Chapter 334 The Disposal of Shen Yuanzhan!

Miao rolled her eyes and said sarcastically, "If it weren't for the fear of hindering Yuanpeng and Yuanhao's future, who would care about that illegitimate son?"

Shen Congli immediately rebuked Miao Shi with two sentences: "Yuanzhan is still my son. I can't ignore what happened to him."

Shen Lanxi looked around and asked, "Where is my father?"

The whole room fell silent.

Madam Shen said awkwardly, "Your father is still at court." She knew that even if she called her eldest son back, it would be useless.

The people in the other rooms had already figured it out.

"Lanxi, the women in the family need to find husbands, and the men need to take the imperial examinations. At this crucial juncture, we can't afford to have something like this happen!" Old Madam Shen said earnestly.

Shen Lanxi: "Shouldn't he be studying at this time? Why would he be out drinking and carousing?"

Shen Congli explained in a low voice, "It wasn't drinking at brothels, it was just having a few drinks with the students at a restaurant."

Shen Lanxi asked expressionlessly, "Who let him go out? I remember my father saying that none of the students are allowed to go out during the day."

Shen Congli was a little flustered: "Lanxi, now is not the time to worry about this. Let's think of a way to rescue Yuanzhan first. Dali Temple is not a good place to stay."

Shen Lanxi's face turned cold: "He refuses to walk the path to success, insisting on venturing into the gates of hell. He has brought this upon himself, and he deserves to die!"

When Shen Congli heard her say that, he was immediately terrified. Just as he was about to continue pleading for her, a servant rushed in to report.

"Madam, Master, something terrible has happened! That woman has committed suicide by running into a pillar in the courtroom!"

Shen Lanxi gave a silent, cold laugh.

Shen Congli originally intended to minimize the problem and resolve it by using money.

Unexpectedly, the woman actually ran into a pillar at Dali Temple, which was no small matter.

"Lanxi, you must think of a way to save Yuanzhan!" Shen Congli now regretted listening to his concubine's urging.

Shen Lanxi knew this wasn't over, and calmly said, "Just wait and see!"

What are we waiting for?

The members of the Shen family looked at each other in bewilderment.

Before long, the Dali Temple came to call for help.

When the Shen family arrived at the Dali Temple, many students and commoners were already waiting outside, shouting for severe punishment of the murderer and that Shen Lanxi was unworthy to be the chief examiner for all the students in the world.

The Shen family members seemed to understand what Shen Lanxi meant by what she had just said.

It was just a drunken harassment of a commoner girl, how did it escalate to the imperial court?

The Shen family members, who had initially been somewhat confident, were now filled with fear.

Why does it always feel like exile is just around the corner whenever something goes wrong?

~

"Lord Shen..."

"Lord Wei..."

After the officials exchanged pleasantries, Wei Jie took the lead in emphasizing the seriousness of the matter.

"It wouldn't be a problem if it came from another family, but it's the examiner's family, so this is going to be difficult!"

Shen Lanxi nodded, thanking Wei Jie for the reminder.

"Grandmother, Lord Wei told me that this matter is difficult to handle!"

Madam Shen was already flustered, and now she was even more at a loss. She held Shen Lanxi's hand and kept asking for advice.

"Lanxi, what should we do?"

Shen Lanxi: "This is a big matter, I can't make the decision on my own. We need to wait for my father to arrive before we discuss it."

Shen Congwen couldn't come; he was impeached.

The news that Shen Yuanzhan had harassed a commoner woman, causing her to commit suicide by hitting her head against a pillar, was immediately delivered to Emperor Renxiao's desk.

Immediately following this was a joint attack on the Shen family by the entire court of scholars.

Sharp tongues, like swords, pierced Shen Congwen's body.

"Your Majesty, Shen Congwen, as the head of the Shen family, has failed to properly educate his nephew."

"The Shen family, relying on Shen Lanxi's position as chief examiner, formed cliques, acted recklessly, and committed all sorts of evil deeds!"

"The Shen family bullies men and oppresses women; they are unworthy to be court officials!"

“They must be severely punished, or we will kneel here forever…”

Emperor Renxiao feigned distress, frowning and looking reproachfully at Shen Congwen, even throwing a memorial at him.

"Shen Congwen, you can't even manage your own household, how can you possibly govern the Ministry of Revenue?"

Shen Congwen's face had long since turned ashen, and he was so frightened that he knelt on the ground, trembling uncontrollably. What he regretted most at this moment was why he was so healthy and couldn't faint.

Emperor Renxiao's angry rant appeased the civil officials, and after having Shen Congwen carried to the Dali Temple, he mentioned the old Grand Tutor in court.

"Your Majesty, the Grand Tutor has devoted himself to the cause of the imperial examinations and has already fainted twice from exhaustion."

Emperor Renxiao immediately dispatched his imperial physicians to bestow upon the emperor precious medicinal herbs and tonics.

The civil officials were getting restless again. If the Shen family wasn't handled properly this time, the position of chief examiner might have to be replaced.

...

Shen Congwen was carried to the Dali Temple by the Imperial Guards; the emperor's attitude was self-evident.

"Father, what should we do about Yuanzhan's matter?"

Shen Congwen was still feeling a chill run down his spine and couldn't get up.

"Lanxi, you decide what to do!"

As long as it's done by his daughter, even if His Majesty is not satisfied, he won't say anything.

“Father, if I were to handle this, you certainly wouldn’t be satisfied with the outcome.”

Shen Congwen was too exhausted to care about anything else. He closed his eyes, waved his hand, and let Shen Lanxi handle it.

When Wei Jie saw Shen Lanxi coming over, he knew that they had already discussed it.

"Lord Shen, this matter demands an explanation from all the scholars in the land!"

Shen Lanxi's gaze turned cold: "The fault lies with Shen Yuanzhan, but that woman was not killed by Shen Yuanzhan himself. Does anyone have any objections to this?"

The room was filled with shaken heads, no one objected.

They saw the woman run into the pillar. Shen Yuanzhan did not do anything rash, nor did he threaten revenge.

"Although Shen Yuanzhan did not kill the woman with his own hands, it was still an indirect killing. Does anyone have any objections?"

There was no objection from the audience once again.

"The Shen family failed to discipline their children properly, resulting in their sons committing crimes. Does the Shen family accept this?"

Madam Shen looked at her eldest son with a bitter expression. Her eldest son had his eyes closed, and it was unclear whether he was awake or unconscious.

He then turned to look at his third son, who was completely disoriented and trembling with fear.

His Majesty is aware of this. Anyone who dares to plead for leniency will not only not be given a lenient sentence, but will also be severely punished!

Shen Lanxi raised her voice: "If someone dares to harass a woman in the Zhenbei Army, what should be the punishment?"

Che Mingyuan also shouted loudly: "Castration, that woman can be the one to carry it out!"

Shen Lanxi nodded in satisfaction.

The Shen family was terrified, and the others were shocked.

How did it come down to castration?

"Lanxi, no! Castration is worse than death!" Shen Congli screamed in terror.

Shen Lanxi turned to look at Wei Jie.

The latter slammed his gavel and said authoritatively, "Lord Shen is referring to the military law of the Zhenbei Army. Shen Yuanzhan is not a member of the Zhenbei Army, so the sentencing must be in accordance with the Dali Temple and the Ministry of Justice!"

Upon hearing this, Shen Congli burst into tears and knelt on the ground.

"My lord, I beg the Dali Temple and the Ministry of Justice to make a judgment, not the judgment of the Zhenbei Army. My son is not a member of the Zhenbei Army; he is just a commoner."

Wei Jie looked at the sobbing Shen Congli, then at the unfazed Shen Lanxi: "For harassing a woman and causing her to commit suicide out of shame, you should be sentenced to exile and given thirty strokes of the cane!"