“If it’s according to the Da Sheng Law, any man and woman who privately engage in improper relations before marriage—whether consensual or not—shall each receive eighty strokes of the rod!”
Song Nianyun’s voice suddenly rose, clearly reaching every onlooker:
“Eighty strokes! How many people can survive that? A frail scholar like Young Master Chen would probably die before even finishing those eighty strokes!”
As soon as she said this, the smugness on Liu Shi’s face froze, turning into fear.
Chen Laogen staggered a step.
Chen Chunhua’s face turned deathly pale. Her brother must not have anything happen to him—her future marriage prospects depended entirely on him!
Song Nianyun calmly observed their reactions and continued:
“And that’s not all. Chen Younli holds the title of top scholar and is considered a seed of scholarship. What the court wants are upright officials, not morally corrupt libertines!”
“If such misconduct is proven, by law, his scholarly status will first be revoked, then he will be punished with the rod!”
She enunciated every word clearly, her voice echoing down the street:
“In other words, your ‘future official’ son would never even step onto the path of officialdom. He would first be stripped of his qualification, reduced to an ordinary commoner who can never sit for the exams again!”
“And then—he would receive eighty strokes of the punitive rod!”
“Liu Shi, you are using your son’s life and future to slander my reputation!”
“No… you’re lying! You’re trying to scare me!”
Liu Shi panicked completely, her voice shrill but trembling uncontrollably.
She only wanted to force Song Nianyun into submission—she never imagined it would lead to such terrifying consequences!
“Scare you?” Song Nianyun sneered. “If you don’t believe me, go verify it yourself. Now tell me—when and where did I ever have any improper relations with your son?”
“I…”
Liu Shi stammered. She did not understand the law at all and could not tell whether Song Nianyun was telling the truth.
If she admitted she was slandering her, she would be drowned in public criticism!
But if she didn’t… what if what that woman said about the law was true? Wouldn’t her precious son be doomed?
Chen Laogen did not care about truth or falsehood anymore. He only had one son, and he would not allow anything to happen to him!
He stepped forward and kicked Liu Shi.
“You foolish woman! Speak the truth! Are you trying to kill Younli?!”
Liu Shi was kicked stumbling to the ground, crying out in pain. Seeing her husband’s red eyes and thinking of her outstanding son, she finally broke down.
“I… I was wrong! I was talking nonsense! There was nothing like that!”
“To everyone present—I made it all up! I only said those things to ruin Song Yibai’s reputation so she would become infamous and have no choice but to marry my son!”
The crowd erupted instantly!
Shocked voices and accusations surged like a tide.
“Heavens! What a vicious woman!”
“To think they would use such despicable methods!”
“We almost sympathized with her—what fools we were!”
“The Chen family is truly disgraceful!”
Liu Shi’s face burned red with shame as she wished she could dig a hole and hide.
Chen Laogen’s face darkened with humiliation. He glared at her fiercely, almost wanting to kick her again.
Chen Chunhua shrank back in fear, not daring to look up.
However, some voices of doubt emerged:
“Wait a moment, Madam Chen. Are you changing your story because you’re afraid your son will be punished?”
“You spoke so convincingly earlier—now you deny everything just because of a few legal words?”
“How are we supposed to believe you?”
More people echoed in agreement.
“Exactly! You were so certain just now!”
“Now you change your story the moment law is mentioned?”
“Maybe she’s trying to protect her son by taking the blame herself?”
“This is getting confusing…”
Liu Shi panicked even more.
“I’m telling the truth! I swear to heaven!”
Song Nianyun coldly swept her gaze across the crowd.
She knew that if this continued, not only would her reputation be destroyed, but her path to the imperial examinations would also be ruined.
She stepped forward and bowed gracefully to the crowd.
“Fellow townspeople, you have all witnessed what happened today. Liu Shi first fabricated lies to tarnish my innocence, then changed her words out of fear of the law.”
“Such inconsistency naturally causes doubt. I understand.”
Her voice paused slightly, tears glistening in her eyes but refusing to fall:
“As the saying goes, ‘a thousand mouths can melt gold; accumulated slander can destroy bones.’ To you, this may be casual talk, but to me, every word is a blade that can take my life.”
She bowed deeply again, her slender figure trembling slightly with restraint:
“I ask nothing more than that you do not believe rumors or spread gossip.”
“Please, leave a path of survival for me—and for all those who may be harmed by rumors.”
Her voice carried a restrained sob at the end, her eyes reddening while she still held herself upright.
This pitiful yet dignified appearance immediately stirred sympathy among the crowd.
Indeed, the voices quickly shifted:
“Miss Song has been wronged!”
“What a well-mannered young lady—how could she do such things!”
“She is right! We must not spread rumors!”
“That Chen family woman is truly malicious!”
“Almost became accomplices in wrongdoing!”
“From now on, no more spreading gossip!”
The tide of public opinion completely reversed.
Song Nianyun bowed deeply to the crowd again.
“Thank you all for your understanding!”
A tear finally slipped down her cheek at just the right moment.
She straightened up, wiped it away with a handkerchief, and boarded her carriage.
Her slightly trembling shoulders made her appear both fragile and resilient.
The Chen family, meanwhile, fled in disgrace under the jeering and scorn of the crowd.
Inside the carriage, Song Nianyun calmly smoothed her sleeves.
The earlier pitiful expression had already vanished, replaced with composure.
“Miss… were you pretending to cry just now?”
Song Zhuangzhuang was stunned.
She felt like her young lady had changed.
Before, she would either tremble in anger or cry and run away—never like today, where a few words forced Liu Shi to retract her claims and turned the crowd completely to their side.
Song Nianyun gave a soft “mm” in response.
Song Zhuangzhuang became even more astonished.
“Miss, since when did you know the Da Sheng Law so well? You even spoke it so convincingly—you scared them all!”