Chapter 399: Giving You One Last Chance

"I will give you one last chance. Tell me everything you have done over these years, point by point!"

"My Lord, this woman has truly never wronged Master Gu. I beg you, My Lord, to investigate clearly!"

"Good, very good!" He stood up from his seat, walked quietly to her side, and looked down at her from above.

At this moment, there was not a shred of pity in Shen Yu's eyes, only a trace of disgust. To think she would still dare to quibble at this stage; if she wouldn't speak herself, then don't blame me for using my methods!

"Women are naturally weak, but mothers are strong! I can understand that you went to great lengths hoping your children would have a better life!"

"But to use such means to bully an honest man like Licentiate Gu is truly too despicable. The Gu family once saved the lives of you and your two children!"

"This woman knows, but this woman has never wronged the Gu family!"

"Stubborn and unrepentant!" After waiting a moment, seeing the woman still would not change her story, Shen Yu let out a cold snort. "Lift your head and look into my eyes!"

Hearing Shen Yu's words, the woman tried her best to remain calm and slowly raised her head to look into his eyes.

But the moment she met that pair of eyes, she felt her vision begin to blur, and soon her mind became groggy and heavy.

She was merely a woman who had just entered the Innate Realm; controlling her was as easy as reaching for something in one's pocket. There was not even a need to use an Illusion Technique like Mirror Flower Water Moon.

"Tell me, how did you step by step take the Gu family into your hands back then? You were just a woman; did no one in the Gu family object?"

"Of course there were people in the Gu family who objected, especially that old steward from back then!"

Seeming to recall something, the woman's face, aside from confusion, also showed a hint of resentment. "Back then, I wanted to interfere in the affairs of the manor, but that old thing refused to budge, and he even scolded me severely!"

"That old, undying thing, relying on his long tenure in the Gu family, not only suppressed me heavily but also told me to stay away from their young master, or else he would drive me away!"

"When I was driven out of the house back then, I told myself that no one could bully us three, no one!"

In her daze, a sinister look appeared on the woman's face, and she said coldly, "So I secretly put some poison in that old thing's food and poisoned him to death!"

"This, you!" Hearing the woman's words, Licentiate Gu pointed at her, unable to speak for a long time.

The steward of their Gu family had watched him grow up since he was a child; he could be said to have treated him like his own son.

Back then, when the old steward suddenly died, he had thought it was illness brought on by indignation. He never imagined that he had actually died at the hands of the person he had always considered as pure as a lotus flower.

"Once that old steward was dead, the young master of the Gu family not only stopped managing things but also obeyed me in almost everything. The rest of the people were easy to handle."

"Over these two years, I also won over a few people. I directly promoted my own people to be stewards. Those in the manor who didn't submit were beaten to death, while my own people were heavily rewarded and treated with both kindness and severity. Very quickly, I had the entire Gu family in my grasp!"

"Mother, what are you spouting? Stop talking nonsense!" Hearing the woman's words, the two Peng brothers' faces changed drastically; there were some things that could not be said recklessly.

Occupying someone's property and seizing their family business—although it didn't sound good when spoken aloud, these were all things Licentiate Gu had given willingly.

In doing these things, they hadn't stolen, hadn't robbed, and hadn't forced him; everyone could bear witness to this point.

Although the way they did things wasn't honorable, at least there were no problems in terms of law and logic. Even if others pointed fingers, they wouldn't lose a piece of flesh, and what else could they do to them?

But if it involved murder, that was a different story. A life for a life has been the rule since ancient times; this was a capital crime!

"Shut up!" Casting a cold glance at them, Shen Yu said indifferently, "Continue!"

"Mother, you can't say any more!"

"I told you to shut up!" With a cold snort, a terrifying aura flashed and vanished. The two brothers were thrown away by a great force and landed far off.

Instantly, a sharp pain surged through their entire bodies. The two brothers felt as if their internal organs were shattered, and they were in indescribable pain all over.

For a moment, they could only groan in pain and had no energy to care about anything else.

"Continue!"

"I had wanted to secretly move all the Gu family's assets away at that time, but that old thing from the Gu family had just gone missing without a trace. If he were to return, our lives would definitely be at risk!"

"So I could only do all this secretly, using the money and resources left by the Gu family to do my utmost to cultivate my two sons!"

"Now my two sons have grown up, twenty-some years have passed, and that old fellow from the Gu family definitely won't be coming back, so I finally dared to make my move!"

"But the night Licentiate Gu transferred all the family business to my two sons, he got dead drunk, and only after he was drunk did he tell the truth!"

"It turns out their family had always been keeping something for someone else. Licentiate Gu even said that even if the entire Gu family business were gone, this thing had to be kept!"

"I told him to hand the thing over for us to keep, but he refused to the death. What right did he have to refuse!"

Speaking to this point, the woman's face turned ferocious, no longer having a trace of her previous gentleness. She looked like a beast choosing people to devour, making one's heart tremble and making Licentiate Gu feel incomparably like a stranger!

"Everything in the entire Gu family is ours. No, what Gu family? There is only the Peng family!"

"Everything belongs to my two sons. What right does he have not to give it! If he doesn't give it, beat him until he does. A dog-like thing, daring to bargain with us!"

"Thump!" Upon hearing the woman's words, Licentiate Gu sat down on the ground, as if he still couldn't believe all of this.

He couldn't imagine how the person who used to show him such concern and take care of him so meticulously could have such a face.

It turns out that in front of her, he was just like a dog, and perhaps not even as good as a dog!

With a bitter laugh, Licentiate Gu's heart died at this moment. The rest of his life had been completely controlled by this woman.

All this time, he had thought the other party was a good person who truly had his best interests at heart. Ridiculous, truly ridiculous!

"County Magistrate Bei!"

"Y-Yes, My Lord!"

"Tell me, what is the penalty for murder?"

"This... replying to My Lord, a life for a life; death is the only fitting punishment!"

"Very good. Then what are you still standing there for? Take them!"

"You can't take us, you can't!" Struggling to stand up, the Peng brothers endured the intense pain and hurriedly tried to stop him.

"My Lord, my mother is seriously ill; she is confused. Everything she said is not true. She is the kindest person; how could she kill anyone? Licentiate Gu, no, Father, Father!"

"Say something! Do you really want to watch my mother be executed? Tell the Lord that my mother is only talking nonsense because of her serious illness!"

"Heh, truly a scene of a loving mother and filial son, what a touching picture!" With a cold snort, Shen Yu called out directly, "County Magistrate Bei!"

"My Lord!"

"Tell me, have the Peng family members been corrupt or breaking the law, bullying the good people over these years?"

Shen Yu was just asking this; with the character of the Peng family, how could there be anything good? In that family, one by one, none of them were good things.

It could be seen that the Peng family was definitely a case of "if the upper beam is crooked, the lower ones will be askew"; this family upbringing was quite something!

The two brothers, one an official and the other having formed a gang—they intend to play both sides of the law, racking their brains to squeeze the common people.

"This, this..." With his head lowered, Luhe County Magistrate Bei Shi was covered in cold sweat, and could only bite the bullet and say, "There shouldn't be, right!"

"Yes is yes, no is no; what do you mean by 'shouldn't be'?"

"As a dignified county magistrate, can it be that you aren't even the slightest bit clear about your own affairs?"

"My lord, please forgive me. Your subordinate, your subordinate's eyes are dim and my energy is truly failing, which is why I chose to retire and return to my hometown!"

Trembling as he knelt down, Luhe County Magistrate Bei Shi said in a low voice, "Most of the county's affairs were handed over to County Assistant Peng to handle; there is much that I am not clear about."

"Are you not clear about it, or are you afraid to speak? Is it because you are afraid of being implicated yourself?"

Shen Yu watched the Luhe County Magistrate's performance; if this man wasn't a partner in crime, he would write his own name backward!

"I will give you one last chance. Tell the truth! Otherwise, if I find anything out, the result will be different than if you tell me yourself, and by then..."

"This, this... your subordinate, your subordinate!" Kneeling to the side, the County Magistrate's body was almost completely pressed against the ground, cold sweat dripping down drop by drop.

One knows one's own business best; his petty affairs could not withstand an investigation at all. It was over. After a lifetime of graft, how could he run into such a disaster at the very end?

Why did he want to retire and return to his hometown? Wouldn't it have been better to keep being the County Magistrate? It was only because this Patrol Censor, Shen Yu, was on a killing spree in the Southern Border, and he was too terrified to stay.

It was all greed that caused this trouble; he had just been thinking that every extra day he could stay was one more day, and every bit more he could rake in was one more bit. If he had known, he would have run away two days earlier!