Crossing the Mountains

Chapter 176: Family law service

When we arrived in Zhangye County, it was already dusk, and the lamps in Shentu’s mansion had just been lit.

Shen Tu Zhuo knew he could not escape his fate. Despite his great anxiety, he still sent someone ahead of time to inform the old lady of approximately when she and her sister-in-law could return home, so that the household could make preparations in advance.

Fu Feng didn't want to get involved in their mess, so as soon as he entered the city, he went to Rusheng Medical Clinic and exchanged ideas with Doctor Qiu.

When they arrived at the doorstep, weary from their journey, the mansion was indeed "prepared".

The servant had just hung up the lantern when he saw Shen Tu Zhuo and greeted him eagerly: "The Second Young Master is back!" He then said to the people behind him, "Quickly, go and inform the Queen."

Shen Tu Zhuo wasn't in a hurry to go in and get scolded. He waited to go with Tan Huai Ke. However, before Tan Huai Ke could even step onto the steps, the servant reached out to stop him with a self-righteous tone and said coldly, "Madam, please stay. The Lady has instructed that since the family has separated, you should go back to your own side courtyard."

Tan Huaike was not surprised at all, so he had no intention of following Shen Tu Zhuo into the mansion.

When she left under the guise of a merchant, she had no choice but to take over a shop on Huaqi Street in exchange for a contract of indenture from the Tan family. She was burdened with huge debts, gossiped about everywhere, and had an extremely cold relationship with the Shentu family. Aunt Jun had long since considered her useless, so it would be strange if she were let in like this.

She was not offended at all by the servants' neglect.

Shentu Zhuo couldn't stand it any longer and immediately rebuked the servant: "Insolence! My sister-in-law is my Shentu family's lawfully wedded wife. How dare you look down on her like that! She came back with me, so she should go to pay her respects to my mother together. How can she take a side gate to the side courtyard! If you dare to speak rudely again, I'll teach you a lesson for your lack of respect!"

The servant looked troubled: "But Second Young Master, this belongs to the Queen..."

Tan Huai Ke didn't want to cause trouble here, so he stepped forward to comfort Shen Tu Zhuo and said calmly, "It's alright, Uncle, you should go in first. I imagine you're not much better off than me, and you still have some difficulties to deal with ahead."

Shen Tu Zhuo was speechless: "..."

Tan Huaike patted his arm and whispered, "You'll have to bear the first wave of Aunt Jun's anger yourself. Go and get scolded and beaten first, but hold on, I'll come to rescue you later."

With a heart full of despair, Shen Tu Zhuo glared at the servant: Was this making things difficult for Tan Huai Ke or for himself? It was clearly forcing him to bear his mother's reprimand alone!

Tan Huai Ke called out to Pei Er, then led his servants and belongings toward the side courtyard.

Unexpectedly, the clueless servant refused to give up and swaggered over to take over the men and their belongings: "Madam can go back to the side courtyard by herself. We will take care of the Second Young Master's servants and luggage."

Even Pei'er couldn't stand it anymore. She slapped his hand away from the horse's reins and said, "What are you saying? These are all my mistress's people and valuables!" She threw two small bundles from the carriage at him and said irritably, "Here, this is all the luggage your second young master has. Take it! Tch, who cares!"

The servant was stunned: "Huh?" Does the mistress have such a high status?

Shentu Zhuo snorted coldly: "That's right, those all belong to my sister-in-law. Take my little bundle and don't embarrass yourself here!"
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Entering the main house with trepidation, Shentu Zhuo tensed up upon seeing the scene before him.

Before he could even offer his greetings, Aunt Liao, standing behind the old lady, shouted loudly, "Someone come here! Welcome the Second Young Master!"

As soon as he finished speaking, four burly servants stepped forward and grabbed Shen Tu Zhuo. Two of them forced him onto the table in the center of the room, while the other two stood on either side of him, holding long sticks. Shen Tu Zhuo dared not resist and could only hurriedly plead, "Mother, please hear my explanation. I am going to Andu..."

However, Old Madam Shentu ignored him completely and coldly said, "Serve him according to family rules!"

The stick struck Shentu Zhuo's back in an instant, the cracking sound ringing out. He had thought he could at least catch his breath, be scolded a few times before being beaten, but who would have thought his mother was determined to punish him, wanting to make him suffer the full force of her skin right from the start. Poor thing, all his well-prepared attempts to reason with her and appeal to her emotions were useless; he could only endure the beating.

Even though Shen Tu Zhuo had thick skin and tough flesh, he couldn't withstand the severe beating, and a burning pain shot through his back.

However, he was never a "tough nut to crack" and was always good at cheating and slyness. Even if he was only in a little pain, he would pretend to be in a lot of pain. He immediately cried out, "Mother! Why did you hit me, Mother! I used to be a good-for-nothing, doing nothing but frequenting brothels. Everyone said I was a good-for-nothing, good for nothing but squandering the family fortune. Mother never hit me!"
"Now that I have dug the Qianjin Canal, I have been recommended for official positions based on my ability to govern the region. This is a way of honoring my father's name! Everyone in the county says I am a great talent, but only you, Mother, can't stand to see me achieve success!"

Wow!

The old lady smashed her teacup in anger: "Achieve merit and fame? Do you know how many people in the court want us dead, want us to be disgraced! How did I teach you from childhood? You can be a playboy, you can eat, drink and have fun however you want, but you must not step into officialdom! But what did you do? You drew up plans for canal construction, and insisted on going to the capital to participate in the recommendation examination... You think you've grown wings and I can't control you anymore, huh!"

"Why can my brother join the army, but I can't be recommended for official positions!"

"How dare you mention your brother!" The old lady's eyes reddened. "I only regret that I wasn't resolute enough back then, allowing your brother to join the Zhenxi Army. What good were his military achievements? Now he's nothing but bones! And now you're disobedient too. Do you want me to just watch as those demons and monsters skin you alive and tear you apart, following in your father's and brother's footsteps?!"

"Mother, I can't... Oh dear..."

"The second young master has been pampered since childhood, and he has never suffered like this before..." Seeing Shentu Zhuo's face turn pale with pain, Liao Ao was the first to feel sorry for him and advised, "My lady, just give him a lesson, don't really hurt the young master."

"Give him a good beating!" But the old lady's anger had not subsided. "Beat him until he's crippled, so he can resign from his post!"

Tan Huai Ke returned home through the side gate of the side courtyard, ordered his belongings to be settled, and then heard a commotion coming from the main house. Although it was too far away to hear clearly, he could tell from the varying pitch of the wails that Shen Tu Zhuo had been beaten as soon as he entered the house.

She had intended to wait until Aunt Jun had calmed down a bit before trying to mediate, as that would be most effective. However, considering that this person had recently suffered at the hands of the Prefect of the Capital, she was truly worried and decided not to wait any longer. Instead, she went through the small door connecting the side courtyard and the main house.

To everyone's surprise, the door was locked again, and it hadn't been used for a long time. The lock was rusted, and it probably wouldn't be easy to open with a key.

Tan Huaike rolled up his sleeves, found a large rock, and started smashing it while cursing, "What kind of high-class family are you? You've been gone for so long, but you still won't give up any of these pretentious rules! What kind of facade are you guarding! What are you afraid of entering officialdom for! You're just a bunch of cowards! Soft persimmons that can be manipulated by others! Watch me smash all your broken locks!"

With a snap, the lock broke off.

Tan Huaike threw down the stone and waved his arm, "Aunt Chang, Apeng, come with me! Pei'er, go to Uncle's courtyard and call Ashuo and Ahui over. They're all going to the main house to support me!"

Everyone acknowledged the order: "Yes, Madam!"

Tan Huai Ke stormed into the main house, giving them instructions along the way: "A Peng, when you go in, take all the sticks that were used to beat people. Aunt Chang, listen up..."
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Next chapter: Does she really think she's the queen of this mansion?