen Qingshuang suddenly smiled. "Shouldn’t this kind of headache be something for her, the Shen Family’s ’smartest young miss,’ to worry about?"

Xiaoxing pouted. "To me, you are the smartest one, Miss. You’re just so obsessed with the Martial Dao that you can’t be bothered to think about these things. If you just gave it a little thought, you’d come up with the perfect solution.

The Zhou Family is just a clan from the Outer City District. It’s one thing for them to throw their weight around there, but to dare pick a fight with the Shen Family? They must have a death wish.

If you ask me, Miss, you don’t need to worry about Zhou Xu at all. Just expel Zhou Fang from the Ruyi Square Sub-Department. Zhou Fang got in through connections. Surely Zhou Xu wouldn’t dare report this to the Lord Chief Steward?"

Shen Qingshuang shook her head. "Of course I don’t need to worry about Zhou Xu, but I must abide by the rules of the City Guard Department. Every family plants their people in the department as Preparatory Constables. That’s common practice. But kicking someone out? No one has ever done that, and I can’t be the one to set that precedent.

Besides, I have to consider the morale of the Constable Chiefs and the constables. I may be an unqualified Chief Constable, but my actions must, at the very least, command the respect and conviction of my subordinates.

Forget it. I can’t be bothered to think about these headaches. I’ll just wait for now."

As Linji City’s de facto governing body, the City Guard Department wielded immense power and controlled all sorts of Government Office resources. It has always been a key point of contention among the Four Great Clans of the Inner City and the various major clans of the Outer City.

On the surface, this was an assessment for an official constable spot in the Ruyi Square Sub-Department. In reality, it was a struggle for control over the Ruyi Square Sub-Department between the Zhou Family, represented by Zhou Xu, and the Shen Family, represented by Shen Qingshuang.

Zhou Xu had a member of his clan, Zhou Fang, compete for the official constable spot. If Shen Qingshuang followed standard procedure for the assessment, the Zhou Family’s influence would intimidate the other Preparatory Constables, guaranteeing Zhou Fang’s victory.

This would allow the Zhou Family to smoothly install an official constable in the Ruyi Square Sub-Department and establish their authority. In the future, it would be easier for them to win over the Constable Chiefs and constables and interfere in Ruyi Square’s affairs.

If Shen Qingshuang did not follow standard procedure for the assessment, she would be breaking the City Guard Department’s regulations, at which point Zhou Xu would naturally have grounds to come and hold her accountable.

Either way, Zhou Fang would be promoted to official constable. Should that happen, Shen Qingshuang’s authority as Chief Constable would surely be damaged.

Zhou Xu was using an overt plot; he had already placed himself in an unassailable position.

In truth, Shen Qingshuang wasn’t entirely without a solution. She had considered backing a Preparatory Constable to defeat Zhou Fang. If she did, all her problems would naturally resolve themselves.

She had been the Chief Constable of the Ruyi Square Sub-Department for nearly a year, and she hailed from the Shen Family, one of the Four Great Clans. So, even though she was obsessed with the Martial Dao and paid little mind to the department’s affairs, she had still secretly cultivated a number of loyal followers.

Finding a Preparatory Constable to defeat Zhou Fang was not difficult.

There were many Preparatory Constables like He Zhiling, who came from Martial Arts Halls, possessed formidable Martial Arts Power, and were extremely eager to advance further in the Ruyi Square Sub-Department.

Besides these disciples from Martial Arts Halls, there was also the even more impressive Chen Cheng.

’Especially Chen Cheng. In her eyes, he not only possessed outstanding talent for the Martial Dao, but his disposition was just as Liu Yunfeng had described: calm and resolute. He was a talent worth molding.’

’But she had her reservations. Those disciples from the Martial Arts Halls came from minor backgrounds. They were opportunistic and easily swayed. They might pledge allegiance to the Shen Family now, but they would just as easily flock to the Zhou Family or some other clan later on. They weren’t worth the investment.’

’And Chen Cheng... he seemed to be another Liu Yunfeng. Even if there were no concerns about his loyalty, he was the type who was unwilling to get too involved with the great clans, making him extremely difficult to control.’

’She even had a nagging feeling that, compared to Liu Yunfeng, Chen Cheng was more ambitious and possessed an unyielding, prideful nature.’

’The Shen Family had managed to recruit Liu Yunfeng and bring him into their service, but they might not be able to do the same with Chen Cheng. This was why she was so hesitant about whether to groom him.’

’Sigh... Cultivating the Martial Dao is so much simpler. So direct. You don’t have to worry about all this,’ Shen Qingshuang sighed to herself, her thoughts turning with envy to a certain member of the Shen Family.

’We’re both direct-line misses of the Shen Family. On what grounds does Shen Qingyao get to hide away at the family estate, enjoying the best of our clan’s resources to focus solely on Cultivating the Martial Dao, while I, Shen Qingshuang, am sent out to the Outer City to fight the family’s battles?’

’Just because her Martial Dao talent is greater, because she’s smarter? Hardly! I’ve never been convinced of that.’

’It’s about time I let the Shen Family’s "smartest young miss" get a proper headache over this!’

’Shen Qingyao, you’d better think of a better solution. Don’t disappoint me.’

Just then, a young woman in her twenties, clad in light-blue, close-fitting martial attire with a longsword at her waist, strode quickly into the small courtyard.

"Xiaolan greets you, Second Miss."