Chapter 563: Chapter 552: These People Are Truly Shameless
Returned to the mansion.
Chun Yun replaced most of the servants in the mansion, including the steward. Tender as water, yet she took action decisively and swiftly.
Shen Zhi then went to Shen Hua’s courtyard.
What the siblings had talked about, no one knew, but Shen Hua’s eyes were rimmed with red.
"Young Master."
Yicui stepped inside from the outdoors.
"News came from the gatehouse. Clan Elder Shen is leading the Shen Family elders in waiting outside, asking for an audience."
A chill flickered through Shen Zhi’s eyes.
"Do not let Mama deal with this."
"Lead the visitors to the main hall, and I will be there."
"Also, borrow Ji Qing from Brother Cui for me to use."
As he was leaving, Shen Hua subconsciously followed him for a few steps, then stopped abruptly and secretly wiped away her tears.
Shen Zhi had just entered the main hall with an inscrutable expression.
"Did the clan elders come to plead for mercy?"
"No."
"Then for what reason has Clan Elder brought such a procession...?"
His gaze swept around.
"What does this mean?"
Clan Elder Shen had not anticipated that Shen Zhi would ask so directly.
He feigned a look of grief: "Oh, Shen Zhi."
"We have heard about today’s events. Shen Wei indeed acted improperly! My child, we are not here to make excuses for him."
"The mistakes he’s made, he should indeed be punished for. Even if it pains me, I understand the law of cause and effect."
Clan Elder Shen’s tone shifted.
"But I genuinely feel for you siblings. How is Yangyang now? Your Mama is weak-willed. As widows and orphans, you have your studies to contend with and can’t take care of everything. Without a strong pillar in the family, how can we cope? I, this old man, just wish to help take care of things. In the future, you always need someone to support you."
His words sounded enormously tactful.
Shen Zhi concealed his rage.
"No need to trouble yourself! If you fear we’ll suffer, better you return the money used to redeem your son."
"How impersonal you’re being, as if we would harm you."
Clan Elder Shen: "Don’t be like that with us."
"Yes, we have watched you grow up."
"And I, your uncle, care about you too."
Shen Zhi still wore a smile: "Even blood ties can be like this, let alone outsiders."
"Clan Elder need not spout grand but empty words. If you want the embroidery workshop, just say it outright. Today, I’m laying it on the line. This will never happen."
"The embroidery workshop is Mama’s life’s work, no one can take it away."
These words enraged the visitors beyond measure.
"What are you saying? What about your Mama’s! The embroidery workshop carries the Shen surname."
"If you follow an official career in the future, who will look after the embroidery workshop?"
Ji Qing came at some unknown time.
"Mr. Shen."
Ji Qing seemed to interrupt with difficulty: "Why does the mansion let just anybody in? A bunch of old fools relying on their age, now disturbing our master’s nap."
"I think we should hurry them out."
Clan Elder Shen: ???
He dared not provoke Cui Yun.
"This... is quite a distance away from Young Master Cui’s courtyard."
Ji Qing’s face turned cold: "Are you implying that our Lord has slandered you?"
"No... certainly not."
Then, the group of people was indeed chased out.
The entrance of the Shen Family was crowded with onlookers, all of whom were stunned.
Ji Qing clapped his hands and tossed the broom onto the ground.
"County Magistrate Liu has invited our Lord to stay at the Liu Family home time and time again. His presence here is nothing more than to take care of his relationship with Mr. Shen. Naturally, he would not allow some people to get too self-important and come here to make demands."
He raised his voice suddenly: "More than a dozen people! Entering the mansion without permission! Might as well move the whole family in and rob us in broad daylight! I wonder what they have in mind, having the nerve to act as elders here? After an incident like this, Mr. Shen is still living well, yet the Shen Family clan elders lead a group to fight over the family assets, isn’t that a bit unsightly?"
Onlooker: ???
These people, they really have no shame.
————
Nightfall.
In the prison, damp and dim, the walls were uneven, spattered with mottled stains and blood marks, and the hanging oil lamps emitted a faint light.
With a ’pop’, two went out.
Shen Zhi paid a visit to the jail cell.
By the time he arrived, Shen Wei was curled up in the corner, his entire body convulsing with illness.
Seeing him come, Shen He Wen extended his hand out through the wooden door eagerly.
"Brother Zhi, have you come to save us?"
"I knew you were a good child."
"After all, we are family. There’s no feud that carries through the night. Besides, Shen Hua is going to marry out, and right now, she is unharmed."
Seeing him, tears flickered in Shen Wei’s eyes.
"When can I get out?"
In his view, since Shen Hua was unharmed and that Xue Mouyan was originally purchased with money, relations could be smooth, and a fake contract could be produced upon release, with the household executing the servant, beyond the jurisdiction of the government office.
Shen Zhi, adorned in a brocade robe and carrying the aura of a scholar with a noble detachment, just stood there looking at Shen Wei, who was wearing prisoner’s clothes and chained by the ankle, without speaking.
The prisoners locked up in the cell were all disheveled and dirty. The air was filled with an indescribable ugliness and filth.
"Daddy was just confused for a moment. Be obedient and help me explain to your Mama."
Shen Zhi cracked a comforting smile.
"Your coming here is still thanks to Young Master Cui’s consideration. After all, this can’t last too long."
"Father’s health is poor right now, so don’t get agitated. County Magistrate Liu is an honest official, not susceptible to any bribes. But I will find a way to get you out."
He spelled out tempting words, one by one: "You must remember, I and Mama will not pursue the matter with Yangyang, and as for Xue Mouyan, it was your uncle who killed her, you have nothing to do with it."
Shen Wei hurriedly agreed: "Yes, yes!"
Shen He Wen’s eyes were bloodshot upon hearing this.
Look, brotherly love so fragile it can’t withstand a single blow.
After Shen Zhi left the jail cell, his face grew cold, and he handed the money pouch hidden in his sleeve to the jailer.
"Please take good care of them."
The jailer dared not accept it, hurriedly saying, "The message just came from the magistrate, and he has given his instructions."
"Consider it a token of appreciation for your hard work. Use it to buy yourself a drink."
The jailer grinned, revealing yellow teeth.
Very soon.
Shen Wei and Shen He Wen were kicked into another cell by the jailer.
The jailer spat on Shen Wei.
"I’ve seen those who harm others, but never have I seen someone so eager to bring ruin upon their own flesh and blood."
Feeling humiliated, Shen Wei tried to wipe it off, feeling nauseous, but what could he do? He was trembling all over.
"How dare you treat me like this!"
The jailer locked the cell without mercy and walked away.
Even now, still unrepentant. Still thinking someone would come to his rescue, isn’t he?
With him and Shen He Wen, there were three more people in this cell.
One was curled up on the ground, barely alive. Another was fawningly massaging the legs of a middle-aged man sitting on a straw bed, his eyes showing greed and malevolence.
This was specially ordered by County Magistrate Liu.
’Special care.’
Shen Wei coughed his lungs out.
"Second brother, help me up."
Shen He Wen was seething with anger, his face covered with an intense frost: "Shen Wei, you’ve dragged me down, and still expect me to do your bidding?"
"You— " Shen Wei was incredulous.
"What about you? I killed a man, all to please you! Without you, how would I have ended up here!"
"Why should you get out, while I must suffer here!"
Shen Wei shook with rage.
From the side came a voice as cold and slippery as a serpent, chilling to the bone.
"How lovely, two more playthings have arrived."
