Chapter 7: Let's See How You Hide

"Impressive, truly impressive!"

Unable to help but praise again, Shen Yu had to express his admiration for this woman; he was truly impressed to the point of prostrating himself in admiration.

With this kind of scheming and these methods, it would be a waste not to engage in palace intrigue!

"Call your mother over here for this official; this official wants to question her personally!"

"My Lord, my mother is currently bedridden with illness and is not fit to see guests!"

"That's right, My Lord, Ru Niang is currently bedridden with illness and is truly not fit to see guests; it is all my fault!"

At this moment, Licentiate Gu, who had been rescued and was kneeling on the ground, was full of self-reproach: "This is all my fault!"

"The two brothers wanted the things our Gu family was keeping in trust. If it were my Gu family's property, I would have given it to them. But the items are things my Gu family is keeping in trust; how could I give them away!"

"Ru Niang tried her best to persuade me to hand them over, but I couldn't do it. My Gu family's century-old reputation cannot be destroyed by my hands. That foolish girl, for my sake, went to persuade those two brothers again, almost causing them to turn against their own mother!"

"Because of this, she was pushed into a dilemma, and out of worry, she fell ill and cannot get out of bed. I have failed her, I have truly failed her!"

"My Lord, all the faults are mine, it has nothing to do with Ru Niang!"

"Damn it! Licentiate Gu, you really are a rare specimen!"

Looking at Licentiate Gu's state, Shen Yu was shocked. Can studying really make one's brain stupid? He can't even see through this.

Is this a case of a mother and son turning against each other? They are playing the good cop and bad cop routine with you, performing a bitter-meat scheme, and you actually believe it.

If she were truly good to you, how could your entire family's estate have been usurped by others?

"Where is Lord Shen? Where is Lord Shen?"

Just at this moment, a group of people burst in from outside; it was the County Magistrate of Luhe County along with a team of Constables.

This group of people was travel-worn, and the County Magistrate's hat had even been knocked askew, yet they dared not show the slightest bit of negligence.

That was Shen Yu, a man who kills without blinking. He wouldn't play any tricks or schemes with you; when encountering such a person, if you make him unhappy, it usually ends with a single sword strike.

This point is also what makes people the most troubled and the most afraid. You might say, let's play mind games—having been in this business for so many years, why would we be afraid of conspiracies and plots?

But he doesn't play those games with you. If you make him unhappy, he just starts killing, not even giving you a chance to speak.

Facing such a person, let alone these local minor officials, even those big shots in the Capital feel troubled, and don't they also choose to avoid his sharp edge?

Those big shots are all extremely shrewd; they are people who have killed their way through thousands of armies. Which one of them isn't deep in city-level cunning and highly skilled in their methods?

Don't look at how they seem to be thwarted in front of Shen Yu; are they really being thwarted? They are just playing with him.

Everyone knows very well that strength, once it reaches a certain level, is in itself a form of deterrence. Rather than fighting to the death with such an expert, it is better to cut off one's arm to save the body and get out early.

Using some petty gains to protect oneself, while not having to clash with such an expert—why wouldn't one do that?

In the Capital, Shen Yu seems to be basking in glory, with no one daring to challenge his edge. But smart people can see that it is because he hasn't touched the core interests of these big shots.

Otherwise, these people who have spent their whole lives playing conspiracies could use a combination of plots to spin you around in circles without you even knowing who is playing you.

Of course, unless absolutely necessary, they wouldn't do that, because in their eyes, Shen Yu is a reckless fool who doesn't value his own life.

Regardless of status, he dares to kill and arrest, and he gives no one face.

If he really investigates and finds out someone is targeting him, it will be an endless feud. No matter how wealthy the estate, it cannot withstand being targeted to the death by a Transcendence Realm expert!

Everyone doesn't have deep hatred, so why stir up trouble and offend an expert with infinite future possibilities!

Shen Yu doesn't know any of this, and even if he did, he wouldn't care. To him, he doesn't value power and status.

What he values is constantly punishing evil and promoting good, then checking in with the system to make himself stronger. As long as those people don't get in his way, he doesn't need to provoke them.

In this World where might makes right, fists are the hard truth. As long as one is strong enough, any conspiracy or plot will shatter at a single touch.

"My Lord, thank you for gracing us with your presence; this subordinate failed to welcome you from afar..."

"No need for nonsense with this official; this official is not in the mood. Which one of you is the Head Constable!"

"Reporting to My Lord, I am!"

Stepping out from the crowd, the Head Constable of Luhe County looked anxious; no one knew what this Lord Shen was thinking, and what if he gave him a sword strike too?

"Very well, take your men and detain everyone in the Peng residence, and bring the mistress of this place to this official!"

"My Lord, you cannot do this!" Hearing Shen Yu's words, before the two Peng brothers could speak, Licentiate Gu was already anxious.

"My Lord, Ru Niang's body cannot withstand such torment!"

"Licentiate Gu, she has harmed you to this extent; don't you want to take revenge?"

"My Lord, she, she is very good to me!"

"She's treated you like this and she's still good to you? You must be sick in the head!"

"My Lord, if it weren't for her back then, our Gu family would have completely declined, and I might have been wandering the streets long ago!"

"Yes, that is the case!" At this moment, the two Peng brothers couldn't help but interject. They also saw that this Lord Shen was standing up for Licentiate Gu.

"My Lord, if it weren't for our mother back then, Licentiate Gu would have been picked clean by others, killed, and thrown into a mass grave. Counting it up, our family actually saved his life!"

"Bullshit!" At this moment, Shen Yu couldn't help but curse.

Do you really think that just because of a scholar with no power to truss a chicken and a widow with two sons, people would be wary? You still want to keep the family estate? Keep dreaming!

The only person in the entire Gu family who could truly make people wary was the missing Old Master Gu. After all, Old Master Gu was only missing, and news of his death had not been fully confirmed.

No matter what, Old Master Gu was an expert of the Grandmaster Realm. In this neck of the woods, he was a figure whose word was law.

Moreover, Old Master Gu had many friends, and those friends of his were not simple characters; each one was an expert in their own right.

No one knew if Old Master Gu would return alive one day, or if those friends of his would find it unacceptable, so those people didn't dare to go too far.

Leave a line for others in life so you can meet again later; naturally, they didn't dare to force Licentiate Gu to his death.

As for the shops and fields outside being occupied, I believe Old Master Gu could understand. You should know how much your son is worth; even if they didn't occupy them, others would.

If they occupied them, and if Old Master Gu returned one day, the occupation would turn into "keeping in trust," and at that time, they would naturally hand them over with both hands; that way, everyone would be happy.

If Old Master Gu couldn't return, then sorry, what I have taken is mine!

Anyone with a discerning eye could see through all of this; everyone was just tacitly understanding.

Although at the beginning, people outside were openly and brazenly trying to snatch the Gu family's estate, and even their own servants had ideas, at that time, Licentiate Gu seemed to be surrounded by enemies on all sides.

In reality, however, as long as the news of Old Master Gu's death did not arrive, no one dared to truly move against Licentiate Gu.

At that time, that woman, despite being a servant, stood up to help Licentiate Gu; although she did not manage to save the majority of the family estate, she did preserve a significant portion of the family assets.

Yet, any clever person knew that these assets were not preserved by a widow like her; it was clearly because those people did not dare to cross that bottom line, leaving a portion of the family estate for Licentiate Gu.

One has to say, this scheming and these methods were truly formidable. The timing was grasped exceptionally well, undoubtedly causing Licentiate Gu, who was in a state of isolation and helplessness, to develop a certain dependency.

It is no wonder she could later directly position herself as the mistress of the house; even when Licentiate Gu was abused by her sons like this, he did not forget to speak a few good words for her.

Once one can untangle the threads of all this, it becomes perfectly clear: she wasn't doing it for you, she was striving for her own sons' future and hoarding the family estate.

If Old Master Gu returned, she naturally wouldn't dare to stir up trouble. But if Old Master Gu could not return, then she would fight even harder to guard these assets—those all belonged to her sons!

As for Licentiate Gu wanting to marry, that was not even worth thinking about. If you were to marry and, by chance, have an heir, what would become of her sons?

Besides, who knew if the woman married into the house would be a formidable character? If she were to drive the three of them out, wouldn't all the previous efforts be in vain?

Therefore, she had to obstruct those who came to propose marriage, and she treated the matchmakers with sticks, making them afraid to ever visit again.

As for Licentiate Gu finding a matchmaker to discuss marriage himself, she would secretly obstruct and sabotage it even more.

Later, she even hinted to others, both openly and covertly, that she and Licentiate Gu had an ambiguous relationship, making everyone believe they were together, and causing those who wanted to marry into the family to lose hope.

From then on, she could monopolize the Gu family estate and use the Gu family's resources to cultivate her own sons with all her might.

Poor Licentiate Gu, over forty years old and still yearning for how to marry a wife, little knowing that in the end, he was almost swept out the door by others.

In daily life, this woman likely teased Licentiate Gu quite a bit, letting him see but not touch, keeping him on a string.

In the end, Licentiate Gu likely gave up the thought. Plus, with only this woman right in front of him, through long-term association, he thought he might as well just make do with her.

Once it reached this point, her conditions were laid out: living together was fine, but he had to give her some security.

Since my sons are your sons, then simply transfer all the family estate to her two sons, and let the two sons provide for their old age and funeral arrangements.

This woman had the confidence to do this because it had been over twenty years; Old Master Gu was likely not coming back. His old connections from back then had long since faded to almost nothing over twenty years.

Plus, her own two sons were now successful, so she didn't fear Licentiate Gu turning against her.

Poor Licentiate Gu believed it; no sooner had he transferred all the property deeds, land deeds, and shops than the two brothers bared their fangs and immediately turned hostile, refusing to recognize him.

In the end, the entire Gu family estate became theirs, and the Gu family became the Peng family.

They had firmly grasped his personality, and with this act of playing the good cop and bad cop, it is no wonder they could make him willingly hand over the family estate.

The more Shen Yu thought about it, the more he felt it was not worth it for Licentiate Gu; wasn't this a green tea bitch bullying an honest man, and bullying him to death at that?

"What are you still standing there for? Go and bring them to this official at once!"

"Yes, yes, My Lord, I'm going right now!" Startled by Shen Yu's shout, the head constable hurriedly wiped away his cold sweat and signaled his subordinates to go make the arrests.

"My Lord, our Peng family has a life-saving grace toward Licentiate Gu; you cannot do this!"

"Bullshit! Back then, a widow with two sons, on the verge of starving on the streets—it was the Gu family that gave you food and let you survive!"

"Now, not only are you ungrateful, but you are returning evil for good, and you still have the nerve to say you saved Licentiate Gu? Do you have no shame!"

"You saved Licentiate Gu? Do you have the face for that, or does your mother have the face for that? He wasn't afraid of you; he was afraid of Old Master Gu and his old friends and acquaintances!"

"Go out and ask those people; even if you gave them three times the courage back then, would they have dared to move against Licentiate Gu!"