Chapter 8: The Joke Has Gone Too Far

"My Lord, calm your anger, calm your anger! What are you all standing there for? Hurry and bring a chair over for his Lordship!"

Watching Shen Yu throw a tantrum here, the Luhe County Magistrate wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and hurriedly tried to soothe him.

It was not that he wanted to, but that he was involved in this matter as well. Without his nod as the County Magistrate, how could such a major affair as the Gu family becoming the Peng family have been completed so quickly and easily?

Moreover, the eldest son of the Peng family, who was about to become a candidate for County Magistrate, was someone he had recommended. There was no helping it; the man paid well.

In two more days, he would be returning to his hometown, so he had to save up some family assets for himself.

Yet, at this very moment, this star of disaster had shown up, and the eldest Peng son kept winking at him, hoping he could put in a good word.

It left him in a position where speaking was wrong and not speaking was also wrong; they were trying to force him to his death.

"My Lord, the person has been brought!"

Very quickly, the Luhe County Constable brought his men and carried the woman out—or to be precise, they carried her out on a bed board and placed it on the ground.

At this moment, she was unconscious, her face pale, and she was still muttering to herself, looking as if she were seriously ill.

Seeing this scene, Licentiate Gu's heart nearly melted, and he hurriedly crawled forward, wanting to take a look, but was stopped by Shen Yu.

It had to be said, this woman truly had some beauty; she looked remarkably well-maintained, just like a young woman in her thirties. Furthermore, her skin was fair and her figure well-proportioned.

Added to that was a touch of mature charm, which, for someone like Licentiate Gu who had not had much contact with women, was truly quite lethal.

One must know, the woman's two sons—the eldest was already nearly thirty years old. Tsk tsk, in other words, this "older sister" had to be at least forty-five or forty-six.

With this beauty paired with such scheming, it was no wonder she could hold Licentiate Gu firmly in her grasp. In a word, Licentiate Gu did not lose unjustly.

"My Lord, my mother cannot stand the wind. I beg you to have her carried back, otherwise, it will cost her her life!"

Seeing their mother brought out, the two Peng sons hurriedly kowtowed incessantly, hoping Shen Yu would show mercy; this scene of "filial sons and a loving mother" was indescribably ridiculous.

"My Lord, my Lord!" Kneeling before Shen Yu, Licentiate Gu also hurriedly said, "I beg your Lordship to show mercy and let Ru Niang go back. Her body is weak; she cannot hold on!"

"Licentiate Gu, her body is not weak at all, and she is quite strong and vigorous!"

"The Martial Learning of your family was not only learned by the Peng brothers; it seems this Ru Niang of yours has learned it too, and her level is not low either!"

With a cold snort, Shen Yu silently drew a sword and walked toward the Peng brothers, then let the blade hover near her two sons.

"If you don't get up now, this official is going to start killing. First, I'll kill your eldest son, then your youngest son!"

"Stubborn and unyielding!" After waiting for a moment, seeing the woman had no reaction, Shen Yu directly raised the sword in his hand and slashed down without hesitation.

"My Lord, stop, cough, cough!"

"Oh, awake?" He smiled with disdain. Although the woman was awake, she still maintained a pale complexion, looking as if she might stop breathing at any moment.

But Shen Yu could clearly feel her surging vitality; with this physique, she would definitely have no problem living another ten or twenty years.

Pretending to be seriously ill in front of him—wasn't this like showing off one's axe before a master? Believe it or not, I can make you truly unable to get up from a serious illness in a minute!

"If you're awake, get up. Don't put on a show in front of this official. Who do you think you can fool with these little tricks?"

"Do you think that by stuffing something into your elbow, you can make your pulse seem intermittent? By smearing on some powder, you can pretend to be suffering from a grave illness?"

"My Lord, I am wronged! How would this common woman dare to deceive your Lordship? I will get up right now!"

As she spoke, the woman struggled as if to rise, but after struggling a few times in succession, she finally fell heavily, as if she had exhausted all her strength and could no longer support herself.

Her whole body even lay prone on the ground, face down, as if she couldn't even manage to turn over.

This scene, instead, made Licentiate Gu ache with pity; if not for Shen Yu stopping him, he might have already rushed over to fuss over her.

But Shen Yu only gave a cold laugh, snatched a knife from a nearby Constable, and threw it toward the spot where the woman had fallen.

The gleaming blade descended from the sky; it looked as if it would pierce her, yet the woman subconsciously slapped the ground with one hand, and her whole body vaulted into the air, quickly dodging this fatal blow.

"With such agile movements, you still say you aren't faking it! Such great audacity, do you know your crime?"

"My Lord, this common woman knows her crime!" After a brief moment of panic, the woman immediately knelt and hurriedly explained, "This common woman was forced by circumstances, so I had no choice but to resort to this desperate measure!"

"Some time ago, I pledged my life to Master Gu. Although my two children did not agree, they felt pity for me as their mother and could only consent."

"In order to put their minds at ease, and so that we would have someone to care for us in our old age, I persuaded Master Gu to hand over the family business to them to manage, as a gesture of our sincerity."

"But Master Gu kept things from them and didn't explain certain matters. They felt that Master Gu didn't treat them like his own sons, didn't treat them like family, and that there was a rift between them!"

"The two brothers have hot tempers and are clumsy with words, so they had a conflict. But their nature is not bad; they were just afraid that Master Gu was hiding things from them now, and that he might treat me poorly in the future!"

"So the two brothers couldn't take the anger and acted out. Both sides are stubborn, and no amount of persuasion worked, so I had no choice but to use this desperate measure!"

"I pretended to be seriously ill just to make my two children back down. I beg your Lordship to see the truth!"

Looking at the woman kneeling on the ground, Licentiate Gu couldn't help but be moved. "Ru Niang, why must you suffer so!"

But in Shen Yu's eyes, all of this was nauseatingly pretentious. Did she think everyone was as stupid as Licentiate Gu, believing whatever nonsense she spouted?

"You say it like that, so it turns out you were thinking of Licentiate Gu from beginning to end? Keep spinning it, keep spinning! Make the story sound even better, and you'd better make it airtight before you continue!"

"My Lord, this common woman would never dare to deceive your Lordship; I am truly not making up a story!"

"Not making up a story? Then how did the Gu family business become your Peng family's? Not making up a story? Then why did you drive away all the matchmakers and prevent Licentiate Gu from marrying?"

"What?" Hearing this, Licentiate Gu was struck as if by lightning.

He had always thought that his family had fallen on hard times, which was why no one was willing to marry him. What was this about driving away matchmakers?

"It seems you really didn't know, Licentiate Gu!"

Pointing at the old people nearby, Shen Yu said indifferently, "Go ask those elders; which of them doesn't know about these things!"

"You thought that for all these years, no one came to your house to propose, and why, when you later found matchmakers to propose everywhere, there were no results? It was all because this vicious woman blocked it for you!"

"Ru Niang, this..."

"Master Gu, I, I truly love you too much, that is why... You will forgive me, won't you?"

"Love him? You are not even worthy of saying that word!" By now, Shen Yu could no longer listen; how shameless must one be to open their mouth and speak of love?

"Love him, and you've kept him dangling for a lifetime, not even letting him touch you once! Love him, and you've usurped all his family property and driven him out of his own home?"

"My Lord, please see the truth. I intend to spend my whole life with Master Gu; we have already pledged our lives to each other. Isn't that right, Master Gu!"

"This, I..." Looking at the pleading gaze from the woman, Licentiate Gu opened his mouth and finally only said, "Yes!"

"Enough, you don't need to bully an honest man. Even taking a step back, even if what you say is true—you have pledged your lives to each other now, what were you doing all this time before?"

"If my calculations are correct, you should be forty-five or forty-six years old by now; can you still bear children? The Gu family has had only one heir for three generations! If you love him, are you going to let his line end with him?"

"Enough, this farce should come to an end; I am in no mood to listen to you make up stories!"