Chapter 287
Chapter 287
“Sigh.”
Li Jun, inside the palanquin, sighed to himself.
‘Is all this really necessary? If I just stepped out of the palanquin and showed myself, we could rescue Jin Mucong easily. Must he go to such lengths?’
But Shen Lang never missed an opportunity to show off, and if no opportunity existed, he would create one just to satisfy his urge. More importantly, he was set on harming someone. Shen Lang wasn't content with merely saving Jin Mucong and killing Gang Leader Lu and his wife; he had to find a way to frame Wang Jieguo at every turn. As Shen Lang entertained these thoughts, Wang Jieguo, the Magistrate of Wannian County, strode out, resplendent in his fifth-rank official robes.
“Shen Lang, are you trying to stage a rebellion?”
“Lord Wang, release the heir of our Count of Xuanwu's Estate, Jin Mucong, at once. Otherwise, you will be held responsible for any and all consequences.”
Wang Jieguo laughed boisterously.
“Hahaha… You must be dreaming. Shen Lang, did you think the world-shaking news of the Ancestral Temple burning would make the Jin Mucong affair simply disappear? What a foolish thought!”
He then glanced at the wound on Shen Lang’s neck and continued.
“Was the beating of thirty lashes you received at the palace today bearable? The news of the disturbance you caused at the palace gates this morning has already spread throughout the capital. The Marquis Su Nan, in his benevolence, chose not to pursue the matter, seeing as you are a relative. Otherwise, it wouldn't have ended with just thirty lashes; you would have been beaten to death long ago!”
Shen Lang seemed to shrink his neck, as if to hide the wound there. Then, in a tone that mimicked a weak person feigning strength, he said,
“When the people of Qiang burned our Ancestral Temple, there wasn't a single scholar in the realm who wasn't incensed. Yet you continue to detain the heir of our Count of Xuanwu's Estate. What exactly are you trying to do? Was the matter from last night not clearly resolved? The truth was laid bare by the blood test—that vicious woman, Lady Jin, forcibly violated our heir, Jin Mucong. What is your intention in still holding him captive?”
Wang Jieguo said, “Shen Lang, no need to be impatient. Jin Mucong will confess soon enough. When he does, we will have irrefutable evidence, and no matter how cunning you are, you won't be able to overturn the case. Under His Majesty's wise leadership, the turmoil from the Ancestral Temple's burning will soon subside. At that time, the subjects of the realm will still condemn the Jin Clan. Do you think this matter will end so simply? Wake up from your foolish dream!”
Shen Lang asked in a chilling voice, “Are you truly determined not to release Jin Mucong?”
“I cannot!”
Shen Lang shouted angrily, “Wang Jieguo, you are audacious! I am here to request Jin Mucong’s release under the King's decree. Do you dare obstruct it?”
“The King’s decree? Produce it.”
At the demand to see the royal decree, Shen Lang’s bravado faltered.
“I do not have a written decree, but I have heard His Majesty the King's will. He wishes for Jin Mucong to be released.”
“Hahahaha. Shen Lang, you have some nerve. How dare you presume to know His Highness’s will. You must have a death wish. And you think you can rescue someone? If you have the guts, why don't you storm the prison and rescue him yourself?”
Shen Lang yelled, “Wang Jieguo, Jin Mucong is innocent! Moreover, Gang Leader Lu and his wife have committed a capital crime. Do not misstep and land yourself in a difficult position.”
Wang Jieguo found Shen Lang truly laughable.
‘Gang Leader Lu and his wife committed a capital crime? Using such words for a mere merchant? How utterly ridiculous!’
Wang Jieguo’s expression turned icy as he said, “Shen Lang, I cannot release a criminal. I’ll say it again. If you have the guts, storm the prison and rescue him yourself!”
Shen Lang seemed to be at his wits' end. Suddenly, he gritted his teeth and said, “Men, follow me! We will break in and rescue Young Master Jin Mucong!”
At his command, the dozens of warriors behind him drew their swords and prepared to charge. Wang Jieguo was ecstatic.
‘He took the bait. Shen Lang is finally making his move. Here, in the capital, under the King's very eyes, you, Shen Lang, are leading your family's private warriors to storm a government office. This is tantamount to treason! Now, no one in the world can save you! You are a dead man!’
Wang Jieguo bellowed an order, “Stop them! Stop them!”
The yamen runners were outnumbered several times over by Shen Lang’s men, but they were no match for elite warriors. Wang Jieguo was only pretending to resist. He had to ensure that Shen Lang storming the yamen and freeing a prisoner became an established fact. In a short moment, a hundred yamen runners were beaten back and fell, and Shen Lang’s warriors easily broke into the Wannian County Yamen.
‘Success! Shen Lang is dead, dead!’
Wang Jieguo was wild with joy, shouting, “Men, men! Go inform the Chiliarchy Command, the Office of Military Affairs, and the Bureau of Military Affairs! Shen Lang has committed treason! The Count of Xuanwu's Estate has committed treason!”
He trembled with excitement. In that instant, a dozen riders on swift horses galloped off in all directions to spread the news. Grand Eunuch Li Jun was being carried into the Wannian County Yamen in his palanquin. He covered his face, watching it all unfold.
‘He has no bottom line. Absolutely none. Shen Lang, weren't you the one who had a private and pleasant conversation with His Majesty just a short while ago? And the moment you turn around, you act with such abandon. Wang Jieguo, you're rather behind on the news. Do you know what Shen Lang did last night? Do you know what he did this morning? If you knew, you'd be so scared you'd piss your pants.’
Unfortunately, Wang Jieguo truly did not know. All he had heard was that Shen Lang had caused a disturbance at the palace gates that morning and had been beaten half to death with thirty lashes.
***
Shen Lang led his dozens of warriors into the yamen’s prison and rescued Jin Mucong. When they broke in, Jin Mucong was still fast asleep. Waking up to find his brother-in-law storming the prison, Jin Mucong was so shocked he nearly wet himself.
“Brother-in-law, did you just storm the prison? You can't do this, you can't! I'm fine in here. At worst, it will be a little painful, but they can't kill me. But storming a prison to free a convict… that's treason! It doesn't matter what happens to me, but it would be a disaster if something happened to you. The Jin Clan can do without me, but it can't do without you! I will always remember your concern for me. Having a family member like you makes life worth living. I'll stay in prison. You should leave quickly. You must not attack!”
Shen Lang was taken aback.
‘Who called this fatty a fool? He understands the stakes so clearly!’
Shen Lang gestured to his warriors.
“Rescue the Young Master.”
Shen Thirteen and the family warriors moved forward to pull Jin Mucong from his cell.
“I’m not going. I won’t go! Brother-in-law, you can't do this. You mustn't!”
The fatty clung to the iron bars of his cell, refusing to leave, but he was unceremoniously lifted and carried out by Shen Thirteen and the other warriors.
***
When Shen Lang’s party emerged from the prison into the courtyard, they found it already packed with soldiers. The warriors from the surrounding Chiliarchy Commands had been fully mobilized. Nearly a thousand soldiers now surrounded the courtyard, leaving no room for escape for Shen Lang and his few dozen men. Shen Lang was thrilled.
‘So Wang Jieguo has finally brought all the local troops. The real show is about to begin.’
At that moment, Gang Leader Lu and his wife, Lady Jin, stepped forward, pointing at Shen Lang and shouting.
“Your Honor, Shen Lang has freed a prisoner from his cell!”
Lady Jin glared at Shen Lang with intense hatred. Last night, she had suffered endless humiliation at the hands of this pretty boy. Gang Leader Lu’s eyes were murderous. As a political sycophant desperate for an official post, he understood the gravity of storming a prison. Moreover, this was the capital, the King’s residence. For Shen Lang to lead the private soldiers of the Count of Xuanwu's Estate to attack a county yamen’s prison was no different from outright rebellion.
‘Shen Lang is a dead man. Hahaha!’
To this day, Gang Leader Lu couldn't figure out why the paternity blood test last night had gone wrong, but he was certain Shen Lang’s schemes were behind it. And now, this despicable man was finally getting his comeuppance. The heavens were not blind after all, he thought. Yet, Gang Leader Lu also found it deeply puzzling. Why would someone as clever as Shen Lang storm a prison?
Shen Lang glanced at the hands of Gang Leader Lu’s wife, Lady Jin. She was holding a bowl filled to the brim with large leeches. The sight of hundreds of them squirming was repulsive. Shen Lang had trypophobia, so the sight of so many soft-bodied creatures packed together was even more terrifying for him than for most. A moment later, an unparalleled rage surged within him.
‘Vicious hag, you prepared those leeches to feed to Jin Mucong, didn't you? This is how you planned to torture an innocent man into a confession. Torturing him without leaving any external wounds, is that it?’
The most terrifying part was that even if they fed him the leeches and then made him drink salt water to kill them, it wouldn't kill the blood flukes inside the leeches. Shen Lang had not found any medicine in this world that could eliminate blood flukes. If infected, even Shen Lang, a master physician of gynecology, would not be able to save Jin Mucong.
‘You dare try to kill someone as kind as Jin Mucong?’
Shen Lang looked at Wang Jieguo and said in a cold voice, “Lord Wang, I am taking Jin Mucong under the King’s orders. Are you acting this way to defy the royal decree?”
“Hahaha… Shen Lang, still hiding behind the King’s decree? Where is it? Show it to me. If you have it, present it.”
Of course, there was no written decree. Wang Jieguo roared, “Shen Lang, son-in-law of the Count of Xuanwu's Estate, has committed the crime of deceiving the sovereign by falsely invoking a royal decree. He led the Jin Clan's private soldiers to attack the Wannian County Yamen and freed a prisoner from his cell. This is treason! Men, seize him! Kill anyone who resists!”
“Yes!”
A thousand soldiers from the Wannian Chiliarchy Command roared in unison, drawing their swords and nocking their arrows, aiming at Shen Lang’s few dozen warriors. Shen Lang said angrily, “Wang Jieguo, are you truly going to defy the royal decree?”
Magistrate Wang Jieguo of Wannian County gave a sinister smile and said, “Seize them!”
The moment the order was given, the soldiers surged forward to attack Shen Lang’s group. Just then, a cough was heard from within the palanquin.
‘I suppose I can come out now? Shen Lang, haven't you laid enough groundwork? I think you've raised the atmosphere enough to frame someone. Goodness, my bottom is so sore from the caning today, I can't sit any longer.’
Li Jun slowly stepped out of the palanquin and announced in a clear voice, “His Majesty the King has issued a verbal command. ‘The Jin Mucong case is a baseless falsehood. The Wannian County is to immediately release the innocent party! The merchant, Gang Leader Lu, has acted with wild abandon, illegally selling *Dongli Yanshi*. His entire family is to be executed!’”
The moment those words were spoken, Wang Jieguo felt as if he had been struck by lightning. He stared at Li Jun in disbelief. He recognized the Grand Eunuch before him. He was the King’s most trusted confidant.
‘So there really was a verbal command from His Majesty. It was real! But… how is that possible?’
Gang Leader Lu, too, understood the situation in an instant and was utterly dumbfounded.