Chapter 288
Chapter 288
‘When did I ever sell *The Lustful History of Dongyi*? I nearly went bankrupt and was driven into a corner last year for selling *The Chronicle of Dongli*. If it weren't for the release of Jin Mucong's *Boundless Wind and Moon of Battle Through the Heavens*, my Yu clan would have been finished. Would I have been foolish enough to sell *The Lustful History of Dongyi*? It's not like I have a death wish! That book is full of erotic tales targeting the Empress and Empress Dowager of the Great Yan Dynasty. Anyone who sells it is as good as dead!’
Gang Leader Yu collapsed to the floor, crying out wretchedly.
“I’ve been framed. I’ve been framed! Someone must have planted that book in my bookshop to frame me. It’s a setup! Your Excellency Wang, please look into the truth.”
His wife, Mrs. Jin, pointed at Shen Lang and said.
“It was you, wasn’t it? You must have plotted against our family.”
She looked at Wang Jiegua and said.
“Your Excellency Wang, Shen Lang must have planted *The Lustful History of Dongyi* in our bookshop. He must be the one who framed us. Your Excellency, please clear our names!”
Shen Lang stepped forward and said to Thirteen.
“Make Gang Leader Yu and his wife kneel.”
Thirteen and the warriors moved forward, forcing the couple to their knees. Shen Lang held up the bowl of leeches and asked.
“What’s this? It’s rather cute and plump. Must be nutritious, too.”
In an instant, Gang Leader Yu’s wife, Mrs. Jin, turned pale with terror.
“Human greed knows no bounds! Jin Mucong, remember this. It’s fine to show a little pity to the unfortunate, but you must not so easily try to change their fate. Do you understand?”
Mrs. Jin, kneeling on the floor, began to desperately slam her forehead against it.
“Young Master Shen, I was wrong, I was wrong! I’ll reveal the truth. It was Gang Leader Yu who told me to frame Jin Mucong. He drugged Jin Mucong and forced me to violate him. He forced me to do it all.
I’ll also confess this. The Wannian Prefect, Wang Jiegua, was an accomplice who knew everything. He is an accomplice in the plot to frame Jin Mucong, the heir to the Count of Xuanwu’s Estate. The Wannian Prefect, Wang Jiegua, raped me. Twice, a full two times.”
Mrs. Jin viciously turned on Wang Jiegua. Shen Lang said calmly.
“I no longer care about the truth. No one will care about the truth. Thirteen, pry this woman’s mouth open!”
Thirteen stepped forward to open Mrs. Jin’s mouth, but she clamped it shut so tightly that it wouldn’t budge. So, Thirteen simply broke her jaw. Shen Lang poured about half the bowl of leeches into her mouth.
“Aaargh!”
Who could she blame but herself for bringing this upon herself? Beside her, Gang Leader Yu trembled, his voice shaking as he spoke to Shen Lang.
“One cannot achieve great things without being ruthless. I have no regrets. No regrets…”
Shen Lang poured the remaining half of the leeches into Gang Leader Yu’s mouth. Nearby, the Wannian Prefect, Wang Jiegua, collapsed to the floor, his body convulsing uncontrollably.
Some might wonder why, if the King had issued an edict for the execution of Gang Leader Yu’s family, they had not yet been killed. It was because the edict had been issued at dawn, and it was now only noon. Though much had happened, only a few hours had passed. A minor matter like this didn’t require the Blackwater Terrace; a few men from the Court of Judicial Review would be sent to carry out the execution according to the law. They were still on their way to carry out the order.
* * *
Gang Leader Yu and his wife, Mrs. Jin, died a gruesome death. Of course, eating leeches wouldn’t kill them so quickly. Their screams were so wretched and difficult to listen to that Shen Lang had ordered another warrior to end their lives swiftly. The Wannian Prefect, Wang Jiegua, remained collapsed on the floor, unable to rise. The impression of Shen Lang’s cruelty was etched deep into his bones, and his fear of Shen Lang would be something he would never forget.
Shen Lang crouched before him and spoke slowly.
“Your Excellency Wang, you didn’t just defy an imperial edict alone; you did so with a thousand soldiers. What does that mean?”
Wang Jiegua, drained of all strength, sat slumped on the floor and pointed at Shen Lang.
“You… you set me up!”
Shen Lang slapped his face and said.
“It would be impolite of me not to set you up when you’re so foolish. You should think carefully about how you’re going to survive this crisis!”
The force of Shen Lang’s slaps grew stronger.
*Slap, slap, slap, slap.*
The Wannian Prefect didn’t dare resist Shen Lang. He was utterly terrified, trembling in fear.
‘That’s right. How am I supposed to survive this? How?’
* * *
Shen Lang, Jin Mucong, and Eunuch Yu Jun arrived at Gang Leader Yu’s house. At that moment, the Yu family’s two adorable little girls were eating, oblivious to everything, their faces innocent and pure. The older one was eating porridge, mumbling with her small mouth.
“Meat… I want to eat meat…”
The younger one was also eating a rice paste. A middle-aged woman was busy feeding the two children. Gang Leader Yu’s old mother ate leisurely, her gaze falling on her two granddaughters with annoyance and displeasure.
‘Money pits! Girls are nothing but money pits! My son said he could become an official if he frames Jin Mucong this time. Once he’s an official, I’ll have him take a concubine. I’ll kick that Jin woman out entirely and get him a new wife to bear two plump grandsons to carry on the family line. Mrs. Jin is no longer pure; how can she continue as the Yu family’s daughter-in-law?’
Back then, Gang Leader Yu’s mother had also agreed to the plan to have Mrs. Jin frame Jin Mucong. What was the sacrifice of one daughter-in-law for the sake of her son’s future? That fatty, Jin Mucong, was truly a fool. If a foolish fatty like him could be a great noble, then there was no reason her son, Yu, couldn't become a great official!
Just then, Shen Lang and Jin Mucong entered Gang Leader Yu’s house, while Eunuch Yu Jun remained outside. The moment the two children saw Jin Mucong, they squealed with delight, “Waah, waah!” The two-year-old girl stretched out her arms, wanting Jin Mucong to hold her. Some people were naturally loved by children. Fatties, for example. Jin Mucong looked completely harmless to both man and beast.
“Hold me.”
“Mister, hold me.”
When Gang Leader Yu’s mother saw Shen Lang and Jin Mucong, her expression changed drastically.
“Aren’t you supposed to be in prison? How did you get out? Did you escape? Someone, quick, report this to the authorities. Tell them to arrest this man!”
Like son, like mother; the old woman was just as vicious. Jin Mucong walked forward, scooped up a child in each arm, and hugged them both. The next moment, Jin Mucong’s chubby face was grabbed by the two children’s hands and pulled outward with all their might.
“Giggle, giggle!”
The two children squealed with joy. They had met Jin Mucong more than once or twice. In the past, Gang Leader Yu, trying to curry favor with him, had often brought his two children to the National Academy, and the fatty had played with them, becoming quite close. Ignoring Gang Leader Yu’s mother as if she weren’t there, the fatty carried the two children and walked straight out. Shen Lang looked at the old woman and said calmly.
“Your son and daughter-in-law are dead. You should join them on their journey to the afterlife.”
The old woman’s face paled, and she said in a hoarse voice.
“Impossible, impossible. You’re lying. My son is about to become an official. We have someone above us. That person…”
Thirteen stepped forward, took out a rope, and wrapped it around the old woman’s neck. Gang Leader Yu’s mother struggled.
“We have someone behind us… That person…”
A moment later, she was on her way to the same place as her son and his wife.
* * *
Inside the Jin clan’s villa.
Xiao Bing was desperately trying to please Princess Ningyan, doing her best to win her favor. Sensing Ningyan’s desire for a child, she started talking about children. The child in her own belly was barely two months along, yet she described it so vividly, as if she had seen it herself. The tigress princess felt a brief pang of envy listening to Xiao Bing but quickly hid her expression, feigning indifference. Big Dummy sat in the reception hall for a while, but feeling stuffy, he went out into the garden and squatted down to watch ants, just as he used to. Before Shen Lang even reached the gate, Big Dummy heard his footsteps and excitedly ran out to greet him.
“Little Dummy, I’m here, I’m here! Little Dummy, I missed you so much. Master went to take care of some business and left me at the capital entrance, so I came to find you. Master found me a bride and told me to go on a blind date. What’s a blind date?”
Big Dummy repeated the same words again. As soon as Shen Lang heard his voice, he was overcome with joy and threw the door open, rushing inside. The next moment, Shen Lang was enveloped in Big Dummy’s embrace.
“Let go, let go of me. I can’t breathe. Let go. I think my bones are breaking!”
Shen Lang let out a wretched scream. Big Dummy’s strength had multiplied several times over, yet he still thought he was no different than before. When he hugged Shen Lang, it felt like every bone in his body was about to shatter. Big Dummy let him go and then looked at him again, smiling foolishly. Shen Lang looked up, even standing on his tiptoes.
‘Is it my imagination? Or did Big Dummy get taller?’
Indeed. Big Dummy had grown taller. He used to be two hundred and ten centimeters, but now he seemed to have surpassed Yao Ming, probably around two hundred and thirty centimeters. Moreover, he was even more robust than before, looking like an iron tower as he stood there. Shen Lang took a few steps back.
‘I can’t stand next to Big Dummy. I’ll look like a child. It might ruin the great image Xiao Bing and Ningyan have of me.’
Shen Lang asked.
“You said your master went to take care of some business. What kind of business?”
“He went to fight. And he said he’d find me a bride.”
“Who did he go to fight?”
“Some ‘Snowy Mountain Crone’?”
Huang Feng, who had been ignoring Shen Lang's actions and conversations with the thought that it had nothing to do with her, was startled upon hearing that name.
‘Why would your master want to fight my master?’
“Huang Feng, didn’t you say your master was the Snowy Mountain Crone?”
Huang Feng nodded.
“Who is this big dummy’s master?”
“Grandmaster Zhong Chuke.”
“Ah, that explains it.”
Shen Lang asked Big Dummy.
“Do you know who this bride your master found is?”
“I don’t know. Master said she’s a closed-door disciple of Xue Yin. I wonder if she also has to close the door for her master when he sleeps?”
Grandmaster Xue Yin! Shen Lang had heard the name. He was one of the six grandmasters of martial arts, his name ranked alongside Zhong Chuke, Li Qianqiu, and Yan Nanfei. The Snowy Mountain Crone was a supreme expert on the verge of becoming a grandmaster, but for some reason, the Ends of the Earth Sea Pavilion only bestowed the martial benchmark upon the six grandmasters of the State of Yue. The martial arts of this world were not divided into grades. There were no ranks like Warrior, Great Warrior, or Martial Master.
The entire State of Yue had a quota of six grandmasters. What if someone wanted to ascend to the rank of grandmaster? It was simple. They just had to fight and defeat one of them to take their place. That was why the Snowy Mountain Crone had been crazily challenging the six grandmasters. She had been challenging them for seven or eight years now, but she had lost every time. As if trying to pick the easiest target, she believed Zhong Chuke’s martial arts were the weakest among the grandmasters and had already challenged him three times. Zhong Chuke was extremely annoyed.