Do you have the strength to force me to join the Liangshan bandits?

Chapter 467, Section 2: It's all Assistant Li's fault! [3rd update, please vote with monthly tickets and recommendations]

Who are the three Duan siblings?
The original text clearly states that their family were local ruffians and hooligans from Duanjiazhuang, Dingshanbao, Fangzhou.

Duan Er and Duan Wu run casinos, specifically to lure people into gambling and ruin them financially!

Duan San Niang is even more ruthless!
She married a husband when she was fifteen, but less than a year later, he was tortured to death by Duan Sanniang!
Taking advantage of her physical strength, she ran a casino with Duan Er and Duan Wu to make that disgusting money.

None of the neighbors were afraid of Old Duan's family.

Countless respectable young men have been ruined by Duan Sanniang. Do you think that's why she's called "Big Insect Nest"?
Of course, Wang Qing wasn't a good person either; he indulged in drinking, gambling, whoring, and even beat his parents, making him a perfect match for her.

The Duan family's background determined that they would be domineering, arrogant, and unreasonable!
Although Mi Sheng and He Ji possessed unparalleled bravery, in Duan San Niang's eyes they were nothing more than two household slaves.

Duan San Niang was furious, but she couldn't openly confront Wang Qing, so she could only vent her anger on them.

Wang Qing thought there was nothing wrong with it, after all, in his eyes, Mi Sheng and He Ji were also two servants.

In fact, Wang Qing's temper wasn't much better than Duan Sanniang's.

When Wang Qing was a deputy platoon leader in Kaifeng Prefecture, whenever he had money, he and his three or four brothers would eat and drink lavishly together every day.

If things didn't go his way, he would pull out his fist and start hitting. So people both feared and liked him.

With both of them being like this, how could Mi Sheng and He Ji possibly escape this beating?
"Crackling..."

Mi Sheng and He Ji were dragged back after receiving fifty lashes of the rod, their lower bodies covered in blood.

Seeing the blood-soaked lower bodies of Mi Sheng and He Ji, Duan San Niang's anger subsided by half.
"Tell me! What is the truth?"

Mi Sheng and He Ji were telling the truth, and being military officers, they were not good with words, so they just shouted that they were wronged.

Duan Sanniang's temper flared up again: "Your Majesty, these lowly bastards, you probably won't be able to get them to talk without severe torture!"

Wang Qing knew, of course, that Mi Sheng and He Ji were innocent, and he didn't want them to be tortured to death by Duan San Niang...

If Duan Sanniang could even abuse her husband to death, what chance would she have against two servants?

To protect Mi Sheng and He Ji, Wang Qing waved his hand dismissively:
"Didn't you hear what Her Majesty said? Throw these two good-for-nothings into the Heavenly Prison!"
“We will subject them to severe torture every day until they tell us the truth!”

Is that what I said?

Duan Sanniang's thick eyebrows, resembling those of a Taoist priest with one eyebrow, were furrowed together, and she glared at Wang Qing with her large eyes.

Although he was somewhat dissatisfied, he didn't say anything.

After all, Wang Qing had said he would subject her to severe torture every day, so he could barely be considered to have carried out her will.

Moreover, Wang Qing is now the King of Chu, and he can no longer act as he used to, hitting and scolding people at will...

Watt hair?
Mi Sheng and He Ji were struck dumb:
What a tyrant!
We are both clearly innocent, and you know we are both innocent!
Yet, for the sake of a woman, they threw us both into prison and subjected us to severe torture...

No, you're already this incompetent before you've even unified the world. What will happen to us once you have unified the world?

"Injustice! Injustice!"

Mi Sheng and He Ji were dragged out by the palace guards. Wang Qing dismissed everyone and smiled apologetically at Duan San Niang.

"My beloved concubine, there is no need to worry!"

"I will spare no effort to bring my second brother back!"

Duan Sanniang pouted, "What way do you have to save my brother?"

"Ah this..."

Wang Qing had no other choice; he usually relied on his strategist, Prime Minister Li Zhu, for advice and strategies.

Now that Li Zhu has also disappeared, Wang Qing has no choice but to use a soft approach to overcome a hard one:
"My dear consort, this matter requires further consideration..."

"Let's think this through carefully! Let's think this through carefully!"

"If this drags on any longer, I'm afraid my brother's life will be in danger!"

Duan San Niang's bad temper flared up again:

"In my opinion, Mi Sheng and He Ji have most likely been bribed by the King of Qi!"
"Otherwise, why didn't the strategist return, nor did my brother, but the two of them returned unharmed?"

After Duan Sanniang's words, Wang Qing also felt that Mi Sheng and He Ji were suspicious. So he sent an eunuch to deliver an imperial edict to the imperial prison to severely torture Mi Sheng and He Ji until he found out the truth.

Seeing that Wang Qing was so obedient, Duan Sanniang decided to reward him, so Wang Qing did not attend the morning court the next day...

As a result, Wang Qing was taking a nap with Duan Sanniang in his arms when he was suddenly awakened from his dream by a familiar voice:
"Sister-husband-"

Oh my god!

Wang Qing was jolted awake and sat up abruptly.

"Who's yelling like that?"

Only Duan Er's wailing could be heard coming from outside the door:

"It's me, brother-in-law! I almost didn't make it back—"

"Second brother?"

Duan San Niang sprang to her feet with a start, rushing out with a mixture of surprise and delight:

"Second Brother, is that really you?"

"My beloved concubine, the clothes—"

In a moment of panic, Wang Qing grabbed the quilt and rushed out, wrapping it around Duan San Niang, who was embracing Duan Er and weeping bitterly.

When Duan San Niang rushed out and saw that Duan Er had indeed returned, she was overjoyed at first, but when she saw that Duan Er had indeed lost one eye, she was immediately overcome with grief!
Ignoring the fact that they were only wearing a red undergarment, Duan San Niang and Duan Er embraced and wept bitterly.

"Second brother, your eyes... sob..."

Wang Qing wrapped Duan Sanniang in a quilt before asking Duan Er:
"Second brother, what exactly happened?"

"It's all Li Zhu's fault!"

Duan Er had already made his plans on the way back, and without hesitation, he shifted the blame to Assistant Li:
"Sister, brother-in-law, this is what happened, blah blah blah..."

"Because Li Zhu suddenly disappeared, I had no choice but to take on the heavy responsibility of seeing the King of Qi, blah blah blah..."

"The King of Qi gouged out my eyes and sent me to the royal physician's office for treatment. Guess who I saw there?"

Duan San Niang, as was her habit, played the straight man for her brother: "Who?"

Duan Er gritted his teeth and said, "Assistant Li!"

"what?"

Wang Qing was furious: "I trusted him so much that I not only appointed him as military advisor and prime minister, but also appointed his nephew Li Huai as pacification commissioner!"
"He actually sided with the King of Qi?"

"Brother-in-law, you can know a person's face but not their heart!"

Duan Er squinted at his one eye and said with a sigh, "You just trust them too much!"

"When it really comes down to it, it's still us family members who you can rely on!"

Wang Qing's face was gloomy, and he remained silent.

Duan Sanniang asked Duan Er, "Have Mi Sheng and He Ji submitted to the King of Qi?"

"They are both good!"

Since Duan Er had shifted the blame to Li Zhu, he naturally needed to win over Mi Sheng and He Ji, especially since they had already returned.
"By the way, where are Mi Sheng and He Ji?"

This is embarrassing...

Duan Sanniang could only vaguely reply, "The King suspects them of disloyalty and is sending people to investigate them..."

I investigated them?
Wang Qing glanced at Duan San Niang speechlessly, and Duan Er then said:

"Since that beast Li Zhu has already sided with the King of Qi, I'm afraid his nephew Li Huai is also in trouble!"
"Your Majesty, Jingnan Prefecture is of utmost importance!"
"Li Huai led 30,000 troops to guard Jishan, and his 'Five Tigers of Jishan' were all brave enough to fight ten thousand men!"
"If he colludes with foreign powers and the King of Qi, it will cause a great uproar!"

Goodnight, sorry, I'll make up for the missed update tomorrow (_)

(End of this chapter)