Chapter 83 The Shen Family Witness the Execution!
After hearing the maid's explanation, a flash of heartache crossed Zhou Qiwu's eyes, but it was quickly suppressed by hatred.
"It's all Zhou Xinrou and her daughter's fault. If it weren't for Zhou Xinrou, my mother wouldn't have been abandoned in this desolate place. If it weren't for Shen Lanxi, you, as my daughter, wouldn't be without a title, nor would you have been forced to marry a lowly peddler. It's all because of them!"
Zhou Qiwu's eyes were filled with hatred. She patted her daughter's shoulder and gently comforted her, "Yi'er, the Liu family is a prominent family in Tianjin. We can't afford to turn against them yet. Just bear with it for now and find an opportunity to deal with that mistress and the illegitimate son. Don't let that slut ruin your relationship with Cheng'en!"
Wang Xiangyi was filled with resentment. Her mother always told her to endure it, reminding her that she was the princess's daughter. Who was Liu Chengen? His actions were an insult to the entire princess's residence!
"Yes, Mother!"
Zhou Qiwu: "The Liu family controls the Tianjin Navy, and a large portion of the taxes they pay to the imperial court each year comes from maritime trade. Do you understand what Mother is saying?" Her cold gaze pressed down on him.
Wang Xiangyi quickly nodded obediently.
“Mother, I know, I understand. It doesn’t matter how many women Liu Chengen has openly or secretly, but he can’t have a child. If word gets out, our Princess’s Mansion will lose face!”
Looking at her daughter, Zhou Qiwu sighed inwardly. This daughter was intelligent and decisive, just like her. It was a pity that she was a girl!
Both the local physician and doctors brought in from outside examined the patient, and their diagnoses were all the same.
"It's nothing serious, so why hasn't my son woken up yet?" Zhou Qiwu slammed his hand on the table, his face dark with anger.
"If anything happens to my son, you and your families will all be buried with him!"
The doctors were so frightened that they immediately knelt on the ground and begged for mercy. Even under such intimidation, they dared not reveal their diagnosis, because they knew that if they kept silent, they might still live, but if they spoke, they would directly face the wrath of the Third Princess.
The doctors shuddered at the thought of the Third Princess's cruel methods!
"Princess, if you want the young master to wake up soon, we will give him acupuncture."
"Young Master is clearly lacking in vital energy and has been overexerted. The best solution is to sleep more, rest more, and think less and desire less!"
"Princess, we are willing to stake our lives on this: the young master is absolutely safe!"
Zhou Qiwu's anger subsided when he heard the doctors vouch for him with their own lives.
"What would happen if we woke him up now?"
One of the doctors immediately said with trepidation, "You will experience weakness in your lower back and knees, soreness in your limbs, and possibly persistent headaches. It would be best for you to rest in bed for a year or two, and you must abstain from sexual activity during this time!"
Zhou Qiwu gritted his teeth after hearing this. His son had been drained dry by those little sluts. They dressed up every day and only knew how to cling to men and act like sluts.
"All the concubines and maids around the young master will be given fifty lashes and sold off, all the maids will be sent to the estate to do hard labor, and all the servants in the room will be replaced with servants!"
"yes!"
Fifty lashes would be unbearable for any grown man, let alone a woman. The Third Princess was clearly trying to kill those women.
Zhou Qiwu turned to look at the doctors kneeling on the ground: "You all stay here and guard him. You may leave only when the young master is alright!"
"yes!"
Wang Xiangyi, who was standing to the side, secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
"Mother, should we inform Father about my brother's situation?"
Zhou Qiwu's eyes turned cold as she recalled Wang Mingru. The Wang family was a powerful clan that had dominated Tianjin for centuries. Back then, she was already old and saw that the path of a royal arranged marriage was not viable. Not wanting to marry just any good-for-nothing, she turned to the Wang family, which was very prestigious in the area at the time.
Who would have thought that the Wang family would be so shameless? Fortunately, after some planning, they finally succeeded.
Unexpectedly, Wang Mingru resented her for ruining his career, and even after their marriage, they continued to live separately.
If this were in the capital, would the Wang family dare to humiliate her like this?
It's all Zhou Xinrou's fault. She stole the honor that should have been hers, but thankfully, she's now in Zhou Xinrou's hands.
dungeon
The guards were torturing the people in the dungeon and keeping the Shen family members under guard.
If any member of the Shen family closes their eyes in fear, that person will be whipped.
The whips were all barbed. After being whipped, Shen Yuantang fainted, but was then woken up by being splashed with salt water. He was in pain and scared, and dared not faint again. He gritted his teeth and desperately opened his eyes wide.
Seeing Shen Yuantang's fate, the rest of the Shen family, though reluctant, dared not evade him any longer. They could only watch helplessly as the guards subjected him to cruel torture!
Whipping, burning, branding, and other forms of torture were used one after another. When a prisoner became unfit, another would be substituted.
In just half a day, everyone in the Shen family turned pale. When they returned to their cells, they could no longer hold back their vomiting.
It was terrifying. Those executioners didn't even consider people human. Even when dealing with animals, they would only kill them with a single blow. Their cold eyes made it seem as if they viewed humans as even lower than cattle, sheep, pigs, and dogs.
"Waaah... They're not human, Father, Mother, I don't want to die..." Shen Yuantang's face was deathly pale, his eyes were filled with terror, and he kept talking nonsense, sweating profusely!
"Yuantang, just bear with it a little longer, your big brother will come to save us!"
Shen Yuantang suddenly screamed as if she were going crazy: "No, she wouldn't. If she really cared about our lives, she wouldn't... Waaah!"
Shen Yuanxin tightly covered Shen Yuantang's mouth.
You idiot, how can you say something like that?
Shen Yuanjing's eyes flashed, and he immediately understood why Yuan Xin was acting this way!
"Father, it must be the Third Princess who harmed our Shen family. The theft of the Wei family army's provisions must be related to the Third Princess!"
Shen Congwen looked up at his son in surprise.
Shen Congwen immediately pointed to the air vent on the wall, and then to the ear.
"Yes, I am an honest and upright official, and I never make enemies in court. I've never understood who wanted to harm our Shen family, but now I finally understand. It was all the Third Princess's doing. She brought us to the Princess's residence to kill us and silence us!"
Shen Yuanjing's eyes flashed, and he suddenly had an idea. He immediately raised his voice: "I knew it! How could such a big matter as the Wei family army's provisions and pay be reduced to mere exile? It turns out His Majesty's uncle wanted to use us to lure out the mastermind behind it all!"
Shen Congwen's hands began to tremble. He hurriedly continued his son's words, "No wonder all the other prisoners died on the way to exile, only our Shen family members survived. It turns out that His Majesty was secretly protecting them!"
"Father, as long as the news gets back, His Majesty will pardon our Shen family, and we can return to the capital!"
Shen Congwen cried and laughed at the same time: "Great! The injustice done to my Shen family has finally been proven to be true!"
next door
Zhou Qiwu gritted his teeth and swept the tea tray to the ground: "Bitch! It's the Shen family's own fault for committing so many injustices, yet they still dare to try to pin the crime of stealing grain and salary on me. That bitch is simply my nemesis!"
“Princess, if what they say is true, wouldn’t their every move be under the surveillance of that person in the capital?” the strategist Yuan Lang said, frowning.
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