Promise!

Chapter 130, Destroying the Heart

That afternoon, in a side hall of the government office.

Huang Jingping, a ninth-rank prison warden, is presiding over the case of the missing servant Min Shang. The two parties involved, Zhuang Jin and Chen Yun, as well as Min's father and mother, are standing on the left and right respectively.

However, the difference was evident from their treatment: Zhuang Jin and Chen Yun sat down, while Qian Wende stood behind them with a cold smile, and Min's father and mother stood on the other side.

To be honest, Min's father and mother were in a panic at this moment. They dared not look Zhuang Jin in the eye in fear. They never expected that the 'dead man' that the big shot behind them had mentioned would really come back. In fact, the big shot behind them had also disappeared. They were truly in a dilemma.

Snapped!
Huang Jingping slammed his gavel and looked at Min's father and mother, asking, "Is your son, Min Shang, really missing?"

"Sir, this... is a mistake..." Father Min was no longer as confident and smug as when he first reported the case. He shrank back and tried to explain.

"Yes, they lost my son! They want money!" Ignorance is bliss, and Min's mother was stubborn to the end, adopting the spirit of arguing in the street, and shouted loudly.

"No noise is allowed in the courtroom!"

Huang Jingping gave a reprimand, then stood up and looked at Zhuang Jin, asking with a forced smile, "What's your side of the story?"

“Just treat it as if it’s lost, what do you say?” Qian Wende said.

This guy said that today's 'big show' would definitely let Zhuang Jin and Chen Yun vent their anger, so Zhuang Jin pulled Chen Yun to sit down and let this guy do his thing.

"According to the laws of the imperial court, if a servant who has signed a contract is lost, compensation shall be paid in the event of death, at a rate of ten times the monthly wage," Huang Jingping said.

“Min Shang pays eight qian of silver per month, which is eight liang ten times.”

As he spoke, Qian Wende pulled out two hundred-tael silver ingots from his pocket and tossed them over: "Keep the change, is this all settled?"

"Silver! Silver!" Madam Min knelt down to pick it up, her face beaming with joy: "It's alright, it's alright, we won't pursue this any further!"

Seeing this scene, Min's father felt uneasy.

Qian Wende chuckled softly, glancing at the two men with pity. Did he think his money was so easy to take?

"Now that this matter is settled, Min Shang should be treated as dead and his household registration should be cancelled, right?" After confirming this, Qian Wende watched as Min Shang's household registration was cancelled before ordering his men to bring over the person who was tied up.

Who else could this person be but Min Shang? At this moment, his hands and feet were bound and his mouth was gagged. He trembled with fear when he saw Zhuang Jin, almost urinating on his own. Then he looked at Min's father and mother, whimpering for help.

—Qian Wende led his men to arrest Min Shang. Because he was planning to kill him out of his heart, he did not disturb Min's father and mother and secretly took him away.

"This..." Min's father and mother stared wide-eyed at the sight.

"My son!" Mother Min rushed forward.

Qian Wende stopped him, sneering, "Nonsense, this isn't my son, but a thief I captured!"

“This isn’t a thief, it’s my son…”

"But your son is missing, isn't he? This is a thief I caught near your house. Are you lying to me? Lying to Brother Zhuang? Lying to the imperial court? How dare you! Think carefully before you speak. Is this really your son?"

"No, it's not."

"Really not? This is a thief, a crime punishable by death. If you don't admit it, I'll kill you?"

"This...this...is it!"

"If so, should the hundred taels be returned?"

“This…” Mother Min clutched the silver in her hand tightly.

"If it were my own son, I would definitely recognize him. Since I can't recognize him, then it must not be him. He's undoubtedly a thief... This man deserves to die!"

As Qian Wende spoke, he swiftly drew his knife and beheaded a fine man, his head rolling to the ground.

"My son!"

At that moment, Min's father and mother rushed forward together, their eyes wide with rage.

"So, it's your son. You've hidden your son to extort money? Magistrate Huang, how should this situation be handled?"

"According to the laws of the Great Qian Dynasty, those who commit extortion shall, depending on the severity of the circumstances, pay two to ten times the amount in compensation and be punished with twenty to one hundred strokes of the cane... This matter is extremely egregious, and should be punished with ten times the amount in compensation and one hundred strokes of the cane..."

"Leaving aside the caning punishment, ten times one hundred taels is one thousand taels." Qian Wende said, snatching the one hundred taels of silver and kicking over Min's mother, who was trying to grab it again: "This is one hundred taels, there are still nine hundred taels left. If you sell your house, that's two or three hundred taels. If you confiscate your family's savings, that's another two or three hundred taels... but that's still far from enough!"

"You guys are so damn stingy. You need to seriously reflect on whether you've made any effort all these years."

He slapped Min's father and mother across the face with his backhand: "How about this, your son will be sold into slavery and your daughter into prostitution, that'll be enough... Even if it's still a little short, I, Brother Zhuang, am kind-hearted, so I won't pursue it... You must remember: you can never repay Brother Zhuang's kindness in your next life!"

"We were wrong! We were wrong!" At this point, Min's father finally understood that the other party was there to destroy his family, and he immediately knelt down and begged for mercy.

Mother Min, however, seemed oblivious to the situation. Like neighbors arguing, she sat on the ground, slapping her legs and shouting, "You're trying to force us to our deaths! You're trying to force us to our deaths!"

"What gave you... the illusion that I'm not trying to force you to your deaths?" Qian Wende chuckled like a villain.

"You...you will be punished, you will die a horrible death!" Mother Min cursed.

Mr. Min was already slumped on the ground, his face filled with despair.

"I don't know if I'll get my comeuppance, but you've done such heinous things, haven't you thought about what retribution might come your way?"

Zhuang Jin found it rather boring; they were just two pieces that had been pushed to the front and discarded. He waved his hand, telling Qian Wende to stop playing, and pulled Chen Yun up.

Chen Yun was kind-hearted by nature. She hesitated to speak, but in the end, she held back and left.

Two screams came from behind.

……

The following morning, the eighth son, Shen Xuchen, came to visit.

Because of their past relationship in the Miao Lun case, and because Xing Yan, who helped this time, was also his personal guard, he had some influence with Zhuang Jin. That's why he was invited by Mu Mingxi, the head of the General Affairs Department, and Li Ping, the head of the Law Enforcement Department, to act as intermediaries.

Now that Zhuang Jin is a meritorious official and a role model, his family members are being targeted while he is away from home. If this is not handled properly and becomes a big deal, it will discourage many people. Naturally, we need to consult him and handle the situation properly.

Shen Xuchen reported on the case's progress: "...He didn't personally intervene, only hinted...to distance themselves...and these two are stubborn, insisting they have no involvement, without any concrete evidence..."

Upon hearing this, Zhuang Jin frowned. If Miao Shao and Zhao Bin were not dealt with and were simply released, he would have to consider making a scene and asking the head of the Shen family to take charge.

Seeing Zhuang Jin's expression, Shen Xuchen knew that Zhuang Jin had misunderstood, and immediately continued, "However, we cannot convict them because of this, but we can punish them in other ways. For example, these two can be exiled to the south of the city, adjacent to the Medicine King Gang. They have been active for some time and could have left already, but we can stop them and keep them in the south of the city. Now, my Shen family is preparing to fight back, and the front line is dangerous. There will probably be many casualties among the Seven Classics level. These two will be sent to the most dangerous place..."

"I hope Governor Zhuang understands that the Enforcement Division, in judging cases, demands evidence and adheres to procedures; this is already the limit of what can be done openly... There's plenty of time in the future..."

The phrases "openly" and "there's plenty of time" are practically an open secret. If these two don't die, Zhuang Jin can deal with them on his own in the future.

"In addition, compensation can be made. Starting next month, Zhuang Town Guardian can go to the east of the city to guard the ward and recuperate peacefully..."

The Shen family headquarters, the areas in the east and south of the city that are not adjacent to the Medicine King Gang are the true heartland of the Shen family. These areas are far from the front lines and are rich in resources, and have always been the private domain of those with close ties.

"Thank you, Eighth Young Master!" Zhuang Jin finally relented upon hearing this.

On the one hand, it was out of consideration for Shen Xuchen, as they had indeed incurred a favor; on the other hand, they also knew that in such a high-profile case, the Enforcement Division could not violate procedural justice, and at the same time, they were in need of manpower, so it was unrealistic to execute the two Seven Classics martial artists directly.

Since that's the case, I might as well accept the compensation for now... Once I get to the east of the city, have absorbed the more than 20,000 battle merits, and break through to the tenth and eleventh meridians, if those two are still alive by then, I'll have some fun with them.

"This is actually for the best. If Miao Shao and Zhao Bin had been sentenced to death this time, I really wouldn't have been able to ensure their entire families were executed. After all, Yunniang wasn't really hurt, and these two had paid with their lives; to outsiders, that would have been enough... But now that they've resisted the investigation, refused to confess, and are stubbornly resisting to the end, they've offended the Enforcement Department and the General Affairs Department to the extreme. This will also give outsiders the impression of being incorrigible. If I were to go to that extent later, the Enforcement Department would turn a blind eye, and there would be far less criticism."

"Furthermore, every day I live is a tremendous psychological torment for these two. Whether I will make a move, when I will make a move, and how I will make a move—this lingering fear is more agonizing than killing them with a single blow!" Zhuang Jin's eyes were deep.

"Zhuang Zhenshou is indeed a reasonable person."

Seeing that Zhuang Jin agreed, Shen Xuchen knew that he had won the favor of the two chief judges this time, and he was in a good mood, praising them.

He paused for a moment, then thought of Zhuang Jin's intelligence. Zhuang Jin was known for his strong sense of right and wrong, and considering his caution, shrewdness, and potential—likely to reach the Qi Condensation Realm and surpass the Twelve Meridians—he felt he couldn't let this cause any resentment. He then tried to appease him, saying, "Now that I've investigated, I can tell you some information, such as: how the Medicine King Gang suddenly rose to power? Where did the Azure Essence Liquid come from? And the secret of the Black Fiend Technique..."

'An inspection? What kind of inspection? When did it happen?'

Zhuang Jin had a vague guess about this, but the more important questions were the last three. He had also tried to ask the Second Young Master Fei about these, but the other party didn't know either. Now it seemed that these secrets would be answered today.

He had a strange premonition that today, the truth of this world would be revealed to him.

……

(End of this chapter)