Chapter 657 The Road is Tortuous
Yang Lan did not make a decision on the spot, but sent someone to call Shu Ge'er and An Niang over.
Shu Ge'er was one of the young men from Hulu Village who initially joined Yang Lan in the uprising. He was ruthless and fearless in fighting.
Yang Lan is very optimistic about Shu Ge'er, and Shu Ge'er once proudly stated that his goal is to become a regular army in Yunzhou.
As soon as Shu Ge'er came in and saw An Niang was there, he understood why Lan Ge'er was looking for him.
"Brother Lan, Lord Mei, Fourth Brother." Brother Shu greeted the three of them respectfully.
Yang Lan pulled out a thin wooden stick from the fire and mercilessly hit Shu Ge'er's calf with it, shouting, "Kneel down!"
Shu Ge'er knelt down without hesitation, with a clang, as if his knees were not his own, and his expression did not change at all.
Yang Lan likes Shu Ge’er’s look, manly!
"You little brat, I won't ask you any questions first. Just mind your mouth and don't interrupt me if I don't ask you any questions!"
After humming Shu Ge'er, Yang Lan turned her gaze to An Niang who had her head lowered.
An Niang was wearing an old gray-brown linen smock, and a belt was tied around her palm-wide waist, which made her look even more fragile and slender.
I don’t know if she was cold or scared, but she was shivering all over like a quail.
Yang Lan lowered her voice even more: "Ann, move forward a little, closer to the fire, it's warmer!"
An Niang took half a step forward and lowered her head even more.
"Mother An, you should have heard of me. I am Yang Lan from Hulu Village. There is a rule in our team that women cannot be bullied! Anyone who dares to bully women will be beaten with a stick at the very least, or beheaded at the worst. Don't worry, I am the most ruthless and impartial person. Whoever dares to commit a crime, even if it is my own brother, I will not forgive him!"
Mei Tang raised his eyebrows. This didn't sound impartial.
However, since he planned to let Yang Lan handle the matter, Mei Tang treated himself as a wooden man and did not express any opinions.
Yang Lan continued, "Mother An, I will definitely take care of this for you. Did Brother Shu bully you?"
Shu Ge'er didn't make any excuses, his eyes were always on the fire where the flames were jumping.
An Niang clenched her fingers tightly together, struggling internally.
Yang Lan didn't force her. She rushed to the side and raised her chin to Yang Lao Si: "Fourth brother, take Shu Ge'er away and give him fifty strokes of the board."
Yang Laosi was anxious and begged, "Lan'er, you can't do this! Even a good man will be beaten into a pile of rotten meat after fifty strokes of the cane! Isn't this going to kill Shu'er? Lan'er, Shu'er knows he's wrong, he really knows he's wrong! He's my only child, if Shu'er is gone, how can I live?!"
Yang Lan raised her eyebrows and cursed: "The country has its own laws, and the army has its own regulations! Since the rules have been established, Shu Ge'er should abide by them! Why did he think about his aunt before he did something wrong?!"
Shu Ge'er suddenly kowtowed three times to An Niang: "An Niang, I am sorry for you. I will repay you in my next life for what I owe you in this life."
Shu Ge'er kowtowed to Yang Lan again: "Lan Ge'er, I have let you down. I'll ask you to take care of my mother. I'll go and accept the punishment now!"
Shu Ge'er stood up and walked out with big strides, but was stopped by Yang Laosi.
Yang Laosi's eyes were bloodshot, and the veins on his neck were bulging: "Lan'er! In this world, which soldier doesn't steal money and harm women after attacking a city?! We have done a good job, can't we give Shu'er a chance? I don't accept it, and no one else will accept it either!"
"Nonsense! Whose face are you representing now? You are representing the face of Duke Yun!"
A hint of hesitation flashed across Yang Laosi's face, but he soon became firm: "We are not the soldiers of Duke Yun! If Duke Yun blames us for this, we can just live on our own! Anyway, life can't be worse than before, as long as we can stay alive."
Mei Tang watched the two people arguing with a half-smile, and felt that this scene was clumsy and ridiculous.
Waiting here.
Mei Tang finally understood why Duke Yun sent him to Henan County.
How did the sentence in the cadre training class go?
Oh, yes, class limitations!
Everything was within Duke Yun's expectations. Duke Yun saw through everyone and everything in the world!
Mei Tang propped his chin on his hand and watched the scene with great interest, wondering how it should proceed.
The noise in the house attracted the insurgents outside.
When everyone heard that Shu Ge'er was going to pay with his life for such a small matter, the resentment that had been suppressed for a long time instantly exploded.
"What's the big deal? Even according to the laws of the Great Zhou, the punishment is just exile three thousand miles away. We even dare to do something as punishable as rebellion..."
Seeing that the man was becoming more and more outrageous, Yang Lan glared at him angrily.
He could only swallow the next words unwillingly.
Others tried to smooth things over: "Brother Lan, we are not protecting our own people. It's just that what we do is putting our heads on the line. We may die at any time. Isn't the purpose of life to have enough to eat and drink well, marry a wife, and have children? Young people are always impulsive sometimes."
"That's right. If you die on the battlefield, we have nothing to say. It's not worth dying for such a small matter! It's better to keep Shu Ge'er alive and kill more enemies on the battlefield!"
"We are just ordinary people. Our ancestors have been digging for food in the soil for generations. Brother Lan, the rules you mentioned are too difficult!"
"That's right! Those rich families trample on human life like a blade of grass. If they commit a crime, they can pay a ransom and nothing will happen. Why can't we do that? An Niang's husband's family is not a good family either. That old hag once forced a beggar to death! An Niang's husband is not a good person either. He often hoards goods and sells them at a high price!"
The crowd was outraged, and the rebels protected Shu Ge'er and prevented him from being beaten.
Yang Lan looked very embarrassed and glanced at Mei Tang secretly out of the corner of her eye.
Mei Tang remained motionless, with no expression on his face, making it impossible to tell what he was thinking.
Yang Lan's eyes were deep, and she winked at someone in the crowd without saying a word.
A voice rang out from the crowd: "An Niang's husband was shot to death by arrows while fleeing. An Niang is a widow, and she and Shu Ge'er had an old relationship. Maybe the husband has feelings for her and the wife has intentions for him?"
Yang Lan seemed to be persuaded and looked at An Niang who was sitting quietly. "An Niang, what's going on between you and Shu Ge'er? If it was really Shu Ge'er who bullied you, I will never forgive him!"
All eyes were on An Niang.
An Niang felt as if she had been stripped naked, being pointed at by everyone.
Her mind was screaming, she wanted to escape from this place, but she couldn't!
She didn't want to recall that humiliating experience.
"Ann, this is Shu Ge'er. You two grew up together!"
Shu Ge'er: "Ann, as long as you nod your head in the affirmative, I will marry you immediately!"
Everyone is pushing her, pushing her!
"Hey! What are they doing? Master Mei, didn't you tell them that this is not in line with our Yunzhou procedures?"
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