“Wait!”
Zhu Changsheng walked up to the twenty-four young men, her gaze sweeping over them.
Each of them was tightly bound, their mouths stuffed with thick cloth wads. They looked at her with a determination to face death, expressions ready to meet their end.
Lady Xiang had done one thing well.
That was raising them to be as loyal as dogs. The world knows that dogs are the most loyal animals. Even if Lady Xiang and the Wei Clan Leader pinned all the blame on them tonight, they would not betray Lady Xiang.
Unfortunately…
Lady Xiang had met her match.
Such loyal young men, if properly nurtured, could have become pillars of the nation in the future. It was truly a pity they had fallen into the hands of Lady Xiang and the Wei Clan Leader.
Then let Lady Xiang abandon them herself.
“They told me that Lady Xiang ordered them to go to the garbage yard to catch rats—one copper coin per rat, with more coins for bigger and more rats. After they caught the rats, Lady Xiang told them to release the captured rats into the spirit hall courtyard.”
“Nonsense!” Lady Xiang shrieked, eager to deny it.
She instinctively glanced back at the clansmen behind her, who looked surprised.
Seeing this, Lady Xiang quickly turned and glared fiercely at Wei Hu and the others.
The young men hurriedly shook their heads at Lady Xiang, trying to tell her they had said no such thing.
But before they could even turn their heads, they were pressed to the ground by Wei Mansion servants, their entire bodies immobilized, unable to convey any favorable information to Lady Xiang.
Lady Xiang looked at seven-year-old Wei Jiangbai and walked toward her.
Zhu Changsheng stepped forward, blocking Wei Jiangbai.
Steward Feng, quick-witted, ordered Wei Jiangbai to be tied up as well, her mouth gagged to prevent the children from spouting nonsense.
Lady Xiang fumed with rage: “What do you mean by tying them up? Afraid to let them confront me? Untie them and let them explain clearly to the clansmen.”
With that, Lady Xiang turned back to the clansmen and said: “I knew nothing about this matter. As you all just heard, Wei Jiangbai herself admitted that she stole money and hired people to release rats into the spirit hall courtyard.”
As soon as she finished speaking, a stack of confessions was presented before Lady Xiang.
Lady Xiang turned around and her face bumped into the confessions. She then retreated several steps, furious: “What is this?”
“These are their confessions, spoken by them personally, with their signatures and fingerprints at the bottom. Lady Xiang, as their foster mother, must be very familiar with their handwriting.”
Zhu Changsheng maintained her posture of holding out the confessions.
Lady Xiang stared at the confessions, but after reading only two or three lines, Zhu Changsheng withdrew them.
Those two or three lines were pointed and precise, stating: 【Lady Xiang ordered us to catch many rats, the bigger the rat, the more coins we would be rewarded. Lady Xiang wanted bigger and more rats…】
This was indeed her original words.
Lady Xiang’s gaze toward the young men gradually darkened.
She rushed to Wei Hu’s side and kicked him, angrily shouting: “You ungrateful wretches, traitors who bite the hand that feeds you! How dare you throw dirty water on me!”
“Stop!” A voice full of authority came from within the courtyard.
Everyone looked toward the gate of Yulu Hall.
They saw a white-haired old man walking out, leaning on the Kirin Staff.
He stopped at the courtyard gate, one hand behind his back.
His weathered face was stern and somber, his sharp eyes filled with intimidation.The clansmen, seeing the long-unseen Old Clan Leader, were momentarily stunned, while the older members excitedly stepped forward and called out, “Old Clan Leader, it’s the Old Clan Leader!”
When Wei Jin served as clan leader, he devoted himself wholeheartedly to the welfare of the clan’s younger generation. Later, after a family tragedy—his wife and son died early—Wei Jin fell into despair and handed over clan affairs to the current Wei Clan Leader. In recent years, they had truly suffered unbearable hardships.
“Quickly, greet the Old Clan Leader!”
“Greetings, Old Clan Leader.”
The clansmen all approached Wei Jin, offering him warm regards and concern. However, not everyone was pleased to witness this scene.
That included the current Wei Clan Leader and Lady Xiang.
When Lady Xiang saw the Old Clan Leader appear in the Jade Dew Hall, she staggered back several steps as if she had seen a ghost, her face pale with fright.
The Wei Clan Leader reached out to steady her, and the two exchanged a glance.
The Wei Clan Leader then strode quickly toward Wei Jin. “Elder Brother, why are you here so late at night?”
Wei Jin leaned on the Kirin Staff, ascending the steps one by one toward the Wei Clan Leader.
In the next moment, he raised the Kirin Staff and struck the Wei Clan Leader hard on the knee.
The Wei Clan Leader let out a sharp cry, his struck leg buckling heavily to the ground.
Lady Xiang was startled by the scene and hurried forward to intervene. “E-Elder Brother, no—”
Before her plea could be fully uttered, Wei Jin’s second strike landed on the bone of Lady Xiang’s elbow.
While a board striking the buttocks might split the skin and flesh, a staff striking a bone would not be fatal, but it could inflict pain deep into the marrow.
Wei Jin’s blow silenced Lady Xiang’s words, sending them back into her stomach as she clutched her elbow, screaming incessantly.
Both now knelt before Wei Jin, still attempting to defend themselves.
“Elder Brother, we truly knew nothing about this. These children…” The Wei Clan Leader glanced back toward Wei Hu’s direction. “I never imagined these children were so deeply flawed.”
“Yes, yes, Elder Brother, it really has nothing to do with us. We didn’t tell them to release those rats. It was them…” Lady Xiang also looked back toward Wei Hu’s direction.
Wei Jin let out a long sigh, his voice sharp and stern. “They were brought into the Wei Family by you, raised under your names as parents. Whether you instructed them or not, as their parents, you bear undeniable responsibility. Yet, as parents, not only have you failed to set a proper example, but you have also pushed your own children aside, slandering them with harsh words and resorting to violence. You are utterly unworthy of being parents. Tonight’s events cannot be forgiven. It is you who should face the Clan Law. Guards, bring the Clan Law! Give them Thirty Staff Boards.”
Wh-what? Lady Xiang jerked her head up to look at Wei Jin. Was he insane? Thirty Board Staffs—would her backside even be functional afterward?
Moreover, who in the clan would dare strike her!
She swept her gaze over the clansmen behind her.
The clansmen held the boards and set up the benches, but not one dared step forward to press the Wei Clan Leader and Lady Xiang onto the benches for the Clan Law punishment.
Seeing this, Wei Jin frowned. “Why are you not acting?”
“Who dares lay a hand on me? Just try!” Lady Xiang turned and threatened the clansmen.
Zhu Changsheng took a board from a clansman’s hands and said, “I’ll do it.”
Lady Xiang’s face instantly paled, recalling how Zhu Changsheng had used a whip to strike Lady Yao in the spirit hall earlier that day.
Lady Yao was still bedridden, unable to turn over. If Zhu Changsheng carried out the punishment, Lady Xiang would be lucky to escape with her life, let alone her skin intact.
“You… you wouldn’t dare touch me—”
Before Lady Xiang could finish her warning, Ling Su grabbed her by the collar and shoved her onto the bench.Zhu Changsheng rolled up her sleeves, deftly raised the paddle, and brought it down heavily on Lady Xiang’s body.
A miserable scream rang out, shrill as a slaughtered pig.
Seeing this, some clansmen stepped forward, pressed the Wei Clan Leader onto a bench, and followed Zhu Changsheng’s rhythm, striking him with the paddle.
Before thirty strokes had landed on them, they had already fainted from the pain.
Zhu Changsheng withdrew the paddle and walked up to Wei Jin, giving a slight curtsy: “Old Clan Leader, how do you intend to deal with these children?”
This matter could have been reported to the authorities, but…
She preferred to play it smart and let the Old Clan Leader handle it.
After all, she had already established her authority before the clansmen. Next, she needed to find a backer to make the clansmen believe she could uphold the Wei Family and use it for her own purposes.
However, Wei Jin stared at her with a cold, fierce gaze, as if trying to see right through her…