Chapter 160
Chapter 160
“I have already sent my memorial to the capital; the king's edict will arrive soon. Do you have the courage to defy a royal edict and refuse to surrender Jinshan Island? I shall have to see if I, the Count of Jinhai, am as unyielding as Count Jin Zhuo.”
Of course, Tang Lun was not as unyielding as Jin Zhuo. If he were that type of man, he would never have betrayed the old aristocracy to join the king's faction. Pointing a trembling finger at Zhang Chong, Tang Lun spoke.
“Zhang Chong, you dare… threaten me?”
“When negotiating, isn't it better to state the terms clearly beforehand and observe the formalities later? So I am stating them clearly now. Count Tang Lun, if I were you, I would hand over Jinshan Island before the king's edict arrives. Wouldn't that make you appear to be a loyal subject?”
The Count of Jinhai, Tang Lun, said in a furious voice.
“Fine. I will surrender it… I will surrender it…”
'Zhang Chong, you damn bastard!'
* * *
Zhu Nanzheng of the Viscount of Nanshan's Estate galloped furiously, whipping his horse. Though the journey was just over a hundred *li*, he changed horses several times to maintain maximum speed. The closer he got to home, the faster his heart pounded, until he felt he could barely breathe, as if he were suffocating. The Jin Clan had their fief, their Wang'ai Island, their manor, and their fortress. But all he had left was his family's estate. Within that estate were tens of thousands of *mu* of fields and farms, magnificent and beautiful landscapes and forests, and countless workshops. It was the Zhu Clan's only remaining asset, the legacy they had accumulated over hundreds of years. If that were gone, the Zhu Clan would be finished from that day forward.
'Nothing's wrong, nothing's wrong. I must be overthinking things.'
Just around the mountain ahead lay the valley where the Zhu Clan's estate was located. But Zhu Nanzheng could wait no longer. He abandoned his warhorse and began to scale the mountain using his lightness skill. He hadn't used his martial arts in years, yet now he was using them just to climb a mountain.
'Faster, faster, faster.'
He climbed the mountain with all his might. Viscount Zhu Nanzheng had never fought so hard, not even on the battlefield. When he finally reached the summit and looked down into the valley below, he saw that it had been completely inundated. The Zhu Clan's estate, its fortress, its workshops, its fields, its farms—all had been swallowed by the flood. Of the family fortress, only the pointed roof of the tallest tower was visible above the water's surface. The flood had now subsided, leaving everything in the valley submerged, with various pieces of debris floating on the water.
'It's over! Everything is over! This was all the Zhu Clan had left, and it's all been destroyed. A century of enterprise, the wealth and glory of the Zhu Clan—it's all over! Everything has crumbled!'
“Ah… Ah… Aaaargh…!”
Viscount Zhu Nanzheng let out a wretched howl, like a wounded wild dog. He felt a misery and desolation he had never known in his life.
“Shen Lang, you son of a bitch! I will kill you and tear your corpse to shreds! I swear it!”
Unable to bear the immense blow, and having exhausted all his true energy with that scream, Viscount Zhu Nanzheng felt a tearing pain in his chest. A spray of bright red blood erupted from his mouth. His body collapsed and went tumbling down the mountainside.
* * *
It took a full day for Shen Lang's party to return to the Count of Xuanwu's Estate. His mother-in-law had long been waiting at the fortress gate, craning her neck with a group of people. The moment she caught sight of Shen Lang's party, she rushed forward. Count Jin Zhuo, moved and overjoyed, was about to break his usual composure to embrace his beloved and share the good news. Jin Mucong also quickened his pace, eager to run to his mother and boast. He wanted to tell her how he had turned the tide in a difficult situation, won the Jinshan Island dispute, and utterly crushed Tang Yun.
'Mother needs to know. Her son isn't a fool; he contributed to the family.'
But Count Jin Zhuo rushed toward empty air, and Jin Mucong spread his arms to embrace nothing. His mother-in-law ran right past them and straight to Shen Lang, throwing her arms around his shoulders.
“Oh! My good son has come home, my Lang'er is back! My son is truly amazing. My son is so brilliant. Our family's great victory in the Jinshan Island dispute is all thanks to my son, Shen Lang. I don't know how lucky I am to have a son like you. Without you, who knows what state your father-in-law and Jin Mucong would have returned in. Let mother see your face.”
His mother-in-law stared intently at Shen Lang's face. She noticed a bite mark and was about to ask in surprise, but she immediately swallowed her words. She spoke with great affection.
“My son has grown thin from exhaustion these past two days.”
'Isn't a bite mark a sign of affection between a husband and wife? Mulan might have one on her body too. It might just not be visible. As a mother-in-law, I can't bring up such things.'
Count Jin Zhuo, standing nearby, was speechless, and Jin Mucong was on the verge of tears.
'I contributed too. I'm the one who deserves the most praise. Why are you ignoring me? Am I an adopted child? Is it not like my brother-in-law gets praise everywhere he goes? Does he lack for attention? He almost had an affair with another woman at the Raging River hunting grounds. Do you have any idea how hard it was for me to spend the last month desperately copying and memorizing books?'
His mother-in-law noticed the fatty's miserable expression and realized that even a man as stoic in public as Count Jin Zhuo had rushed forward for an embrace. She stepped forward and patted Jin Mucong's back.
“You worked hard too.”
Tears instantly welled up in the fatty's eyes.
“Father, you said ten years ago that I could have a wife. Where is my wife? Where is she?”
Jin Mucong was so aggrieved that he yearned for a wife who would dote on him and him alone.
* * *
Jin Hui and Thirteen had also returned to the estate. They knelt quietly on the floor to make their report.
“Young Master, fortunately, Thirteen and I have completed our mission without fail.”
Shen Lang nodded. But something caught his eye. Beside Jin Hui stood a woman—a beautiful one at that. Though her body was covered in injuries, she had delicate features and an incredibly stubborn gaze. She stared straight at Shen Lang, showing not a hint of weakness. The key thing was that her hands and feet were still bound, and her mouth was gagged with a cloth. Shen Lang said to Jin Hui.
“Jin Hui, since you couldn't find a wife, did you take this opportunity to snatch one from somewhere?”
Hearing this, a drop of cold sweat trickled down Jin Hui's forehead.
'Young Master, do you think I'm you? Where would I get the great ability to steal another man's woman?'
Jin Hui reported the full course of events to Shen Lang. After hearing his report, Shen Lang frowned. When the water at the source is murky, the rest of the stream is too. If a private soldier of the Count of Xuanwu's Estate had done such a thing, there would be no need for anyone else to act; Count Jin Zhuo himself would have beheaded the man. Violating a young lady from a good family was an absolute taboo in the Jin Clan, and anyone who broke this rule was put to death! Yet the private soldiers of the Zhu Clan had openly abducted a woman to their outpost to assault her. It was very clear that they intended to violate her until they grew tired of her, and then kill her.
“Jin Hui, did she witness everything you did?”
“Yes, Young Master.”
This complicated things. The matter of the gunpowder absolutely, under no circumstances, could be revealed yet. If the existence of gunpowder were exposed, it could lead to the annihilation of their entire clan. The fact that they had used explosives to destroy the dike could never be revealed either. Otherwise, they would face severe punishment. Once it was exposed that they had destroyed a dike to ruin another family's enterprise with a flood, the punishment would be death.
Shen Lang deliberately affected a stern tone.
“Since she saw everything, we have no choice. We'll have to kill her to silence her.”
Jin Hui was instantly stunned and immediately fell to his knees, begging. The woman, however, lifted her chin and stared defiantly at Shen Lang, showing no fear of death. Of course she wouldn't be afraid of death. If she were, she wouldn't have tried to commit suicide by smashing her own head with a rock.
“Young Master, please, I beg you, show mercy.”
Jin Hui pressed his forehead to the floor, pleading with all his might.
“No one could witness what we did. It could bring a fatal crisis upon our family.”
“Sh-she won't tell. She must hate the Viscount of Nanshan's Estate immensely.”
Then Jin Hui turned to the woman and said,
“Swear it, quickly. Swear you'll never tell.”
The woman remained stubborn, craning her neck as if waiting for Shen Lang to strike. Though her mouth was gagged, her eyes held no plea for mercy. Shen Lang studied her face, paying close attention to her skin, her hair, and her fingernails. She was a woman from a distinguished family, one who carried herself with an air of superiority. Moreover, she had a fierce personality. But she knew no martial arts; otherwise, she would not have been captured by the trashy warriors under Zhu Nanzheng.
But why would a woman from a wealthy family be out alone? Why was she passing by the Viscount of Nanshan's Estate? What was her identity? Shen Lang stepped forward, pressed his head against her chest, closed his eyes, and listened.
'Scum!'
The word instantly appeared in the woman's eyes. But Jin Hui knew that the Young Master was not deliberately harassing her. Though the Young Master was scum, he was arrogant scum. He was the type to wait for women to flock to him like moths to a flame, not one to actively pursue them.
This woman's heartbeat was irregular; she had a heart condition and a problem with her body. Furthermore, her lips were a deep shade of purple. While it looked bewitching, it was not the color of healthy lips. This also explained why she could not practice martial arts.
“Jin Hui, kill her!”
Having said his piece, Shen Lang turned to leave. Jin Hui was stunned for a moment, then, with tears streaming down his face, he began to desperately slam his forehead against the floor. He struck it so hard that his forehead split open and began to bleed.
“Young Master, have mercy! I, Jin Hui, have grown up in the Count's estate since I was a child; this place is my home. But I have never asked anyone for a favor in my entire life. I've never even asked the Count for anything. But now, I am begging you, Young Master. Please, have mercy. I, Jin Hui, will work like a horse or an ox to repay your grace.”
After a moment, Jin Hui's forehead was a bloody, pulped mess. Thirteen, standing beside him, could not bear it any longer and also knelt to plead.
“Master, please show mercy.”
The woman had remained defiant, but seeing Jin Hui in such a state, her gaze softened for a moment, revealing a hint of vulnerability. Shen Lang asked Jin Hui,
“Jin Hui, are you fond of this woman?”
Of course, Jin Hui was. Humans are strange creatures. Love at first sight was unlikely to happen to a philanderer like Shen Lang. He had seen too many beautiful women, and too many women were fond of him; he might as well fall in love with a different woman every day. But for the type of person who lives in his own world, the eccentric sort, it is often easy to fall in love at first sight. When that woman had decisively tried to kill herself by smashing her head with a rock, Jin Hui had felt his heart stir. It was her pride, her vulnerability, her decisiveness, and her beauty that had moved him.
“N-no, I'm not!”
Jin Hui answered in a trembling voice. His entire body turned bright red, and he stammered shyly, looking like a cooked prawn. Shen Lang said to him.
“I'll give you two choices. Either kill her, or marry her.”
“H-how could I do that? Isn't that taking advantage of a lady in her time of need? Besides, I am a servant. I am not worthy of a lady of high status. I am not worthy…”
“Then kill her!”