Crossing the Mountains

Chapter 102: Ancestral Hall Interrogation
Madam Shentu pointed at her late husband's tablet and angrily cried, "Have you forgotten how your father-in-law was framed and slandered by those people in Andu, causing the family business to fall and leaving him with a lifelong regret?! Have you also forgotten how I made you two brothers swear not to serve as officials in the court?"

Shentu Zhuo argued, "If we don't join the government, won't we be bullied? If it weren't for my brother's determination to join the army and earn a place through his military exploits, the Shentu family would have been ruined long ago!"

"Shut up! Heng'er joined the army, intending to guard the border for his entire life, so he wouldn't have to deal with those old grudges. But what about you? You're heading for Andu! Those people are worried about not being able to completely eradicate them. If you do this, you're sending yourself and the Shentu family to a dead end!"

"Brother is dead! He died silently and in such a strange way. Have you never doubted it, Mother?" Shen Tu Zhuo advised. "Mother, don't you understand? You can't hide. Rather than being crushed like an ant, it's better to overturn their chessboard... Only by playing the game yourself can you make them pay the price!"

Seeing the quarrel getting more and more intense, Shentu Ji was frightened.

The old lady was furious. She turned a deaf ear to Shen Tu Zhuo's words and took the cane from Old Lady Liao's hand, ready to punish him with the family discipline: "Evil son! Are you still stubborn and refusing to change your ways?!"

When the vine fell on Shentu Zhuo, Tan Huaike couldn't help but take half a step forward, then barely retracted it.

Before the interrogation began, Shen Tu Zhuo knew he couldn't escape this lesson, so he found an opportunity to say to her: "No matter what happens in the ancestral hall later, you just stay out of it."

Seeing his righteous look, Tan Huaike felt amused but also a little worried: "I can't just watch you get beaten up. As your eldest sister-in-law, I'd better plead for you."

Unexpectedly, Shentu Zhuo said solemnly: "Anyone can plead for me, except you, absolutely not."

Tan Huaike was puzzled: "Why is that? Are you afraid that I won't be able to speak?"

Seeing the servants coming to stop him, Shen Tuzhuo hurriedly said, "Just listen to me. Don't say anything and don't beg for mercy."

Just like that, Tan Huaike swallowed the words that were meant to defend him.

Shentu Ji was the first to lose patience and knelt down to plead, "Mother, my second brother has been able to enter the government through the imperial examination, which is a great honor for our family. Why don't you let him go? We have been hiding in the border for so long, and those old grudges can no longer be pursued. Those who targeted you have probably grown old and forgotten about it. Only we are still worried..."

The old lady angrily said, "What do you know? You are young and have no idea what happened back then. Your grandfather was the Grand Herald at the time. It would be easy for anyone who could bring him down to death to crush Zhuo'er!"
"Andu, the imperial court, the princes and generals, you only see the glory, but you don't know the dangers behind it. Ji'er, ask yourself, are you really thinking about your brother, or are you just dreaming about being the daughter of a wealthy family?"

This was really too much. Shentu Ji was so ashamed that he couldn't help crying, "Mother, I just hope that our family can live a better life. What's wrong with me? My two brothers did the same. The eldest brother joined the army, and the second brother entered the government. Aren't they all holding their breath and wanting to restore the Shentu Mansion to its former glory?
"Yes, I want to be the daughter of a wealthy family. Why can't I be the daughter of a wealthy family? Those people you mentioned, the officials who once harmed my father-in-law, have either been in high positions or fallen into poverty. Everything has changed. Who would care about us? Do you still think the Shentu family is the backbone of the family?"
-
There was a fierce quarrel in the ancestral hall.

As an observer, Tan Huaike felt that both sides had their reasons.

She could understand Jun Gu's protection of her three children. After going through such ups and downs, no one would want to push their children into the same quagmire again. A stable life was the best. She could also understand the reluctance of the three Shentu siblings. Everyone has ambitions. Knowing that their family had been wronged, their father had died with hatred in his heart, and they had watched their family decline, how could they not want to fight for it with all their might?

As the daughter of the former Grand Historian, Jungu Fu Lingjun was no shortsighted person. Having supported the gradually crumbling Shentu Mansion for so many years, she must have harbored a desire for revenge against the scoundrels and a return to Andu. Otherwise, she wouldn't have acquiesced to Shentu Heng's military service. He was said to be stationed at the border for his entire life; if he truly had been granted a title of nobility and a general, he could have carved out a new world for himself.

However, all her anger and hope disappeared when she learned that Shentu Heng had died in battle.

The loss of her beloved son left the mother devastated.

She no longer thought about revenge or the glory of being from a prominent family. She just wanted her children to be safe and happy, without any storms to destroy them.

So even though Shen Tuzhuo resented her, she insisted on not letting him participate in the imperial examination. Unfortunately, she was ultimately defeated by him.

This child, who always acted like a dandy, was actually playing a double game. On the surface, he lived a life of luxury, surrounded by a constant stream of entertainers and dancers, but secretly he suffered a lot and created a "Thousand Gold Channel". With such achievements, and the trust of the Chi County Magistrate, he would definitely recommend him strongly, and he could be said to have officially embarked on the road to promotion.

The cane still fell on Shentu Zhuo's back.

Shen Tu Zhuo endured more than twenty blows, gritting his teeth and refusing to yield. Instead, he retorted, "Mother, go ahead and hit me. Unless you beat me to death, I will definitely participate in the inspection and selection after the Qianjin Canal is completed."

Seeing the blood oozing from his back, the old lady's hand holding the cane trembled slightly. But when she turned around and saw Shen Tuheng's cold tablet, she finally hardened her heart and continued to beat him.

With tears in her eyes, she beat and scolded: "Okay, okay, rather than letting you insist on having your own way and causing our whole family to be buried with you, I'd rather I beat you to a pulp right now so that you can't go anywhere!"

The beating was too severe. After that, the man had to go to the fields to dig ditches. How could his body bear it?
Tan Huaike couldn't bear to watch it any longer and was about to step forward to stop it, but was nailed to the spot by Shen Tu Zhuo's glance.

——Don't plead for me.

——Why? What do you want to do?
Shen Tu Zhuo suddenly curled the corners of his lips and looked up at the furious old lady: "Anyway, my mother is already so angry, today is worse than tomorrow, so I might as well confess one more thing."

Shentu Ji looked at him in disbelief.

Is my brother crazy? My mother spoke so forcefully, clearly feeling the pain. Shouldn't she be soft-hearted and offer soothing words at a time like this? Why was she adding fuel to the fire?

But what else do you want to confess, brother? Is it more serious than secretly participating in the imperial examination?

The old lady was tired from beating him and just took a breath: "Evil son, what else are you hiding from me?"

Shen Tu Zhuo said something shocking: "Nothing, I just want to ask mother for permission in front of my brother's memorial tablet to let my sister-in-law divorce my brother and marry me."

Tan Huaike suddenly opened his eyes wide: "..."

Shentu Ji exclaimed: "Oh my God!"

Old Lady Liao hurriedly supported the staggering old lady: "Lady! Lady!"

　Next chapter: Shentu Zhuo, are you plotting against me?

　　Happy Women's Day to everyone!

　　(End of this chapter)