Chapter 54
Chapter 54
Shen Lang returned with every carriage laden with riches. The Count’s emotions were in turmoil as he looked upon the gold coins, jewels, and antiques.
‘Was I truly wrong? Was treating people with generosity just a way to foster ingrates? Was I a foolish lord? If not for Shen Lang, I can’t imagine how long a great parasite like Heo Munso would have continued to run rampant. It’s sickening to think how much more of the people’s blood and sweat he would have stolen.
I’ve gained a fine son-in-law, a fine one indeed! Thanks to an outstanding son-in-law like Shen Lang, the estate has not only recovered a great loss but can also weather the impending financial crisis.’
The Count looked at Shen Lang, a thousand words welling up inside him, but he held back his thanks, feeling it would create too much distance. Shen Lang was no longer an outsider; he was family. Instead, the Count fixed Heo Munso with an icy gaze and spoke, each word sharp and clear.
“Heo Munso, do you have anything left to say?”
Heo Munso trembled, scrambling to his knees and crawling forward to clutch the Count’s legs.
“My lord, I must have been possessed until now. It is all my fault. Please, do not let your anger harm your health.”
The Count kicked him away fiercely, his voice filled with rage.
“Stop your act. I was blind. To think I trusted and relied on a man like you all this time. I never imagined a human heart could be so wicked.”
Heo Munso crawled back on his knees and clutched the Count’s legs again, wailing.
“My lord, please spare me. For the sake of the previous master, for the sake of the Countess, for the sake of my decades of loyal service, please spare my worthless life.”
His heart completely hardened, the Count kicked him away again with all his might. Heo Munso crawled on his knees toward Shen Lang, desperately slamming his forehead against the floor as he sobbed and begged.
“Young Master, I, Heo Munso, was blind. I had eyes but failed to recognize a man of your stature and committed a mortal sin. I was utterly foolish, an ungrateful wretch. Please, in consideration of my age, spare my wretched life. I beg you, please.
Young Master, if you spare my life, I will serve you with all my might, like a horse or an ox. I will gladly live like a dog or a pig for you!”
Shen Lang spoke calmly from the side.
“Father-in-law, Heo Munso must die!”
Everyone present was stunned by Shen Lang’s words. Heo Munso, still clinging to Shen Lang’s leg, froze. It was rare for the Count to have someone killed, especially an old retainer like Heo Munso. Even for someone who had embezzled so much gold, the most severe punishment would typically be confiscation of property and exile to a desolate countryside to live out his days. Yet Shen Lang had directly told the Count that he must be killed.
The old steward Lin spoke up.
“Young Master, Heo Munso is not a slave of our estate, but an employee. We do not have the authority to kill him. At most, we can hand him over to the City Lord’s manor.”
This was one of the State of Yue’s new policies. No noble had the right to interfere in civil administration. They had the right to dispose of their own slaves, but they could neither judge nor execute an official under the state’s jurisdiction.
“Heo Munso not only embezzled a vast sum of gold but also colluded with our external enemies. If we hand him over to the City Lord’s manor, he will be running free in a few days and will escape to a place beyond the reach of the Count of Xuanwu’s Estate.”
Upon hearing this, Heo Munso’s heart pounded with fear.
‘Damn you. You pale-faced bastard, I begged you like a dog, and still you won’t let go?’
He couldn’t help but say in a hoarse voice, “Shen Lang, don’t you dare slander me.”
“You embezzled nearly thirty thousand gold coins in total, but there were only eleven thousand in your secret vault. Even accounting for the numerous properties and mansions you bought, and the exceedingly extravagant lifestyle of your family, that would only amount to about five thousand gold coins. Bribing the men under Steward Zhang would have cost two thousand at most. So where did the remaining ten thousand gold coins go?”
Hearing this, the Count’s eyes twitched.
“If I’m not mistaken, you gave all that gold to the City Lord’s manor and the Prefect’s manor. And seeing as your two sons are not in Xuanwu City, they’ve likely gone to the capital. If my guess is correct, their names will be on the list for the next military examination… Am I wrong?”
Shen Lang said coolly, “Heo Munso, you not only embezzled the estate’s money, but you also betrayed the kindness shown to you by colluding with outsiders and conspiring with our enemies. You intended to work with them from the inside to oppose the Count of Xuanwu’s Estate. Your crime is not merely embezzlement; it is outright betrayal of the estate.”
“You have no proof. Don’t try to frame me.”
Shen Lang quickly retrieved the secret ledger from the vault and threw it in Heo Munso’s face, shouting, “Open your eyes and look! You wrote down every detail of the gold you used for bribes yourself.”
The Count took the ledger and saw that it clearly detailed every bribe paid. Although the names were not written out, instead labeled as Number One, Number Two, and Number Three, anyone could easily guess which factions they represented.
“Heo Munso, why? Did I ever wrong you?”
With the clear evidence before him, Heo Munso knew there was no point in denying it further. A sense of defiance rose within him. He straightened his back and said coldly, “You may have forgotten, my lord Count, but I have not. Three years ago, I recommended my second son for the position of Centurion in the estate’s private army, and you refused.”
The Count replied, “I gave him a chance. But he failed the martial exam and the literary exam. How could I appoint him as a Centurion? The estate’s private army is the foundation of my Jin Clan’s hundred-year legacy. How could I compromise its integrity? Even my own nephew wanted to join the private army, and I refused him. No one without ability may enter.”
“I served you loyally for over twenty years, yet you wouldn’t even help secure my son’s future. Is that not heartless? Besides, with the King’s new policies, the Count of Xuanwu’s Estate is a sinking ship. Why should I go down with you? Am I not allowed to seek my own path to survival?”
The Count questioned him.
“And the path you sought was to betray my Jin Clan?”
“One must not be bound by trivialities when pursuing great things.”
The Count drew his greatsword with a sharp clang.
“I will kill you…”
Heo Munso laughed.
“My lord Count, you cannot kill me. The gold I offered was not just for my son’s future, but also for a day like today. I am your employee, not a slave of the Jin Clan. Whatever crime I have committed, you have no right to punish me, much less kill me. To do so would be to interfere in local civil affairs, a violation of the kingdom’s law. Moreover, I hold an official rank in the State of Yue.”
Old Steward Lin rushed to hold the Count back.
“My lord, you must not kill him. If you kill Heo Munso here, you will be giving our enemies an opportunity. Remember how the Count of Donghai died at the hands of Zhang Chong.”
Just then, Shen Lang spoke.
“Father-in-law, this scoundrel must die, but not now, and not here.”
A moment ago, he had personally killed Heo Jian, burned the body, and scattered the ashes at sea, ensuring no one would ever know. But now, Heo Munso was in the estate, with countless eyes watching. If the Count killed him, it would be a direct defiance of the new policies, and a royal decree of censure would arrive within days. Realizing this, Heo Munso suddenly grew bold.
“My lord Count, you value rules above all else. The only thing you can do is transfer me to the City Lord’s manor or the Prefect’s manor, hand over the evidence of my embezzlement, and let them judge me.”
It was obvious what would happen if he were handed over to the Prefect. They would find a look-alike to execute, and Heo Munso would continue to live freely.
“No one in the Count of Xuanwu’s Estate can kill me. To do so would be to break the law of the kingdom.”
Shen Lang smiled enigmatically.
“No, we can kill you, Heo Munso, without breaking any laws at all.”
“In your dreams. The Prefect’s manor, and even the Governor’s manor, are all watching the estate, just waiting for you to make a mistake. If I die in this estate, men from the Governor’s manor will be here to investigate within two days.”
“Heo Munso, after all that has happened, you still don’t believe my words. We really can kill you.”
Heo Munso sneered.
“Stop talking nonsense.”
Shen Lang then turned his head and said to someone, “Elder, it is time for you to enforce your family’s discipline.”
Several figures walked in. The moment Heo Munso saw them, all the color drained from his face, and he nearly wet himself. It was the patriarch of the Heo clan, along with three elders and several strong men from the clan.
Shen Lang walked over to Heo Munso, crouched down, and, with a smile, spoke to him.
“Heo Munso, you’re right. The estate cannot kill you. But the Heo clan, according to their own laws, can have you beaten to death!”
The old patriarch of the Heo clan bowed to the Count.
“The Heo clan has relied on the estate for generations, yet I never imagined our family would produce such an unruly and ungrateful wretch. This is a failure of our clan’s discipline. I apologize to you, my lord Count.”
With that, the old patriarch immediately knelt.
“Please, don’t do this!”
The Count hurried to help the Heo clan patriarch to his feet. The old man said in a cold voice, “Men, drag this scoundrel Heo Munso to the Heo clan’s ancestral shrine and beat him to death!”
“On what grounds? I embezzled the estate’s money, but I did not violate any clan laws. Even the Heo clan has no right to kill me in the ancestral shrine.”
At this, Shen Lang, who had been crouching before him, dusted off his pants and stood up.
“Heo Munso, the crime you’ll die for isn’t embezzlement, but for seducing and committing adultery with your aunt-in-law!”
Hearing this, Heo Munso was completely dumbfounded. How could Shen Lang know about something so secret? Heo Munso's aunt-in-law was an elegant woman, only in her thirties.
“Heo Munso, you have problems with your finances and your conduct. You have completely betrayed the expectations your clan had for you. But I seem to have underestimated you. For a man of your age, a numbers man at that, to still have the vigor for nightly escapades and to seduce a pretty young woman…”
Why couldn’t he? With money, one could command ghosts. With money, one could touch the vital parts below a woman’s waist. With money, one could open not just a woman’s lower garments, but her upper ones as well. The key was who had the most money, and Heo Munso had plenty. That was how he had managed his affair with the woman.
Heo Munso was filled with resentment and roared, “That cheap bitch betrayed me. Isn’t she afraid of being beaten to death on the street!”
“When I offered her a little money to divorce her useless husband and move far away, of course she was willing to talk.”
The Heo clan patriarch commanded, “Drag this scoundrel away.”
“My lord Count, spare me! I will tell you about the bribes I paid to the City Lord, the Prefect, and even someone close to the Governor! It will implicate them all! Your enemies who are targeting the estate will suffer a great blow.”
The Count’s expression flickered slightly. But Shen Lang shook his head.
“It’s useless. The City Lord’s manor wouldn’t have accepted his money directly. Zhang Jin would have had the Xu family receive the gold on his behalf, then launder it and send it to the Zhang family under the guise of a dowry. Besides, even if Heo Munso confesses to the bribes, who would we report it to? The Prefect? The Governor?”
In the current situation, they couldn’t get rid of Heo Munso by sending him to the Prefect for embezzlement, nor could they do so by sending him to the City Lord.
The Count sighed, deciding to put any thoughts of his punishment or fate out of his mind. Heo Munso was held fast and dragged away, seemingly wetting himself in the process.
“My lord Count, I’ll tell you a great secret! Young Master Shen Lang, Sir Shen Lang! I have money! I still have money hidden away… Ah! Sir Shen Lang, someone is plotting against you! Tian Heng is plotting against you!”
But his cries went unanswered.
Several hours later, inside the Heo clan’s ancestral shrine, Heo Munso was stripped bare, his withered, sagging body swaying in the wind. Before hundreds of onlookers, he was beaten to death