Chapter 254
Chapter 254
When Zhang Chong was imprisoned, the world was shaken. After a brief moment of shock, a flood of memorials impeaching him inundated the royal palace. From a minister with the potential to become the nation's prime minister, he was instantly branded a vile and treacherous villain. The charges against him grew so numerous they were difficult to record.
The most shocked and frightened by this situation were the officials of Nujiang Commandery, especially those who had attended Zhang Chong's farewell banquet. Those who had constantly proclaimed their allegiance to his faction now spent their days in extreme anxiety and fear, living in a personal hell. One man, who had even called Zhang Chong his lord, was so utterly terrified that he even contemplated whether it would be better to just slit his own throat and die.
Rumors swirled daily. Some said Zhang Chong had been killed by the king, others that he had committed suicide in prison. There were even claims that Zhang Chong had produced a long list naming all the corrupt officials. A short while later, when the Blackwater Terrace moved to arrest an official, the man was so shocked—believing he had been implicated by Zhang Chong—that he wet himself. A clerk who had worked exclusively for Zhang Chong, unable to bear the pressure, eventually hanged himself. He was the one who had called Zhang Chong his lord.
As if the clerk's death were a catalyst, the officials of Nujiang Commandery began to relentlessly expose Zhang Chong's crimes. Those with the authority to send memorials did so, while those without sent formal accusations to the Censorate. Their actions were a clear demonstration of the saying, "When a man is down, everyone gives him a push and a kick."
The Lord of Xuanwu City, Liu Wuyan, likewise wrote a memorial denouncing Zhang Chong, but after long hesitation, he ultimately decided not to send it. It wasn't because he was astute enough to judge it unnecessary, nor was it due to any deep bond with Zhang Chong. Having been deeply involved in the conflict between the Jin Clan and Zhang Chong, he understood the situation better than most and knew that this defeat was not solely Zhang Chong's fault.
Soon, the rising tide of impeachments against Zhang Chong reached a point where failing to execute him might have sparked public outrage and thrown the entire nation into turmoil. But the memorials simply piled up, having no effect. Then one day, an impeachment memorial from a certain official changed the entire situation. It was a letter written in blood by a registrar from the Nujiang Prefectural Office.
He had bitten his own finger to write the impeachment memorial in blood, and its contents were enough to stir the hearts of many. The letter not only exposed Zhang Chong's heinous misdeeds but was also filled with self-criticism, questioning why he hadn't exposed the man's wickedness sooner, why he had colluded with him, and why he had become an accomplice in trampling upon the people. Not only that, but the registrar also submitted two hundred and thirty-five gold coins he had received as bribes, presenting them as evidence along with the memorial. The final part of the memorial implored the king to subject Zhang Chong to the most severe punishment, thereby restoring order to the realm and avenging the grievances of the hundreds of thousands of people in Nujiang Commandery.
Of course, the hundreds of thousands of people in Nujiang Commandery were bewildered.
‘What? What does this have to do with us?’
And upon reading the contents of the memorial, many officials marveled in unison.
‘It seems there are exceptional people in every situation. My, what spectacular acting.’
Everyone watched to see if this exceptional registrar's gambit would succeed. In the end, it did; the king responded to his memorial.
‘This registrar is quite something. He not only denounces Zhang Chong but also himself, voluntarily surrendering the bribe money. After you've gone to such lengths, it would be wrong of me as king to spurn your goodwill.’
A few days later, the cavalry of the Blackwater Terrace entered Nujiang Commandery and arrested the exceptional registrar. Less than three days after entering the prison of the Grand Court of Revision, the registrar committed suicide. He had slit his own arteries, spilling enough blood around his corpse to write millions more characters of his blood-written memorial. At last, the officials of the realm began to fear the very sound of the wind, and all impeachments against Zhang Chong ceased. Everyone acted as if nothing had happened, as if such a man had never existed.
* * *
Just as that exceptional registrar must have despaired before his death, Shen Lang, too, was in deep despair. He had lost his will to live, his sense of purpose in life. The first time, lasting only three minutes, could be explained away with an excuse. But the second, third, fourth, and fifth times… were all the same. Mulan came up with all sorts of reasons for him. One day it was because the weather was too cold, or too hot. Another day, the bed was too soft, it was too noisy outside, or too quiet. Eventually, she even claimed it was because the feng shui of the house was bad.
Shen Lang tried everything. He consumed countless restorative medicines and practiced various methods of physical training, but nothing worked. Finally, Shen Lang grew afraid to even touch Mulan, his face completely rigid, unable to muster even the slightest smile. Normally, news of Shen Lang's performance issues would have spread like wildfire through every corner of the estate and even throughout Xuanwu City, but that didn't happen. Every maid in their courtyard knew, yet not one dared to speak of it outside.
Mulan's heart ached for him. She comforted Shen Lang, saying she never really enjoyed that sort of thing anyway, so it didn't matter at all. She told him she loved him for who he was, not for his prowess in bed, and even said that as long as they could have a child, what use was a powerful libido? Of course, such words offered Shen Lang no comfort. He felt his life was bleak and was on the verge of falling into depression.
‘Sigh! Why did I even transmigrate for this? If a man can't perform in that department, what joy is left in life?’
Mulan was truly heartbroken and at her wit's end. Then one day, her mother, Su Peipei, called Mulan over and whispered a few words to her. That night, Xiao Bing slipped naked into Shen Lang's bed. In that moment, Shen Lang unleashed his mighty power, completely overwhelming Xiao Bing. Thanks to all the restorative medicines he had recently consumed and his frenzied physical training, Shen Lang's combat prowess was at its absolute peak.
That night, Shen Lang rushed to Mulan, exclaiming excitedly.
"My lady, look! It was never my problem, it was yours! You have no idea how incredible I was with Xiao Bing."
Mulan felt a pang of bitterness and jealousy, but she forced a smile and said.
"You're right, it was all my fault. My husband is magnificent."
And just like that, Shen Lang's peculiar ailment—his premature ejaculation—was completely cured. Thus began a life of shameless bliss. Everything was peaceful, beautiful, and perfect. But for some reason, Shen Lang began to grow thinner. To stop him from his constant antics, Mulan often left home on military duties and even sent Xiao Bing away on various errands to prevent his indulgence.
* * *
Time flew by, but the king, as if he had long forgotten the matter of Raging Tide City, had yet to issue the decree bestowing it upon the Jin Clan. One day, Count Xuanwu, Jin Zhuo, returned from Raging Tide City and requested a private meeting with Shen Lang to discuss a matter of great importance.
"Lang'er, we were thinking of holding a proper wedding ceremony for you and Mulan again. What do you think?"
Shen Lang, who was rubbing his lower back, turned pale at his words and replied.
"If we have another wedding, does that mean we have to go through the wedding night again? No, thank you, absolutely not!"
The moment Jin Zhuo heard this, he felt he had heard something he shouldn't have. Having also experienced a humiliating first night, he understood Shen Lang's words.
"The term 'live-in son-in-law' doesn't sound very pleasant, so we want to change that. We want Mulan to marry into your Shen Clan. Would you object to holding a banquet to entertain friends and guests, and having the wedding ceremony at your family's home?"
Count Xuanwu made the suggestion out of goodwill. Even if Shen Lang didn't mind the title of live-in son-in-law, he was concerned that his father, Shen Wan, might.
"Please, don't, Father-in-law. I'm doing a splendid job as a live-in son-in-law, so please, don't ever make me a formal one."
Count Xuanwu was at a loss for words.
‘Could it be you have some strange ulterior motive?’
In some ancient dynasties, becoming a live-in son-in-law was considered a crime, and such men were even exiled to perform labor. Fortunately, the Great Yan Dynasty had no such rule, and live-in son-in-laws could even take the imperial examinations. However, if a live-in son-in-law passed the exams, the wife's family, out of consideration, would usually dissolve the unequal marriage and formally marry their daughter into the man's family. This was because society generally looked down on live-in son-in-laws, and if an imperial scholar retained that status, it would tarnish the prestige of the court.
"First, I have no desire to become an official, so my status as a live-in son-in-law is like a protective shield. Second, many of my enemies know I'm a live-in son-in-law and look down on me to some extent. The more they underestimate me, the better."
Those are your reasons? Count Xuanwu tried to persuade him a few more times, but Shen Lang insisted he did not want to shed his status. Left with no choice, the Count decided he would personally visit Shen Lang's family to apologize for not being able to make him a formal son-in-law and for keeping him as a live-in one. After that, the Count would return to Raging Tide City. For now, the city was the very lifeline of the Jin Clan.
After taking over Raging Tide City, Count Jin Zhuo had to deal with all sorts of administrative affairs every day. Shen Lang suspected that his father-in-law had not returned to the estate just to release him from his status as a live-in son-in-law, but rather to attend to some private matters. Of course, Shen Lang's suspicions were well-founded. The next morning, Jin Zhuo woke up rather late. His mother-in-law, of course, rose even later than her husband, but since she always slept in, that wasn't unusual.
* * *
The days passed one by one, and the Jin Clan began a large-scale migration of people from their fiefdom to Leizhou Island. The Count of Xuanwu's Estate had always treated its people like family, levying very low taxes. As a result, countless refugees from all over the country had flocked to the Jin Clan's fiefdom each year. The estate's lands were finite and could not accommodate such a large population, so the decision was made to relocate them to Leizhou Island.
Fortunately, the people of the Count of Xuanwu's Estate earned their living by cultivating mulberry trees and raising silkworms. Had they focused solely on farming, the limited fields of the fiefdom would never have been able to feed the ceaseless stream of refugees. Therefore, Shen Lang and Count Jin Zhuo quickly moved an initial twenty thousand people to Leizhou Island. The island was more than twice the size of the Count of Xuanwu's fiefdom, with far more arable land.
When Qiu Tianwei had ruled Leizhou Island, its vast lands had been largely desolate. The pirates neither knew how to till the fields nor had any intention of doing so. Therefore, sending twenty thousand people to Leizhou Island to clear the land and farm was like trying to crack a rock with an egg. That was when the Heavenly Path Society stepped in. They continuously brought war refugees from all corners to become new subjects of the Jin Clan.
This kind of immigration required a huge amount of money. To persuade people to leave the mainland and move to an island, they had to be given settlement funds, and houses had to be built for them. The cost of relocating tens of thousands of people amounted to hundreds of thousands of gold coins. But the Heavenly Path Society, as before, lent them a huge sum without charging interest and without setting a repayment date.