Chapter 35
(69) Sun Liu clan
After Wei Zhen left, there were always some bad rumors about me in the barracks. I roughly summarized them and they can be divided into three categories:
One is gossiping about the tragic love between me, the young marquis, and Wei Zhen, saying that I am not an honest and good woman because I am wavering between different men.
Second, there are rumors that I don’t love Wei Zhen, but I love the wealth and glory that Wei Zhen brings me. After all, I tell Wei Zhen this all the time.
Third, it is widely rumored that the relationship between the emperor and I is not innocent. Otherwise, why would the emperor give a woman without any combat experience the title of expedition general? It is speculated that my relationship with the emperor may also be innocent.
That day, I heard a few women walking in front of me saying, "Shang Shisan must be having an affair with the Emperor and the young Marquis. Otherwise, how could a crazy girl like her, who was wandering around outside, sit on the throne of Baihua City Lord..."
I rushed forward and stopped those women.
I saw that those women also refused to bow to me, so I immediately scolded them: "You bold and shrewd women, you don't even kowtow to this expeditionary general?"
The women looked at each other and then burst into laughter.
"It's really strange. You have the nerve to talk about the honor you earned with the help of a man..."
When I heard the expressions of those women who were not afraid of me at all, I started laughing too.
"You." I pointed at the woman who was laughing the most wildly and said, "You are the wife of Guard Sun who is beside Wei Zhen, right?"
The woman looked a little surprised, probably because she didn't expect that I would meet her in such a crowded military camp.
Seeing that the woman didn't say anything, I continued, "I'll remember you, your little follower husband. If you're lucky, it's best if he doesn't come back alive, otherwise..."
I said this and laughed sinisterly.
The woman looked frightened for a moment, then quickly returned to normal.
"My husband is not only General Wei's bodyguard, but he is also responsible for the procurement and collection of food and fodder for the barracks. If you dare to kill him and delay the camp's battle opportunities, General Wei will teach you a lesson."
The woman said this and looked at me smugly.
His face was full of the expression of "What can I do to him?"
"Do you know what people called me behind my back when I was a gangster?" I said to the woman with a disdainful grin. "They called me the scheming Shang Shisan. Well, we'll see if I can teach you a lesson!"
I said that and walked away. As I walked a little further away, I could still hear those women cursing at me from behind: "What are you showing off for..."
After I returned to the room, I immediately called in Guard Zhang, who usually took care of Wei Zhen's daily life together with Guard Sun.
Wei Zhen kept him in the military camp just to protect me.
"Who usually collects and purchases the food and fodder for the military camp?" I asked Guard Zhang.
"Reporting to the General, it's Guard Sun." Guard Zhang said to me with a blank expression and bowed with both hands.
"Please help me find his daily account book for purchasing food." I said to Guard Sun expressionlessly.
I carefully read through Guard Sun's ten account books three times, inside and out.
Then, with satisfaction, he placed the account book in front of Wei Zhen's desk and said to Guard Zhang, "Please ask Guard Sun's wife, Sun Liu, to come over for me."
After Guard Sun's wife, Sun Liu, was called over by Guard Zhang, I imitated Wei Zhen's pursed smile and looked at the woman who was a little uneasy.
"What are you doing?" Although Sun Liushi was obviously lacking in confidence, her tone was very arrogant.
"This invoice shows that on the first day of every month this year, Guard Sun collected one dan of grain from each household in your maternal family's landownership, the Liu family. However, a neighboring landowner, the Ha family, collected four dan of grain. What's going on? Your land is clearly connected to the Ha family's, so why do your maternal family collect three dan less than your neighbors every month?"
Seeing Sun Liu suddenly panic, I smiled and continued, "Also, where did your eldest daughter marry?" I looked up at Guard Zhang and said, "Guard Zhang, do you know?"
Guard Zhang hesitated for a moment, then said, "The old Tian family from Tianjiazhai."
"Oh, yes, let me see how many dan of grain the old Tian family in Tianjiazhai harvests every month?"
I said as I slowly began to flip through the thick account book that no one would ever look at seriously.
"I found it... Hey, why was it one stone per month at the beginning of the year, but why didn't we collect grain from the Tian family in Tianjiazhai for six months in the middle? Sun Liushi, can you tell me why?"
Sun Liu immediately knelt on the ground, "Sir, I don't know..."
"Oh, you don't know either. What's going on with your husband?" I said, feigning surprise. "Or is it that your family and your eldest daughter's in-laws have some sort of escapist power that allows them to evade the government's tax and labor service system?"
(70) Sun Liu clan
When Sun Liu heard this, she fell to her knees with a plop.
"Sir, I know I was wrong. I hope you will forgive my mistakes."
"Where did you go wrong?" I asked Sun Liu with a smile, still calm and unhurried.
Sun Liu sobbed twice and said, "I will never dare to talk nonsense behind someone's back again."
I picked up the paperweight on Wei Zhen's desk and threw it at Sun Liushi. "You still dare to talk nonsense? I think you will not repent unless I teach you a lesson."
Sun Liu looked up at me in panic, "I really don't know what to say... I need your guidance."
I sneered at Guard Zhang and said, "Guard Zhang, generally speaking, what is the punishment for evading military duties?"
Sun Liushi then realized something in panic and began to cry loudly.
"Sir, sir, I know I was wrong, sir, please kill me..."
Guard Zhang glanced at Sun Liu with some reluctance and said, "According to the regulations, every landlord with land must pay food and fodder to the army on time. If they refuse to pay, they will be hanged as a warning to others."
"Wow, this really saves trouble. I can hold the funeral for my son-in-law and my father at the same time." I said to Sun Liushi, holding my cheek.
Sun Liu knelt down and began to beg for mercy, "Sir, please have mercy on me, I was really wrong..."
Guard Zhang seemed to be unable to bear it any longer and knelt on the ground, saying to me, "My lord, Guard Sun followed General Wei to the front lines. If you treat Sun Liu like this, Guard Sun will inevitably feel resentful. Guard Sun has always been loyal to General Wei and has sworn to defend him with his life many times before. This time, he must have made a serious mistake due to a moment of confusion. I hope that for General Wei's sake, you will give Sun Liu a chance to correct her mistakes."
When Sun Liu saw Guard Zhang pleading for him, she immediately agreed.
"Sir, my husband was just confused for a moment. He probably did something wrong because he was out of his mind. I hope you will show mercy..."
I pursed my lips, revealing a somewhat embarrassed expression.
"I don't really want to execute your family, but now that this matter has been exposed, we can only do our best to make amends. However, this solution must satisfy the nearby people who pay taxes and labor according to regulations, and also provide an explanation to our brothers in the army. Don't you agree, Sun Liu?"
Sun Liu was clearly in a panic at this point. She nodded randomly, "Yes, yes, I have to give everyone an explanation. As long as you don't hang my father and son-in-law, it's all fine. I'll do as you say."
I slammed the table and said loudly, "That's fine. How about this, Sun Liushi? Go back and tell your father and your son-in-law to pay the grain on time next month, three times the total amount owed, and I will not pursue this matter any further."
Sun Liu was obviously startled, and then cried even louder, "We don't have that much food..."
I immediately kicked a small stool in the room away.
"Sun Liu, please don't be ungrateful. According to the regulations, the two pillars of your family should be hanged. I am only asking you to pay three times the amount of grain you owe. You'd better pay it on time. The specific implementation is your family's business. As the saying goes, without rules, there is no order. This is not only a small punishment for your family's evasion of taxes and labor, but also a warning to other families. You'd better be honest and obedient, and don't force me to make an example of someone else."
Sun Liu wiped her tears and nodded, "I, I understand."
"This severity of punishment is only due to your husband's long-standing loyalty to General Wei. You should be grateful and hand over the grain as required. From now on, you should be honest and abide by the law, and be an honest and dutiful woman. It would be better not to stir up trouble and bring unnecessary disaster upon yourself."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
