Chapter 81. Divorced, the man marries and the woman marries, they are no longer related!
Upon hearing this, Shen Qingshu and Shen Rongzhi felt their hearts sink even further...
They vaguely felt that something was amiss, and feared that there might be a scam involved. However, the genealogy clearly recorded the glory of their ancestors' contributions, which made them unable to help but harbor a sliver of hope.
What if it's true?
If he were truly bestowed the title of "Loyal Merchant" by the Emperor, perhaps... perhaps it could atone for his sins today?
Lu Zhaoruo remained composed.
Is he trying to use the name of "loyal businessman" to atone for his crimes?
Ah, this empty fame will not only fail to save you, but will become the final nail in your coffin.
The prefect immediately ordered the clerk: "Quickly go to the archives and find the 'Records of Taizu's Military Pay'!"
Before long, the clerk brought over a yellowed book.
The prefect coldly swept the pages of the register, then slammed his gavel down, shouting sternly, "The register bears a vermilion annotation: 'Jizhou Shenwu falsely reported 400 strings of cash for military pay and fled to avoid punishment! Back then, Emperor Taizu, mindful that the war had just ended, did not investigate further. How dare your Shen family use this to call yourselves 'loyal merchants'?"
The crowd outside the hall erupted in uproar, their voices rising like a tidal wave.
One of the women said, "Oh dear! So he's not a 'loyal merchant' after all, but the descendant of a fugitive! That Zhang woman was practically walking around with her head held high these days, bragging to everyone that her ancestors had accumulated good karma and gained the favor of the officials. Bah! She's utterly disgraced her ancestors!"
Shen Qing's face was ashen...
That last shred of hope shattered.
Thoroughly and completely clean.
He looked up at the solemn courtroom, with its menacing eaves and towering plaques, and felt only a cold, deathly silence in his heart.
Today, he is doomed and certain to die.
Shen Rongzhi was also stunned on the spot.
He returned from a long and arduous journey, his mind filled with the immense wealth and promising future that the "loyal merchant" would bring. Little did he know that his ancestors had committed the crime of deceiving the emperor!
He glanced at Lu Zhaoruo, who stood to the side with a cool and aloof expression.
In an instant, he understood everything—the so-called "loyal merchant" rumors were nothing more than a carefully laid bait to lure him home.
And he actually took the bait willingly, running headlong into the trap she had already laid.
Lin Yingyu couldn't help but frown.
Even the rewards were fake.
Those two old guys are really stupid!
Zhang was panicked and muttered to herself, "Not a loyal merchant, how... not a loyal merchant anymore?"
She suddenly pointed at Gu Xian, who was leisurely fanning himself outside the hall: "It was him! Gu Xian said it himself! He said that his father works in the Ministry of Revenue, saw my Shen family's name on the roster with his own eyes, and even came to our door to congratulate us and give gifts!"
All eyes turned to Gu Xian.
Gu Xian snapped his folding fan shut, looking apologetic, but his tone was light and casual: "Oh dear, I'm really sorry. My father must be getting old and his eyesight is failing, so he must have misread the list."
He changed the subject abruptly, sighing, "Who would have thought that the Shen family was not only not honest merchants, but their ancestors even falsely reported military pay and fled to avoid punishment? Truly... such is their family tradition."
Zhang was trembling with rage and cursed, "Shameless scoundrel! It must be you and that woman Lu who conspired to set up such a vicious scheme to harm my entire Shen family!"
Gu Xian was not annoyed, but said leisurely, "Mrs. Zhang, you should not use foul language in court. Also, since your Shen family is not a 'loyal merchant,' please return the congratulatory gift of 1,500 guan that I gave you the other day."
Fifteen hundred strings of cash are gone...
Zhang recalled that she had already spent all 1,500 strings of cash these past few days.
At this moment, someone in the crowd shouted, "That's right! Doesn't the Shen family still have a chastity archway bestowed by the government in front of their house? Now that Shen is perfectly fine here, and has even married and had children overseas, isn't that archway a huge joke?"
Lu Zhaoruo stepped forward at the opportune moment and said in a clear voice, "My lord, I was just about to report this matter. Two months ago, my friend in the capital, Lady Geng, the wife of Lord Yang, a fourth-rank official in charge of the Maritime Trade, heard about my 'chastity' and couldn't bear it. So she put in a few words for the official and obtained this 'chastity arch' and a reward of five hundred taels of silver for the Shen family."
Her gaze swept over Zhang and Shen Qingshu, and she continued, "However, Zhang and Shen had already been secretly communicating with their son Shen Rongzhi. Knowing that their son was not dead, they still concealed the truth, accepted the memorial arch and reward money without hesitation, and threatened the woman that day not to make a sound."
Upon hearing Lu Zhaoruo's report about the "chastity archway," the prefect's face turned ashen, and he slammed his gavel down: "Good! What a deceitful and fraudulent Shen family! Their ancestors falsely reported military pay, and now their descendants are deceiving the emperor! Their crimes are compounded, their evil deeds are beyond measure!"
"Zhang Cuie and Shen Qingshu! You knew perfectly well that Shen Rongzhi was not dead, yet you dared to conceal the truth, deceive the court, and fraudulently accept the imperial plaque and five hundred taels of silver as a reward. This is an unforgivable crime of 'fraud,' and also constitutes 'great disrespect'! According to the law, you shall be hanged!"
“Shen Rongzhi! Although you were not directly involved, you knew about this act of deceiving the emperor but failed to report it and tacitly condoned it, which is tantamount to aiding and abetting evil! According to the law, in addition to your crimes of ‘marrying another woman’ and ‘owning property under a different name’, you will be sentenced to an additional year of penal servitude and your place of exile will be increased by another thousand li!”
"Lin Yingyu! Your sentence remains unchanged: you will serve your sentence with your daughter after giving birth!"
"All imperial gifts shall be recovered immediately! The archway at the entrance of the Shen family's residence shall be destroyed at once! The five hundred taels of silver reward, with interest, shall be confiscated and deposited into the treasury!"
The "chastity archway," which once symbolized supreme glory, became, in the blink of an eye, the last and most shameful coffin nail used to nail the Shen family to their doom.
The verdict was announced.
Zhang had exhausted all her strength to cry and collapsed to the ground...
Shen Qingshu collapsed to the ground, his face ashen.
Suddenly, a pair of eyes stared intently at the stone hiding behind the person.
Shi Tou felt a chill run down his spine from his gaze, his legs went weak, and he hurriedly took two steps back.
Shen Rongzhi's face was bloodless, and his once warm and affectionate eyes were now empty and lifeless, as if his soul had left his body, leaving only a handsome but soulless shell.
His lips trembled slightly, but it ultimately turned into an almost inaudible sneer, as if mocking himself, or perhaps mocking the absurd situation.
Then, he slowly turned his head, his gaze falling on Lu Zhaoruo, his voice hoarse: "A-Ning... this is truly... an incredible 'homecoming gift'..."
Lu Zhaoruo slightly raised her chin, her face cold and indifferent, not even glancing at him.
Lin Yingyu, however, maintained an astonishing calmness.
She merely glanced at them with annoyance and near contempt, as if disgusted by their vulnerability.
Then, she slowly raised her hand and gracefully stroked the gold-inlaid jade hairpin in her hair.
With everything settled, the Shen family members have all been convicted.
At this moment, Lu Zhaoruo stepped forward and bowed to the prefect again, her voice clear and firm, resounding: "Your Honor, please be wise! Shen Rongzhi has now committed the ten unforgivable crimes of 'marrying another woman' and 'abandoning his family and relatives,' and the bond between husband and wife is severed, their affection is broken and all feelings are gone. The entire Shen family has deceived and treated women like enemies, even plotting to kill them. Such a vile situation cannot be allowed to continue."
"This humble woman begs Your Honor to grant me a divorce from Shen Rongzhi in accordance with the 'Severance of Relationships' clause of the Criminal Code, so that I may return to my father's family and, from this day forward, we may marry separately and have no further connection with each other!"
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