Chapter 270
Chapter 270
Princess Ning Yan said to Shen Lang,
“Shen Lang, the matter in court rests entirely on your shoulders. I’m off to handle the other task you asked of me.”
“Then I wish you well.”
“The evidence in this case is ironclad; you can’t overturn it alone. You won’t be able to clear Jin Mucong’s name—not even a god could save him now. He was caught red-handed, with his bird in another man’s nest, wasn’t he?”
Shen Lang said nothing. The thrice-widowed princess was truly something else, delivering a lewd joke more smoothly than he ever could.
“It’s alright. Leave everything to me. What happens in the courtroom isn’t important; it’s the two grand plays we’ll stage outside that matter. I know it will be an inconvenience, but I must ask for your help.”
The tigress of a princess beat her chest and boasted,
“No problem. I value loyalty above all else. You cured me, and I told you to come to me if you ever needed anything. There’s nothing in the capital I can’t do. However… while I enjoy a bit of excitement and making a scene, if this blows up, every weakness will be laid bare. Are you… truly set on this?”
“Yes, that’s my intention. I guarantee Your Highness will not suffer any harm. In fact, His Majesty the King will praise you for a job well done. Princess Ning Yan, you’ve always been so bold. Surely this is not beyond you.”
Ning Yan, feigning great offense at his words, beat her chest and declared,
“Nonsense. Didn’t I just say there’s nothing in the capital I dare not do?”
Each time she struck her chest, Shen Lang felt as if he were watching towering twin peaks tremble. No wonder Xiao Bing was jealous enough to die for.
“Then, Your Highness, go and do something that will shake the world. Show everyone just how incredible and chivalrous Princess Ning Yan truly is.”
Princess Ning Yan’s blood began to boil. In the past, she had only ever caused trouble as she pleased, never undertaking something of this magnitude. It would surely feel exhilarating once it was done.
“Then you go to the courtroom and fight those corrupt officials. Leave the matters outside to me.”
The tigress pounded her chest again. Finally, Shen Lang, his eyes drawn to her heaving bosom, could no longer resist. He gave her chest a firm pat and exclaimed in a righteous and upstanding tone,
“Good brother!”
“Good brother!”
Ning Yan returned the sentiment. She wasn’t even flustered that he had touched her chest, likely because Shen Lang’s expression was so righteous, showing not a hint of lechery. She, too, thumped him on the chest with her fist, signifying that she also saw him as a brother.
“Pfft.”
Shen Lang nearly coughed up a mouthful of blood. Princess Ning Yan departed to attend to her grand task. Early tomorrow morning, she would shock everyone and prove that she, Ning Yan, was not a woman who dealt in mere trifles. But it was only after she had gone some distance that she realized Shen Lang had just patted her chest with his palm, not his fist.
‘What did that mean? Did he just subtly feel me up? I consider him a brother, but does he want to sleep with me? No way. If he does, I’ll kill him.’
* * *
The court of Wannian County.
“Might! Majesty!”
Dozens of men shouted in a somber tone, striking their staves hard against the ground. Outside the yamen, dozens of fully armed warriors stood with their hands on their hilts, their grim presence suffocating the onlookers. Magistrate Wang Jiguo slammed his gavel on the table and boomed,
“Who are you, and what injustice do you bring before this court?”
Shopkeeper Lü, his face a mask of grief, was about to kneel and cry out his grievance, to accuse Jin Mucong of forcing himself upon his wife, Mistress Chen. But someone acted faster. It was Shen Lang.
“I, Shen Lang, a humble scholar, am here to accuse Mistress Chen of forcing herself upon the heir to the Count of Xuanwu’s Estate, Jin Mucong! This woman is lewd and vicious. Upon seeing my brother-in-law Jin Mucong’s handsome and adorable face, she took advantage of his drunken state, stripped him of his clothes, climbed on top of him, and ruthlessly took the pure body he had preserved for eighteen years. She has inflicted immense shame and suffering upon my brother-in-law, making him feel that life is no longer worth living. This scandal is so appalling it makes one’s skin crawl. I have never heard of such a wicked woman. I implore you, Your Honor, to preside over this matter and clear my brother-in-law’s name!”
The moment Shen Lang finished speaking, everyone was stunned.
‘H-holy hell. You can actually say that?’
Even as a suspect or defendant, Jin Mucong, as the heir to a count’s estate, was not required to kneel. The moment he saw Shen Lang, his eyes welled up with tears, and he wore a shameful expression like a Siberian Husky that had done something wrong. Wait, not a Husky. A very fat Golden Retriever. Yet, his eyes also shone with joy, gratitude, and an overwhelming sense of familiarity, like an abandoned puppy finding its owner and returning home.
Today’s events were both an ordeal and a chance for growth for Jin Mucong. First, he had lost the pure body he had preserved for over a decade. Of course, he didn’t mind that at all; in fact, he felt quite refreshed. He had long wanted to bid farewell to his virginity, lest he die a lonely old bachelor, but the strict family rules had never given him the chance.
He was afraid people would laugh, but Jin Mucong had once secretly had a crush on Xiao Bing. Of course, it was more of a vague fondness than a full-blown crush. But after she became Shen Lang’s woman, she had transformed into a completely wanton vixen, shattering the pure image of ‘Bing’er’ he had held in his heart.
He couldn’t do the deed with a maid, his engagement had been broken, and his family was too busy with major affairs to find him a bride. The fatty had considered secretly visiting a brothel to lose his virginity, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. After arriving in the capital, he could have let himself go, but his brother-in-law had told him not to visit brothels, so he hadn’t dared.
He never imagined he would bid farewell to his virginity in such a manner. It was a little painful, but it was also very unique, and not entirely bad. However, his heart ached at the fact that Shopkeeper Lü, whom he had considered his closest friend, had plotted against him.
‘Is this world really so dark and treacherous? I thought you were my only friend, my confidant, yet you tried to harm me like this. And to sacrifice your own wife’s chastity… you’re no better than a beast!’
At the time, Jin Mucong was only indignant, not scared. But once he was arrested and thrown in jail, he became truly terrified. He had never left home growing up and had always been under his parents’ protection. Of course, before his brother-in-law joined the family, he was beaten almost every day. But his parents’ beatings and scoldings were all out of love. When they went a while without hitting him, he even found it strange.
Recently in the capital, Jin Mucong had often dreamt of his parents beating him, but they were good dreams, not nightmares. Now, framed and imprisoned, he was like a fat puppy facing death, trembling with anxiety and fear, able to only shed silent tears. The only reason he hadn’t started wailing was that he was the heir to the Count of Xuanwu’s Estate.
‘I’m terrified, but I must not be weak.’
When Jin Mucong was taken to jail, he didn’t yet know that Shen Lang had arrived in the capital. Besides, his vital parts were injured and hurt terribly. At that time, he prayed incessantly in his heart.
“Brother-in-law, please come and save me. Save me… No, I can’t cry. I am the heir to the Count of Xuanwu’s Estate. I must fight them to the end.”
And when he was dragged to the courtroom and the bailiffs shouted “Might! Majesty!” while striking their staves on the ground, he was startled and trembled all over again. Jin Mucong knew that if he were to be beaten now, it would be a different kind of beating from his parents’. These were his enemies; they would strike him with true malice. This made him even more terrified and anxious. But unexpectedly, his brother-in-law had really come to save him. His desperate prayers had been answered! His brother-in-law looked as if he had descended from the heavens to rescue him.
Lifting his head to see his brother-in-law’s familiar face, Jin Mucong instantly felt a sense of calm. In that moment, he felt protected by a powerful force. All his fear vanished without a trace.
* * *
Shen Lang continued, his expression one of fury.
“This matter cannot be overlooked. My brother-in-law, Jin Mucong, cannot be so easily dishonored by others. Mistress Chen must be severely punished.”
Hearing Shen Lang’s words, everyone present was stunned speechless. Even Shopkeeper Lü of Tianfeng Bookstore wore a look of utter astonishment.
‘Is there such a thing in this world as a woman forcing herself on a man? And calling Jin Mucong handsome and adorable? Shen Lang, is there something wrong with your eyes?’
After a long moment, Shopkeeper Lü of Tianfeng Bookstore finally spoke.
“Young Master Shen, don’t twist the facts.”
Then, he collapsed to the floor and said in a mournful voice,
“Your Honor, I poured my heart and soul into publishing Jin Mucong’s book. On my elderly mother’s birthday, I invited no one else but him. My wife is beautiful, and at the banquet, he glanced at her several times, but I thought nothing of it at the time. I took him for an innocent boy, but after just two cups of wine, he claimed to be drunk and asked to rest in my room. I helped him to my bed to rest and later asked my wife to bring him a sobering soup. But unexpectedly, this beast feigned drunkenness and forcibly violated my wife, defiling her for over two hours.”
‘Over two hours? Fatty, you’re amazing. Your brother-in-law is proud of you. Ptooey! Never mind. This is fake. There’s no way the fatty has that kind of stamina. Any man who lasts over thirty minutes his first time is a liar. Because I only lasted… ahem. Never mind, I’m getting sidetracked. That’s not important.’
Shen Lang sneered.
“He violated her for over two hours, and no one stopped him?”
Shopkeeper Lü said,
“I had drunk too much and fallen asleep. At home were my deaf, elderly mother and our two children. That beast Jin Mucong threatened my wife, saying he would kill our two children if she dared to resist or scream.”
Jin Mucong was instantly enraged upon hearing this. When he visited Shopkeeper Lü’s home, he had taken a particular liking to his two children, not only giving them gifts but also a red envelope. He had even promised to bring them two puppies next time.
Mistress Chen knelt on the floor, weeping tears of blood as she spoke.
“Your Honor, this humble woman has always upheld her virtue, even avoiding the slightest touch of a finger with another man. Now that my body has been defiled by that beast, how can I possibly face the world? I beg you, Your Honor, to deliver a just verdict and punish that wicked man.”