Chapter 309: Take this! I'll silence you! [Seeking monthly votes]

A stream of literary energy entered the old woman Zhu's brow and mouth, eventually converging into an extremely exquisite and mysterious pattern.

Gu Chi said, "My lord, that's enough."

The common people below all held their breath and watched.

In the small town of Heyin, ordinary people rarely see scholars or warriors throughout the year, let alone witness them fight at close range. For a moment, they all craned their necks in curiosity—can the power of words really make people tell the truth?

Shen Tang seemed to have guessed what the common people were thinking, and asked with a smile, "Wang Chao, can your Word Power really make her speak the truth?"

Gu Chi responded in perfect harmony.

“Reporting to my lord, the power of words is not absolute. If one encounters someone with a clear mind and firm will, or whose cultivation level far surpasses mine, even with the power of words, one can still lie. However—” Gu Chi paused deliberately after speaking, glancing contemptuously at an elderly couple below him, one with a pale face and the other with a terrified expression, and said, “These two are clearly not among them.”

Shen Tang became interested upon hearing this.

"Then I'll give it a try."

Shen Tang looked at the old woman, Zhu.

Get ready to warm up.

The first question is: "How old are you, ma'am?"

The old woman, surnamed Zhu, tried to purse her lips, but was horrified to find that her lips were opening and closing uncontrollably, and she heard her own respectful voice in her ear: "This old woman is forty-eight years old this year."

Shen Tang started causing trouble with his second question.

She asked, "Did you marry into Zhujia Village through proper channels?"

Upon hearing this question, Yu Zi subconsciously looked up at the old woman Zhu, unaware that her "grandfather" had changed his expression.

The old woman, surnamed Zhu, said, "No."

Shen Tang was taken aback by this answer.

"Weren't you your husband's lawfully wedded wife?"

The old woman, surnamed Zhu, was extremely anxious, but her mouth was out of control, and she continued, "No."

After answering the question, she looked at her husband in fear and terror. The old lady's hair trembled with the movement of her head as she shook it, and she kept pleading in a low voice, "Old man, old man, I didn't mean to say that, my mouth is bewitched!"

The old man, surnamed Zhu, was so angry that he turned into a rage.

He wanted to stop his wife from talking nonsense, but he couldn't move. His hands and feet were tightly bound by chains of spiritual energy that grew from beneath his feet, and his mouth was also covered. Apart from making "woo woo woo woo" sounds, he couldn't utter any other syllables.

The onlookers were in an uproar.

Good heavens—

The plot here is very complicated.

Shen Tang sneered: "Were you sold here?"

The old woman surnamed Zhu replied, "Yes, I am."

The general public instantly erupted in excitement.

The story of the old woman surnamed Zhu is quite poignant.

She was the seventh child in her maternal family. Her family was poor; her parents had seven daughters before finally having a son. To support their precious son, they reluctantly sold their four younger daughters one after another. Why not sell them in order? Because the first three were almost grown up and could work for the family. If they were raised for another two years, they could marry and help their younger brother. Selling them like that wouldn't be worthwhile.

The old woman surnamed Zhu was sold to the current old man surnamed Zhu when she was only thirteen years old. She was always hungry and was beaten, scolded, and locked in the woodshed. In order to have enough to eat and avoid being beaten, she gradually developed the habit of obeying the old man surnamed Zhu in everything and following his lead.

Farming doesn't yield much profit.

To make a better life, she and her husband, Mr. Zhu, started a small-scale trading business. The couple worked together, moving from place to place after each transaction. She was always quite clever; she would usually be the one to find targets and lower their guard, while her husband would seize the opportunity to make the move. Once they succeeded, they would transfer the goods overnight.

He hasn't made a mistake all these years.

The common people below, listening to the question-and-answer session between Shen Jun and the old woman Zhu, were so angry that they gritted their teeth and their molars ground together.

I felt so much sympathy for those two old bastards before, but now I hate them just as much! Such heartless and depraved individuals as these human traffickers deserve to die!

Who doesn't have a relative whose child has been abducted or sold?

It's gone before you know it.

Among them are parents who have gone blind from grief after losing their children.

Before making their move, the elderly Zhu couple would first identify the potential buyers, inquire about their general requirements, and then target specific young women. They specifically aimed for pretty, young girls whose parents lacked ability or connections.

Firstly, it's quick to sell and brings in a lot of money.

Secondly, if the parents can't find it after a while, they're likely to give up.

Thirdly, even if the parents are incredibly persistent, relentlessly pursue the person, and turn the land upside down to find them, so what? They're basically just going to sell such a person to some poor, remote village to be ruined by some poor bachelor!

The person was found, but had already been abused...

They've had more than one child...

Is it shameful to bring such a daughter home? Her parents may not feel ashamed, but would the daughter be willing to part with her own flesh and blood? Even if the daughter is willing, aren't they afraid of the scornful and mocking looks from relatives and neighbors? What's done is done, so just consider it as having another poor son-in-law.

Shen Tang watched as the old woman from the Zhu family below stood there arguing vehemently, "exchanging" her tips on selling things and even taking care of the buyers' after-sales service—a textbook example of how to play the rogue when faced with "parents-in-law" coming to the door.

She also said with pride that in the early years, a buyer bought their "goods" for ten taels of silver. The girl had four children in five years. In the sixth year, the "parents-in-law" came to visit. The buyer used the experience they had taught to force the "parents-in-law" to pay twenty taels of silver to buy back the daughter that the two elderly people had raised with great difficulty.

He used someone else's daughter for five years to give birth to four children for his own family and even made a profit of ten taels of silver. This business was extremely profitable!

Old Master Zhu's face had turned completely ashen.

After saying this, the old woman surnamed Zhu trembled like a leaf.

A snap.

Everyone watched in disbelief as Shen Jun crushed the boundary stone on the table into tiny wood chips with his bare hands, the chips falling swiftly from his fingertips. The elderly Zhu couple's eyelids twitched violently. It was as if Shen Tang hadn't just crushed the boundary stone, but rather their own old bones…

Shen Tang laughed angrily: "Fine! Very well!"

She could barely contain the murderous intent surging within her: "Then let me ask you again, how many people have you and your husband sold over the years? Where did you buy each person from and where did you sell them to? Are there any ledgers? If there are, where are they now?"

The old woman surnamed Zhu answered them one by one.

Shen Tang said, "Go and bring the account books!"

So Gong Shuwu was asked to make the trip.

When traveling, the speed of a tenth-rank left vice-chief is quite astonishing; a round trip takes only half an hour.

Seeing the familiar account books being presented to Shen Tang, the couple's faces turned deathly pale—it's over! It's really over!

Shen Tang looked at the records on the thick JianShu book.

She felt that every stroke of the pen could hurt her eyes; Yu Zi's mother was just an insignificant one among hundreds of people.

She looked at the old woman surnamed Zhu.

My heart is completely indifferent.

Yu Zi looked at "Grandma" with a complicated expression.

She didn't understand.

Why are there such great differences between people?

My mother suffered greatly from forced labor and spent her entire life fighting and struggling to survive, but she never once considered going along with the crowd or conforming to the corrupt practices just to improve her own life. This "grandmother" by blood had also endured immense hardship.

Yu Zi thought she should be able to understand her mother.

But in her memory, "Grandpa" disdained to pay attention to Grandma, while this "Grandma" often jumped out to fight, constantly saying "our Zhu family" and "the Zhu family's offspring"... Yu Zi found it interesting that "Grandma's" maiden family also had the surname "Zhu".

They are very protective of the "Old Zhu family," even more so than the proper Zhu family, "Grandpa," and act like filial sons and virtuous grandsons.

This isn't hard to understand. People like the elderly Mrs. Zhu, physically a woman, might still be psychologically a man. When the elderly Mr. and Mrs. Zhu were brought up, she was the first to stand up and cry out for justice, chanting and acting...

The old man surnamed Zhu, on the other hand, hid in the back.

Enjoy the fruits of others' labor without lifting a finger.

Shen Tang then asked several more questions about Yu Zi's mother, Yu Meiren, inquiring about Yu Meiren's place of origin—one of which differed from the information provided by Yu Zi.

Previously, Yu Zi said that her mother, Yu Meiren, asked a merchant to inquire about her parents' situation. The merchant replied that her parents had passed away. Therefore, Yu Meiren gave up her desire to resist, temporarily accepted her fate, and focused on raising her two children, which also gave her some psychological support.

The old woman surnamed Zhu replied that Yu Meiren's parents had passed away, but there were other people in her family.

Yu Zi's eyes suddenly lit up.

Does Mother have other family members?

Who is it?

where are they?

Yu Zi knew that her mother had always wanted to return to her roots, to be buried next to her parents' graves. She wished that she could make up for not being able to take care of her parents while she was alive, even in death. However, with the chaos of war, that distance was too far for Yu Zi.

I have never been able to fulfill my mother's last wish.

But soon, the light in her eyes went out—there were other people in her maternal family, but they were her mother's cousins, who had left home many years ago. If they knew what her mother had gone through, whether they would still be willing to acknowledge this cousin as their niece would be a different story…

Shen Tang rubbed her temples, seemingly tired, but only Gu Chi knew that she was angry but couldn't vent it, and was mentally exhausted.

"Ji Shou, what do you think the verdict should be?"

Kang Shili made a record.

Without hesitation, he replied, "All five punishments."

There's no need to consider the severity of the sentence at all.

Based on the crimes committed by these two old geezers...

Even if one suffers the five punishments a hundred times, one still owes several lives.

Not only them, but according to the law, all three clans would be implicated, including Yu Zi. However, Yu Zi had already severed ties with the two elders, and having wandered for many years, she had also made a meritorious report, so in principle, her merits should offset her transgressions.

Shen Tang replied, "I will do as you say."

Kang Shi replied, "Yes."

Shen Tang glanced at the sun and ordered people to bring up all the other problematic households in Zhu Family Village, one by one—because the entire village was of the same clan and had close ties, and many of them were within the three clans of the Zhu family elders.

With the Zhu couple's criminal record of "implicating three generations," and Kang Shi's skill in exploiting loopholes, those involved in the buying and selling of women were ostensibly charged with other crimes instead of severe punishment. Although not as severe as the five punishments, they were basically subjected to one or two of them, and were thrown into life imprisonment to do hard labor such as building city walls. As long as Shen Tang was alive, as long as they were alive, they would have to work until they died.

The common people below applauded and cheered.

Many people felt that Shen Tang had gone too far. Chopping off a hand, a foot, a nose, an ear, or even castration... how could that be enough to atone for his sins? He should have acted as decisively and swiftly as he had that day, when a head was severed with a single stroke of the blade.

Is it better to keep people alive to do hard labor or to waste food?

Shen Tang remained expressionless.

Actually, she also wanted to be subjected to all five punishments!

Damn it!

If there really is a Yama's Palace in this world, she would definitely stand on Yama's desk and subject their souls to the five punishments!

As for Yu Zi's marriage proposal...

This is called putting righteousness before family!

A small number of commoners still harbored doubts about the incestuous relationship, but when they thought about what Yu Zi's "grandparents" had done, they felt it was for the best. They couldn't let Yu Zi learn bad habits and inherit their ways to harm others, could they?

After watching the spectacle, the common people dispersed, satisfied.

Meanwhile, he was thinking about registering the households as soon as possible. Didn't he see that the Zhu family village gang had been reduced to only a handful of people because of this? Some of the older folks also saw Shen Tang's determination to drastically reform the He Yin.

From the time Shen Jun took over as governor of He Yin until today, the executioners have been so busy that they haven't even had time to sharpen their knives, which shows how ruthless they are.

but--

As long as the knife doesn't fall on them, they're just ordinary people; what do they care about all that?

After the commoners dispersed, Shen Tang walked up to Yu Zi.

He reached out his hand to her: "Can you still get up?"

Yu Zi was still immersed in the surreal feeling of having avenged her great enemy when she heard a familiar, gentle voice above her head, snapping her back to reality. Seeing it was Shen Tang, she shyly took his hand and nodded, "Yes, thank you, Shen Jun..."

He struggled to his feet, using the force of the blows.

The lawsuit against a relative involved ten strifes; that was a real fight.

However, Shen Tang's underhanded tactics, though seemingly forceful, only resulted in superficial injuries that would heal in a day or two.

Shen Tang said, "From now on, you will follow Ji Shou."

She pointed to Kang Shi, who was standing beside her.

Kang Shi was surprised to see that he had been called out.

"Why me again?"

He refused.

He doesn't want to take care of the children.

Shen Tang said, "Aren't you short-staffed here?"

Kang Shi: "..."

He is short-staffed here.

But Lin Feng already has a powerful backer. Why would he want to bring in another kid who's not easy to manage and who'll make mistakes that he'll have to clean up?

Although Lin Feng is young, he has a good foundation and receives extra tutoring from his teacher Chu Yao every now and then. He can also do a good job with some trivial tasks such as recording. As for Yu Zigen, his foundation is still unknown... Kang Shi didn't want to cause trouble.

Kang Shi pointed to Gu Chi, who was watching the play from one side.

"Isn't Wangchao still idle?"

Gu Chi, caught in the crossfire: "???"

What did Kang Jishou say about him?

Is he very free?

At this moment, Gu Chidu was already eager to draw his sword and fight Kang Shi to the death. If this guy can't speak human language, he should just shut up!

Do you want to be silenced by me?

Kang Shi: "..."

Yu Zi also realized that she was not popular.

Her face was deathly pale, and she lowered her head, her voice barely audible: "Lord Shen, it's alright. I am already extremely grateful to have been taken in by you, and I dare not have any other desires. I only wish to follow you..."

Shen Tang asked, "Why are you following me?"

She doesn't lack people to do odd jobs.

She lacks talent with core competencies!

She's a corporate slave who works 007 without complaint!

How can you create a bright future, a glorious career, and a brilliant life without working, working overtime, and pushing yourself to the limit?

The first priority for survival is to improve one's work skills!

If Yu Zi wants to change her fate, she needs to improve her competitiveness and learn how to conduct herself in society! Roll up! Intense competition! Roll up!

Kill your competitors!

Just as Yu Zi was misunderstanding that she was also disliked by Shen Tang, Shen Jun patted her shoulder: "Yu Zi, you have to believe in yourself! Show Ji Shou your determination and perseverance! You are not an incompetent person! Once you learn his skills, you will be able to graduate!"

Kang Shi: "..."

(σ)σ:*☆

It suddenly occurred to me that Tangmei and Pengpeng are two extremes; one is a crazy leader in the fierce competition, while the other seizes every opportunity to slack off...

(End of this chapter)