Based on the address provided by Zhang Shengmin, Sun Miao'er found Shen Chu's residence in Minxiang Lane.
She went up and knocked on the door, but no one answered after knocking for a long time.
Just as she was about to turn around and go back, the door suddenly opened.
Shen Chu opened the door. He wasn't surprised to see Sun Miao'er and calmly asked, "May I ask who you are looking for, young lady?"
“Looking for you, Master Shen,” Sun Miao’er said with a smile, but her eyes were looking through Shen Chu into the room inside.
The young man in front of me was dressed simply, and his long gown was even a little tattered. He looked more like a poor, penniless scholar who couldn't even kill a chicken. There was no way I could associate him with the second-in-command of a bandit stronghold.
Shen Chu stared at Sun Miao'er's face for a moment, then smiled gently and said, "Miss Sun?"
"What brings Miss Sun here to see me?"
Sun Miao'er walked straight past him and went into the inner room. "I just met Lord Zhang. He heard that your mother was unwell, but he was too busy with official duties to come, so he asked me to come in his place."
She put down the gift boxes she was carrying. The furnishings in the courtyard were very simple, and it was not obvious what they were.
"Thank you for your trouble, Lord Zhang. I will return to the yamen to report as soon as my mother recovers." Shen Chu kept a distance of three feet from Sun Miao'er throughout. He looked calm, but he was just too poor.
"Chu'er, who's here?" A hoarse voice suddenly came from the inner room.
Shen Chu quickly went to the window and replied, "Mother, it's alright, you should rest."
He turned to look at Sun Miao'er, pointed to the small house next to him and said, "Miss Sun, let's talk over here. My mother is not well, and I want her to rest in peace."
Sun Miao'er followed him into the small room, which was filled with books and a wooden table with four legs of different lengths.
"Miss Sun, what do you intend to say to me?" Shen Chu closed the door. The room had two windows, so it was still quite bright at this hour. "Is it about the refugees or the bandits?"
Sun Miao'er was slightly taken aback and asked, "Since you knew, why did you still let me in?"
Since Shen Chu was capable of being the resourceful second-in-command, how could he not know? The commotion of the bandits escorting them into the city this morning was so great that the entire city of Pingnan lined the streets to watch. Since Shen Chu's family lived in the city, he must have heard about it long ago.
“Yes, there’s no way to escape anyway.” Shen Chu was unusually calm, as if he had expected all of this.
Sun Miao'er looked at the books spread out on the table. "Should I call you Master Shen, or Second Master?"
Shen Chu simply sat down in the chair, his brow furrowing slightly. "Anything is fine, Miss Sun, please feel free to do as you please."
"What does the second-in-command plan to do now?" Sun Miao'er asked tentatively.
Shen Chu rubbed his temples and sighed softly, "What else can I do? Tu Zhenshan has already been arrested by you?"
"Do you want me to break him out of prison?" Shen Chu smiled helplessly. He hadn't expected that Tu Zhenshan would be defeated by this girl in just one day of his absence.
But this girl is indeed extraordinary; he knew that from the beginning.
Perhaps in the end, Shen Chu was not destined to become a king or general.
Sun Miao'er met his eyes and remembered the first time she met Shen Chu was at Xianwei Restaurant. When she heard this man complaining, she felt that there was another unlucky scholar in the world. "I have already persuaded Tu Zhenshan to accept the amnesty, so why should the second-in-command go to break him out of prison?"
“I made a deal with the chief, handing over all the grain he had to me in exchange for the safety of his brothers.”
Shen Chu's expression suddenly turned ferocious. "You're so foolish! Tu Zhenshan, you're so foolish!"
One wrong step and the whole game is lost.
He instigated Tu Zhenshan to become a bandit and thief, and planned all of this, just to prove that it wasn't Shen Chu who was incompetent, but the court that was blind.
But now everything is in vain, and he has been unable to prove anything.
He would rather Tu Zhenshan commit suicide on the spot and leave behind a resounding reputation than have him surrender and become a lackey of the imperial court.
"What's so foolish about him?" Sun Miao'er said dismissively. "Tu Zhenshan's decision to accept the imperial pardon is the wisest choice, considering the well-being of his brothers."
Shen Chu suddenly stood up, pointed at Sun Miao'er and said, "Mingzhi? The court has already ruined his family once. If he trusts the court again, what is that if not stupidity?"
“He has no way out.” Sun Miao’er took a deep breath. “Master Shen, why are you so stubbornly clinging to this path?”
Shen Chu gave a wry smile. "Why bother? Then let me explain it to you, young lady."
“Zhang Shengmin, Lord Zhang, you have shown me great kindness and are my great benefactor. It is only right that I do things for you. But this court is not worthy of me doing anything for it!”
"The tyrannical ruler is wicked and listens to slander. My father died tragically under the swords of the Yu camp for protecting the King of Wei and his mother. Was my father wrong?"
It turns out that Shen Chu was also connected with the King of Wei.
No wonder he hated the imperial court.
Tu Zhenshan said, "There is another group of bandits that you brought with you. They obey your orders. Now, as long as you are willing to lead them to surrender, I will guarantee that they will have no worries about food and clothing in the future and will no longer suffer from hunger and disease."
The hatred for killing one's father is deeper than a sea of blood. If Shen Chu could let go of it, he wouldn't have waited until now.
Shen Chu's face was extremely gloomy. He roared, "Impossible! Even if I take these people to my grave, I will never hand them over to the imperial court!"
"And you, Miss Sun, will you hand me over to Lord Zhang?"
Sun Miao'er shook her head, "No, I only came here today to persuade the second-in-command, I have no other plans."
“If I wanted to expose you, I should have confessed when I saw Magistrate Zhang at the yamen.”
Shen Chu's smile was full of sarcasm. "Zhang Shengmin is a good man, but he is too stubborn. He is loyal to himself and to the court. I have been by his side for so long, I know him."
"If he knew I was the mastermind behind all of this, he would never forgive me, nor would he forgive himself."
Shen Chu slumped into the chair, his eyes glazed over. "Miss Sun, I'm afraid you've made a wasted trip. I'm not coming back."
“This is my waist token. You can take it. The highest mountain south of Fushui Village is where the remaining bandits are hiding. I’m handing them over to you.”
"But I will never submit to the imperial court."
"You can have the grain there too." Shen Chu's heart was ashen, and his tone was very calm. "But that grain must not fall into the hands of the imperial court. It is better to give the grain to the suffering people."
This corrupt court is hateful enough; haven't they already plundered enough of the people's wealth?
“Miss Sun, if Tu Zhenshan can trust you, then I can trust you too.”
When Sun Miao'er came out of Shen Chu's house, the sky, which had been gloomy for a long time, cleared up. She held the waist token in her hand, feeling its extreme weight. What she held in her hand was the life and death of countless people.
She took this step willingly; she wanted to be the savior of this chaotic world, with a clear conscience and without shame before herself.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
