Chapter 35: Simple and Harsh Method
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
The Earl began to speak with a loving and kind expression, “Lang’er, you won’t be able to do it. Times have changed. Under the new governance, we, the old generation of aristocrats, are defeated. All of us are probably afraid of being caught because of a mistake. In just three years, three families of aristocrats had been stripped of their positions, and one of them lost their life.”
As he said this, he looked despondent.
He merely wanted to keep the family’s business, what was wrong with that?
He continued, “If it was before, I would have easily settled people like Tian Heng. However, now, not only you, but I also find it difficult to get rid of him at one shot. After all, he had his title from the royal palace. The aristocrats cannot interfere in regional affairs. Once we make a violation, the consequences would be terrible.”
At this moment, Shen Lang could feel the Earl’s desperation.
The new governance might be both good and harmful to the Yue State, but for now, it was terrible because it went against Shen Lang.
The Earl said thoughtfully, “Lang’er, I promise you, I will spend at most half a year to get hold of Tian Heng, and I will fight for your justice!”
With the Earl’s power, it was not difficult to get rid of Tian Heng.
The tricky thing would be how to do it while obeying the laws in a way such that nobody would find fault with him.
However, the Earl still promised to succeed in doing this to Shen Lang.
Shen Lang looked at the Earl with a grim but sincere expression. “Father-in-law, Tian Heng, the Xu Family, and the Lin Family have grudges with me. I will definitely take revenge on my own, or else, I will not be able to stand up for myself in this lifetime. I already have an advantage because I married into the Palace of the Earl, and the three families don’t dare to hurt me.”
Shen Lang paused for a while before continuing, “I did not help the Palace of the Earl by accomplishing anything, so I don’t deserve to waste any of the resources here, especially your political resources. If you have to help me take revenge, then I don’t deserve to be Mulan’s husband. I shall return home and live off my parents.”
When he heard that, the Earl became very heartened.
He felt that, for the first time, Shen Lang finally established ties with him.
“I admire your attitude,” said the Earl, “however, you really won’t be able to defeat them. Child, Xuanwu City is no longer our territory; it belongs to the palace, Liu Wuyan, and Zhang Pu. Both of them are Tian Heng’s supporters, you won’t be able to beat them.”
Shen Lang said, “Then, would they dare kill me or beat me?”
“Who would dare?” said the Earl coldly, “although we can’t create trouble, we still have more than 2000 soldiers. If anyone dares to hurt our people, our soldiers will kill them.”
Shen Lang bowed. “Father-in-law, I promise that I will make Tian Heng sever his own arms legally and lose his reputation. I will make sure this does not affect your family, please believe me.”
The Earl said, “What’s your plan?”
“I can’t say it, and it is difficult to say too,” Shen Lang said, “there are some things in the world where we can only do but not say.”
Actually, Shen Lang was afraid to say it since he was worried that his father-in-law would reject his idea.
The Earl said, “Do you know what the consequences are if you lose?”
Shen Lang said, “My reputation will be gone, and I will be laughed at when I step into Xuanwu City.”
The Earl hesitated for a long while before suddenly making the decision. He said, “You are a thoughtful person. If you insist on going, then I can’t stop you.”
Shen Lang said, “Thank you, father-in-law.”
The Earl said, “You have to remember not to go against the law and put our palace in danger. The outcome of this battle is not important, for it is also alright if you lose at such a young age. It is alright for your reputation to be affected or lose face.”
Shen Lang knelt down again and said, “I will definitely obey your instructions, father-in-law, besides that... I will definitely win. Even if Tian Heng had the Palace of the City Lord and the Palace of the Governor to support him, I would make sure he loses completely and suffer everything.”
“If not, then I shall take my life,” said Shen Lang.
When the sun rose, he boarded a carriage and left the Palace of the Earl, so he would head to Xuanwu City.
...
What plan must he use against someone like Tian Heng?
To be honest, it was tough!
The Earl had already said that it was tough for one to defeat Tian Heng lawfully without suffering repercussions.
It was true that Tian Heng had committed a lot of crimes and killed many people. These crimes were enough to give him a death sentence.
However, the Earl could not interfere with state governance.
It was the right of the City Lord of Xuanwu City to capture Tian Heng and put him on trial.
Unless Tian Heng had committed a crime within the region of the Palace of the Earl of Xuanwu, then they would be able to capture him easily.
However, nobody would be silly enough to do so anyway.
Therefore, the Earl of Xuanwu said Shen Lang would not be able to win against Tian Heng since he had the City Lord of Xuanwu City and Zhang Pu backing him up.
Shen Lang thought of many ways to go about this. Some were complicated; some were as elaborate as the plans Zhuge Liang had in the “Romance of the Three Kingdoms.”
However... They were all useless.
The more complicated the plan, the higher the chance of failure.
What was the best method?
Simple yet direct!
The method that Shen Lang wanted to use against Tian Heng was direct and straightforward; it could even be called shameless!
...
Tian Heng owned a lot of businesses, including the gambling dens, brothels, money lending places, and more.
Which was the most profitable?
Definitely the gambling dens. He earned a lot every day, and it made up more than 60 percent of his net worth.
His life of extravagance and a few hundred followers under him depended on the profits of the gambling den.
In Xuanwu City, Tian Heng owned five gambling dens and completely dominated there.
Did other people want to open gambling dens? Before Tian Heng’s people could look for them, the people working under the City Lord would have already closed their gambling dens.
“Rich Den” was the name of Tian Heng’s gambling dens.
They were built extremely luxuriously. The building was three levels tall, and there were places to eat, drink, play, and shop.
There were even brothels inside of it.
Therefore, Shen Lang’s way of dealing with Tian Heng was easy. He would just win money from his gambling den until the establishment closed!
He would win until it surpassed Tian Heng and his supporter’s coping capacity. 1
While facing someone like Tian Heng, what was the most important?
Justice?!
What a joke, of course, it was money!
Only money could let him gain the support of the City Lord and the soldiers.
One had support if they had money. If not, then one would not have any help from anyone.
Shen Lang was confident that the City Lord of Xuanwu City and even the Governor of Nujiang County got their profits from Tian Heng’s gambling den.
Once Shen Lang won more money than what these people expected, Tian Heng would not be able to control anything.
In the past, before Shen Lang could win 100 gold coins, his arms and legs would be broken, and he would be thrown into the river.
However, now, his status as the young master of the Palace of the Earl of Xuanwu could protect him. He could earn as much money as he wanted in Xuanwu City.
The only concern would be whether he would get beaten up by his father-in-law.
Of course, Shen Lang did not merely want to win money. His performance after winning money was more important. He had to encompass everybody.
...
The Earl sent four warriors to protect Shen Lang.
He wore an extravagant outfit, had a hat on his head, and sat in a luxurious carriage. Once he entered the city, he became a hot topic.
Countless people were talking about him.
In Xuanwu City, Shen Lang was considered a legend. No matter how bad his reputation was, he still became a legendary character.
A stupid, useless person, became a live-in son-in-law of the Xu Family, and then three days after he was chased out of the Xu Family, he became the live-in son-in-law of the Earl?
How amazing was he?
He reached the peak of his life immediately!
Therefore, countless people were extremely jealous of Shen Lang and turned around to spit when they saw him!
“This useless guy is really arrogant! He just became the live-in son-in-law of the Earl, and he’s now showing it off.”
“Indeed, indeed, look at the clothes he is wearing. It must cost enough for my family to last for three years.
“Extremely shameless. He is not keen at studying, planting crops, and is waiting to reap the benefits. The Earl must be blind to marry his daughter to a guy like this.”
“Go ahead and deal with it, at most half a year, he will be chased out of the Palace of the Earl. He is way too arrogant!:
When he heard this, Shen Lang remained unmoved. He even found a more comfortable position to sleep in the carriage.
...
When they arrived at the gates of the aristocrats, Shen Lang alighted from the carriage and walked into the gambling den. 1
The four warriors behind had their expressions changed utterly.
“The young master is going in to gamble?”
How... how was this possible?
The rules of the Palace of the Earl were stringent. Even people like the son of the Earl did not dare to step into the casino, or he would be beaten crippled by the Earl.
Who would enter a casino?
Wastrel!
Shen Lang, being the live-in son-in-law of the Palace of the Earl, should practice prudence and live by the rules. However, not only did he walkabout with luxurious clothes, but he also stepped into a casino in broad daylight.
However, the four warriors of the Palace of the Earl could only protect Shen Lang. They had no right to stop him.
Moreover, they did not want to stop him.
How would someone as useless as Shen Lang match up to Miss Mulan?
Since he was seeking trouble, then let him be!
It would be best if he lost utterly in the casino, get beaten up by the Earl, and get kicked out of the palace.
To these warriors, only Sir Jin Shiying was the best match for Miss Mulan.
That was because Sir Jin Shiying was their idol and the foster son of the Earl. 1
...
At this moment, Tian Nineteen, one of Tian Heng’s foster children, was kept in charge of the casino.
When he saw Shen Lang enter, Tian Nineteen was stunned before becoming extremely happy!
What was a casino?
It was a demon’s cave!
Shen Lang walked into the demon cave of the Black Clothes Gang willingly. Wasn’t he courting death?
“Aiyo, isn’t this the young master of the Palace of the Earl? Welcome, welcome!” Tian Nineteen said, “Come, serve him the best tea!”
Soon, the staff came with a kettle of their best tea.
Shen Lang sat down and drank the tea slowly.
“Young master Shen, are you here to take a look, or are you here to play?” asked Tian Nineteen.
Shen Lang said, “Since I am here, of course, I will like to play.”
“Welcome, welcome!” Tian Nineteen was extremely excited.
His foster father, Tian Heng, and Shen Lang were already enemies; he was troubled over the fact that he could not get rid of Shen Lang. Who would be daring to hurt him since he was the son-in-law of the Earl?
However, Shen Lang came here on his own!
Let him lose tens and thousands of gold coins before sending the loan receipt over to the Palace of the Earl. Shen Lang would be dead meat then. If the punishment was lenient, he would be kicked out of the Palace of the Earl; if the sentence was strict, he would be crippled before being kicked out.
As for whether Shen Lang would win!?
Tian Nineteen never thought about this possibility.
That was his casino, his territory! Anyone who came would lose!
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