Chapter 102 Meng Huaiyan Knows the Truth That Shen Tang Is Not Dead

Chapter 102 Meng Huaiyan Knows the Truth That Shen Tang Isn't Dead

After extorting thirty taels of silver from Boss Zhou, Zhao Ergou spent all the money in a decadent lifestyle for half a month, indulging in drinking, gambling, and whoring.

He committed several more petty thefts, but the money he received was pitifully little.

Zhao Ergou was in a bad mood and was thinking about where to pull off a big heist when he suddenly thought of Boss Shen.

Because Mr. Shen's pastry shop was doing so well, he stole a lot of business from Mr. Zhou, which made Mr. Zhou jealous and resentful, and he went to cause trouble for Mr. Shen.

Zhao Ergou could stay away from her, but the moment he did, he couldn't help but think of how she, a woman, had humiliated him last time, and he would grit his teeth in anger.

The pastry shop owned by Mr. Shen is doing so well; he must have made a lot of money. He heard from his younger brother that Mr. Shen has no men in his family and a daughter who is not even five years old.

If he kidnaps her daughter and uses her daughter to threaten her, she'll have no choice but to hand over the money obediently. Then, after a few more verbal threats, they probably won't dare to report it to the authorities.

Zhao Ergou thought about it more and more and felt that this method was feasible, so he ordered two of his henchmen to squat at the school gate and wait for an opportunity to tie the man up.

But after squatting for two or three days, there was still no sign of the child.

I secretly inquired and found out that Mr. Shen had actually arranged for his child to take a leave of absence from school more than half a month ago.

Upon further inquiry, it was discovered that besides the child, there was also a female guard who had been protecting him closely throughout the day.

Good heavens, so this was something they had been guarding against from the start!

Zhao Ergou was so angry that he was blowing his beard and glaring, unable to suppress the anger in his heart no matter what he did.

They dared to treat him like that, he was determined to teach them a lesson.

After spending several days staking out their routines, Zhao Ergou and his group quietly scaled the wall and sneaked into the courtyard where Shen Tang lived on a dark and windy night.

Since having a child, Shen Tang's sleep has become much lighter; sometimes, even a simple turn over or a cough can wake her up.

That day, while she and Manman were fast asleep, she suddenly heard a faint rustling sound coming from the courtyard.

Shen Tang listened intently for a while, and then the sound disappeared. Just when she thought it was the sound of the wind, the sound suddenly reappeared.

And it was even clearer than before, like the sound of human footsteps.

Shen Tang's heart jumped. She quietly got up, opened the bedroom window a crack, and looked out.

Three furtive figures were lurking in the courtyard. Chen Tang was terrified and quickly shouted, "Xiang Ling!"

Zhao Ergou hadn't expected this wretched woman to be so alert. He bent down and cursed a few times before rushing toward Shen Tang's bedroom with his knife in hand.

Xiang Ling lived a little behind Shen Tang's bedroom. Upon hearing Shen Tang's shout, she immediately opened her eyes, grabbed her sword, and ran quickly toward Shen Tang's location.

Shen Tang's bedroom was locked from the inside. Zhao Ergou failed to kick the door open with his first kick, and just as he was about to kick it a second time, a sword gleaming with cold light came straight at his neck.

Zhao Ergou was startled and quickly dodged, but the sword still slashed his neck. He touched it and found his hand covered in blood.

Zhao Ergou's eyes were sinister as he grabbed a knife and slashed at Xiang Ling, yelling, "You bitch, prepare to die!"

The swords clashed, instantly producing a series of ear-piercing clangs. Shen Tang, watching this scene from inside the house, turned pale with fright.

Manman was also startled awake by this action and started crying in fear.

Shen Tang quickly stepped forward and hugged Manman in her arms, whispering to comfort her, "Manman, don't be afraid, don't be afraid, your mother is here."

Zhao Ergou had been around the streets for a long time, and his martial arts skills were already quite good. He was evenly matched with Xiang Ling.

Upon seeing this, the younger brother immediately joined the fight. With two people against one, Xiang Ling began to struggle.

The second brother continued to kick the door to Shen Tang's bedroom. When A Yun saw this scene in the courtyard, she turned pale with fright, seeing that the man was still kicking the door desperately.

Despite her fear, Ayun grabbed a brick from the corner of the wall and smashed it hard against his head.

The younger brother was kicking the door so hard that he didn't notice A-Yun approaching. The brick hit him and made him dizzy. When he came to his senses, he raised his knife with a fierce look in his eyes and slashed at A-Yun.

Ayun was so frightened that her legs went weak and she fell to the ground with a thud.

The cold glint of the blade came straight for A-Yun's face. At that critical moment, someone suddenly appeared and deflected the blade aimed at her with a sword.

Lu Zhao used his sword to deflect the knife from the man's hand, then swiftly swung his sword and stabbed the man in the leg. The second brother's leg was pierced with a large hole, and blood gushed out instantly. He lay on the ground clutching his leg, howling in pain.

With Lu Zhao's help, Zhao Ergou and his henchmen were ultimately no match for them and were subdued by Lu Zhao and Xiang Ling.

The commotion in Shen Tang's courtyard was so loud that it woke up all the neighbors, who came over to see what was going on. When they saw Zhao Ergou and the other two tied up in the courtyard, they all started cursing angrily.

Seeing that the three of them had been subdued, Shen Tang carried Manman out of the room. Manman had been crying for a while and her eyes were still red. She was sobbing against Shen Tang.

Shen Tang was still shaken and said gratefully to Lu Zhao, "Brother Lu, thank you so much. Luckily you arrived in time."

Lu Zhao waved his hand and said, "This is my duty, no need to thank me."

With dawn approaching and no longer able to sleep, the group tidied up the messy courtyard.

Then, just as it was time for their shifts at the yamen, they tied up Zhao Ergou and the other two and took them to the yamen.

He Shizhang sat in the courtroom and, after listening to Shen Tang's accusations, slammed his gavel and roared at Zhao Ergou, "You lot are truly unrepentant! You have committed such a serious crime this time, and you should be severely punished!"

"Zhao Ergou and his gang broke into a private residence with knives, nearly causing a death. They disregard the laws of the Great Liang Dynasty. They are to be sentenced to fifty strokes of the cane and five years in prison. Guards, take them away!"

Upon hearing the verdict, Shen Tang was overjoyed: "Thank you, Prefect!"

Upon hearing the verdict, Zhao Ergou immediately began wailing and howling, "I don't accept it! I don't accept it!"

"Don't think I don't know the laws of Liang! How could you sentence me so severely? You have clearly abused your power and perverted the law. I'm going to appeal!"

A minor official came over to pull him away, but Zhao Ergou was angry and struggled so hard that the two officials could hardly hold him down.

"I heard that Lord Meng from the capital has come to our southern city. I want to see Lord Meng and beg him to uphold justice for me!"

Zhao Ergou shouted loudly, "Lord Meng! Lord Meng! I've been wronged!"

He Shizhang's ears were sore from the noise, and Meng Huaiyan was right behind him. Fearing that Zhao Ergou would disturb Meng Huaiyan's official business, he quickly ordered someone to gag Zhao Ergou.

When Shen Tang, who was kneeling on the ground, heard Zhao Ergou's words, her head went "buzz," and for a moment she seemed to be unable to hear any of the sounds around her.

Who...who did he just call?!

Lord Meng from the capital... Could this Lord Meng be Meng Huaiyan?! Why would he suddenly come here?!

Shen Tang's heart pounded like a drum, her face turned deathly pale, and she was instantly terrified and at a loss for what to do.

Just as she was about to get up and flee, a cold voice suddenly came from the hall: "What's all this commotion about?"

The moment that familiar voice came out, Shen Tang's heart, which had been clinging to a sliver of hope, sank to the bottom.

It really was him! What do we do?!

Seeing that he had still disturbed Meng Huaiyan, He Shizhang immediately became apprehensive and said, "Lord Meng, some criminals are dissatisfied with my judgment and have caused a disturbance. It is my fault that you have disturbed you, Lord Meng. Please forgive me."

"It's alright."

Meng Huaiyan glanced indifferently at the people below the hall, and was about to look away when his attention was suddenly drawn to a woman in green kneeling on the ground.

Meng Huaiyan's pupils contracted slightly. How could this person... look so much like Shen Tang!

Meng Huaiyan thought it was his imagination. Over the years, Shen Tang would always appear in front of him, but she would suddenly disappear when he was about to approach her.

Meng Huaiyan closed his eyes and then opened them again. The kneeling figure was still there; this time, it hadn't disappeared!

Meng Huaiyan's heart pounded violently at that moment. He couldn't contain himself and hurried down the steps. He stumbled and almost fell because of his excitement.

Even though it was only a dozen steps, Meng Huaiyan felt it was an extremely long distance.

Finally, he reached the woman and excitedly pulled her up.

The face he had longed for for five years suddenly appeared before him, and Meng Huaiyan's heart stopped; the air seemed to freeze in that instant.

Meng Huaiyan stared intently at her, and after what seemed like an eternity, he finally became certain that the person in front of him was indeed Shen Tang!

The person who had been dead for five years suddenly appeared alive and well right before his eyes.

Meng Huaiyan's eyes were bloodshot, and he unconsciously tightened his grip on Shen Tang's wrist, gritting his teeth as he spoke.

"Chen Tang, you lied to me!"

"You're still alive!"