Chapter 1174: Why Can't I Farm? (Part 2) [Requesting Monthly Tickets]

Shen Tang's proposal was somewhat ahead of its time for the simple and honest local people, leaving both families and the woman's family completely dumbfounded. The Li and Wang families exchanged glances and stammered, "But... how can a woman have two husbands? This is inappropriate!"

Hearing the two families say this, Shen Tang was surprised.

Are the customs of the Northwest Continent and the Central Continent really that different?

In the Northwest and Southwest regions, it's perfectly normal for daughters of high-ranking families to have close male friends before marriage, as long as they don't marry into wealth or status. It's not uncommon for women to marry twice or even to higher social classes. These marriages are for cooperation between the two families, not for the woman herself. Furthermore, in chaotic times, where the future was uncertain, there weren't many such strict rules. Why is it different here?

Shen Tang decided to reason with the Li and Wang families.

What does "one woman, two husbands" mean?

The head of the Li family was bewildered by the question, but he remained calm and only asked, "Didn't you just say that each family would be taking in a son-in-law?"

Could it be that I've misunderstood?

Shen Tang said, "That's right, each family takes in a son-in-law, but how does that mean one woman has two husbands? Let me ask you two, this body belongs to your Wang family, right? And the soul belongs to your Li family, right? These are clearly two daughters, two women! Isn't it perfectly reasonable for two women to marry two husbands?"

Find a son-in-law for the soul of the Li family girl.

Find a son-in-law for the physical body of the Wang family's daughter.

Wouldn't this be a win-win situation for everyone?

The parents of both families: "..."

That makes some sense. If they deny that there are two women, their motive for fighting over their daughters won't hold water.

The head of the Li family, appearing honest and not daring to confront Shen Tang directly, said in a low voice, "This... it's not wrong for two women to have two husbands, but my daughter now... she only has one physical body..."

Shen Tang: "This doesn't affect the fact that both families only have one son-in-law."

The head of the Li family: "..."

He somewhat regretted coming to file a lawsuit.

Shen Tang rubbed his temples: "If neither of your families agrees to my suggestion, I have another way. Since the body belongs to the Wang family, then return it to the Wang family; and since the soul belongs to the Li family, then return it to the Li family. Is this arrangement acceptable? Your daughter's situation is too special; it would be unfair to award the sentence to either family."

The Wang family could no longer sit still: "How can this be returned?"

Shen Tang laughed and said, "Why not? The words of the literary scholars are ever-changing and can do anything. It just depends on whether your two families are willing. But let me make this clear first: a body without a soul is no different from a corpse, and a soul without a place to belong is a lonely soul."

The parents of both families had no choice but to agree.

The woman opened her mouth to say something, but was silenced by a glare from Shen Tang. She lowered her head abruptly, swallowing the words that were stuck in her throat. Seeing that the two families had reached an agreement, Shen Tang decisively delivered the verdict.

With the matter resolved, both families prepared to return and search for a suitable son-in-law. Shen Tang sent a message to the head of the Li family.

The head of the Wang family hadn't left yet when he saw this and glared angrily.

He retorted indignantly, "So, you really were in cahoots!"

That was clearly his daughter's body, so why should half of it be given to the Li family? The judgment itself was flawed. If it weren't for the corrupt official threatening to divide his daughter in two for it to be fair, he would never have agreed!

To prove their innocence, the Li family asked the other party to watch it together.

After reading the contents, both companies fell silent.

The note didn't contain the treacherous intentions the Wang family patriarchs suspected. Instead, it reminded the Li family patriarchs that while the physical body wasn't their daughter's, the soul was. It urged him not to arrange for a son-in-law with someone too close to him just to strengthen their blood ties. Otherwise, ethical and moral issues would arise, and a lawsuit between the two families would only cause trouble for the authorities. She was giving him a heads-up to avoid future disputes.

A very humane suggestion.

The head of the Wang family snorted, "That makes sense."

He absolutely could not allow his daughter to suffer any injustice.

The head of the Li family had a grim face.

He angrily retorted, "Am I that kind of person?"

Even if Shen Tang hadn't brought it up, he wasn't planning to do it.

Seeing that they had wronged someone, and unable to bring themselves to apologize, the head of the Wang family stormed off, secretly plotting what kind of son-in-law to find for their daughter, one who would definitely outshine the Li family! When the two families were heading home, they encountered another problem—who would their daughter go with?

The girl saw that the two families were about to start arguing again.

She said softly, "Why don't you stay at the government office for now, daughter?"

The parents of both families: "..."

Xiahou Yu was somewhat puzzled by Shen Tang's judgment: "My lord, the Ox-Head and Horse-Face demons mistakenly took the wrong soul, causing the aggrieved party to be resurrected through another's corpse. It sounds like a folk tale. There must be something more to this... Why didn't you let me use my power of words to make that woman speak the truth?"

Detecting lies with words isn't that difficult.

Xiahou Yuwen has recovered and is able to do it.

Shen Tang asked, "Why expose me?"

Xiahou Yu knew immediately that his lord was also aware of something fishy, ​​and he became even more suspicious: "In that case, wouldn't this be a miscarriage of justice?"

"Did Zikuan notice that this woman's testimony in court was exactly the same as the one on the complaint? Even if it's something you've personally experienced, there will be subtle differences between two descriptions. But this woman did it perfectly, a one-to-one replica, without changing the time and place. What does this mean? It means that this scam was meticulously planned, that one of the two parties is not innocent, or that both parties are innocent, and that this woman has her own agenda."

Xiahou Yu frowned: "Is the Wang family faking it?"

She deceived the Li family by claiming to be their daughter, intending to seize their property.

Shen Tang shook her head: "That's not necessarily true."

The real answer will be revealed soon.

No sooner had he finished speaking than a yamen runner announced that the two families were still arguing over the lady's whereabouts, so they decided to let her stay at the government office. The local economy was poor, and the government office relied on donations from wealthy local families, so letting someone stay for a few days was manageable. Shen Tang said, "And here she is?"

The queen waited anxiously.

Xiahou Yu entered first, and she curtsied in greeting.

He ignored Shen Tang, who was standing next to Xiahou Yu.

It wasn't that she didn't recognize Shen Tang, the judge, after turning around; rather, the official who took office this time was rather strange, seemingly suffering from a peculiar illness, and could only entrust certain matters to his trusted confidants. Unexpectedly, the person sitting at the head of the table was still that bald maid.

Looking at Xiahou Yu's seating arrangement, the Queen was somewhat confused.

Shen Tang leaned against the armchair and said in a deep voice, "There are no outsiders here. Can the Lady speak a few words of truth?"

Xiahou Yu drank his tea as if no one else was around.

Despite her remarkably composed demeanor, she paled in comparison to the bald maidservant at the head of the table, who seemed more like a decision-maker in a superior position. The queen pondered these questions for a moment, then, without dwelling on them, she knelt down, her forehead touching the ground.

He adopted a posture of apologizing.

“This woman and the elder sister of the Li family are very close friends.”

Shen Tang nodded: "Go on."

The queen carefully observed Shen Tang and Xiahou Yu's expressions. Seeing that neither of them showed any sign of anger, she breathed a sigh of relief and began to recount the truth. Just as Shen Tang and Xiahou Yu had predicted, there was no resurrection from beginning to end.

This is just a lie.

"Were your parents aware of the situation?"

The queen shook her head: "They don't know."

This whole farce was her idea.

This would eliminate any suspicion that the Wang family conspired to seize the Li family's property. Shen Tang, recalling her own reminder to the Li family patriarch, shook her head inwardly, realizing she had gone to unnecessary lengths. Xiahou Yu asked curiously, "If that's the case, why did you impersonate the Li family's matriarch?"

The queen looked rather troubled.

Shen Tang said, "Go on."

The queen had no choice but to continue explaining.

Her motives were not complicated.

Both women were only daughters of wealthy local families, and they were born on the same day, month, and year—a remarkable coincidence. The two daughters met by chance and instantly felt a connection, becoming inseparable. In this world, they were considered relatively lucky women, as their parents had only one daughter. However, they were also somewhat unlucky, as they had no brothers.

Having no brothers meant that after her parents came of age and married, their property would be taken over by relatives. If the elderly couple were in poor health, they might even be forced to die of illness. The eldest sister, surnamed Li, was the first to be engaged, but her parents were also in poor health and their situation was not optimistic.

Their relatives put pressure on them.

Alternatively, they could adopt one of their children as a son.

Alternatively, they could let the child marry their daughter.

Either way, they're going to eat up their ill-gotten gains.

Of course, they still put on a good show, outwardly appearing to be wholeheartedly good to the head of the Li family and admiring the eldest sister of the Li family, as if they were the most devoted lovers in the world. After this matter had been going on for more than half a year, the head of the Li family was finally moved and showed some willingness to agree.

Perhaps believing victory was assured, the man began to evade the issue, and coincidentally, Li's elder sister overheard the truth. She then told the Queen of the Wang family about it, who was greatly alarmed. While worried about her good friend, she also began to worry about her own future.

They went out to burn incense together at the beginning of the year, and both of them caught a cold.

Li's elder sister was troubled and physically weak, and she couldn't make it through.

She was lucky; even lying in her coffin from her serious illness, she miraculously recovered. When she awoke, she received the devastating news from her elder sister, Li, and remembering how Li had visited her despite her illness, she was overcome with grief. Thinking of Li's concern for her parents in their old age, a bold idea sprouted in her mind: she would lie and say that Li's spirit had possessed her. She regretted it afterward, but it was too late; both sets of parents believed her, and the matter dragged on in court for over half a year.

Xiahou Yu found it unbelievable.

He asked, "Just because of this?"

Lady Wang said, "That's called being righteous!"

If she hadn't claimed to be the reincarnation of Li's elder sister, Li's parents would have had to adopt that heartless scoundrel long ago. Perhaps Li's parents would have been murdered in a few years. How could Li's elder sister, who was seriously ill and still worried about her parents, have passed away peacefully? She told this lie to at least delay things a little longer.

Shen Tang rubbed her temples. She knew there weren't that many conspiracy theories behind this, but she never expected it to be just a "prank" played by Lady Wang on a whim.

"If I hadn't ruled this way, how do you intend to handle the situation?"

Lady Wang said, "I once read a story about the power of words, and that's how the officials ruled: each family should take one son-in-law. Even if you didn't rule that way, I'll let you see it later. Isn't that... a precedent?"

There are no precedents in reality, but there are incantations.

"...The author of Word Magic is from the same clan as you, right?"

Lady Wang lowered her head and twisted her fingers.

Shen Tang: "..."

Somewhat clever, but not much.

This is a perfect example of a naughty child causing trouble.

She said, "You've read stories about the power of words, so you should know that the power of words of the literati can make people tell the truth, right? Haven't you thought about what would happen if I didn't cover for you, and you confessed to setting up such a deception in the main hall right now?"

The Queen Consort's face turned deathly pale instantly.

After scaring the other party, Shen Tang still wanted to affirm their statement.

"You do know how to use someone else's strength against them."

If only one family is taking in a son-in-law, the daughter's family line could easily be eroded and she could die out. However, if both families are taking in sons-in-law, there's a system of checks and balances, which is actually the most advantageous situation. Both families consider their daughters their own; who would allow their daughter to be taken advantage of in another family?

This measure would ensure the Li couple's peaceful old age and, more importantly, the smooth life of Lady Wang in her later years. Anyone who wanted to exploit the two families would have to ask the other family's permission first. That being said, the possibility that Lady Wang coveted the Li family cannot be ruled out.

A fake is still a fake.

When faced with this question, Lady Wang stammered.

Shen Tang had little patience: "You refuse to confess?"

Lady Wang said, "I was planning to talk to Father and Mother Li about this body. I have no blood relation to them. If we are to find a son-in-law, we should try to find someone who is related to them. That way, the children we have will be closer to them."

She was relatively late in getting engaged.

Seeing what happened to the older sister of the Li family, she also worried about her own future.

She did have some selfish motives, using this incident to impersonate the other person and have their parents protect her, but her desire to take on the filial duties of the Li family's elder sister in place of her parents was genuine. She also wanted to care for the elderly couple and see them off in their final days, on behalf of the Li family's elder sister.

"Somewhat reckless, but also commendable in its courage."

In the relatively conservative Qi Kingdom, it was truly rare to find such a thoughtful young woman. Shen Tang lowered her eyes, pondering what benefits this matter could bring her, while the Queen Wang below was filled with unease: "You...won't expose me, will you?"

Shen Tang countered, "Are you prepared to be honest?"

The Queen of the Wang family lowered her head and said, "This humble woman does not know."

She feared things would get out of hand if she confessed.

"The verdict has already been handed down, and the government has no say in this matter. What you do is up to you. However, I prefer honesty."

Lady Wang hesitated for a few moments.

"Could you please give me some time?"

She wanted to find the right time.

Shen Tang thought for a moment and said, "Whatever you say."

Lady Wang was assigned to a side room in the guest courtyard of the government office.

Xiahou Yu said, "Your Majesty, is there no need to inform the Li family?"

Shen Tang laughed and said, "How do you know they don't know?"

Wang's parents were kept in the dark, but the Li couple might have known the truth. After all, she was their own daughter; even if Lady Wang and Lady Li had a close relationship and no secrets from each other, it would be difficult for them to know everything. The couple might have simply gone along with it.

Xiahou Yu: "..."

Shen Tang smiled and said, "Keep their secret for them. They owe us a favor, and they'll have to repay it double later."

Both families are wealthy locals and can provide a lot of convenience.

Shen Tang's branch in Qiguo also needs angel investment.

These two families are both quite angelic in appearance.

After the yamen runners reported the reaction of the Li family patriarch upon receiving the note, Shen Tang became even more certain of his guess. That very evening, the Li family sent over a generous gift, ostensibly to thank the government for taking care of their daughter, and to express their gratitude for the trouble their daughter had caused during her stay.

Shen Tang accepted it generously.

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