Don’t mess with women
The other people didn’t know the specific experiences of these women, but how could she not know after doing her “homework” in advance through the system and other channels?
Some of these women were respectable young ladies from ordinary families in the county town; some were particularly beautiful farm girls, such as the one who had tightly grabbed Meng Jun’s wrist; and others were courtesans from pleasure houses.
Some of them, inexperienced in the world, were moved by Meng Jun’s well-groomed appearance, sweet words, and family background. They dreamed of soaring into higher status, becoming Madam Meng or a concubine and living a good life, only to be cruelly abandoned once Meng Jun grew bored of them.
Others didn’t even like Meng Jun at first, but were almost forced into submission because of their beauty.
Afterward, as he continued to sweet-talk them and make endless promises, and presented himself as merely acting out of overwhelming affection, they eventually softened, half-resisting, half-consenting, and even began to develop feelings. But then Meng Jun felt that their obedience dulled his sense of conquest, and he discarded them just as ruthlessly.
The most tragic of all was the courtesan.
Normally, relationships between clients and courtesans were purely transactional, money for companionship, with no emotional entanglement involved.
But Meng Jun was thoroughly depraved. After he grew bored of her, he came up with a vicious scheme. He deliberately spent money to hire several old beggars and fools, making them violate her in front of him while he watched and laughed.
When the courtesan, filled with hatred, questioned why he would do such a thing, he mocked her in every possible way.
He said she was already “a woman everyone could sleep with anyway,” and that since he was willing to pay, she should be grateful for the money. She should thank him for the business, and stop pretending to be virtuous after acting like a prostitute.
Shen Taohua: ???
The first time she learned about this, she was genuinely disgusted enough to feel sick.
And that wasn’t all. Meng Jun had also once gotten a woman pregnant, then forced her to abort the child, the woman being none other than the tea house girl from earlier.
She had already been left half-dead from the abortion, and later, driven to despair by gossip and slander, she attempted to drown herself.
She was saved, but when her family went to the Meng household to seek justice, they were not only beaten severely, but Meng Jun also mocked them, saying their daughter was “not virtuous,” that it was her own fault, and even complained that if she was going to die, she should have died cleanly and saved everyone the trouble.
Just listen to that, was that even human speech?
This scumbag hadn’t done a single thing that could be considered even remotely humane.
Truly beyond disgusting.
And there was yet another one, arguably even worse.
Because a new lover became jealous and complained a few times about a previous one, Meng Jun actually didn’t hesitate at all and had someone slash that former lover’s face.
She only realized later that in this era’s medical standards, surgery on living people wasn’t even really a thing yet.
Otherwise, with how unhinged he was, if one of his new flames ever suddenly fell seriously ill, he might even be capable of cutting out an old lover’s kidney to use as some kind of “medicinal cure” for the new one.
All in all, the number of people he had toyed with over the years easily added up to over a dozen, even twenty or so. The ones who showed up today were only those bold enough to come forward.
The rest either stayed away out of fear of gossip, or were too timid to act, or had already been worn down mentally and physically to the point they had no energy left for revenge.
But even this small group was more than enough to deal with him.
Among those who made a move, some were driven purely by rage and a desire for revenge, while others had never thought highly of him in the first place and had only stayed with him to extract benefits.
The one who exposed the recent troubles of the Meng family was also one of them.
She only appeared today because she had been paid by Shen Taohua to do so.
Coincidentally, she was also the same woman whose former lover had his face slashed by Meng Jun.
Shen Taohua, hidden in the crowd, watched the beating with great satisfaction. Apart from silently cheering the women on, she was also mentally landing a few extra punches herself.
He clearly needed her for something, yet still had the audacity to lecture her about proper “three obediences and four virtues.” Everything happening to Meng Jun today was basically karmic payback for provoking her.
Only when the women finally exhausted themselves did the beating stop, and Meng Jun lay on the ground like a pile of broken mud, unconscious.
The woman who had been paid remained the calmest. She signaled to the others to retreat, and the group spat on Meng Jun one last time before scattering in all directions, disappearing quickly before anyone could react.
The bystanders exchanged glances. After a while, someone reluctantly helped carry him to a nearby clinic, then went to inform the Meng family’s pawnshop to come collect him.
That was the limit of their goodwill. Expecting them to pay medical fees for a clearly vile young master was impossible.
After the crowd dispersed, Shen Taohua strolled away casually as if nothing had happened, turning into a nearby alley.
She never noticed that while she had been fully absorbed in the spectacle, someone upstairs in a private room on the second floor of a teahouse had watched everything from start to finish, down to the exact words she had used to stir things up.
Two days earlier, when he noticed she had secretly arranged contact with those women, he had already sensed something was coming. And as expected, today delivered a good show.
At first, he hadn’t recognized Shen Taohua, since she usually wandered around the city and was quite familiar to people. This time she had deliberately dressed in a way that made her almost unrecognizable.
But with enough experience and sharp observation, the young master of the silver shop quickly identified her through her accessories and body shape.
Watching Shen Taohua leave, and then recalling the ferocity of those women and Meng Jun’s miserable condition, Xue Yutang couldn’t help but shiver all over.
Women really are not to be trifled with.
……
On the other side, just as Shen Taohua and Ping’an stepped into the alley, they were blocked by a few street thugs with a rough, roguish air about them.
Ordinary young ladies would have panicked at this point.
But Shen Taohua was different.
She greeted them casually with a wave and a smile. “Oh? You’re all here already.”
The tough-looking thugs couldn’t help letting their eyes drift to her exaggerated eyeliner, her round, prominent “strawberry nose,” and the pea-sized “beauty mole” on her chin. After holding it in for a moment, they all burst out laughing one after another.
“Pff, hahaha!”
“Miss Shen, this look of yours is something else, hahaha—”
They laughed so hard they were clutching their stomachs and slapping their thighs, some of the more easily amused even tearing up from laughter.
Even Ping’an, who had been holding it in the whole time, couldn’t help covering her mouth and snickering.
But the person involved, Shen Taohua herself, showed no embarrassment at all, in fact, she looked quite proud.
If she didn’t exaggerate her appearance like this, how was she supposed to hide in a crowd and enjoy the show unnoticed?
Besides, she had already held back quite a bit. At least she hadn’t drawn two “monkey butt” blush patches on her face.
That would’ve only made her stand out even more.
Shen Taohua casually peeled off the “beauty mole” sticker on her face and tossed it aside. “Alright, alright, that’s enough laughing.”
The leader of the thugs was the first to stop, giving her a thumbs-up. “Cough—Miss Shen, this whole setup today was brilliant! I saw the Meng family’s young master get beaten so badly he’s basically done for.”
The others nodded vigorously, faces full of satisfaction. “That young master from the Meng family used to look at us like we were filth whenever he saw us. Seeing him get taken down by Miss Shen today, so satisfying!”
Shen Taohua smiled. “Who told him to come bother me for no reason? He even wanted me to marry him. He can dream on.”
The thugs immediately agreed. “Exactly! Shameless!”
That kind of scum wasn’t even worthy of polishing Miss Shen’s shoes.
Shen Taohua took out a piece of broken silver from her pouch and tossed it to the leader of the thugs, Wen Tie. “Thanks for the help, everyone. Take it and have a drink.”
The reason she was able to locate Meng Jun’s victims in such a short time was largely thanks to them helping gather information.
Especially regarding Meng Jun’s lovers from the brothels, they were the ones who helped make contact, since it wasn’t appropriate for her to go directly as a woman.
Wen Tie chuckled. “No need to be polite, it’s just a small matter. Glad we could help.”
He weighed the silver in his hand, estimating that each of his brothers would get around eighty to a hundred copper coins.
They usually had some informal income, but it wasn’t very stable. With side jobs like helping Miss Shen out, doing it a few times a month could actually match what others earned from a proper job.
In recent months, some of them had even managed to save enough that they were close to being able to afford a wife.
Thinking about it that way, Miss Shen really was a good person.
The news that Meng Jun had been violently beaten by his former lovers quickly spread throughout the entire city. In the streets, teahouses, and taverns, it became a hot topic everywhere.
Many people regretted not witnessing such a spectacular scene with their own eyes.
On the other hand, those who had happened to see it all unfold became suddenly popular figures. Wherever they went, they were fawned over; people even paid for their food and drinks. It was an incredibly satisfying experience.
As public discussion grew, many of Meng Jun’s past “achievements” that had never been publicized due to the Meng family’s influence, along with the dirty practices of the Meng family pawnshop, were completely exposed.
In an instant, both Meng Jun’s and the Meng family’s reputations plummeted to rock bottom.
Even the more rigid and conservative people who had initially thought the women’s public beating was improper and violated proper feminine conduct now wisely chose not to speak up.
After all, they didn’t want to be questioned with something like: “Are you defending someone like that beast Meng Jun? Are you his accomplice?”
As for whether those who exposed his deeds feared retaliation from the Meng family—
Did they really think people were that foolish, to stir up trouble just for momentary attention?
Given the situation revealed by Meng Jun’s former lovers that day, it was obvious the Meng family was about to face enormous trouble.
The Meng family could barely take care of themselves now, how could they possibly have the time or energy to deal with them?
With no worries left, of course people would enjoy the spectacle first.
At that time, the Shen household.
Shen Feibai pinched Shen Taohua’s nose and lectured her, “Look at you. Don’t tell me that Meng Jun incident has nothing to do with you, I’m not blind. Do you really think I don’t know what you and Ping’an have been sneaking around doing these past few days?”
Shen Taohua leaned back in a tactical retreat to free her nose, rubbing it where it had gone sore.
“Anyway, isn’t the Meng family already in trouble?” she said with a tsk. “Come to think of it, they run a pawnshop, a business that relies heavily on judgment, but they still ended up getting burned.”
Shen Feibai glanced at her and snorted. “Walk enough night roads and you’ll eventually run into ghosts. Even if the Meng family has been swapping counterfeit goods and targeting people selectively, there are always times they misjudge someone. I suspect this time they simply got a taste of their own medicine from someone they had previously cheated.”
This round, the Meng family had brought it upon themselves. A business without integrity always ends up like this.
Shen Feibai said with certainty, “There are plenty in the city who already disliked the Meng family or had grudges against them. Now that they’re in trouble, there will definitely be people kicking them while they’re down. The Meng family is basically finished this time.”
And they still had the nerve to try to scheme against the Shen family to patch up their financial hole using his daughter’s dowry?
The money he earned was meant for his wife and child, what right did the Meng family have to even think about it? Tch.