Chapter 645: Giving Someone a Dignified Way to Die (Part 2) [Requesting Monthly Tickets]
This is something Shen Tang cannot understand.
She had just escaped death and regained her talent for cultivation. Why couldn't she just live her own life? Why did she have to get involved? Shen Tang could see clearly that Miao Shu harbored immense hatred for her and guessed that she was following Qiu Cheng with the intention of revenge.
With a few casual words, she successfully ignited Miao Shu's anger. She straightened up and asked sternly, "Shen Youli, you killed someone and stole their money, committing unjust acts. Now you're even slandering the deceased's posthumous reputation. Aren't you afraid of incurring divine retribution?"
Several question marks appeared on Shen Tang's forehead.
Xun Zhen pressed his thumb against the sword guard, and the sword was slightly drawn from its sheath.
Shen Tang, however, rested one hand on her chin and waved the other at Xun Zhen, signaling him to calm down. Miao Shu's "eloquent speech" did not anger her, nor did it stir up any ripples; instead, it aroused more curiosity: "I killed and stole money? I committed an unjust act? Is this Miao lady telling a very strange joke? How did you arrive at this absurd conclusion?"
Didn't she know that her reputation was once so good that outsiders mistakenly thought she was an easy-going, pushover? On the contrary, regarding the things the Miao family did, Shen Tang really didn't know how her few words could be considered defaming the deceased's posthumous reputation. Since there was nothing else to do, she might as well get to the bottom of it.
"Shen Youli, you're really something!" Seeing Shen Tang still acting so self-righteously, Miao Shu's fingers trembled uncontrollably with hatred, and terrifying bloodshot veins filled her eyes. "Have you killed any male members of the Miao family?"
Shen Tang casually replied, "Kill them."
Miao Shu then asked, "Did you seize any of the Miao family's land?"
Shen Tang said, "Take it."
Miao Shu asked again, "Did you confiscate any of the Miao family's property?"
Shen Tang said, "I copied it."
She acknowledged every single one of them, but Shen Tang's eyes held a smile.
She retorted innocently, "The men in your family have committed countless evils and crimes, why aren't they killed? Your family's land was mostly seized through dishonest means, why aren't it confiscated? Your family has done all these things, why aren't your homes raided? Miao lady, it's only been two years since the Miao family's property was raided, and you've gone from having no foundation to now opening your alchemy chamber, condensing your literary heart, and mastering the path of the scholar. It's not just about talent; you must have laid a solid foundation during your youth, you're not an ordinary young lady. Do you really not know your family's situation? How dare you ask these three questions? Aren't you ashamed?"
Shen Tang's words nearly made Miao Shu seriously ill. In her rage, she subconsciously ignored why Shen Tang showed no surprise at seeing female scholars, even appearing to take it for granted.
"you--"
"What do you mean, 'me'?"
He raised his hand and cast a "Silence" command.
Enjoy the pleasures of being a privileged user openly and honestly.
"When adults speak, just listen with your ears."
These words amused Gongxilai.
Shen Tang teased, "Gong Xi Chou, look how beautiful our sister's smile is, unlike this one who looks so bitter and resentful. It's one thing to be bitter and resentful, but to make matters worse, she hates the wrong person."
Gong Xichou: "I told you, she is my sworn sister."
Shen Tang stubbornly insisted: "What's yours is mine!"
With such a close relationship, why can't they share a sworn sister?
Miao Shu was so angry that her three spirits raged.
Unfortunately, even Qi Shan and the others dared not easily undo Shen Tang's "Silence and Speech Restriction," so Miao Shu was even less likely to do so.
"Behave yourself!"
Xun Ding pressed her shoulder down with his spear, preventing her from even getting up to fight back against Shen Tang. She could only obediently listen to the devil's whispers.
Shen Tang looked into Miao Shu's eyes: "I know what you're trying to say even if I thought about it with my ass. It's nothing more than how good your father is, how good your brothers are, how good your mother is, how good your sisters are. Your father is good? What about how he schemed to ruin people and cause their deaths for a few acres of fertile land? What about how he knowingly set up a scheme to print money during a year of famine, practically taking away people's ancestral land for free? What about how many families were driven to despair and hanged themselves? Even worse, a family of nine hanged themselves, their weight breaking the beam!"
Nine people!
Shen Tang made a nine gesture.
"The youngest is still an infant."
"Your good father's masterpiece!"
Shen Tang clicked his tongue a few times, his expression one of undisguised disgust: "And your good brother. Are you trying to say that your brother is a charming and talented womanizer? And that your younger brother is generous and righteous? The tenants complained that the rent was too high and the seedlings were too expensive, so what's the deal with them telling the tenants to send their daughters to sleep in the outer courtyard for a night and get a discount? How many girls were ruined? Nineteen! The youngest was ten years old!"
She suppressed her anger, then laughed bitterly, gesturing with her fingers to indicate ten: "The youngest is ten years old! That's an age when they haven't even started menstruating yet!"
"A person trampled to death by a galloping horse in the street..."
"People were run over and killed by a car..."
Shen Tang reluctantly dredged up her garbage memories.
"Also, I remember you had a cousin who ran a business in Shiwu, right? When he was young, he bought a beautiful slave from Shiwu. The slave gave birth to a daughter for him, and this daughter was born with skin as white as snow, and was incredibly beautiful even before she came of age. So your cousin would scold her every three days and beat her every five days, and even threatened the slave that he would throw the daughter to the servants to be defiled in turn, and he had to make the slave admit that the daughter was born from his infidelity. In the end, the slave couldn't bear it and confessed to the crime, and was beaten to death by your cousin. The next day, he slept with the daughter as a concubine... Wow, is this story true? Is this something that can be told?"
Shen Tang once thought he was reading a storybook.
No, this is something even a storybook couldn't describe!
After her sarcastic remarks, Shen Tang's face darkened, and she said in a serious voice, "Yes, they are commoners, lowly people, vagrants, and ruffians. They have no power, no money, and no wealth, but aren't they all more deserving of living than the men in your family? Yet in the end, they all died on beams and under the hooves of horses! Miao woman, just because they loved your father and brothers, should they be spared from death? Their living is the greatest desecration of the dead!"
"My pardon of you Miao women is already an act of compassion!"
Miao Shu's eyes seemed to be bulging out of their sockets, her gaze filled with a hatred that seemed to want to devour flesh and blood, and also with disbelief. She simply didn't believe a single word Shen Tang had said. She knew that her father and brothers weren't entirely good people, but they couldn't possibly have done such a heinous thing!
How much of this is a case of Shen Tang framing and framing someone?
Shen Tang saw through her thoughts at a glance.
He sneered, "If you were reincarnated into the belly of one of your tenant farmers, you'd probably be the one who gets abused too. You don't believe me? Do you think I can force you to believe me? Believe it or not! Putting everything else aside, you must know that your family is hiding thousands of tenant farmers to evade taxes, right? Since you've taken a position in that old rookie Qiu Wenyan's office, you should know the importance of land tax to the operation of a county."
Miao Shu's expression changed slightly.
Shen Tang snorted, "Oh, so you knew."
I know, I don't care, I take it for granted.
His inherent arrogance was overflowing.
As she spoke, Shen Tang became sarcastic again.
"That old rookie Qiu Wenyan is not only incompetent, but he also has terrible judgment when it comes to people. How could he dare to employ a strategist who would tolerate his own family hiding tenants? Isn't he afraid that the meager earnings and household items he worked so hard to acquire will be stolen?"
Xun Ding and the others were dumbfounded.
They didn't expect Shen Tang to have so many ways of cursing.
If it were someone else, wouldn't they be ashamed enough to crawl into a hole in the ground?
Finally, Shen Tang concluded earnestly: "Miao woman, from your perspective, it's normal for you to hate me and want to kill me! Hate boldly, think boldly! Daydreaming isn't shameful! Maybe it will come true in your dreams? I'm not a domineering person, and I won't interfere with heaven and earth or your poop and farts. However, what goes around comes around."
Shen Tang's tone suddenly turned harsh.
"If you want to kill me, then of course I can't let you live; that's only fair. It's just that you're less skilled, and now you're a prisoner!"
Shen Tang and Miao Shu are separated by the hatred of their clan's extermination.
This is not as simple as just one life.
Therefore, Miao Shu was destined to be unusable by her. Since there was no possibility of persuasion, she could only ask her to leave.
Shen Tang glanced at Miao Shu indifferently.
That beautiful, young face was flushed red with anger, showing no remorse or shame whatsoever; she was most likely still indignant on behalf of her father, brothers, and clan. Shen Tang could understand, but she also felt sorrow, sorrow for those lives that had no future.
Their lives are truly worthless.
But those were clearly human lives!
"Hanzhang, Qiu Wenyan and the others, let's cool off for a bit."
Shen Tang raised her hand to tuck down the still slightly frizzy and mischievous stray hairs, skillfully changing her expression to her most lively one, as if issuing a death warrant to Miao Shu, "She is, after all, a scholar with the heart and spirit of a literati, and she should have the integrity of a scholar. As the saying goes, 'A scholar can be killed, but not humiliated.' We don't have a penchant for torturing prisoners, so give her a dignified death. Return the body to Qiu Wenyan; after all, a night of marriage is worth a hundred nights of kindness, and they are still ruler and subject."
With her last sentence, she sneered, "That old rookie Qiu Wenyan—not only is he incompetent, but he's also a lecher! Tsk tsk!"
Xun Zhen bowed and accepted the task: "Yes."
A dignified way to die is nothing more than hanging oneself with a white silk ribbon or drinking poison.
However, there is one more thing for the literary scholar.
Xun Zhen asked his eldest son, "Where is her sword?"
For scholars who were defeated and captured but refused or were unable to surrender, committing suicide with a sword was the most dignified way to die.
Xun Ding: "No."
Miao Shu did not carry a sword.
Xun Zhen looked at Miao Shu, who was unable to move, and knew that the effect of her [silencing] was still in effect. He kindly asked her, "Would you like to borrow my sword to help you on your way to martyrdom? If you agree, nod; if you don't agree, shake your head."
Miao Shu neither nodded nor shook her head.
She was just spitting in Xun Zhen's face.
But with Xun Ding around, it was naturally unsuccessful.
Xun Zhen was not surprised. He withdrew the sword he had handed over and made the choice for Miao Shu himself, saying to Xun Ding, "Poisoned wine!"
For ordinary people, poison is deadly, but for scholars whose bodies have been tempered by the energy of heaven and earth, even a normal dose can be fatal, but the death process will be prolonged, making them consciously feel the pain of approaching death.
Xun Ding worked hard and diligently to get things done.
After downing a bottle of poison, Miao Shu gained her freedom. She bent over in agony, clutching her throat, trying to dislodge the poison. Her fingers irritated her throat, causing spasms and nausea, but the saliva she vomited was increasingly mixed with blood. The excruciating pain spread from her lower abdomen to every part of her body, making her forget about dislodging the poison. Perhaps it was intense hatred, or perhaps it was a desperate will to survive…
She forcefully broke through Shen Tang's silence.
The council chamber is separated by a wall.
A hoarse, shrill curse echoed throughout the entire mansion.
"Shen Youli, you will die a horrible death!"
Shen Tang said calmly, "Oh, everyone dies."
_(:з)∠)_
Oh, I forgot to finish writing my title in my haste!
The story of the man who forced his wife to admit to cheating and then took his daughter as a concubine has a historical prototype. I was shocked when I first found out. Σ(⊙▽⊙"a Is this something a human being could do?
The prototype is Kong Yanzhou, a general from the Southern Song Dynasty who betrayed the country and surrendered to the Jin Dynasty, which was also explained to me by my friends.
(End of this chapter)
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